Javeed Akhter

Javeed Akhter is executive director of the International Strategy and Policy Institute, an organization that publishes books and conducts public discussions on issues relating to Islam in America. He is also the author of The Seven Phases of the Prophet Muhammad’s Life. In the following viewpoint, he defends Islam from charges that it endorses violence against non-Muslims. In particular, he argues against the concept of Islamic jihad as a “holy war” waged to kill all infidels. The concept of jihad, he argues, can be used to justify defensive and disciplined warfare, but its greater meaning is to struggle with one’s inner self to achieve spiritual goals. The concept of “holy war” is foreign to Islam, he concludes.

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