The true concept of jihad is self reformation

Source: theobserver.ca | By Tyler Kula, Sarnia Observer

If you want to go:

WHAT: Holy Qur’an Open House
WHEN: March 21, noon to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Sarnia Public Library

One of the most misunderstood words in Islam is jihad, says an imam with a sect that is organizing an information open house about the religion in Sarnia.

“The true concept of jihad is self reformation,” said Umar Akbar, a Brampton-based imam with Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

“A lot of people don’t understand that.”

The word is directly translated as “struggle,” he said. Some interpret that as war, but the Qur’an, he said, suggests the true meaning is a struggle against one’s own desires.

Misconceptions about the word, and the actions of terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda and Islamic State in Syria (ISIS), have led to an Islamaphobia in western countries, Akbar said, that the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and its youth association are trying to combat.

“We really stand against all these various groups that we believe are perverting or misconstruing the teachings of Islam for their own personal gain,” he said.

A national 33-city Holy Qur’an Open House campaign is stopping at the Sarnia public library on Saturday.

“The purpose of these events is to dispel myths and open up dialogue,” said Akbar, noting the campaign has already been formally going on for about two months, spurred on in part by incidents like Qur’an burnings in the United States.

“This is our response,” Akbar said.

The open houses include exhibitions about the Qur’an, and opportunities to ask questions about its teachings.

“Most people are very interested in just learning more,” Akbar said.

The open house in Sarnia is focused on what the Qur’an teaches about freedom of speech and blasphemy, a statement from Ahmadiyya Muslim Community executive director Noman Khalil says.

“With the recent terrorist acts of extremist groups, such as ISIS and Al-Qaida, who have launched terrorist attacks on Canada’s Parliament Hill and France’s Magazine Charlie Hebdo through recruitment and radicalization, it has become very important to condemn terrorism and dispel misconceptions about Islam,” he said.