Lecture Clarifies Meaning of 'Jihad'

In the wake of the recent terrorist attacks, the Islamic Society of Boston presented a lecture on Saturday aimed at clarifying the Arabic term jihad.

Jamal Badawi, a professor at Saint Mary University in Halifax, Canada, emphasized the peaceful aspects of Islam.

“The Koran describes war as ‘kurr’—something that is hated. It is only acceptable as the lesser of all other evils,” Badawi said.

He said that although the common interpretation of the word jihad is “holy war,” a more accurate definition is “struggle”—and that its most popular usage is in a personal context.

“Jihad is mentioned in the context of humility and worship of God,” he said.

Badawi, who has lectured on the Koran at Oxford University, gave a brief history of Islam which emphasized the historical and ideological similarities between Christianity and Islam.

He warned of the dangers of “cut and paste” interpretations of the Koran, and suggested that any set of religious teachings could be made to reinforce any point of view if one was allowed to quote out of context or from poorly translated works.

“Political grievances cannot be expressed by this sort of atrocious effect …I cannot find any religious justification for what happened,” Badawi said in reference to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Badawi said that although terrorist attacks may be perpetrated by members of other religions, those religions are never linked with such attacks in the same manner as Islam.

He also explicitly denied the right of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban to make decisions or declarations on behalf of the entire faith.

Badawi also expressed reservations on the evidence that had so far been presented to the public, claiming that the will that was said to have been found in one of the hijackers’ luggage did not appear to have been written by someone whose native tongue was Arabic. He also noted the oddity of taking a will on board a doomed plane.

The lecture was the first of a series of three lectures on Islam and the West, entitled, “United We Stand.”

Zainab Khan, an Extension School student who attended the lecture, said she found it illuminating.

“It was eye-opening that hatred can be so absurd,” Khan said.