Jihad is an Arabic word which literally means striving or struggling, especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with God's guidance, such as struggle against one's evil inclinations, religious proselytizing, or efforts toward the moral betterment of the ummah, though it is most frequently associated with war. In classical Islamic law, the term refers to armed struggle against unbelievers, while modernist Islamic scholars generally equate military jihad with defensive warfare. In Sufi and pious circles, spiritual and moral jihad has been traditionally emphasized under the name of greater jihad. The term has gained additional attention in recent decades through its use by terrorist groups.
Robert Bruce Spencer is an American author and blogger and a key figure of the "counter-jihad" movement in the United States. He appears frequently on Fox News and has given seminars to various law enforcement units in the United States.
Bundu was a state in Africa, later a French protectorate dependent on the colony of Senegal. It lay between the Falémé River and the upper course of the Gambia River, that is between 13 and 15 N., and 12 and 13 W.
The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian Government and various Islamic rebel groups which began in 1991 following a coup negating an Islamist electoral victory. The war began slowly as it first appeared the government had successfully crushed the Islamist movement, but armed groups emerged to fight jihad and by 1994, violence had reached such a level that it appeared the government might not be able to withstand it. By 1996–97 however it became clear that the violence and predation of the Islamists had lost its popular support, although fighting continued for several years after.
Amadu II of Massina, also called Amadu Seku, was the second Almami, or ruler, of the theocratic Massina Empire or Diina of Hamdullahi in what is now Mali. He held this position from 1845 until his death in 1853. His rule was a short period of relative peace and prosperity between the violent reigns of his father and his son.
The Wolof people are a West African ethnic group found in northwestern Senegal, The Gambia and southwestern coastal Mauritania. In Senegal, the Wolof are the largest ethnic group (~39%), while elsewhere they are a minority. They refer to themselves as Wolof and speak the Wolof language – a West Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo family of languages.
Ibrahim Sori was a leader of the Imamate of Futa Jallon in what is now Guinea in West Africa from around 1751 to 1784.
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion teaching that there is only one God, and that Muhammad is the messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or 24% of the world's population, most commonly known as Muslims. Muslims make up a majority of the population in 50 countries. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and has guided humankind through prophets, revealed scriptures and natural signs. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the verbatim word of God, and the teachings and normative examples of Muhammad.
The Imamate of Futa Toro (1776-1861) was a West African theocratic state of the Fula-speaking people centered on the middle valley of the Senegal River. The region is known as Futa Toro.
The Imamate of Futa Jallon or Jalon was a West African theocratic state based in the Fouta Djallon highlands of modern Guinea. The state was founded around 1727 by a Fulani jihad and became part of the French Third Republic's colonial empire in 1896.
The term "Jihadism" is a 21st-century neologism found in Western languages to describe Islamist militant movements perceived as military movements "rooted in Islam" and "existentially threatening" to the West. It has been described as a "difficult term to define precisely", because it remains a recent neologism with no single, generally accepted meaning. The term "jihadism" first appeared in South Asian media; Western journalists adopted it in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks of 2001. It has since been applied to various insurgent and terrorist movements whose ideology is based on the notion of jihad.
A suicide attack is any violent attack in which the attacker accepts his own death as a direct result of the method used to harm, damage or destroy the target. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout history, often as part of a military campaign such as the Japanese kamikaze pilots of World War II, and more recently as part of terrorist campaigns, such as the September 11 attacks.
Achmad Hasyim Muzadi was an Indonesian Islamic scholar, cleric, and the fourth Chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, from 1999 to 2010. He was the founder and director of the Al-Hikam Islamic boarding school. He was the running mate of Megawati Sukarnoputri in Indonesia's 2004 presidential election, but the ticket lost the election in a runoff. He was a member of Indonesia's Presidential Advisory Board from 2015 until his death. He was a proponent of moderate Islam, which he defined as being neither radical nor liberal, criticizing both Islamic fundamentalism and liberal Islam.
The Jakhanke people are a Manding-speaking ethnic group in the Senegambia region, often classified as a subgroup of the larger Soninke. The Jakhanke have historically constituted a specialized caste of professional Muslim clerics (ulema) and educators. They are centered on one larger group in Guinea, with smaller populations in the Gambia, Senegal, and in Mali. In Guinea and nearby regions, they speak a Manding language called Jahanke, very similar to Western Malinke.
Mainstream Islamic law stipulates detailed regulations for the use of violence, including the use of violence within the family or household, the use of corporal and capital punishment, as well as how, when and against whom to wage war.
From the time of the Muhammad, the final prophet of Islam, many Muslim states and empires have been involved in warfare. The concept of jihad, the religious duty to struggle, has long been associated with struggles for promoting a religion, although many observers refer to such struggle as "the lesser jihad" by comparison with inner spiritual striving. Islamic jurisprudence on war differentiates between illegitimate and legitimate warfare and prescribes proper and improper conduct by combatants. Numerous armed anticolonial military campaigns were waged as jihads.
Talansan was the location of a battle in Futa Jallon, in what is now Guinea, in which Muslim forces were victorious. The battle was a key event in the jihad in which the Imamate of Futa Jallon was created.
The Zawaya are tribes in the southern Sahara who have traditionally followed a deeply religious way of life. They accepted a subordinate position to the warrior tribes, whether Arab or Berber, who had little interest in Islam. The Zawaya introduced Sufi brotherhoods to the black populations south of the Sahara. The jihad movements of the Fula people in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have their origins with the Zawaya. Today the Zawaya are one of the two noble castes of Mauritania.
The Torodbe were Muslim clerics who were active in the Western Sudan region of Africa from the 17th century. Their teachings in part inspired the series of jihads that the Fulbe launched at that time.
