Jihad is just another form of yoga?

I have read that Western academics and the media would have you believe that Jihad is just another form of yoga – the inner struggle to become pure and good. Really?

Yoga teaches non-violence (Ahimsa) both in thought and action, on every foreseeable level. On the surface the word Ahimsa may read like any other generic religious precept that instructs us not to hurt or kill our fellow man, but going deeper it is really a thought process, one that may take a lifetime to cultivate.

How often do we catch ourselves entertaining hateful thoughts about someone, if only for a second, wishing them harm or hardship based on a very tiny grudge that we will probably get over in a matter of days? This type of mental violence is much more difficult to bring under control than physical violence but is of the utmost importance, because if we can bring our thoughts under control then our actions are more likely to live up to our values.

On the other hand, Jihad (Holy War) is a permanent war that excludes the possibility of peace but allows temporary truces to improve the political situation.

The Islamic concept of jihad is complex.  The word means “to struggle” or “to strive.”  It is a struggle against all that is perceived as evil.  It is a cosmic struggle that spans all dimensions of human thought and action.

There are two main forms of jihad:

• The Major Jihad (Jihad al-Akbar) is the internal struggle to control one’s own passions and desires.
• The Minor Jihad (Jihad al-Asghar) is the external struggle for Islam, through pen, tongue, or sword, as applicable.

The purpose of jihad is not to spread the Islamic faith directly, but to extend sovereign Muslim power to territories ruled by non-Muslims.  The Islamic faith would eventually follow these conquests. Please read my previous blog titled, “Is Islam a religion of peace? “

This territorial expansion has always been a central aspect of Muslim life.

Juhadists routinely attack non-Muslims, loot their belongings and murder those opposing them.  Jihadists have enslaved hundreds of thousands of women and children, and have forced them.  The Yemen-based wing of al Qaeda called on Muslims in the Arabian Peninsula to wage jihad, or holy war, against Christians and Jews in the region.

Muhammad called for Jihad al-Asghar, the external, physical type of jihad (i.e. HOLY WAR) until his death, ending only with the unbelievers being subdued.

The Jihad (Holy War) is taught Jihadists and by fought by individuals in a variety of ways. Therefore, we not see groups of uniformed soldiers that represent a nation. Instead we see….

• Hijacked airplane crashed into a tall towering building.
• Kidnapped women who are raped and murders.
• Sheep header straps bombs under the belly of his sheep and drives them into a public place.
• A child with explosives strapped to their body and innocently walking into a group and detonating the explosives.
• Single gunman who shoots and kills people on a military base or school.
• Someone who poisons the food at a facility with many diners.

“Oh Prophet!  Urge the believers to fight.  If there are twenty steadfast persons amongst you, they will overcome two hundreds, and if there be a hundred steadfast persons they will overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they (the disbelievers) are people who do not understand.” - The Qur’an (8:65)