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......Defining Jihad
Since September 11, 2001, there has been endless discussion and debate on the philosophy, propaganda, and the violence that is, or is not, encompassed by the definition of the word jihad. Gerrie Ter Haar and James Busuttil (2005) refer to jihad in terms of a spiritual idea on the material plane, but only under certain circumstances, most notably in defense of self (p 10). In the case of Islam, the defense of self is the defense of Islam, because the devout Muslims life revolves around Islam and the presence of God in their daily lives. Professor Mahmoud Youssef Shawarbi describes God in the life of the Muslim this way:
In summing up I should like to point out that Islam is a complete system of life of a Divine origin which has been very wisely formulated by the almighty God for the benefit of his creatures in this world and in the hereafter (Shawarbi, p 11 of 13).
Reuven Firestone (1999) says that the concept of jihad as a holy war evolved in a way consistent with and linear to historical trends that impacted the life of Muhammad as a prophet in the 7th century Arabia (p vi)

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