Muslim Woman

If Islam teaches these noble ideals, why is there such a frightening
image of Islam in the West? The answer lies in one word: "jihad," and
its misrepresentation and misinterpretation in the media. But Muslims
are no less responsible for this frightening picture of jihad either.
Tyrant Muslim regimes and terrorist organizations routinely invoke
jihad, or holy war, to terrorize or kill innocent people to achieve
their political agendas. The Arabic word "jihad" means struggle or
exertion. There are many levels of jihad: struggling to remove poverty;
fighting against material and moral corruption; struggling against
social, political, and economic injustices; struggling to restore basic
human rights; fighting against tyranny and oppression; constantly
exerting to advance human knowledge; fighting against environmental
pollution, etc. And jihad in terms of war must be declared and must be
for defensive purposes only. No covert operations are allowed in Islam.
Above all, jihad must be done for the good of humanity which, in Islam,
is referred to as fighting for the cause of God. Under no
circumstances, are they allowed to exploit the weak and the vulnerable.
That is why Islam teaches Muslims to honor treaties and to do justice
­ even to their enemies. It teaches them to establish their system
based upon free consultation, justice and equality. These are the
teachings of the Quran. However, it is a sad reflection that Muslims
seem to have turned away from the above teachings of Islam. American
people who are striving for the above ideals are nearer to Islam than
many Muslims. Islam is not the custodian of Muslims only. God says in
the Quran that if Muslims were to turn away from its ideals and
teachings, then He will raise another people to replace them. Whatever
Muslims have done (and are doing) in the name of jihad that is contrary
to the above teachings of their holy Book, the Quran, Islam is not
responsible for. They are. And this is truly unfortunate. Because such
a beautiful religion as Islam gets maligned in the world because of
their terrorist acts.