LONDON, April 22 (UPI) -- People like al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden have distorted the concept of jihad, says an Islamic scholar.
In article in the London Arabic-language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, Abd Al-Hamid Al-Ansari, former dean of the Faculty of Islamic Law at the University of Qatar, said those who use jihad for justifying violent attacks distort the meaning of the religious concept.
He said the Muslim holy book Koran defines jihad as "a means of defending differences, pluralism, and diversity and of defending freedom of choice."
Ansari said those who believe that the call for war by people like bin Laden was equivalent to jihad have been deceived.
He said the attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq is not jihad, nor is supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan.
"Jihad is innocent of this," he said. "This is the very essence of terrorism."
