The idea of jihad is central to Islamic faith and ethics, and yet its meanings have been highly contested over time. They have ranged from the philosophical struggle to live an ethical life to the political injunction to wage war against enemies of Islam. Today, more than ever, jihad signifies the political opposition between Islam and the West. As the line drawn between Muslims and non-Muslims becomes more rigid, Ayesha Jalal seeks to retrieve the ethical meanings of this core Islamic principle in South Asian history.

Includes maps of: South Asia in the Islamic World; Journey toward Jihad - Sayyid Ahmad of Rai Bareilly's Road to Martyrdom.

Jihad as ethics, Jihad as war -- Jihad in precolonial South Asia -- The martyrs of Balakot -- Jihad in colonial India -- Jihad as anticolonial nationalism -- Islam subverted? Jihad as terrorism -- Conclusion.