Huffington Post Live: Not Talking about Religion

Hijacking Jihad: Reclaiming Islam’s ‘Personal Struggle’. Over the last two decades, the term “Jihad” has exclusively been defined as a holy war perpetrated by extremists. As such, when the average American hears the term “Jihad,” they conflate Islam with terror. Although the term has been hijacked by extremists, many Muslims in the US and around world don’t recognize Jihad’s contemporary application. For these Muslims, the term, which literally translates to “struggle,” is a personal struggle, or a mission. For example, someone’s “Jihad” could be giving up smoking or to strive to be a better neighbor, friend, husband, or wife.

Letter 4 | Values and Voices. Muslims have been part of this country since its founding. Since nearly a third of all slaves were Muslim, this country literally was built on the backs of Muslims. We have remained important contributors to American history, serving to defend our nation and contributing culturally to what it means to be American. Thomas Jefferson’s copy of the Qur’an sits in the Library of Congress as a testament to how important Muslim thought was to the founding of this country.

Islam’s `Night of Power’ and the terror alert – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs. During Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, there is a night that I look forward to every year. This night is called Laylat ul-Qadr, which translates as the “Night of Power” or the “Night of Destiny.”