Followers of several Muslim sects believe that Jihad only mean to struggle for the purification of one-self and has nothing to do with �military resistance� � not at least in the modern times.

Such thinking is a result of the psychological and intellectual oppression created in our minds by the cultural invasion of the West. One aspect of the logic is the apologetic approach, which some Muslim historians use when they discuss the issue of jihad in Islam, or the Islamic conquests. They view these military expeditions as having been launched in defense of the Arabian Peninsula against the incursions of the Romans and the Persians. Even the military expeditions of the Prophet (pbuh) himself have not escaped this apologetic approach, which portrays them as being waged in defense of the state of Madinah.

Some Muslim historians have even gone so far to reject some well-known and well-documented incidents because they were unable to produce the apologetic justification they needed. For example, one such writer denies Ibn Ishaq�s reports concerning the slaughter of the warriors of Qurayzah, although these reports are confirmed in the books of hadith, Seerah and history. It is as if he doubts the fairness of punishing them. The Islamic interpretation of history is not apologetic, nor is it a defensive justification. It is based on the conviction that Islam is the truth, and whatever contradicts it is falsehood. Whatever Allah has legislated in Islam, be it jihad or anything else, is right and has no need of apology or justification, however strange or unacceptable it may appear to the dominant western corrupt mentality of the 21st century.

Followers of several Muslim sects believe that Jihad only mean to struggle for the purification of one-self and has nothing to do with �military resistance� � not at least in the modern times.

For the non-muslims and those muslims who may not know very well...

Very typicaly there is a sect within the muslim community who first creates an imaginary problem within the ummah and then gives a lecture attempting to solve it.

Our prophet (SAW) has said that struggel to purify ones' self is the greater jihad while the millitary stuggle is the lesser jihad. Followers of as-Sunnah wal Jamah have no dispute with this hadith.

Peace to all.

Rehmat wrote: . Muslims should not modify Islam and its history to suit the tastes and ideologies of people in any particular age. What people commend at one particular time may be distasteful at another, and what is considered good by people in one place may be regarded as bad by the people of another place. Only Allah can truly or evaluate anything and this is reflected in His law, the Shari'ah. True judgment cannot come from the whims, desires and subjective personal opinions of mere mortals. Allah is victorious over what He ordains

 Salam,

 I agree with you.First we will change jihad,than we will change Islam.Look at Jews.They are people without guidance.They have changed their Religion so much,there is no such thing as Judaism.

   They have even changed the monotheism of God,even beleif in God is not necessary for some Jews.You cannot convert into Judaism,because there are no basic beleifs one could follow.Jew is the one who has a Jewish mother.

  Under western pressure,Islam is changing rapidly.I fear that day,Allah forbids,when we will not even recognize it. 

See if you agree with me, The Prophet saws and the believers with him were being persecuted and killed because of one thing, their faith, they migrated and still they were attacked, so at this point it became permitted for muslims to defend their selves because they were attacked, the pagan and some jewish and christian tribes of arabia then formed a confederacy against the believers and at this point it became obligatory to fight those who fight them because of the religion, because if no one fought the religion would be wiped out, all the believers would have been killed. Nowadays, you can be a muslim anywhere in the world, practice it and call to it. Religious freedom came into existance when europe and the west saw the reality that muslims would not stop fighting until a believer could practise his faith and call to it where ever he might go. At that point muslims stopped fighting, except some states like the ottoman empire, mostly because of geo-political reasons rather then the faith.