well as the ones that followed foundered due to brutality and
greed. But the idea that the Crusades were comparable to
jihad in motive, or even predatory imperialist actions against
a peaceful and indigenous Muslim population, is simply
historically inaccurate. Such a view stems more from the
prevailing Western sense of general guilt than from genuine
historical research.
Modern commentators state that Islam had no hostile
intentions toward the West until the advent of the Crusades,
when Muslims had to defend themselves and their homes
against predatory Christian invaders from the West.
Combine that with the Islamic world’s later humiliating
experience with colonialism, say the pundits, add in the
Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and you have in a nutshell the
root causes of Osama bin Laden, the Ayatollah Khomeini,
and the rest. All this is in service of the assumption that
Islam is essentially a religion of peace, and that it was only
Islamic mistreatment at the hands of Western non-Muslims
(that is, Christians) that have made violent elements in Islam
come to the fore. However, as we have seen, the facts of
history are otherwise.
- Are there different types of jihad?
Jihad has several meanings. Its application can cover
almost every aspect of life. Islamic scholars divide jihad into
two types: greater jihad and lesser jihad.
1.Greater jihad is the struggle of the individual Muslim
to apply the tenets of Islam in daily life, and to live
obediently and without sin. In other words, greater jihad