Jihad: Holy War or Personal Struggle?

Does the Islamic term “jihad” mean “personal struggle” or does it, as many Americans believe, mean “holy war?”

In this excellent clip and story from the New York Times, Ahmed Rehab, a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, promotes a non-violent definition of the term, calling it simply a “personal struggle.”  He and the Council started an ad campaign promoting that view. For example, posters on buses show young Muslims pursing simple jihads like exercise.

That campaign  infuriates Pamela Geller, director of the pro-Israel group American Freedom Defense Initiative, who defines “jihad” as a holy war. She calls the Council of American-Islamic Relations’ ad campaign “fallacious” and “bogus.”

Gellar started a new ad campaign to combat the Council’s with images on buses in Washington and New York.