“My Jihad” Fights US Muslim Stereotyping
An American campaign to reclaim the true meaning of jihad is an attempt to give Muslim children in the United States the chance to be judged on their own merits and not according to radical stereotypes.
"The word 'jihad' literally means struggle, struggle for a good cause," Nihad Awad, National Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told CNN on Monday, February 4.
"It is a concept, a noble concept, within Islam that emphasizes a personal struggle within yourself to be a better person, a better husband, better wife, better worker, better neighbor."
“My Jihad” in Washington
He said the term “Jihad” does not mean doing harm or aggression against other people.
“If people commit harm against innocent people, it will be in violation of the spirit of Islam and a violation of the concept of jihad."
Launched by the CAIR-Chicago in December, the MyJihad campaign aims to explain the true and proper meaning of Jihad as believed and practiced by the majority of Muslims.
Along with the official MyJihad website, the campaign includes putting up public ads on buses and trains, as well as a social media component on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, where users are asked to tweet what their Jihad (struggle) is using the #MyJihad hashtag.
The Muslim campaign has so far been launched in three American cities; Chicago, San Francisco and Washington.
Reaching new frontiers, the campaign has also made its way to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where it displayed messages of Muslim and Christian unity during the Christmas season.
It has also been introduced in Canada to help dispel fears promoted by Islamophobes about Muslims and their faith.
Jihad is often stereotyped by Western media as meaning “holy war”.
But Muslim scholars have repeatedly affirmed that the word Jihad, which is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an, means "struggle" to do good and to remove injustice, oppression and evil from society.
Karen Armstrong, the prominent and prolific British writer on all three monotheistic religions, has criticized stereotyping the Arabic word "jihad" as merely meaning holy war.
Source: Onislam.net
"It is a concept, a noble concept, within Islam that emphasizes a personal struggle within yourself to be a better person, a better husband, better wife, better worker, better neighbor."
“My Jihad” in Washington
He said the term “Jihad” does not mean doing harm or aggression against other people.
“If people commit harm against innocent people, it will be in violation of the spirit of Islam and a violation of the concept of jihad."
Launched by the CAIR-Chicago in December, the MyJihad campaign aims to explain the true and proper meaning of Jihad as believed and practiced by the majority of Muslims.
Along with the official MyJihad website, the campaign includes putting up public ads on buses and trains, as well as a social media component on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, where users are asked to tweet what their Jihad (struggle) is using the #MyJihad hashtag.
The Muslim campaign has so far been launched in three American cities; Chicago, San Francisco and Washington.
Reaching new frontiers, the campaign has also made its way to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where it displayed messages of Muslim and Christian unity during the Christmas season.
It has also been introduced in Canada to help dispel fears promoted by Islamophobes about Muslims and their faith.
Jihad is often stereotyped by Western media as meaning “holy war”.
But Muslim scholars have repeatedly affirmed that the word Jihad, which is mentioned in the Noble Qur'an, means "struggle" to do good and to remove injustice, oppression and evil from society.
Karen Armstrong, the prominent and prolific British writer on all three monotheistic religions, has criticized stereotyping the Arabic word "jihad" as merely meaning holy war.
Source: Onislam.net
