Re-branding and explaining the true meaning of jihad

New York
Jihad is a much maligned word and the western people often associate it with war, death and destruction. But the truth is that jihad has no connection to war or destruction; it is a pursuit of personal atonement.

Re-branding jihad, showcasing the life of Emir Abdelkader, who followed true jihad and is considered the inspiration for the modern concept of human rights, was the focus of a discussion at the Interfaith Institute at the Islamic Center of Long Island, New York, January 27.

“The highlight of the session was to shed light to the term of jihad as a misused, misconstrued term, and to demonstrate through history what the proper concept is and define the true meaning of it,” said moderator Sahar Hussain, who is the director of the Hamza Academy in Valley Stream, New York, and a member of the board of directors of the Interfaith Institute.

Titled ‘A Little Town in Iowa, A Statue in Geneva, and The Meaning of Jihad,’ the event covered the remarkable life of the 19th century Algerian Emir, whose statue stands in the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland along with Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross.
Elkader, a town in Iowa, is named after him and his life is taught in a Christian seminary in Washington, DC.

Dr Faroque Ahmed Khan, board of trustee chair of the Interfaith Institute, kicked off the event with a brief introduction.

Hussain narrated the life of Abdelkader, who resisted the French colonial invasion of Algeria (1830-1847) and whose life addresses the deeper meanings of jihad.

His treatment of the prisoners of war was the forerunner of the Geneva Convention on Human Rights. He insisted on humane treatment of prisoners, even paying money to ensure no harm to prisoners, most of them French soldiers, and threatened those who flouted the rule with 25 lashes of the whip. He saved thousands of French people.

He also lived by those principles and cited the rules laid down in Islam for treating prisoners of war. When the French captured his country, he and his family turned themselves as a ransom so that his people were not hurt. As a prisoner in France people admired him so much that his name was placed on the ballot for French president.

President Abraham Lincoln presented him with two Colt pistols. In 1847, lawyer Timothy Davis named a new settlement in present-day Iowa as Elkader, in honor of the Emir. In 2008, author John Kiser wrote a book: Commander of the Faithful: The Life and Times of Emir Abdelkader, A Story of True Jihad.

Dr Mufti Mohammad Farhan, executive director of the Islamic Center, pointed out that jihad is mentioned twice in the Bible. The Arabic translation of the Bible uses the name Allah for God. Jihad is the act of standing for the right thing. One of the often quoted sentence from Bible is ‘I have fought the good fight..’ and in the Arabic Bible it is ‘I have fought the good jihad…’

The word ‘jihad’ can be compared to ‘crusade,’ since it can denote different things, such as campus crusade. The Rev. Billy Graham led 400 crusades. Crusades can be for a good cause.

Jihad is often called holy war, which is further from the truth.

Linguistically, jihad means struggle, or striving. When soldiers returned home from a war, the Prophet said they had won a minor jihad and the major jihad of conquering the evils in mind was the next one.

“In any case, jihad is not a violent concept nor a declaration against other faiths,” he said.

Daisy Khan, founder and executive director of the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) said the narrative about jihad should be rebranded. “We have to present people like Abdelkader, who do the jihad and show how it works. His most important weapon was his humanity.” He began the modern practice of exchanging prisoners of war. The Geneva Code of Conduct is based on the Islamic principles.

Fighting back is the last resort in jihad, she noted.
Just as there is no state for Islamic State (IS) jihad is also used to denote sinister things, Rev Tom Goodhue said, during the interactive session. Crusades were used murderously for centuries, he noted. He asked Muslims to come up with a definition of Jihad, which a four year old should understand.

Rev Vicky Eastland said her life changed after she met Dr Sultan Hameed and have a very different understanding about Islam/Muslims, ever since.

Lawyer Susan Rai, a Jew happily married to a Hindu physician, Kant Rai for over fifty years, shared her upbeat and positive perspective.