Differences between Muslim, Islamist, Islamic and Jihadist

The recent and terrible attacks perpetrated in Barcelona on August 17 by a group of young people with Mohammedan religious beliefs (Islam), have shaken the old hornet's nest of Islamophobia. This can be seen, among other things, in that despite the fact that many people express strong opinions about how they are and how believers in this religion act, the confusion that exists about how to call people willing to kill in the name of islam.

Some linguists, communication specialists and even sociologists insist on the importance of knowing how to differentiate between the terms used in this area, such as "jihadist", "Muslim", "Islamic or Islamist group", sometimes used interchangeably to refer to the perpetrators of the events. There is no unanimous agreement on how to refer to the group in question.

To clarify these doubts, we will now see the differences between muslim, jihadist, islamist and islamic.

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What is the Islam?

To briefly contextualize the topic that we will discuss in this article, it is necessary to make an introductory approximation of what is the religion of Islam, which has the figure of 1,600 million followers around the globe, especially in the area of ​​the Arabian Peninsula (which is where it was founded), passing through the Middle East, North Africa and with increasing influence on the European continent.

The Islam It is a monotheistic, Abrahamic, and Semitic religion that was founded in 622 AD. c. in present-day Saudi Arabia by the prophet Muhammad, who according to his sacred writings was chosen by God to expand and verbalize his message (since Muhammad was illiterate). These messages were sent through the archangel Gabriel (Jibril in Arabic). The typical premise of Islam is that "There is only Allah and Muhammad is his prophet."

Contrary to what is often argued, Islam recognizes Christianity and Judaism as sister religions, as well as its prophets such as Moses, Jesus, Solomon, Abraham or Adam, among others. The only differences in terms of habits and customs properly linked to religion reside in some practices differences: Muslims pray 5 times a day, fast once a year for a month, do not eat pork or drink alcohol.

After the Qur'an, the Mohammedan teachings and actions are the mandatory following writings (hadith) for the practitioners of Islam. They reflect the attitude of the prophet Muhammad, such as morality, ethics and behavior with other human beings.

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Islamist, Muslim, Islamic and jihadist: their differences

Let us now see how to discern between the controversial concepts that are still being debated today. Next we will make a definition of each one of them.

Muslim

The fact of being a Muslim basically responds to any individual who accepts and firmly believes in Islam as the ultimate religion, pronouncing the phrase "I attest that there is no other God but God, and I attest that Muhammad is the messenger of God." This recital is called “shahada” (profession of faith). Anyone who does not utter this phrase will not be considered a Muslim.

Islamist

Being an Islamist or following Islamism, on the other hand, responds to a purely political condition. Consequently, the whole society must be governed by the beliefs of the "sharia", these are the commandments of God, and this should directly interfere in people's lives, conditioning their habits, customs and ideas.

In this sense, any type of foreign influence or foreign influence to Islam is rejected, no type of non-Muslim pretexts are accepted. Thus, there are Islamist political parties such as Hamas or Hezbollah.

Islamic

The Islamic term responds to a complementary adjective. That is supposes anything, territory, art, state or work that is closely related to the Muslim religion. Islamic states, for example, are those whose sole and official religion is Islam. The organizations, both official and not, have an Islamic character as well.

jihadist

Here is the most contentious concept we have discussed, and one that often enrages the world and Islamic scholars. It is said that the meaning of the word is "adulterated", since jihadism is currently related to terrorism. This is, however, wrong.

The etymology of jihad is synonymous with effort, work, sacrifice in the name of God, but that under no circumstances is related to violence. Islamic academics reiterate that jihad corresponds to compliance with the 5 pillars of Islam, and that over time it has taken on another character that leaves no one indifferent.

The interpretation of jihadist dates back to the times of the crusades, where it was possible to deduce, without confirmation, that the Mohammedan fighters gave themselves up to jihad to defeat the enemy. Some scholars and orientalists have determined 3 types of interpretation of jihad:

• Personal jihad, like every Muslim who strives to maintain his faith throughout his life, overcoming moments of difficulty.

• Social jihad to reach the just and moral society under the faith of Islam.

• Military jihad or Holy War, which involves the battle to defend Islam by force, whenever and wherever necessary.