Jihad: What Everyone Needs to Know

The word "jihad" is ubiquitous in the global media. It generally appears in the context of violence waged against the West by militants in or from Muslim-majority societies. This usage overwhelmingly colors popular discourse about Islam and Muslims and it has resulted in a highly reductive, distorted, and ahistorical understanding of the concept of jihad. Asma Afsaruddin looks at the key questions about jihad and provides concise yet thorough answers. Jihad: What Everyone Needs to Know provides a historically-grounded, scholarly yet accessible treatment of jihad that explores its various dimensions from the formative period of Islam until the contemporary period.