CRITIQUE OF MISCONCEPTION AND MISINTERPRETATION ABOUT THE ISLAMIC JIHAD

The term Jihad has now become a household word all over the world. However, despite this widespread mention of the term, it real meaning, the conditions governing it occurrence and the code of its conduct and several other things related to it are grossly misunderstood. Consequently, things that are completely unrelated to Jihad are done and seen in it name, the misconception has generated panic and suspicion on the part of both non-Muslims as well as Muslims the world over. The need to investigate and clarify issues and matters that actually related to Jihad as well as those that unrelated to it, is therefore paramount. In this article an endeavor has been made to throw more light on what Jihad is all about with the hope of correcting current misconception about Jihad. In the course of this endeavourer, discussions have been made regarding the conditions that must be fulfilled before Jihad can be carried out, the code of conduct and standard of behaviour participants in a Jihad and the position of women, children, Christian clerics, old people, etc in relation to Jihad. Effort has also been made to distinguish, differentiate and dissociate Jihad from demonstrations, sectarian and political crises, which have hitherto been ignorantly regarded as one form of Jihad or the other.