With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

West, East fight over the word 'jihad' [audio 8min]

Ten years ago, few people in America had heard the word jihad, but it's so common now that it has an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. Islamic history professor Douglass Streusand says that the first time he did a Web search on the word jihad, the first thing that came up was a"jihad to remove Barney from television." ..."That's what the term has come to mean in the West," says Streusand."It means a fanatical struggle." But how Muslims have interpreted the term has changed over time. Webpage includes extended report by Guy Raz.
Read entire article at NPR "All Things Considered"