In today’s world, the sacred concept of jihad in Islam a principle grounded in explicit religious rulings, ethical boundaries, and noble objectives faces unprecedented distortion at the hands of extremist groups such as ISIS and the Taliban. Jihad, in its true form, is a path devoted to the protection of religion, the safeguarding of life and human dignity, and the pursuit of justice. Yet, these organizations have deliberately warped this elevated concept, using it to justify acts of violence, terror, and destruction.
Contrary to the claims of these groups, what they perpetrate is not jihad but a stark deviation from Islamic teachings, thinly veiled in religious rhetoric. Within Islamic law, jihad is tightly regulated, confined to legitimate purposes, and conducted under lawful leadership. It never permits the killing of innocents, the declaration of Muslims as unbelievers, or the dismantling of societies acts that ISIS and the Taliban have repeatedly carried out while falsely branding them as jihad.
Both ISIS and the Taliban have weaponized religious language to further political and ideological agendas, divorcing their actions from the ethical, rational, and moral framework demanded by Sharia. Many of their members, often unaware of the depth of this deviation, cherry-pick Qur’anic verses and Prophetic sayings to support a literalist and extremist interpretation of Islam that has no legitimate grounding.
The global community must recognize that the brutality, terrorism, and atrocities committed by these groups resulting in the deaths of women, children, and the elderly have absolutely no basis in Islam. These acts are in direct opposition to its teachings. Islamic scholars around the world must condemn these crimes, and decisive measures must be taken to halt the spread of such violent extremism.
At the heart of the ISIS and Taliban problem lies a corruption of belief and a deviation in methodology. These groups practice takfir indiscriminately, labeling millions of Muslims as unbelievers, including highly respected scholars. They have declared Muslim blood lawful with alarming ease, targeting their fellow believers in acts grotesquely described as jihad.
The behavior of these extremists mirrors that of the Khawarij, a sect from the earliest period of Islam condemned by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as deviants who strayed from the path of truth. ISIS and Taliban actions have led not only to mass death, displacement, and suffering but have also severely tarnished Islam’s global image and exacerbated divisions within the Muslim world.
By exploiting the revered name of jihad, these groups have committed one of the most profound betrayals against the religion of Islam. True jihad exists only within the legal, moral, and spiritual framework of Sharia not within extremism, takfir, and the slaughter of innocents. The promotion of authentic religious knowledge and a return to balanced, genuine understanding of Islam is the only effective path for confronting these dangerous and deviant movements.
