In “The Meaning of Jihad,” the ever-vigilant Kamala explores a popular Muslim text’s teaching on jihad to expose the hypocrisy and deception of Hamas-linked CAIR’s #MyJihad campaign:
CAIR’s Ahmed Rehab describes their #MyJihad ads this way:
“The campaign is about reclaiming Islam, and not just “˜jihad,” from
both Muslim and non-Muslim extremists… Whether it’s the bin Ladens and
the al-Qaidas of the Muslim world, or the Pam Gellers and Frank
Gaffneys of the non-Muslim world, ironically “” even though they come
from the two opposite ends of the spectrum “” they agree exactly on the
same definition of “˜jihad” and on the same worldview of Islam versus the
rest of the world.”CAIR would have you believe that
“extremists” like bin Laden and al-Qaeda are the only Muslims that think
Jihad means anything other than to “build friendships across the aisle,” to “not judge people by their cover,” or to “stay fit despite [a] busy schedule.“But if that’s the case, then extremists like al-Qaeda must be running the San Francisco Bay Area Muslim Community Association, the Islamic Circle of North America in New Jersey, the Muslim and Islamic Center in Willowbrook, Iillinois, and the Dar Elsalam Islamic Center in Arlington, Texas.
All of these American Muslim organizations teach and/or promote a book on Islam called Minhaj al-Muslim. This book offers a simple definition of Jihad that has little to do with fitness or friendships:
“The specific ruling of Jihad
— which is fighting against the disbelievers and those who wage war
against Islam — is that it is a collective compulsory duty.” (Vol. 2, p. 165)This book is sold by the MCA bookstore, among a small number of “authentic” books about Islam. It’s also sold by the bookstore of the New Jersey chapter of the Islamic Circle of North America.
On YouTube, you can find multiple video lectures of this book, taught at the Dar ElSalam Islamic Center in Arlington, Texas. It’s also taught in a weekly college student “Halaqa” (religious gathering for learning) in Willowbrook, Illinois.
For more detail about Minhaj al-Muslim’s take on Jihad, here’s an excerpt from a previous article
analyzing Minhaj’s perspective on Jihad and Islamic positions on other
subjects such as homosexuality, apostasy, and women’s rights:Four
types of jihad are listed. The first: “Performing Jihad against
disbelievers and those who wage war against the Muslims.” Number two is
jihad against “rebellious sinners,” and number three is jihad against
“Satan.” Only the fourth type is “Jihad against one’s self.” While Minhaj
acknowledges that this type “has even been called the greatest
Jihad,” this claim is accompanied by a footnote pointing out that
“this is based on a weak Hadith [saying by or about Muhammad]…”
(Vol. 2, p. 167)In his fascinating book, Inside Jihad, former Egyptian Islamic Jihad member Tawfik Hamid explains the significance of this specific attribution:
Abu Bakr Al-Jazairy — a lecturer in the Nobel Prophetic Mosque in Saudi Arabia — wrote in his well-known, widely-distributed book, Minhaj Al-Muslim, that this hadith “…is based upon
a weak Hadith…” As we can see, on the one hand Islamists show
non-Muslims a peaceful Hadith to improve Islam’s image, and on the
other teach Muslims, that it is weak (and by implication, that Muslims
should not follow it). In contrast, Islamists teach Muslims that the
following hadith is sahih, or “strong,”accurate” and “authentic,” and thus cannot be ignored:I
have been commanded to fight all mankind until they testify that none
has the right to be worshiped except Allah and Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah… (Agreed upon) — Minhaj Al-Muslim, Vol 1, p. 402The phrase “agreed upon” at the end of the above hadith means that it is narrated as sahih by both Al-Buchary and Muslim,
which communicates to Muslims that it is extremely powerful… In
this case, Muslims are taught that the violent hadith is strong and
the peaceful hadith is weak. This theological tactic deceives
countless non-Muslims. (pp. 106-107)Feisal Abdul-Rauf, of Ground Zero Mosque infamy, explains in his 2000 book, Islam: A Sacred Law,
that a weak hadith “is a hadith against which serious doubts can be
raised.” (p. 151) Thus, the notion that self-Jihad is the “greatest
Jihad” — a view Islamic spokesmen are always quick to espouse — is a dubious one.