ABSTRACT

As much as Khomeini made the Islamic term fetwa popular, so did bin

Laden with jihad. Today, one barely finds a Westerner who has not heard

these Islamic terms. However, fetwa is not a death sentence, just as jihad is

not terrorism. These are the wrong meanings spread in the West along with

many misconceptions of Islam itself. The present chapter will elucidate,

explain and claim to change the described situation. The development of

the classical jihad to jihadism lies at the center of the analysis. It is asked: Is

the jihadist path a promising option for the future of the Islamic civilization? In Chapter 2, I present democracy as a competing option.