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Iran's green jihad
By Melody Moezzi
author and attorney
I like to fancy myself a jihadist. Not in the false, hackneyed and mistranslated sense of the word, but rather, in its truest sense.
If jihad means "holy war," then my name means "the running of nails down a chalkboard." Sure, some people, even some musicians, would call such screeching a "melody." Most of us, however, would have the good sense to call it what it really is: a cacophony, at best.
Likewise, some Muslims believe that a jihad is a violent, literal war between peoples, sanctioned by God. Most of the more than 1 billion Muslims on our planet, however, are far from convinced.
To wage a true jihad is to "strive" or "struggle" in the way of God, using the most peaceful methods available. This means, foremost, striving to improve your soul, not your earthly circumstance. This internal struggle for righteousness is known as the "greater jihad." Any effort to change something outside oneself is part of the "lesser jihad," which centers on the struggle to achieve worldly justice.
While these two jihads represent two very distinct concepts, there are many places where they intersect, places where striving for earthly justice promotes a more virtuous soul, and vice versa. In the words of the Prophet Muhammad, "The greatest jihad is speaking truth in the face of an unjust ruler." Islam permits violence only as a last resort and in self-defense, and it is by far the lowest expression of jihad.
A true jihadist strives for peace and justice; a true jihadist never starts a fight, and a true jihadist defends herself and her people from oppression in the best way she knows how.
Sojourner Truth, Mohandas Gandhi and Malcolm X would all be considered jihadists. As would José Martí, Aung San Suu Kyi, Martin Luther King, Simon Wiesenthal, Patrice Lumumba and Nelson Mandela. As would Shirin Ebadi, Mehdi Karroubi and millions of nameless Iranians who are risking their lives today in the fight for a free Iran tomorrow.
Countless Iranians have taken to the streets to speak truth in the face of their unjust rulers since the highly-disputed June presidential election, after which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed victory with the blessing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. These pro-democracy demonstrators are the founders of Iran's "Green Movement," and whether they know it or not, they are model jihadists. In the face of bullets, teargas, batons and water-hoses, they are fighting for the freedom of their souls and the freedom of their people.
In spite of the government warnings, illegal detentions and even executions of "rioters" who the regime has charged with being "enemies of God," the Iranian "Greens" are still refusing to back down. And to their credit, they are doing so in a largely non-violent and highly Islamic way. Considering any Islamic influence on the Green Movement is thus a valuable and necessary endeavor, even with many Iranians, particularly those in the younger generations who constitute over 70 percent of the population, growing increasingly disenchanted with religion.
Iran is still a highly Muslim country. Over 90% of its people identify as Muslim, even if only nominally or culturally. As such, the potentially positive impact that Islam may have on the Green Movement should neither be ignored nor underestimated.
It is not an easy task to maintain faith in Islam while living under a regime that incessantly misrepresents it and violates its most basic principles. The Iranian regime's commitment to exploiting Islam for political gain, along with the regime's blatant civil rights violations, have done more than destroy any legitimate claim it may have ever had to Islam. These actions have undermined any valid claims it may have had to representative democracy as well.
Many within the Green Movement are now calling for a secular state, yet many of those same people are simultaneously using Islam to do so. And this paradox may very well be the movement's most brilliant tactic to date.
Even if it's entirely subconscious, the Green Movement is still a perfect illustration of what jihad ought to look, sound and feel like. The movement is an inspiration to aspiring jihadists all over the world, including myself. It has blessed us with an extraordinary opportunity to reclaim and reframe the meaning of jihad for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. To let this opportunity pass us by would be both a shame and a disservice to the cause of freedom and democracy.
Melody Moezzi is an Iranian-American author, attorney and activist.
By Melody Moezzi |
February 19, 2010; 10:03 AM ET
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Posted by: khazelton | February 20, 2010 5:19 PM
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"Slay the infidels wherever ye find them" Is not that in quran, does not quran insult all Jews?....
Almost all Muslim nations are extremely intolerant and even insult non-Muslims by calling themsleves Islamic republics? Is that intolerance extreme or mainstream? Which other religion produces so many acts of suicide/homicide bombings every day?
Posted by: udayarah | February 19, 2010 11:49 PM
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It was great to read your intrepid article on jihâd. My conclusion from studying this topic, in fact, leads me to think that the theologians invented the "lesser" jihâd to make it easier to provoke the masses to go to war. The Qur'ân never, ever links jihâd with fighting, slaying, or warfare. Of the 122 âyât containing a form of q-t-l (which gives us fighting or slaying, depending on the form), and the six that contain a form of H-r-b in the sense of war, none of them mentions any form of j-h-d (which we ought to translate as virtuous striving) at all. In fact, the one âyah (25:52) that teaches the faithful to strive (jâhid) against the kâfirûn (those who were trying to suppress the early movement) reveals exactly how to do it: bihî (with "it," i.e., the Qur'ân).
It seems very important for some people to perpetuate the myth that jihâd is warfare. That Muslims are obligated to defend their own and other oppressed communities by way of armed resistance is undeniable, but (at the risk of angering those traditionalists who shrink away at the thought of actually reading the Qur'ân to study what it says), it is not jihâd. It is just armed defense.
Jihâd is the path to taqwâ. It demands the deepest courage to accept that one's cause and the possibility that future people may live better in exchange for one's ultimate sacrifice are worth it. It is far and away greater than sacrifice in battle and is in a distinct category, hence the use of this uniquely powerful term in the Qur'ân. When opponents wage war, they both believe they are right: That is striving, but it is not jihâd, which admits no such contradiction.
The archetypal picture of jihâd is what is currently occurring in Iran. People of the most unfathomable courage confront a great force that seeks to suppress the movement. There is no difference between today's and yesterday's bases for jihâd. The Qur'ân is unchanging in its guidance for confronting the kâfirûn, in the circumstances of today as well as the past: Jâhidhum bihî jihâdan kabîran. "With a great virtuous striving."
Posted by: muhafidh19 | February 19, 2010 9:48 PM
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The only solution to the Muslim community's green woes is to first delete all the offensive passages in the Koran i.e. those passages that call for world and female domination (to include Melody Moezzi) by Muslim males. Then we can talk about the Three R's in Iran, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!!!
Posted by: YEAL9 | February 19, 2010 6:46 PM
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This is not reflect the correct meaning of Jihad, this is the version that writer tries to say that may attract western reader. However green movement tries to improve stitaution in Iran but it does not have clear leadership nor a proper organisation. Current Leaders who live insdie Iran do not have organised parties that help victim and give clear vision of next political system. The supporter of green movement are not businessmen, nor workers and government clerks. there is not even single strike to support the green movement. There is no direction towards any strike or organsing people for doing this inside Iran.
this fact that part of the opposition who are based in western countries or Iraq, wanted to see that the current protest is the begining of the end, but there is no facts support this.
The writer ia failing to give us the realsitic of both Jihad and green movement.
I wish to see better translation of current Iran in terms to analyse the strengh and waeknesess and analyse the options available to green.
Lack of co-operation between opposition who are based out of Iran is very disappionting factor. lack of interaction between inside and outside Iran, lack of shared vision among opposition and lack of organised acitvities inside Iran demonstrate that there is no chagne in Iran soon unfortunately.
Posted by: Masoud1 | February 19, 2010 6:38 PM
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The comments to this entry are closed.
The voice of mainstream Islam speaks in this article. It is unfortunate that it is still an unfamiliar voice to most of us.
Most world religions have at one time or another given rise to loud and rage-fueled extremist minorities. That minority is often incited and directed by an irreligious elite with their own agenda to promote. The Torah, the Qur'an and the Bible all have passages that can be twisted into sanctions for anti-human acts, into sanctions for tyranny and oppression.
Our task is to speak the greater truths inherent in our religious traditions and to reclaim those religions in the name of humanity and tolerance. We need more voices like Ms. Moezzi's: It is our own voice, unfamiliar only through disuse.