Understanding Jihad and Terrorism

June 2003 · Historically Speaking33 Understanding Jihad and Terrorism* Antony T. Sullivan P ascal once observed thatthe necessary based on a "root" system. Roots appear in basis for moral conduct is clarity of many forms, or patterns, but the meanings thought. In recent discussions concerninga putative relationship betweenJihad and terrorism, clear thinkinghas been notable primarilybyits absence. Thatis regrettable, especiallygiven the polarities thatnowseem to characterize relations between the West and the Muslim world. In this worsening environment, Christians and Muslims alike would do well to reexamine established ideas. Such reconsideration has never been more important. In the West,Jihad is nowunderstood to mean terrorism, tout court. And in the Muslim world, far too manynowunderstandJihad as justifying , indeed demanding, the taking ofinnocent civilian life. Misperceptions and ignorance are widespread everywhere. The truth is that terrorism and Jihad are notidentical twins buthistoric enemies . In fact, a newvocabularyis essential to demonstrate the radical antipathythat separatedtheseconceptsuntilveryrecentdecades . Terrorism is not only un-Islamic but antiIslamic , and those who commit terrorism ofall ofthe words that result are derived from these roots, consisting(in the mostbasic pattern ) ofthree letters. To begin tounderstand the meaning ofJihad, one must identify the roots of that Arabic word, and the layers of meaning that that root—made up ofthe letTerrorism is not only unIslamic but anti-Islamic, and those who commit terrorism should be designatedas criminals rather than as holy warriors or resistancefighters. ters "jeem," "ha," and "daal"—have in all of the "higher" verb forms ofwhich those three letters constitute the root. There is no betterwayto do this thanto consultthe twobest Arabic-English dictionaries available: the greatBritish linguistEdwardWilliam Lane's should be designated as criminals ratherthanAn Arabic-English Lexicon, originally pubas holywarriors orresistance fighters. Anewlished in the 19th century, and the German focus by Muslims on the Qur'an, at thescholar Hans Wehr's.4 Dictionary ofModern expense ofmedieval Islamic jurisprudenceArabic. Lane's work is based especially on toiled; (he] exerted himselfor his powers or efforts orendeavorsorability, Pie] employed himselfvigorously, strenuously, laboriously, diligently, studiously, sedulously, earnestly, orwith energy, [he] was diligent, orstudious; he tookpains, or, extraordinarypains."Wehr defines the same verb form as "to endeavor, to strive; to labor; to take pains; to put oneself out; to overwork, overtax, fatigue, exhaust someone." Turning toverb form four, Lane definesJihad as meaning "[h]e made, or incited, another, to strive or labor or toil, to exerthimselfor his power or efforts, or endeavors, or ability." Wehr says the meaning is "to strain, to exert; to tire, wear out, fatigue someone; to go to great lengths to; to go out ofone's wayto; to concentrate on; to put one's mind to; to apply oneself." As far as verb form eight is concerned , Lane gives the meaning as "[e]xerting the faculty of the mind to the utmost, for the purpose offorming an opinionina case oflaw [respectinga doubtful and difficult point]; the seeking to form a right opinion; investigationofthe law, ortheworking out ofa solution ofany difficulty in the law, bymeans ofreason and comparison; the referringofa case proposed to [a] judge ___" Wehr is more concise, giving the meaning only as "to put oneselfout for something," (fiqh), is now very much in order. The best Qur'anic linguisticusages. The meanings of "to work hard," and to "formulate an indeapproach to grasping the real meaning of Jihad offered by Lane and Wehr are almost Jihad maybe through analysis ofthe Unguis- identical. tic roots of the word. To do that, one must knowArabic, a qualification that many contemporary commentators on this topic lack. Above all, what is now needed is a revived and authentically Islamic vocabulary that definitively separates the concept ofJihad from that ofterrorism. Much ofthat Islamic vocabulary already exists. The good news is that precisely that traditional vocabulary is now again being used by many prominent Muslimswhen discussing these vexed issues. Arabic (like other Semitic languages) is The linguisticrootofJihad occurs in four of the ten basic Arabic verb forms. Three of these four forms make no mention whatsoeverofanysortofmilitaryaction , orviolence, or above all anything that might be related to terrorism. Onlyin verb form three is anything said in either ofthese dictionaries about warfare, and even in this verb form both dictionaries adduce warfare as only a secondary meaning...