OF WORDS AND MEN - JIHAD

    Welcome to another blog in my series on words and meanings. I am looking at words that have loaded interpretations and high impact. In the first publication I look at the word agreement and how it is applied, interpreted, and layered. You might think that I am using words specific to one region but in my defence I want to point out that the selected words I write on are to help find a perspective on what is happening around us today. 

A Muslim woman walks up to the Israeli soldiers and starts shooting, May 2021

I think that everything to do with the Middle East (ME) is contextual, rich in layers and has multiple meanings. It makes for good discussion, provides me with specific examples to draw from, and as you will see the ME issues are no longer contained within one region. 

I want to stress that I do not get into religion and I say this specifically for those of you who may be allergic to God or belief systems. I do explain the application and meanings of the words. But you will see that religion is a motivator to many conflicts and acts of terrorism. It is difficult to navigate around the issue without it. 

On that note I remind you to avoid imposing your modern language and values when examining these words. The words chosen are the ones that we hear about and will be hearing more off.  Jihad, is one in particular that I do not like. You will understand why soon. In this blog I will try to keep it simple, it is not a thesis:

• Issues in understanding Jihad
• Types of Jihad
• How Jihad is applied 

ISSUES IN UNDERSTANDING JIHAD

Jihad is a word that is quite popular and used in action as much as in iteration.   The meaning of Jihad is effort and some translate it to be exerted effort, to spread Islam and make the Islamic god to be superior to anyone else's. The jihad is for all those practising Islam. Arab and Muslim, have to take part in it. 

I have done my research into it and can tell you that there is much variation in how Muslims explain it to non-Muslims and how it is actually applied. One consistency is that it is about spreading the faith and it is about seeking what is perceived as justice. But even in this it gets muddy. Because based on what I found out about how agreements are done I have trouble in seeing how the justice fits in.

I have heard about jihad of the sword. I have heard about it on the news for what seems like my whole life. I could not marry what I am told, with what I hear on the news. In terms of the Israel-Palestine situation and the Nigerian situation, I find the simple explanations cannot hold. 

There are many explanations that point to radical Islam misinterpreting the teaching. But how can there be religious groups using and claiming acts of terrorism like Hezbollah, Hamas and all the other factions in Palestine? Why are such groups drawn to Islam? If it is a misinterpretation then there should be a clear condemnation and a united Islamic front against terrorism. It seems as though it is tolerated.

In the past, the Muslim nations would rally their troops together for the Palestinian cause. In May 2021, the reaction was different. What brought on the difference? The same groups are there in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and have cells in USA and UK etc. Some say that Jihad of the sword is only an option after other efforts have been tried. But it is still an option is it not? Yasser Arafat often said all options are on the table.

If it is in seeking justice then it cannot be an offensive measure. It has to be reactionary. Yet, defining it as such is further complicated because there are about four levels to react to or defend against:

• acts against individual cell group activities
• acts against religious/ nation leaders
• acts against religious militia groups
• attacks on the faith

Leader of Iran on his Twitter account in Persian language where he calls for a revenge to the death of Qasem Soleimani. On this photo President Trump plays golf and a shadow of a drone is above. This is a threat.

How can they continue with acts of violence towards Muslims and non-Muslims under the patronage of Islamic leaders e.g. Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)? If this was any other religion or situation what would be the questions you ask? 

I once spoke with a lecturer from Pakistan. Sorry I cannot reveal the name. He explained that Pakistan had hired mercenaries to fight for them and defend them. But when they were expected to leave they did not. They stayed and started controlling everything. I think this is what has happened with this word jihad. 

I will make you a deal. I am going to explain jihad to you as I understand it and have verified it from research. 

TYPES OF JIHAD

Muslims and Arabs who do not participate in the effort go to a very damnable hell. Those other religions who do not accept their god as superior will be dealt with. There are different types of Jihad used to accomplish this: 

• immigration
• education
• media
• economic
• prayer
• expanding family to fight

For the purpose of this blog I will look at the jihad using media and jihad expanding the family. I am looking at the application. Communication experts will tell you that it is only about 5-3 % about what is said. It is really what is not said, how it is received, interpreted and how it is said.

HOW JIHAD IS APPLIED

JIHAD USING MEDIA

In the media jihad is to make an effort to spread information needed to make the perceived enemies disliked or unpopular. It is known as jihad of the word or jihad al-kamal. Jihad has become modernised. They even teach Media and Politics in some mosques to help this effort along. So far I have seen it presented in several ways. 

Philistine word correction

Due to digitisation, the effort is to replace the name, Philistine with Palestine. It causes confusion just enough to create a doubt. Although it was the Romans who changed the name of Judea to Syria-Palestina or Palestine, it has led to even the Bible being printed with maps showing the land as belonging to Palestine. 

Few people will stop to read the fine print in the Bible map that says since the time of Christ. It has led to many thinking that Palestine was not Jewish, but it actually was. This is explained as Hadrian's Curse in Nation Branding - The Brand Positioning Statement .

By refusing to acknowledge any other name for the space they are able to legally include and maintain the name. This is something the Jews had to accept when Israel became recognised as a nation.  All documentation will recognise the name and tie it to the land. The impression given to the rest of the world is that Palestine belonged to Arabs and not Jews. This was a second time in which this was being done since 135CE.

Manipulation of algorithms

In 2014, three Israeli teens were kidnapped and murdered, a lot of false information were circulated on social media. This type of exposure on the media was seen again in 2017 and in 2021. In their effort the algorithm is manipulated to populate social media with false claims. They do it from all over the world due to mass immigration.

By doing this they spread what is known as a propaganda and create a trend. By the time the truth catches up the damage is done. When caught and exposed, phase two starts. They make claims of Islamophobia, and rally for diversity.

You can read more here, Palestine and Israel - A Case Study in Marketing and Propaganda.

False Claims

Jihad of the word, dictates that these types of messages are used to spread lies and deceptions about Israel. It is done deliberately to play on emotions to create an immediate reaction like an emotional hijack. An example of this is when Mike Tyson bit the ear of Evander Holyfield (June 28, 1997). Here are three types of statements used on social media against Israel:

• Israel is starving Palestinians, like apartheid
• Israel killing women and children
• Israel is Nazi 

The relationship that Palestinians have with Hitler goes back decades, and is proof in itself of how Jews have had to defend their right of existence. 

Israel is starving Palestinians. I am aware of the claims that the people in Gaza are treated unfairly. It is difficult to bring in specific items that are listed by the United Nations which can be used for terrorist activities. This is not just Israel monitoring and it is not applicable only to Gaza. 

Here is an interview that counters the claims made during the war in May. The head of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency in Gaza (UNRWA) says there was never any shortage of water, food or medications in Gaza throughout the entire 11 days of the military operation. He complimented the Israeli strikes for sophistication in targeting terrorists and not civilians. May 25, 2021

This man has since been removed. His life was threatened. The many protestors against him came from UNRWA. Palestinians who worked for UNRWA. More than 23,000 of them worked for the UNRWA. They even use the schools to house missiles. The largest employer in Palestine is the UNRWA which was created only for Palestinians. The requisite for refugees was time immemorial but this was changed to two years so the Palestinians could be called refugees then they created the UNRWA.

They can bring in materials and supplies from Egypt. They usually do, anyway. I am not going to pet a guard dog every time it tries to bite me. Would you? The reality is that rockets are fired on civilians in Israel from Gaza. There were 312 miles of tunnels that made up an underground metro. Vehicles were driven through them! Despite all the monitoring this was still accomplished. Imagine if they had focused on building the economy for the people. 

Here is an example of how ridiculous it can be. How will they monitor the calories? Who is doing the monitoring? What is the name of the policy referred to? Yet, they are healthy enough to dig tunnels and able to bring into Palestine missiles, explosives, guns, drones etc. On the issue of apartheid I will only touch on it but more will be said in another blog soon. 

Israel is killing babies. I will not bother to talk about the women who walk up to Israelis and open fire on them or the many suicide bombers killing women and children. But the claim that Israel is killing children is very popular. This was used in 2014 and again in 2021. 

In fact some of the same photos were used both times. Some of the photos of the children and families supposedly affected or rather killed were taken in Syria, and Iran not Gaza. You can read more about Israel killing babies on Israel and Palestine On Screens. 

Russian child still alive but said to be dead in Gaza 2021

Israel is Nazi. The relationship that Palestinians have with Hitler goes back decades, and is proof in itself of how Jews have had to defend their right of existence. This statement is part of  a claim that Israel is lying about the holocaust. Maybe the Germans who are so good at records are hallucinating. But this is a magician's trick. By making this statement they are able to distract from the use of nazism against others.

Join Media and Politics

They get into politics to create policy that works to the advantage of the cause. They get involved in civil society and they lobby. But this can be considered as part of Jihad in economics. Let us focus on the media aspect. 

Here is a BBC Reporter in 2020, using one of the propaganda statements. By claiming Hitler was right she was identifying with nazism. Logically, if Israel was worse than Nazis there would be more than the recorded six million and it would be from policy and as a continuous large scale effort.

BBC Reporter posted this   

What was Hitler right about? The inference is that Jews needed to be killed. There are Irresponsible people of influence, in the media and in position who are trusted. She has since been fired and deserved to be. These statements are fed by the deception that the invaders or Philistines are the same as the tunnel burrowing Palestinians. 

Joining media and politics is more subtle. It is corrosion on the guard dog of democracy. They would write articles that would try to discredit or question anything that supports Israel. They would write about issues and provide some evidence to give the article credibility but make statements that are Pro-Palestine and make it sound like facts. It is an abuse of authority. When a journalist writes an article or report it is expected to be based on facts.

Jihad of the word works as propaganda. This is fully explained along with the  significance of Hitler in the Palestine situation in Palestine and Israel - A Case Study in Marketing and Propaganda. The emotionalism generated by misinformation, fake media, and false claims starts a tide of anti-semitism all over the world. 

There have been increased incidents of anti-semitism over the years in France and Germany and other parts of Europe. It has raised eyebrows in New York in 2021. It is similar to pogroms and lynching mobs in Texas during the days of slavery. A wave is deliberately created. These are all marketing campaigns with industry principles put into effect.

 

Even though it is understood as a hate crime and an arrest was made, the man held for the crime was later freed. The Jew who was beaten remained in hospital after passing out. 




This is what anti-semitism looks like in London (May 23, 2021)

JIHAD USING FAMILIES

Fourth Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir once said that there can only be peace when Arabs love their children more than they hate Jews.  Mosab Hassan Yousef son of a founding member of Hamas gave an interview to echo similar sentiments. Families are encouraged to expand to further the cause. This is what jihad of extending families is about. I can describe four ways in which it is applied.

Families expand to fight for the cause when needed. This way families from Syria, Lebanon and Algeria can come to Palestine and claim the citizenship of Palestine with the expectation that they will fight for the spread of Islam. In this case it would be the wiping out of Israel. We will discuss this in another blog.

They provide body count to say Israel is disproportionate. In 2014 claims were made about the children and families being killed but when a ceasefire was suggested Hamas refused. This delay cost Hamas hundreds more lives. This way they can claim that Israel is disproportionate or unfair. They can work on the emotions of global community in the many lives lost and how much it means to them.

 

In the line up of bodies supposedly of those killed by Israeli soldiers, 

there are people who are alive. (May 24, 2021).

Body count at their own hands. Israel has records proving that the amount of dead in Gaza in the 2021 war, are mostly killed by Hamas's own hands. In one case an entire family was killed. If Arabs loved their children enough they would be more careful in firing rockets I think. They do this to achieve a second goal which is to claim that Israel has more sophisticated weapons and that they should be allowed to get more.  

 

Palestinians gather around a Hamas missile that landed in their village by mistake instead of in Israel

The people are used as human shields and to add body count. Literally! This understanding took on new meaning when it was realised that military personnel and units were being set up within civilian homes, buildings used for industry, commerce, and media. I discuss this some more in another blog but before you read that take a look at this video. What role would these children be playing?

 

June 4th 2021, Hamas is recruiting in a mosque in Gaza to all ages, because every Muslim is expected to take part in the effort.

Jihad is a very controversial word. I am sure I will see and hear many more interpretations of it. While there are those who say that there are more Muslims who do not participate in Jihad and see it as Islamic radicalism there are many who do it in different ways who go unnoticed. 

Warfare is no longer simply fought on the battlefields or fought between armies, it is now psychological and virtual. I find Golda Meir's statement to be true. The coordination seen in how the media is used is proof for me that there is a Jihad using the media. The amount of missed fired missiles from Hamas landing in Gaza followed by claims that Israel killed civilians tells me there is a Jihad for body count.  

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Sources:

https://youtu.be/ZdBLImBTRQg
https://beholdisrael.org
Harvard Review; Yasser Arafat's 1994 speech
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/what-does-jihad-really-mean-to-muslims

You can read:

Palestine and Israel - A Case Study in Marketing and Propaganda
Leadership in a Post Modern World
Heavy Hand of Time 
Propaganda and Marketing 
Branding A Face
Israel and Palestine On Screens
Nation Branding - The Brand Positioning Statement 
Of Words and Men - A Look At Words and Meaning