How could people have come to misunderstand jihad in such a terrible way? Could it have been because of passages such as these?
“When your Lord inspired the angels, I am with you. So make those who believe stand firm. I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Then strike the necks and strike their fingertips.” (Qur’an 8:12)
“We will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve because they ascribe partners to Allah, for which no justification has been revealed. Their dwelling is the fire, and wretched is the dwelling place of the wrongdoers.” (Qur’an 3:151)
“And kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from where they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. And do not fight with them at the sacred mosque until they first attack you there, but if they attack you, then kill them. This is the reward of unbelievers. But if they stop, then indeed, Allah is forgiving, merciful. And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is for Allah. But if they stop, then let there be no hostility except against wrong doers.” (Qur’an 2:191-193)
“They wish that you would disbelieve even as they disbelieve, that you may be on the same level. So do not choose friends from them until they migrate in the way of Allah, if they turn back, then take them and kill them wherever you find them, and choose no friend or helper from among them, except those who seek refuge with a people with whom you have a covenant, or come to you because their hearts forbid them to make war on you or make war on their own people. If Allah had willed, he could have given them power over you, so that assuredly they would have fought you. So if they remain aloof from you and do not wage war against you and offer you peace, Allah allows you no way against them. You will find others who want security from you, and security from their own people. As often as they are returned to hostility, they are plunged into it. If they do not keep aloof from you or offer you peace, or hold off their hands, then take them and kill them wherever you find them. Against such people we have given you clear justification.” (Qur’an 4:89)
“The only reward for those who make war upon Allah and his messenger and struggle to sow corruption on earth will be that they will be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet cut off on opposite sides, or be expelled from the land. Such will be their degradation in this world, and in the hereafter, theirs will be an awful doom.” (Qur’an 5:33)
“And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah. But if they stop, then indeed, Allah is the seer of what they do.” (Qur’an 8:39)
“Then, when the sacred months have passed, kill the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and besiege them, and prepare for them every ambush. But if they repent and establish prayer and give alms, then leave their way free. Indeed, Allah is forgiving, merciful.” (Qur’an 9:5)
“Fight against those who do not believe in Allah or the last day, and do not forbid what Allah and his messenger have forbidden, and do not follow the religion of truth, even if they are among the people of the book, until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.” (Qur’an 9:29)
“Indeed, Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth, because the garden will be theirs, they will fight in the way of Allah and will kill and be killed. It is a promise that is binding on him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. Who fulfills his covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that you have made, for that is the supreme triumph.” (Qur’an 9:111)
“O you who believe, fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you, and let them find harshness in you, and know that Allah is with those who keep their duty.” (Qur’an 9:123)
“Now when you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks until, when you have subdued them, then make fast the bonds, and afterward either generosity or ransom until the war lays down its burdens. That, and if Allah willed, he could have punished them, but so that he may test some of you by means of others. And those who have been killed in the way of Allah, he does not make their actions useless.” (Qur’an 47:4)
“Shah Rukh Khan shares the true meaning of Jihad,” Times of India, April 26, 2025:
The recent tragic incident in Pahalgam, where innocent lives were lost to yet another mindless act of violence, has once again forced us to confront a dangerous narrative — one that wrongly associates terror with faith. As the country is coming to terms with the attack , an old video clip of actor Shah Rukh Khan began circulating on social media, offering a powerful reminder of the true essence of Islam and the often-misunderstood concept of Jihad.
In the viral clip, Khan can be heard saying, “There is a word in our religion which is misused — Jihad. The thought process of Jihad is exactly the same — to conquer the bad thoughts inside us, to fight for it, that is called Jihad. Outside, killing people on the streets is not called Jihad.” These words resonate deeply today, as certain extremist ideologies continue to distort Islamic teachings to justify acts of terror.
The word Jihad in its true form stands for an inner struggle — a fight against one’s own ego, anger, jealousy, and evil intentions. It is a personal, spiritual endeavor aimed at bettering oneself and upholding compassion, kindness, and integrity in the face of adversity. The Quran explicitly condemns the killing of innocents, equating it to the destruction of all mankind….
Istanbul_Chick says
I knew it was Shah Rukh before even reading the article!
He’s a good actor, but not a great thinker.
He says kumbaya things all the time without really understanding the reality of the world around him.
I don’t think he’s a bad guy, I actually like him (He killed it in Dil Se), he just has misguided thoughts.
Mohan Guruswamy says
You are an even bigger moron than you know. To give that Shahrukh Khan turd the benefit of doubt is unbelievably unintelligent.
Istanbul_Chick says
You want to start name calling, Desi?
There are people who are good people in spite of being mohammadans.
I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until they prove me otherwise.
Now, kindly go suck your cow’s anus and pound sand, cut dick.
Istanbul_Chick says
You want to start name calling, Desi?
There are people who are good people in spite of being mohammadans.
I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until they prove me otherwise.
Now, kindly go suck your cow’s anus and pound sand, jack wagon.
Istanbul_Chick says
And just an fyi, I am an atheist BECAUSE of islam and mohammadans.
So, again, kindly go pound sand.
Istanbul_Chick says
And just an fyi, I am an atheist BECAUSE of islam and mohammadans.
So, again, kindly go pound sand.
Katerina says
All ShahRukh, Saif, Aamir & Salman do is propaganda. They know what they’re saying, don’t take them for naives. They fool people using usual Muslim tactics of deception etc.
Nan says
I have enjoyed all of his movies and he’s a wonderful actor. I wonder which word he would then use to describe what the “other” Muslims are doing when they claim to take jihad against others? Is there a word for it besides murder?
Istanbul_Chick says
Oh, I’m sure he’d pull out the old standby of “they are corrupting islam.”
Wellington says
He’s either a liar or an ignoramus. Really, when defending so much of the rot in Islam, such as jihad, it’s over and over again one of the two, i.e., mendacity or ignorance.
There is no third option here that is defensible as long as one remains in the realm “populated” by reason and facts, a declining realm to be sure in the silly age mankind now lives in.
Tim gallagher says
Yes, Wellington, I think the quotes from the stinking Koran calling on Muslims to kill the non believers when the opportunity arises are pretty clear. And even if this guy like some kind of pacifist quaker type of Muslim huge numbers of Muslims are constantly murdering people in the name of Allah.
Wellington says
Good to see, tg, we’re on the same page again. Ah, if only were this the case with the vast majority in the West, including many people who should know better but who don’t, as examples Bush 43 and Tony Blair, both of whom to this day, to my knowledge, think there is nothing wrong with the Islamic religion when, in fact, it is an inveterate enemy of the West.
Talk about being asleep at the switch, a phrase which could sum up so many other Western leaders in our era, samplings being Merkel, Macron, the (thankfully) recently deceased Pope Francis and Cameron (who, when PM of the UK from 2010-2016, stated that he looked forward to London becoming the banking center in Europe of the Islamic world—ugh!).
The West is descending quick like and I know you could provide me many examples of this tragic descent in your own nation of Australia. What a waste of a great civilization. And for what? For Leftism, for Islam, for laziness and willful ignorance? Oh yeah, what a waste. Take care, my across the pond friend as best you can.
Tim gallagher says
It definitely seems that we are witnessing the rapid decline of many western nations, Wellington, and I would include Australia along with most of western Europe among those countries in decline. I am amazed that almost everybody has not woken up to evil, barbaric nature of islam by now. If the Hungarians, poles and Czechs can see Islam clearly then most people in all our western countries should be able to wake up to Islam’s malignant nature. I hope you are going well. I am going ok, playing music, writing songs, etc. we have a federal election in a bit less than a week and our current useless Labor government is predicted to be returned. Very bad news for this country.
Captain Squirm says
What about ‘the end of ijtihad’? I always understood that independent, non-literal interpretation of the kor’an is apostasy.
ARI says
What!! 😦 Thanks for the information!
janet says
This guy reminds me pf an actor years ago that spoke the same and finally Robert Spencer debated him and he was caught in his own lies and then did he get sent to jail or or away somewhere to just shut up?
OLD GUY says
His message maybe true in some little tiny mind set of islam. But in general Islam is about suffering and death of non-believers.
Nick says
I’ll go for liar. This is just another example of taqiyya (deceit) in the Islam tradition.
STJOHNOFGRAFTON says
This guy is an idiot because he maintains his view whilst being confronted with damning evidence to the contrary.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
He’s not an idiot: he’s a muslim. He has a vested interest in non-muslims not thinking ill of muslims, or else, he & his ilk will be boycotted, if not worse. In his case, he’s married to a HINO and claims that he raises his son to observe the traditions of both Hinduism & islam. Given that one strongly denounces the other, I have no idea how they do it
Eddie says
Yes Infidel I agree this man is not an idiot.
But he does lives in a mental bubble of his own making or rather of Islam’s making.
They have to believe this stuff or the house of cards collapses. They have to convince themselves in order to sway the views of others.
And I think there is some merit in Westerners coming to the opinion that the bad ones are mentally ill .
They are certainly mentally corrupted.
No sane person with any feeling for the rest of humanity would do the things they do.
There’s no cure.
They just need to be away from the rest of us.
Alkflaeda says
My view would be that it is a form of demonic possession. People with genuine mental health problems don’t do random killings of individuals whose only connection with each other is that they are non-Muslim – if they kill or injure, their victims will be linked in some way to their paranoid belief systems. The other thing that would tell you whether a person is genuinely mentally ill, is whether medication helps – I have yet to hear of jihadi terrorists whose beliefs or aspirations were in any way modified by prescribed medication.
The logical implication of this is that Allah is not the God of the Bible, but rather His vastly inferior opposite number.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Eddie
He’s actually invented his own personal islam, and lives and practices it w/ his wife & son. Note that his wife wasn’t a muslim to begin w/
Hoi Polloi says
If by “conquer the bad thoughts inside us“….he means those bad thoughts that could lead a muslim to fail to comply with commands to slaughter the infidel, then sure.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Bollywood is a blight on India, and a reason a huge percentage of them are sub-intellectual. That industry breeds a culture of narcissism, catcalling women, abusing Hindu deities & traditions while glorifying islamic – particularly sufi ones, and worst of all, to sum it up, getting too many Indians to hate their culture. And this trend is not new: it’s been going on for over 70 years
One of the few advantages of globalization – something that I’m otherwise not a fan of – is that people today as a result can bypass all of that and watch quality programming on OTT platforms. Good news is that a lot of Hindu bashing movies over the last few years just bombed at the box office. Although another reason for Bollywood’s collapse, IMO, is the tendency of ordinary people to make reels anywhere & everywhere of themselves doing all sorts of weird things, which is free entertainment. Why would one pay ₹1000 or more to see a movie, when they can see things on social media for free?
Anyway, this group of people were superstars, but as they are aging, their influence is waning as well. And I don’t see too many young replacements to step into their shoes
As for Shah Rukh Khan, he’s infamous for his movie “My name is Khan”, where he claims “My name is Khan, and I’m not a terrorist”. That’s for law enforcement, or whoever’s screening him at the airports, to determine: remember, that movie was done in 2010, when we were out of Iraq, but the “War on terror” was still a priority of some sort, although it was in the initial phases of being undone by Obama. Essentially he lives w/ his own invented islam, which makes sense since he’s married to a HINO and claims that he raised his son to observe both Hindu & muslim religious traditions. Which would make that kid a hypocrite in islam
࿗Infidel࿘ says
One more major thing about Bollywood that I forgot to add: it has major links w/ India’s muslim mafia in Mumbai, and it is a matter of policy there for everyone to denigrate Hinduism/Hindus and whitewash islam/muslims
JOHN LLOYD SCHARF says
Muhammad was never successful in conquering bad thoughts without killing people on the streets.
Troybeam says
Cast him in the India version of Dumb and Dumber, no script needed it will come naturally.
Deus Vult says
Truth. He is proof positive that ignorance knows no bounds or boundaries.
Pray Hard says
Where have I heard that before? Wait, wait, don’t tell me …
Deus Vult says
The actor, like most of his ilk, is an ignorant horse’s ass.
Winston 101 says
I’m so grateful Jihad Watch exits.
“Radical” Islam is a Snake in the Grass.
“Moderate” Islam is the Grass.
It’s all Islam. It’s all dangerous and incompatible with America and the West.
With all the Muslim on Hindu violence for him to observe over time, Khan is being purposefully deceitful – it’s important that his deceitful statements are corrected and refuted.
Well done Mr. Spencer and commenters.
Classic Jeffersonian Liberal says
Suggest that he reads the Quran…