Jihād

Research output

Complete citation

Poljarevic, Emin. “Jihād.” In Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, edited by Zayn R. Kassam, Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, and Jehan Bagli, 392–402. Dordrecht: Springer, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1267-3_1938.

Status

Published (2018)

Publication type

Reference work entry

Overview

This reference entry explains jihād as an umbrella concept encompassing Islamic legal and moral principles rather than as a simple synonym for warfare. Beginning with the Arabic root meaning to strive or exert effort, it traces the term’s contested meanings and the contexts in which Muslims and non-Muslims have interpreted it. The entry distinguishes broad ethical and devotional uses from doctrines of morally sanctioned armed struggle, while showing why modern political debate often collapses these meanings into the image of holy war. Historical legal reasoning, political appropriation, and contemporary controversy are treated together. The contribution is conceptual clarification: jihād is presented as a plural and context-dependent tradition of moral striving whose martial interpretations form an important but not exhaustive part of its history.

Research question or central concern

How should jihād be defined when its ethical, legal, devotional, and martial meanings have varied across historical and political contexts?

Main argument, approach, and contribution

The entry uses conceptual and historical analysis to resist a reductive identification of jihād with holy war. It argues that the concept names a wider field of moral striving and obligation, within which legally regulated warfare is one historically significant interpretation. Its contribution is a precise framework for distinguishing meanings, uses, and political appropriations.

Keywords

jihād; Islamic ethics; Islamic law; moral striving; warfare; political theology; interpretation