This week a group of American Muslims has launched a campaign called “My Jihad.” They are asking, “My Jihad Is…What’s Yours?” Their mission is “taking back Islam from Muslim and anti-Muslim extremists alike.” They are placing their ads on buses, starting in a few major American cities, and spreading their message through social media.
Their campaign “seeks to share the proper meaning of Jihad as believed and practiced by the majority of Muslims.” They define jihad as: “An Islamic concept that means to struggle against barriers and odds in search of a better place. Jihad requires faith, courage, and perseverance.” In the About section of their website they further explain, “Jihad is a personal commitment to service, patience, determination, and taking the higher road, as such, it tasks us with confronting our own weaknesses, vices, and shortcomings; it is about taking personal responsibility.”
They launched the campaign this week in Chicago, where the side of a bus now proclaims, My jihad is making friends across the aisle, what’s yours? featuring warm pictures of very different individuals, presumably Muslims and non-Muslims, as friends.
Yesterday the My Jihad Public Education Campaign on Facebook page posted advice, “soul food,” for pursuing “jihad al-nafs,” a spiritual jihad or jihad of the soul. They recommended it should include six components: “1) silence, 2) isolation, 3) fasting, 4) night prayer, 5) thikr, 6) undo the defects of our soul (anger, envy, arrogance),” with “thikr,” or “dhikr,” being the act of remembrance of God.
In an ad on their website a young woman in a cheerful long-sleeved pink shirt wearing a headscarf and lifting a barbell announces, My Jihad: “Modesty is not a weakness.” –What’s yours?
These American Muslims are living out the best of religious freedom. Practicing their faith, engaging in the public square, and freely voicing their perspectives in intra-faith debates. Religious freedom allows space and Constitutional protections for mainstream believers to counter violent extremists.
And along the way they are reminding me of some things I myself might do well to devote some effort to: fasting, night prayer, and working on the defects of my own soul . . . plus some well-dressed weightlifting might help provide a boost in these dark days of winter and counter the calories of Christmas parties.
Jennifer S. Bryson, Ph.D., is currently a Visiting Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.
December 14th, 2012 | 7:16 pm
[...] Sun-Times Jihad is 'getting to a better place,' says CAIR campaignDaily Caller“My Jihad” is Perhaps Not What You ThinkFirst Things (blog)International Business Timesall 32 news [...]
December 14th, 2012 | 9:21 pm
All religions are distorted by our sensationalizing media, but none more so than Islam. Thank you for this Muslim ‘soul food’ meditation suggestion.
December 14th, 2012 | 10:27 pm
This is the Islam that we know, and its great principles. Thank you Jennifer for this Lighting, thanks to America for this freedom, and thanks American Muslims who will regain Islam’s significance Semitic principles
December 15th, 2012 | 12:34 am
God bless all the good and pious Muslims who are trying to do their best to live out their faith in peace.
I can understand the point of this campaign, but I think that perhaps the message needs to go first to those Muslims who believe that Jihad means violence and horror. Until they absorb this message, I don’t know how much success this campaign will have.
I’m glad that most Muslims see Jihad in spiritual terms, but I think it’s going to be a long, long time before non-Muslims have good feelings about the term. I’m not going to apologize for having a negative view of the word – there are thousands and thousands of people who’ve died at the hand of Muslims who believe in a violent and merciless Jihad. A bus sign is not going to make that disappear.
December 15th, 2012 | 2:21 am
Excellent idea in terms of a campaign for communicating with the public at large.
December 15th, 2012 | 8:19 am
The issue is not what Jihad is but what it has degenerated into.All over the world the muslims in the countries where they are the majority community wtreats all non muslims as pariahs and fit to be slaughtered,They take advantage of all fwree societies and make out they are peaceful and that Islam preaches a brotherhood,but the truth is the Koran does not ban violence and from the beginning of Islam till date they continue violence,the countries where tthis is happening is known to all and this includes the so called spring countries where christians are being hounded out.Jihad is to clean out nons.
December 15th, 2012 | 3:21 pm
To noronha vivian:You are talking in generalities assuming that all Muslims want to do is kill those who do not believe as they do. You are wrong. There is good and bad in all nations and all religions. We refuse to be identified as terrorists any longer. While you rant your stereotypes, I will be busy taking care of my family, being kind to my neighbors, feeding the homeless, visiting the sick and elderly, and making this world a better place with love and patience!
December 15th, 2012 | 5:47 pm
My Jihad is making Atheism respectable in the public square!
December 16th, 2012 | 1:53 pm
First of all, Islam is a religion of tolerance, love, and peace. This is what we expect from our current generation in the transfer and the definition of true Islam to the world and ordinary people. Thank you Jennifer and thank to those who in charge of this campaign.
December 17th, 2012 | 7:02 am
I believe the radicals would want us to jump to conclusions and ignorantly assert that ‘all Muslims are the same’. Its important that we remain objective and balanced, lest we become the devisive tools of radical Islam that those radicals would desire us to be.
December 17th, 2012 | 12:40 pm
One thing we do know: The prophet of Islam, Muhammad, didn’t practice the religion these nice people are preaching.
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