News

"Life is worship and jihad" proclaims the nameplate of Al Hayat, an Arabic-language newspaper in London. But "holy war" is hardly what its editors have in mind.

The Arabic word comes from the root jahada, meaning to strive or endeavor to do something. For mainstream Muslims it can mean struggling to lead a virtuous life.

"The fact that a lot of militant organizations choose the word jihad mixes things up," explains Hisham Kassem, who publishes the Cairo Times, an Egyptian magazine. It can refer to "a bloody 'sleeper' cell … or it could simply mean 'my jihad to keep the Cairo Times open.' "

Drew University professor Christopher Taylor calls it "a loaded term with multiple meanings" that depend on the "motives and intentions of the person using it."

The war against Soviet troops in Afghanistan in the 1980s popularized the use of jihad to mean fighting "infidels," says Georgetown University professor John Esposito. "After that, we see every major struggle — whether in Chechnya [or] Palestine … Kashmir or Bosnia — all cast popularly as a jihad."

Islamic militants selectively quote verses focusing on holy war that are found in the Quran and in the Hadith, a compilation of Mohammed's sayings. These jihadists take the word out of context to stress the need for battle, says Imad Shahin, a specialist on Islamist movements at the American University of Cairo. He says they twist "some principles of Islam" into misrepresenting the entire religion.

The word kafir, according to Taylor, is properly translated as "infidel" and conveys an unquestionably hateful attitude.

"The word has a strong sense … that the infidels are also ungrateful," he explains. "It's not just that they haven't heard God's word, they are usually thought of as actively ungrateful to God and hostile to His word as it is revealed in the Quran."

Mainstream Muslims use "a number of other, much more diplomatic" words to describe non-believers, he says. Many routinely call Christians and Jews Ahl al-Kitab — "People of the Book," referring to the scriptures.

But kafir "connotes a decidedly hostile stance," Taylor says. "It is a powerful and unquestionably antagonistic way of referring to people of another faith … a Muslim would never tell a non-Muslim friend that (he is) a kafir, even in jest."

He equates it to an English racial epithet to describe "how powerful and derogatory" it is.

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News