The Redhunter

al harb ala al islam - "War on Islam". This is the slogan of the Salafists. To them, all of history since Muhammed is seen as a war of Muslims versus everyone else, and that Islam is constantly under seige as it is being attacked by people of other faiths. This slogan is a primary theme in jihadist propaganda.

Dar el harb - "house of war"; that part of the world not ruled by Muslims. Ideologically it is best translated as "zones of the enemies", with "enemies" being defined not only as infidels, but as anyone who does not subscribe to the jihadi version of Islam.

Dar el Islam - "House of Islam". Not simply that part of the world where Muslims live or are in the majority, but "it is the the Islamic state rules or where the jihadists are struggling for it."

Dhimmi - "people under custody". Historically, the harshness of dhimmi status has varied considerably, but it is accurate to say that the milder forms were only practiced where the Muslim authorities did not have the power to impliment the harsher versions. Dhimmis must comply with the "Omarian Conditions", which include paying the Jizya (tax, or penalty), dressing differently, wear signs on their clothing, and are barred from most public offices. Jihadists have made it clear that they will impose dhimmi status on Christians and Jews in areas that come under their control.

Deobandi - Globalsecurity: Started in Deoband, a city in northern India, in the 1860s and 70s as a reaction to British colonial rule. Deobandis believe "that the reason Islamic societies have fallen behind the West in all spheres of endeavor is because they have been seduced by the amoral and material accoutrements of Westernization, and have deviated from the original pristine teachings of the Prophet." "The Deobandi interpretation of Islamic teachings is widely practiced in Pakistan." Wikipedia: "a Sunni Islamic revivalist movement." "Deobandi purport to be characterised by a strict adherence to the Sunnah and an emphasis on Sharia". Deobandism has also spread to the UK. The Taliban practice Deobandi Islam.

Ikhwan (Muslim Brotherhood or Brothers) - one of the three branches of the jihad, the other two being the Wahabbis and the Khumeinists. Founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna. The Brotherhood arose out of urban areas, and is a true "grass roots organization, having no state sponsor. It's objective is the resurrection of the caliphate and world domination. The method it uses to achive this is the infiltration of societies in the Middle East in an attempt to take over key institutions, such as the military, press, industry, and government. It will form outright terrorist organization to achieve regional goals, Hamas and Islamic Jihad being the primary examples.

Istishaad - usually translated as "martyrdom". "Istishaad includes dying for one's belief, but it also includes taking other people's lives. Dying for religion is martyrdom; killing as well as being killed is the jihadi concept. The philosophical difference is enormous."

Jihad - "constant effort on behalf of Allah" to spread the faith. "Historically, jihad was a state tool for war mobilization under Arab and Ottoman caliphates and various Muslim dynasties." Although "spiritual jihad" is "theoretically and philisophically possible, jihad throughout history was a state public policy on war and peace, and it was sanctioned by religious edicts." The three main branches of the jihad today are the Wahabbis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Khumeinists.

Khilafa - "caliphate" This is one of the three main objectives of the modern-day jihadists.

Khumeinist/Khomeinist - the ideology of the Shiite jihadists as dictated by the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Not a nationalist ideology but a theocratic one, the objective of the Khumeinists is to establish a regional Imamate uniting all Shiites centered in Iran. They will also establish terrorist organizations to achieve regional goals, with Hezbollah being the main example. Syria, although ruled by a Ba'athist party, is increasingly allied with Iran, partially because the Alawite sect, a branch of Shia Islam, controls their Ba'athist party.

Kuffar/Kafir/Kufr/kafir - kuffar/kufr = infidels, kufr = infidelism, kafir = infidel. The root is kufr, which doesn't have an exact translation. An approximation would be "agression against the divine", or "sinning against Allah". From a Western philosophical perspective it relates to "the 'other'". The term can also simply mean Muslims who are not "pure" enough, from the perspective of the jihadists. The mechanism for demonizing the "other" is the takfir.

Murtad Answers.com: "A person born of Muslim parents that rejects Islam is called a "murtad fitri" (natural apostate), and a person that converted to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a "murtad milli" (apostate from the community)."

Qadiya to Qadiya - "cause to cause", as in "The jihadist media move from qadiya to qadiya to keep their viewers constantly inflamed and angry at their enemies." Each qadiya is a "hot button issue" designed to inflame viewers. It adds up to a "series of carefully staged psychological operations", the result of which is to manipulate public opinion. It is important to understand, then, that the "outrage" of Muslims is not the "natural relations people in the West imagined."

al Riddah/ridda - "reconversion" of Muslims to back another faith. Wikipedia: "the rejection of Islam in word or deed by a person who has been a Muslim." Ridda is the process, a murtad is the person.

Salaf - "return to the path of the predecessors". Started by Ibn Taymiya (1263 -1328). Taymiya saw the Abbasid dynasty collapse in the wake of invasion by the Crusaders and later the sack of Bagdad by Mongol invaders in 1258. He reasoned these events occured because Allah was unhappy with Muslims. To remedy the situation, he "developed the doctrines of jihadtakfirjihadi and SalafiSalafi is someone who has adopted this version of Islam. The two main jihadist branches of Salafist Islam are the Wahabbis and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Takfir - "rendering (Muslim) opponents infidels", the purpose of which is to purify Islam against those who, in this view, have corrupted it. A Takfiri is someone who has adopted this version of Islam.

Tahrir - "liberation" of Muslim lands from non-Muslim rulers. This is one of the three main objectives of the modern-day jihadists.

TaqiyyaWikipedia: "Within Shi'ite Islamic tradition,[1] the concept of Taqiyya (التقية - 'fear, guard against')[2] refers to a controversial dispensation allowing believers to conceal their faith when under threat, persecution or compulsion.[3]

The word "al-Taqiyya" literally means: "Concealing or disguising one's beliefs, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions, and/or strategies at a time of imminent danger, whether now or later in time, to save oneself from physical and/or mental injury." A one-word translation would be "Dissimulation."

More on taqiyya at Jihad Watch

Tawheed - "unification" of all Muslims within common borders under one ruler. Existing national boundaries are to be dismantled. This is one of the three main objectives of the modern-day jihadists.

Tikbar - world infidel powers, or countries ruled by infidels.

Wahhabism/wahabism - started by Mohammed Abdel Wahab/Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab (1703–1792). Along with the Muslim Brotherhood, it is one of two main branches of Salafist Islam.