On Jihad.

The reason why I am posting on such a controversial topic these days is due in part to an NPR piece that caught my eye recently: "What does 'Jihad' Really Mean?"

It got me thinking about the fundamentals I learned in my Intro to Islam class taught by the Amazing Professor Sonn (so amazing that it needs to be capitalised) about the difference between the lesser and great jihads. Muslims undertake the Greater Jihad in every day, an effort to live their lives as piously and as best as they can as a Muslim, under the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunna of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). It is an internal struggle to be good, to bring justice into the world. It is a holy war in the sense that it, like many other teachings of various religions, is a struggle to better oneself.

The Lesser Jihad is what the Western media has broadcast throughout these past years of the "war on terror" and the violent actions of these "fundamental Muslims," terms which are rather archaic. The lesser jihad what is generally known to be the holy war that seems to permeate the Western media's view of minority Islamist groups' use of violence and terror in various parts of the world (NOT just the Middle East). The NPR piece actually explains the difference quite well, and I thought immediately of Prof. Sonn's amazing class and how much I learned in it. Then, I thought that many Americans out there didn't have such an opportunity to learn about such a fascinating religion and way of life (perhaps including our current Commander in Chief) and are still in the dark about Islam, the Middle East and the Muslim world. A sad thought.

In fact, according to my trusty friend, the Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Arabic, the Arabic root for Jihad (jim-ha-del) means "to endeavour, to strive, to labour, to take pains" (form I).

There is a funny anecdote that several Omanis have told me and several other Americans involving a group of Omanis in a major American airport. They swear that this incident really happened, but so far, I've heard two or three versions of the same story, each involving a different major airport and a different purpose for those Omanis traveling. Anyway, I digress. This group of Omanis, around the university student age, were waiting at the airport around the security section, when they realize that a member of their group, whose name was Jihad (or pronounced Gihad in local dialect), was missing. They were going to miss their flight, so their group leader panicked and started running around the airport calling out, "Jihad! Jihad!"

Oh, to only imagine the looks on Americans' faces if/when that moment happened.