Dismissing misconceptions of Jihad
By Azlan Othman

Brunei's authorities are among the four Asean countries that are putting out a book clarifying the meaning of Jihad in a bid to dismiss misconceptions surrounding it, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) said on Saturday.

The official organisations overseeing Islamic practices in Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia are determined to spell out the meaning of Jihad once and for all, said the council.

"We want to reach out to the non-Muslims, because the word Jihad has been misused by many irresponsible groups for their own narrow objectives," MUIS president Alami Musa told the Straits Times.

"The book will be published in Malay, Arabic and English to reach a widespread audience. Jihad is commonly used to mean a holy war, but most Muslims understand it to mean struggle or perseverance," Alami said.

"It can mean struggle or striving in one's daily life or efforts to become more spiritual and avoid temptation. The book will be based on presentations made on the subject at the recent senior officials' session at a meeting of religious affairs ministers from the four countries."

"When non-Muslims visit our mosque, many talk about Jihad as if it means just holy war when, in fact, it's broad term with many meanings," Ustaz Azmi Abdul Samad of Kg Siglap mosque.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin