By Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi
The word “Jihad” is usually translated into English as “Holy War”, and for a long time the connotations have implied “religious mania”. The word “Jihad” conjures up images of wild-eyed, bearded religious fanatics, brandishing swords, attacking the “Infidels” wherever they find them, and forcing them, virtually at knife-point, to recite the Kalimah*. It is as if the artists have drawn a picture with masterly strokes, and inscribed beneath it the legend: “The History of this Nation is a Tale of Bloodshed”.
The irony is that the painters of this picture are none other than our so-called “benefactors” who have themselves been engaged in an extremely unholy war for centuries. They themselves present us with an image of robbers who - armed to the teeth with all manner of deadly weapons, have set upon the world, pillaging it for sources of raw materials, new markets for their trade, and new lands to conquer and colonize - all of which provide fuel for their ever-burning fires of greed. They fight not for the sake of Allah or their religion, but to satisfy their lust and hunger. For them, it has always been sufficient excuse to invade a land if that land is known to contain valuable mines, or if it can be exploited as a market for their manufactured goods, or if some of their surplus population can be settled there.
In the absence of any other excuse, they would even consider it a crime on the part of a country if it happened to exist en route to a country they had already conquered, or which they intended to conquer. Nowadays, it is more subtle: “Democracy” must be upheld, by direct intervention if necessary - except, of course, when the democratic will of the people opts for Islamic rule...!
http://newageislam.com/maulana-maududi-on-jihad-in-islam/radical-islamism-and-jihad/d/1268
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