The Pros And Cons Of Jihad

It was told that any Crusader would be rewarded a place in heaven, and forgiven their sins. The Crusades involved not only knights and warriors, but also commoners of both genders. Helping the Byzantine emperor Alexios meant protecting the citizens of Constantinople from falling under Muslim rule. Jihad, often thought of as a synonym for terrorism - recurrently thought of as acting in the name of Allah, means an internal moral struggle. Like a Jihad, the Crusades were postulant expeditions in the name of God, to protect the Holy Land from the Arab Muslims.

The Muslims also used propaganda to encourage their followers to rise up and reclaim the land that was taken from them in the First Crusade. They too used religious leaders and artists to promote their cause. With the wound from the First Crusade still being fresh, the Muslim people were enraged enough to join forces and reclaim the Holy Land for themselves. One of the driving factors behind the Crusades was that this would be a religious cleansing for Christianity. They set out to either convert or rid the world of nonbelievers.

Conflicting theories have suggested that, “…religion has often been a divisive force that promotes in-group loyalty and out-group derogation. That is, religion can foster an “us versus them” mentality that often escalates into sectarian violence and extremism. Jensen has argued that religious cosmologies based on the belief in a cosmic struggle between good and evil forces, such as God and the Devil, Heaven and Hell, facilitate lethal violence by promoting intolerance and a disinclination to negotiate or compromise.” Throughout history people have prosecuted and been prosecuted in the name of religion. Believing in Heaven and Hell becomes ridicules when the preachers of religion are hypocrites. If you don’t believe in Hell because of the hypocrisy of religion and religious professors, it renders Hell an ineffective means of righteous

With all of this starting from a peaceful protest and now resulting in a violent and messy war, is it really worth it at this point? Without a doubt, Syria has some huge issues facing their society currently as well as in the future. These issues have continued to be fueled by sectarian conflicts among religions, a divided opposition within the rebel groups, and the foreign interference from countries involved for their own personal interests. One of the biggest issues in Syria is the sectarian

Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, says "Religion is based primarily and mainly upon fear... Fear is the basis of the whole thing – fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death"(Carlisle). Thus, when everything is controlled by religion in the society it would also mean it is controlled by fear. Religion creates an excuse for anything they do and fear of going against what religion is telling people to do makes them very easy to manipulate. Gilead is proof that how people change the religion, Bible in this case, in order for it to fit their narrative and use it to oppress others.

The text is “explaining” what it means to love God; it states one needs to follow, fear, obey, and serve God, as well as keep His commandments. The text also explains how the consequences of sinners should be carried out; it states they should be “put to death”, “stoned to death”, and to put the “[sinners] of the town to the sword”.

Nevertheless, whether terrorism has a religion or not is definitely not what I am here to write about. Discrimination in any shape or form should not be tolerated, it must be stopped. Islamophobia has severely increased discrimination in our world; likewise, biased views against not only Muslims but also non-Muslims are becoming a norm nowadays. You might ask how? Well, due to the unbelievable indoctrination of our people through social media and politics, anyone who looks like they are from the Middle East and has a beard, is a terrorist.

A great example of a group like this is terrorist organizations because they typically have different notions of what societies should be working towards, as well as alternative means. Of course, terrorism embodies violence and reform typically in lieu of the then-current political dominance. ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, has a mission of putting in power an individual they deem a religious successor to Muhammad, an entity to unite Muslims worldwide. They seem to want simple change for unity and such, but they advocate for themselves in such a way, using social media and fear tactics to promote their violent acts, such as beheadings, etc. to show that there can only be one victor and that they have the means to perform a coup successfully.

For as long as we have lived, our nation has developed an ideology that we were created to seek revenge and retaliate to those who have wronged us. Although, the act of revenge is not the solution to our problems, we still desire to inflict torment on each and every individual that we feel deserves it. However, this is not the only problem that we face today, America is a multicultural place where people believe in different practices and become prejudice to the diverse religions. In the book, “Strength to Love” written by Martin Luther King Jr., the American religious experience is in the strength to forgive and love one another. As a whole we must be open-minded and accept the differences in cultures we are exposed to with a tough mind and a tender heart.

As the document states, “And fight in God’s cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression [...] And slay them wherever you may come upon them, and drive them away from wherever they drove you away, for oppression is even worse than killing. And fight not against them near the Inviolable House of Worship unless they fight against you there first, bit if they fight against you, slay them: such shall be the recompense of those who deny the truth.” This quotation illustrates that the Quran permits Muslims to wage war against those who may pose a threat or actively engage in warfare against Muslims and their faith. However, it is important to recognize that debate may occur over what constitutes aggression against Islam - as the concept of “jihad of the sword” could be misinterpreted by groups of Muslims who seek to instill unwarranted terror or violence for acts they perceive to be offending against