Why do you call it the "Jihad"?
The organization that now exists as the largest known collective force against the horror that is Barney the Dinosaur is known as the Jihad to Destroy Barney for a series of reasons. The first reason is simple enough: it is the term chosen by the High Prophet [pbuh] to center and define the ragtag, chaotic, disjointed group of individuals who then existed as pioneers of a way of thinking and acting that had never previously existed. These were reckless, hell-for-leather people, and it would be hard to deny that much of their accomplishments were procured by untested means. In other words;
They didn't know what the hell they were doing.
They knew one thing, however; they knew their cause was just. They knew what they could see with their own eyes, and feel in their hearts. This belief probably wasn't quantified much beyond that. Their way of thinking advocated action first, and contemplation a distant second. Barney was evil, and had to be destroyed. That's all the philosophy the founding mothers and fathers of the Jihad really needed.
What about the word itself? Doesn't it mean "holy war?"
Well, yes and no. Jihad is an Arabic term, one that has been largely misunderstood by Westerners, mostly due to media coverage of the extremist actions of a few Middle Eastern Muslims. The press jumped on the term that they took to mean "holy war" as a simple buzzword to explain why battles were being fought and people being hurt and killed, in distant countries and over national borders which a good portion of the audience couldn't find on a map.
Please note that the Jihad to Destroy Barney is in no way associated with the Islamic faith, was not founded on the basis of any such religious tenet, and does not act on the behalf of any single established theology. Those individuals associated with the Jihad in its infancy used the term Jihad and the definition that had become de rigueur among Westerners. This Jihad was a holy war indeed; one against Barney the Dinosaur. There was little, if any, thought given to what else it should be, or was.
That was years ago. Times have changed, and so has the Jihad.
What exactly has changed?
For one thing, the sheer number of people who became associated with the Jihad has increased exponentially over the years. In addition, all those founding members (those around during late 1991 and early 1992) have either vanished into the ether or hang like cobwebs from the rafters, not keeping close enough contact to actually influence what the Jihad is or does.
These two mitigating factors represent the primary changes in the Jihad that gave rise to many small changes, which in turn influenced a fundamental change in the Jihad as a whole. In the context of this document, it is fair to say that the definition of the Jihad has changed; those with the Jihad now define themselves differently.
The actions of the Jihad and affiliates are now less suggestive of a war than in earlier times. A militant aspect of the Jihad still exists, but now there is more room for informed discussion and diplomatic persuasion among those already affiliated with the Jihad, and those merely interested in the subject matter. Now it is possible for someone to communicate with the Jihad even if that someone doesn't entirely agree with the ideas and positions expressed by its members.
Communication, the Jihad has come to realize, is fundamental to achieve our goals. It is communication that is being used to further the goals of those who support Barney; the producers of the show have taken great pains to preach the goodness of the show beyond its content, and proactively advocate the supposed wholesome nature of the show to the point where parents feel obligated to defend it.
The Jihad and its members now make a concerned effort to keep itself informed, along with as many others as possible. We use whatever resources we have at our disposal to their utmost to reach as wide an audience as we can, to acquire support from as many avenues as possible, and ultimately add to our base of resources to the point where Barney is forced from this plane of existence, thus affording all of us a finer quality of life.
This effort is now what defines the Jihad. The Jihad is that effort.
Ironically, the realization of this new definition comes at a time when some more informed Westerners have come to realize that the "holy war" definition of "Jihad" is lacking. Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, university professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University and author of Ideals and Realities of Islam, has acknowledged that the contemporary Western definition is somewhat valid, but stops short of the higher meaning understood among scholars of Islamic literature and life. Dr. Nasr has stated in an interview that his definition of jihad can include war, but more to the point, the word can be used to define any purposeful struggle, specifically those struggles whose purpose is divine.
So the Jihad was termed in a less enlightened time, but that term, whose higher meaning has been discovered, continues to serve our purposes, and will never be changed.
For more information about the Jihad:
The Jihad Web.