Jihad, Defined

Casual readers may view “How to Win a Cosmic War” (Random House, 2009, $26), the second book by acclaimed religious scholar Reza Aslan, as a defense of Islam. In part, this is an accurate assessment. As an American Muslim, surely Aslan is concerned about our country’s perception of Islam, which was guided—particularly in the Bible Belt—by our former president’s oft-referenced and vaguely justified War on Terror. In his quest to convince readers that not all Islam is Jihadism, Aslan is both blatant and humorous. His glossary definition of the media-circulated term “Islamofascism,” simply states: “This word has no meaning.”

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