Connect with us

Anti-Muslim Bigotry

#MyJihad – The ‘Struggle’ to Reclaim Islam

Published

Residents of Chicago, San Francisco and Washington DC, may have noticed of late that the streets are rife with the call to jihad. No, not a recruitment drive for a blood-thirsty ‘holy war’ that anti-Islam brigades have maliciously associated with the word – rather an interactive, public education campaign aimed at reclaiming the very term and re-attributing it to what it truly represents.

myjihad1

Vibrant posters with the words “My Jihad” alongside smiling, friendly faces and positive messaging plastered across public transport buses, seem to be successfully driving home (pun intended) the message that ‘jihad’ in actuality refers to a concerted effort or struggle, namely by an individual in the path of God.

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

In December of 2012, Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) Chicago, had had just about enough when America’s most vicious Islamophobe smeared the New York and San Francisco subway stations with a fresh wave of incendiary adverts against Islam. Having been on the receiving end of one too many a dose of bigotry, this was the last straw for Rehab.

Too beloved a term to be allowed to be hijacked in this fashion, “My Jihad” was launched with the slogan and intent of, “Taking back Islam from Muslim and anti-Muslim extremists alike,” where both Muslims and non-Muslims are encouraged to contribute their reflections of what this spiritual struggle means to them.

myjihad6

This isn’t merely another short-lived ad campaign. Although sponsoring public ads on buses and trains is one way of contributing, the bulk of interaction and mobilization of support is taking place online.

The modus operandi are many – people are encouraged to rally behind this anti-Islamophobia movement via “My Jihad’s” Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, through self-expression either in the submission of photos, posts and videos, or by just spreading the word. Many have already taken on the cause as their own through individually produced/organized media outlets, documentaries, lectures, workshops and even weekend youth retreats.

myjihad3

Angie Emara, Project Coordinator of the campaign, explains, “This campaign is about reclaiming our faith and its concepts from extremists, both Muslim and anti-Muslim. The goal is to provide a platform on which the mainstream Muslim’s voice is expressed, sharing the true meaning of jihad as we live it daily, as our reality. ‘MyJihad’ is NOT to negate that fighting oppressors is a valid jihad, but this campaign is about shedding light on the other honourable forms of jihad.  The ‘My’ in ‘MyJihad’ is just as important as the ‘Jihad’ because it is sharing what we believe, what we practice, what we live every day.”

Angie was one of Ahmed’s first respondents, and is involved for the sake of her children’s generation, “We’re tired of having to defend ourselves from associations to no acts of our own doing, and that is especially why I joined – to help create and strengthen a platform on which my kids’ generation can live and practice their beliefs freely and not fear being suspect for things just because of their faith.”

myjihad7

The response to this well-intentioned crusade it seems has been none short of overwhelming. For just a little over 2 months into the campaign, the #MyJihad Facebook page is 7,000+ fans strong, has a 1500+ following on Twitter, 160k views on YouTube, and has even been covered on all major local and international news networks including CNN, BBC Arabic, Aljazeera, Washington Post, Huffington Post and NPR, to name a few.

“We’ve received hundreds of messages, Facebook posts, and tweets from people of all faiths saying how they had misunderstood the term jihad and now understand what it truly means,” adds Angie,

“We even have non-Muslims – Jewish and Christian people in various fields of work, completely unrelated to this effort, catching wind of this campaign and using the term jihad for struggle in their staff meetings and college lectures! Now THAT is changing the narrative.”

 

Though probably an even stronger indicator of the campaign’s outreach is the response it has garnered from the likes of Pamela Gellar and other hardcore anti-Islam activists and groups such as the English Defence League, who have since attempted to usurp the intent behind the initiative by linking it up to hate-mongering slogans in tune with their own messaging.  But Angie and the team aren’t fazed, “They refuse to accept what we are representing- which is truly the real Islam. They refuse it because it would destroy them.”

A mere fly in the ointment, for word of “My Jihad” has reached international waters as well, with people from Europe, Asia, Australia, and even the Middle East asking to bring the campaign to their cities.

Short term future plans for “My Jihad” include more US ad launches, and activation of the university and community outreach portion of the campaign. In the long term, the team does have their sights set internationally – including the UK, Turkey, Australia, and Egypt to name a few. Insha’Allah.

 

bestjihad2

To learn more about the “My Jihad” campaign, and how you can support it, visit www.MyJihad.org.

All pictures from www.MyJihad.org

Keep supporting MuslimMatters for the sake of Allah

Alhamdulillah, we're at over 850 supporters. Help us get to 900 supporters this month. All it takes is a small gift from a reader like you to keep us going, for just $2 / month.

The Prophet (SAW) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small. Click here to support MuslimMatters with a monthly donation of $2 per month. Set it and collect blessings from Allah (swt) for the khayr you're supporting without thinking about it.

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. AJ

    March 11, 2013 at 6:25 AM

  2. Sarah Mohamed

    March 11, 2013 at 2:43 PM

    I love this initiative! I think it’s absolutely amazing, Ma shaa Allah. Would love to see the business expand all over the globe inshaAllah. Glad we Muslims are stepping up and reclaiming back the meaning of our Jihad, Allhamdulillah.

    &Thank you Muslimmatters for advertising this and giving light to it, I’m glad to see it mentioned on this website Allhamdulillah

    • Gibran

      March 12, 2013 at 12:45 PM

      Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh

      What is the matter with people who wish to water down this deen? Don’t they know this only leads to disgrace in this life and punishment in the next?

  3. Aseey/Jos

    March 13, 2013 at 1:19 AM

    The meaning of jihad have been understood world wide, especially by islamaphobes that contribute either directly or indirectly to the problem. We will reclaim our religion inshallah and may Allah purify the intention of all those that take part in this struggle.

  4. Alkalaamblog

    March 13, 2013 at 5:16 PM

    Jihad bil Khalm…Todays JIHAD, for each one of us.

  5. BE

    March 14, 2013 at 11:23 PM

    “….the message that ‘jihad’ in actuality refers to a concerted effort or struggle, namely by an individual in the path of God.”

    I agree. Just like the word “crusade”.

    Crusade is also “a concerted effort or struggle”.

  6. Sandra Amen-Bryan

    March 15, 2013 at 12:27 AM

    We must as Muslims, American or not, continue to define and shape our own dialouges and conversations. There is a fierce battle being waged to define our identity(s) by those who care not for us nor our religion.

  7. azzy

    March 29, 2013 at 11:53 AM

    uh… factually speaking, a productive jihad would be to do Dawah, instead of reinterpreting the term to suit what the society expects you to do. I initially thought this was a good campaign but i looked at the pics and realized its like saying Jihad has nothing to do with religion. For us muslims no matter how irrelevant the society considers worshiping of God to be, it is the single most important purpose of life.

  8. Pingback: Dignity in the Time of Islamophobia | The Kaftan Writer

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending