Islam FYI. (2017, September 14). Is jihad holy war?  [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Een_FyLOVJc

This video, featuring Imam Sohaib Sultan, unravels the meaning of jihad. According to Imam Sohaib, jihad does not mean terrorism or holy war, rather jihad is an Arabic word that refers to struggle. In a religious context, jihad is a sacred struggle one engages with in order to become closer to God. There are 70 forms of jihad, and the root word of many acts of worship is jihad. Although it is permissible to engage in war in the Islamic tradition, Imam Sohaib highlights the linguistic difference as well as the guidelines and sacred bounds for this specific form of jihad, such as not killing innocent peoples and only engaging in war when necessary. Muslims today embrace jihad as they struggle and fight for freedom and justice.

The Teaching Against Islamophobia resources were developed with funding support from the Law Foundation of BC, and the Centre for Comparative Muslim Studies at SFU.