08-02-2012, 07:02 AM
I've thought that jihad was about an individual figuring out his/her own heart and mind. An internal struggle for truth.
The current distortion is interpreting jihad as an external war, to hate and kill anyone who is not Islamic.
It's so unfortunate, Law Books, Constitutions, Spiritual Texts, any book can all be interpreted in any conceivable way.
In my favorite translation of the Qur'an (Chapter 2, between 256 and 259) it says "There shall be no compulsion in religion." The sentence continues to seem to mean, that those who support those who choose Islam are strong and dependable.
Perhaps those words were written to support those who choose Allah, and to shame those who try to stop this new (new at the time) religion. But I think that many, probably most Muslims, do not believe in compulsion (certainly not violence) as a way to start or stop any religion.
I also believe that just as there is only One God in Islam, there is also only One God in Judaism. Another similarity is the idea of That One not being called by any name. Jews have many ways to refer to That One (Adonai means Lord, and Ha Shem means The Name, etc. etc.). I believe that Allah is a word which translates as God, and is not in fact the name of God. Is that correct?
The current distortion is interpreting jihad as an external war, to hate and kill anyone who is not Islamic.
It's so unfortunate, Law Books, Constitutions, Spiritual Texts, any book can all be interpreted in any conceivable way.
In my favorite translation of the Qur'an (Chapter 2, between 256 and 259) it says "There shall be no compulsion in religion." The sentence continues to seem to mean, that those who support those who choose Islam are strong and dependable.
Perhaps those words were written to support those who choose Allah, and to shame those who try to stop this new (new at the time) religion. But I think that many, probably most Muslims, do not believe in compulsion (certainly not violence) as a way to start or stop any religion.
I also believe that just as there is only One God in Islam, there is also only One God in Judaism. Another similarity is the idea of That One not being called by any name. Jews have many ways to refer to That One (Adonai means Lord, and Ha Shem means The Name, etc. etc.). I believe that Allah is a word which translates as God, and is not in fact the name of God. Is that correct?
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