Jihad as theological and political discourse: a critical analysis of relevant literature

Both radical Islamist groups and many influential Western politicians have utilized the term, Jihad to achieve their agendas and aims. Among the Islamists, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (IS) has defined the term broadly to justify their deadly actions. To attract support, they have misused and misinterpreted the religious texts in ways that take them far from the context and the applications of the prophet Muhammad, and their use of Jihad is just one example of that misuse. At the same time, some influential Western politicians have taken these justifications, definitions, actions, and literature as a good opportunity to vilify all of Islam to suit their own local and international political and economic agendas. The combination of these two factors has had extremely negative impacts on Muslims and non-Muslim societies all over the world. Against this, we find fourteen centuries worth of discourse and scholarship that shows that such misuse of Jihad denies its original purpose and real meaning. Examples of such discourses constitute the core of the study, looking to the ways in which both theological and political interpretations have affected its understanding.