Jihad is not, as some Western apologists claim, simply a striving for individual perfection. Nor is jihad merely a series of unrelated clashes involving groups of Islamists, each with their own limited objectives. Rather, jihad is a radical, expansionist, totalitarian ideology that seeks to establish a global Islamic state ruled by Islamic law, or sharia. The adherents of this ideology are willing and able to commit acts of violence to bring about their goals. They also use the democratic freedoms in Europe and the U.S. to advance their objectives by stealth means—agitating for special rights as “aggrieved minorities.” - www.TerrorismAwareness.org
