Ahmadiyya view on Jihad

rdf:langString Ahmadiyya view on Jihad

rdf:langString In Ahmadiyya Islam, Jihad is a radical concept. It is primarily one's personal inner and outer struggle for self-purification. Armed struggle or military exertion is only to be used in defense. However, even then it can only be carried out under the direct instruction of a Caliph, purely for the sake of God and the preservation of religion. It is not permissible that jihad be used to spread Islam violently or for political motives, or that it be waged against a government that maintains religious freedom. Political conflicts (even from a defensive stand) over independence, land and resources or reasons other than religious belief cannot be termed jihad. There is a clear distinction, in Ahmadi theology, between Jihad (striving) and qitāl or jihad bil-saif (fighting). While Jihad may involve fighting, not all fighting can be called Jihad. Rather, according to Ahmadiyya belief, qitāl or military jihad is applicable, only as a defensive measure in very strictly defined circumstances and those circumstances do not exist at present. Ahmadiyya claims its objective to be the revival and peaceful propagation of Islam with special emphasis on defending and extending Islam 'by the pen' and by argumentation. Ahmadis point out that as per prophecy, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (whom they believe to the Messiah and Mahdi) rendered Jihad in its military form as almost entirely inapplicable in the present age since Islam, as a religion, is not being attacked militarily this conditions for an armed Jihad are not met. However, since Islam is being attacked through literature and other media, therefore the response should be likewise, Jihad of the Pen.