True Islam, Jihad, and Terrorism

After the rise of the Islamic State of Syria and Levant (ISIL), the world has been debating over an old issue, characterized by some as the 'clash of civilizations'. JihaId, the Arabic term for 'struggle', was the target and 'Islamic terrorism' and 'Islamic fascism' became the popularized terms of the post-9/11 era. The following discourse has formed two theories attempting to define Islam and the role of JihaId in Islam. The first is that of the apologists that define JihaId as an internal struggle; the second sponsors the concept of 'offensive' JihaId. In this book, existing theories are deconstructed to establish that there is no such thing as 'offensive' JihaId or 'internal' JihaId. Debunking both branches of political thought was possible using a cognition tool derived from the education system instituted by the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure of this controversy. The deconstruction is then followed up with an examination of an actual historical case, viz. the wars for Islam at the time of The Prophet as well as during the four rightly guided Caliphs. By doing so, this book systematically eliminates all confusion regarding JihaId. By addressing the fundamental premises involved in both sides of this controversy, the book develops an analytical tool that is free from dogmatic assertions and ensuing contradictions, eventually defining the significance of this analysis for a properly balanced understanding of Islamic foreign policy and Shari'ah law. A clear directive is produced in order to analyze any violence that takes place today and determine if the justification provided is Islamic or not.