Jihad: Struggle, Conquest, or Sabotage
Central to the concept of Islamism, and its associated fundamentalist framework, is the religious duty of all Muslims to engage in ‘Jihad’, or ‘struggle’. Jihad is shorthand for “jihad fi sabil Allah”: to struggle in the path of Allah” and the Dictionary of Islam states that “jihad was established as a divine institution for the specific purpose of advancing Islam”. (McCarthy, 53) Jihad is often subdivided into two categories: Greater and Lesser Jihad. Greater Jihad is taken to refer to the struggle against one’s soul (striving for spiritual and personal betterment), while Lesser Jihad is taken to refer to Jihad by the sword for the purpose of defending and promoting Islam In the face of its enemies. (McCarthy, 54) According to McCarthy, the more prevalent of these two concepts is the military form of Jihad “which seeks the imposition of Allah’s law which will lead us all to become Muslims, but not force us to do so”. (McCarthy, 54) Although this may not directly encourage the use of force, the words of the founder of the religious militia of Saudi Arabia, the Ikhwan, Hassan al Banna, clarifies the true role of Jihad in Muslim life: “Jihad is an obligation from Allah on every Muslim and can not be ignored nor evaded. Allah has ascribed great importance to Jihad and has made the reward of the martyrs and fighters in his way a splendid one”. (McCarthy, 55)
In other words, Jihad is not simply a peaceful struggle for spiritual betterment (although it certainly can be), but rather a forceful (hence the use of the terms ‘martyr’ and ‘fighter’) and often violent quest against the enemies of Islam, the unbelievers, or any perceived threat to the Umma. Of course, Jihad does not need to rely on violence to advance its cause, as much as on the effects of that violence on its intended targets; McCarthy tells us “The effective communication of [his cause] enables the Islamist to achieve his ends without resorting to violence—to exploit the atmosphere of intimidation created by the terrorist without having to engage in more than saber rattling himself”. (McCarthy, 54) Renewed understanding of the strategy of Islamist terrorists in achieving their ends can be gleaned in light of these parallels. All an Islamist has to do in order to further his goals of Islamic conquest through global Jihad is to select strategic locations for his terrorism which will maximize the impact of his actions on the target audience. This concept of a ‘theater of terror’ is presented by Jurgensmeyer as “[performance violence, in which], at center stage are the acts themselves –stunning, abnormal, and outrageous murders carried out In a way that graphically displays the awful power of violence—set within a grand scenario of conflict and proclamation”. (Jurgensmeyer, 124) In the theater of terror, terrorist acts are forms of performance violence, aimed to elicit the maximum possible response of revulsion and anger in those who bear witness to them. (Jurgensmeyer, 124)
