Jan 12 2015
The real war is the ideological one
By Daoud Kuttab
Very few people know that in Islam there are two kinds of jihad. The smaller Jihad is the more known one namely the one which reflects the military a struggle. But the greater Jihad which is less known is the internal Jihad- or Struggle.
Few people also know that the Arabic word Jihad is used throughout the Christian Bible as well. II Timothy y 4:7 states I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. The Arabic verse uses  the term fight for the word Jihad.
So whether it is the struggle or the fight for a better world, the militaristic Jihad is certainly not a monopoly to Islamists.
How does this affect the current war on Islamic extremism that most tangible form has been the Islamic State militias who have controlled large segments of land and people in northern Iraq and eastern Syria.
France’s Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said that his country is now at war with radical Islam. “It is a war afraternity, freedom, solidarity,†Mr. Valls said during a speech in Évry, south of Paris.
World leaders have correctly pointed out that the fight radical Islam including the current coalition against against DAESH (the Arabic acronym of ISIS) must be both a military and an ideological one. We have heard and seen a lot of the former but very little has been done to tackle the ideologies behind this extreme group. Continue Reading »