Ethical/Moral Teachings

Jihad

Known to the Western world as a “holy war”, jihad is actually something much deeper than that. The actual definition is “struggle”. There are actually two different definitions of jihad. One of them is the obligation each Muslim has to defend their faith and homeland if they are threatened. I believe this is definition that confuses the Western world. When Islamic extremists (Osama bin Laden, Jalaluddin Haqqani) state that they are proclaiming a jihad on a country, what is literally being said is that they are saying there is a struggle between them and the Western world. The greater definition of jihad is the struggle each Muslim faces everyday to fight for their faith. Since the standard nature of a human is to forget the power of God, they are in a constant “battle” to protect their faith.

Shari'ah Law

Since the Quran gives the broad rules for Islam and does not say what should happen to a person if they commit a physical crime, a system had to be created. This system was the interpretation of the hadiths based on the sayings of Muhammad. Called Shari’ah law, this system states the consequences for all physical actions, whether they are criminal or ethical. The interpretation of Shari’ah law changes depending on which part of the globe you are in or who is interpreting it. One example of this is in Afghanistan. The two main competitors for power, the current government and the Taliban, each have different definitions of Shari’ah law. The Taliban have a very strict interpretation of Shari’ah which they believe is the true interpretation of the hadiths. They wish to place their version of Shari’ah into every aspect of life in Afghanistan.