Arab StatesThere is, especially in the West, a popular mis-
conception that jihad means “holy war,” referring
only to military struggle against non-Muslims with
the purpose of spreading Islam. Both scholars of
Islam and Muslim activists alike, however, stress
the wider meaning of jihad, which refers more
generally to praiseworthy and pious efforts, “the
struggle against one’s bad inclinations,” and “the
struggle for the good of Muslim society and against
corruption and decadence” (Peters 1996, 116).
Muslim authorities have taken different positions
on the appropriateness of women’s participation in
various forms of jihad. Jihad has been deemed an
obligation for all Muslims, but its purposes, forms,
and participants have been explained, justified, and
mobilized differently over time, depending on the
sociopolitical circumstances. The variable concep-
tions and practices of jihad have both challenged
and reinforced dominant gender relations in differ-
ent contexts. There is a notable dearth of research
into the topic of women and jihad, and even fewer
scholarly treatments focus on the non-military
aspects of the concept.
Islamic history
A ™adìth(one of the sayings of the Prophet)
reports that Mu™ammad, on returning from a bat-
tle, exclaimed “we have come back from the lesser
jihad to the greater jihad.” When asked what he
meant by the “greater jihad,” he answered “the
jihad against oneself.” Throughout Islamic history,
Muslim women have publicly participated in jihad,
including both the “great jihad” of internal strug-
gle for self-improvement, and the “little jihad” of
martial struggle against the enemies of Islam. Four
famous women from the time of the Prophet
Mu™ammad joined the jihad to defend Islam
against its foes, all having been involved in battle:
Khadìja, Mu™ammad’s first wife, ≠â±isha, his
youngest wife, Zaynab bt. ≠Alì, his granddaughter,
and Nusayba bt. Ka≠b. The latter, also referred to as
al-Najariyya and al-Mazayniyya, is one of the most
famous jihad warriors. She fought at the battle of
Uhud in 625 C.E. and is reported to have per-
sonally defended the Prophet Mu™ammad there
(Cooke 2002). These historical figures became
models for future Muslim activists, who cited them
Jihad
as precedents when justifying their participation in
jihad and their calls for Muslims, including women,
to struggle likewise in the path of God (Cooke
2000, 55).
Layla bt. ¢arìf is also mentioned as a fighter
among the seventh-century Khàrijìs (Cooke forth-
coming). Based on the fact that women fought with
the Prophet Mu™ammad and accompanied him in
battle, the Khàrijìs argued that fighting jihad was
not only legitimate, but a religious requirement for
women. Other women, such as the famous poet al-
Khansà±, were present at battles, encouraging Mus-
lim warriors with their verse (Ahmed 1992, 71–2).
The dominant orthodox Muslims fighting the
Khàrijìs opposed women’s participation in jihad
and “killed and exposed naked the women cap-
tured in their battles with the Kharijis” (Ahmed
1992, 71). In the period following the death of the
Prophet Mu™ammad, it was claimed that women
should not be visible in public, nor should they
fight. Jihad was portrayed as a male domain, espe-
cially after the fight against the Crusades (Cooke
2002, 230).egypt
Sayyid Qu†b (1906–66), a modern Egyptian
Islamist ideologue and a leader of the Ikhwàn al-
Muslimìn (Muslim Brotherhood) was influential in
shaping the thought and agenda of much contem-
porary Islamic revivalism. Jihad was a concept
central to his interpretation of Islam, and he con-
sidered military jihad, as part of Islam’s “pragmatic
activistic system of life,” to be a precondition for
the da≠wa(call to Islam) to proceed, such that a just
Islamic society could be established. He wrote that
while peace is the essential character of Islam, so
too is jihad a necessity against forces that would
impede the dominance of Islam (Haddad 1983).
Qu†b argued that preaching, persuasion, as well
as the use of force “to set human beings free from
the yoke of human enslavement and make them
serve the One and Only God” are principles of
equal importance. Qu†b’s exegesis of the history,
meanings, and purpose of jihad in one of his most
well-known tracts, Milestones, does not articulate
a position on women’s role in jihad. Saudi preacher
Fà†ima Nasìf, however, cites Qu†b as affirming that
women may participate in jihad if absolutely neces-
sary (Cooke forthcoming).