Jianfeng Shaikh: The question of why there is no mention of the word ‘jihad’ after the statement that it is in fact a war against the Americans has been raised. In that case, what is wrong with ‘joining Jihad’?

Shireen Rasheed: Jihad – like all other forms of warfare – is not just an exercise in violence but a form of moral progress and the development of the human character. Its purpose is to liberate the Muslim community from the chains of corruption and oppression by establishing an Islamic society.

I want you to remember the word that has been interpreted by some as the Islamic call to Jihad. In the first verse of the Qur’an, Allah says, “We created the heavens and the earth, so that one day, when all of you is gathered together, as is right in your hearts, you may learn that that which is in yourselves is best.” It is not an exercise in violence and bloodshed. It is not a war against the Americans or any other country. It is all-pervasive, it is a call to Islam everywhere. Therefore if we interpret that verse to mean ‘a call to Jihad’, then there is a contradiction there, if we interpret that verse to mean, ‘We have forbidden you to associate with your neighbour’, then there is a contradiction there, and so on and so forth. Hence, both interpretations should be avoided.

In my mind, there is an agreement that if you think of the word’struggle’, which is the Arabic word and the word you should never leave out, in a specific definition of war, you will never find a contradiction. One of the points of my argument is that if one has understood this definition, then Allah, by stating war in the first verse, is also stating, ‘The war which is permitted to you is this only, that you should join with your brother”. I think that people should be a bit more aware of the fact that in the first verse in Islam, Allah says, “We created the heaven and the earth, so that one day when all of you is gathered together, as is right in your hearts, you may learn that that which is in yourselves is best”. I think it is an opportunity to learn something, because we are so busy talking about Muslims going to war with one another.

And what does this have to do with the whole issue of Jihad? What have we learned from this verse