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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Critique of the Use of Suicide Bombings in Islamic Jihad 1.2. The Modern Conception With some Muslims and almost all non-Muslims jihad is now viewed as nothing more than a “holy war”. Numerous Muslim authors have written books on jihad without any reference to jihad exclusive of fighting[^19] and a number of Muslims believe that to carry out jihad means to fight and fight only.

Other scholars believe that though jihad means struggle at all levels, the highest of those levels is the cuffing of necks[^20] . On the one hand, the western nations view Muslims, Islam and jihad as solely a philosophy of aggression sanctioned by the holy books of Islam.

Different scholars, both secular and of other religions have advanced views about what, in their estimation, Islamic jihad is and use some verses of the Qur’an which prescribe fighting and some hadiths of the SAW to justify their views.

They extol that Islam has been and continues to be a religion that recommends and commends aggression for does Allah SWT not command “fight those who have not faith in God and in the hereafter and who forbid not what God and his Prophet have forbidden and who are not committed to the religion of truth”[^21] and the Prophet SAW is also reported to have said “the doors of heaven are under the shade of swords”.

To contradict this erroneous supposition, some contemporary Muslim writers have taken on the opposite end of the spectrum and seek to ascribe to jihad a defensive nature only. That war is fought only in defense against aggression. There is no doubt that the defense of a home land populated by Muslims may mean the defense of the Islamic faith as only when the homeland is secure can Muslims in it ensure the full implementation of the Islamic way of life.

But is obvious that they have forgotten -or are not even aware- that the ultimate aim of jihad is the establishment and implementation of an Islamic way of life. There is failure, both among the Muslims who hold these views and the non-Muslims to understand that warfare as jihad is only a minor component of the broader concept of jihad.

It is no surprise, therefore, that the United States Department of defense defines jihad as a “holy war” and “refers to the use of violence including against persons, property, and governments deemed to be enemies of a fundamentalist version of Islam”. The modem non-Muslim world sees jihad as nothing more than a terrorist agenda with religious backing.