From the Sahel to Afghanistan and the Middle East to Europe, jihad is used by many armed movements and Islamist terrorist groups to justify their use of violence. In Histoire du Djihad ("History of Jihad," 2024), historian Olivier Hanne, an associate researcher at the University of Poitiers, traces the history of this concept from the birth of Islam to the present day.

Although it primarily refers to a war waged in God's name, jihad also has other meanings. Hanne shows that over the centuries, the meaning of this concept has never been set in stone and has been constantly reinterpreted. Nowadays, a battle continues to be waged within Islam between the proponents of many different interpretations of jihad, from the most violent to the most liberal.

Jihadist movements always cite Quranic verses to justify their actions. What does the Quran say about jihad?

Olivier Hanne: Jihadists want people to believe that their only source of guidance is the Quran. To do this, they cherry-pick verses they present as absolutes while discarding those that might contradict them. But the Muslim holy book offers no theory of war or conceptualization of jihad. The Arabic root of the word "jihad" means "zeal," "exertion of the whole person." Of the 35 verses in which the word appears, 22 apply to a broad effort, 3 have a spiritual or moral quality, and 10 apply directly to war.

It should be noted that the word is essentially used as a verb ("to strive, to exert") rather than as a noun. In other words, "jihad" in the Quran is rarely used in its current sense as a war waged for God. And even when the word is used in a belligerent context, its ethical meaning cannot be dismissed. The type of interpretation chosen to read the Quran is therefore essential in defining the meaning of jihad.

You insist on the importance of the pre-Islamic cultural soil to understand the appearance of the idea of an armed or violent jihad: Is this idea more inherited from ancient Near Eastern culture than it is a creation of Islam?

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