jihad

4 definitions • 4 examples

in Islam, a religious struggle against evil in yourself or in society:

"Jihad of the hand" means the struggle to put faith into action by doing good deeds.

used to refer to war or terrorism (= violent action for political purposes) carried out by some Muslim extremists (= those who have beliefs that most people, including most Muslims, think are unreasonable and unacceptable) against people who they believe are a threat to their religion:

He was expelled from the mosque for preaching violent jihad.

He was forced to flee the country because of his public views on supporting terrorism and jihad.

an extreme struggle against someone or something that you believe is wrong or bad:

He claimed that the government had "mounted a jihad against the environment" by giving more power to polluting industries.

an often violent effort by some Muslim people to defend their religion against those who they believe want to destroy it