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Jihad was a concept used by Muslims under Muhammad's(PBUH) rule to justify the expansion of an Islamic empire and war against non-Muslims by excusing it as their struggle supported by God.
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I'll take the guess that you are talking about the
military jihad here.
Jihad has always been translated as "holy war" but in a purely linguistic sense, the word " jihad" means struggling or striving.
Now,there are rules for jihad and not everyone can go to the microphone and impose jihad:
-->If military jihad is required to protect the faith against others, it can be performed using anything from legal, diplomatic and economic to political means. If there is no peaceful alternative, Islam also allows the use of force, but
there are strict rules of engagement. Innocents - such as women, children, or invalids - must never be harmed, and any peaceful overtures from the enemy must be accepted.
-->Military action is therefore only one means of jihad,
and is very rare(is rare because seriously no one is doing it right now. To highlight this point, the Prophet Mohammed(PBUH) told his followers returning from a military campaign:
"This day we have returned from the minor jihad to the major jihad," which he said meant
returning from armed battle to the peaceful battle for self-control and betterment.
-->In case military action appears necessary,
not everyone can declare jihad. The religious military campaign has to be
declared by a proper authority, advised by scholars(right now it had to be the government of a Muslim country), who say the religion and people are under threat and
violence is imperative to defend them. The concept of "just war" is very important.
-->The concept of jihad has been hijacked by many political and religious groups over the ages in a bid to justify various forms of violence. In most cases, Islamic splinter groups invoked jihad to fight against the established Islamic order.
Jihad is not a violent concept.Jihad is not a declaration of war against other religions. It is worth noting that the Quran specifically refers to Jews and Christians as "people of the book" who should be protected and respected. All three faiths worship the same God. Allah is just the Arabic word for God, and is used by Christian Arabs as well as Muslims.