Dave Andrews 
The Jihad of Jesus [EPUB ebook] 
The Sacred Nonviolent Struggle for Justice

We are caught up in the cycle of so-called ‘holy wars.’ In The Jihad of Jesus, Dave Andrews argues that while this inter-communal conflict is endemic, it is not inevitable. Depending on our understanding, our religions can be either a source of escalating conflict or a resource for overcoming inter-communal conflict; and for our religions to be a resource for overcoming conflict, we need to understand the heart of all true religion as open-hearted compassionate spirituality. In the light of an open-hearted compassionate spirituality, we can reclaim the word ‘jihad’ from extremists who have (mis)appropriated it as a call to ‘holy war, ‘ and reframe it, in truly Qur’anic terms, as a ‘sacred nonviolent struggle for justice’; and we can reconsider Jesus, as he is in the Gospels, not as a poster boy for Christians fighting crusades against Muslims, but as ‘a strong-but-gentle Messianic figure’ who can bring Christians and Muslims together. As this book shows, many Christians and Muslims have found Isa (Jesus) and the Bismillah (celebrating the mercy, grace, and compassion of God) as common ground upon which they can stand and work for the common good. The Jihad of Jesus is a handbook for reconciliation and action: a do-it-yourself guide for all Christians and Muslims who want to move beyond the ‘clash of civilizations, ‘ join the jihad of Jesus, and struggle for justice and peace nonviolently side by side.

About the author

Dave Andrews, his wife Ange, and their family, have lived and worked in intentional communities with marginalized groups of people in Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India for forty years. Dave is interested in radical spirituality, incarnational community and the dynamics of personal and social transformation. He is author of many books, including Not Religion, But Love, A Divine Society, People Of Compassion, Compassionate Community Work, the Plan Be series, Bismillah and Isa. Dave and Ange and their friends started Aashiana, Sahara, and Sharan, faith-based community organizations working with slum dwellers, sex workers, drug addicts, and people with HIV/AIDS in India; and they are now part of the Waiters Union, an inner city Christian community network that is working alongside people of other faiths with Aborigines, refugees and people with disabilities in Brisbane, Australia. Dave is a founder of the Waiters Union; an educator for TEAR Australia; an international aid agency; a trainer for Praxis Community Co-operative; a teacher at Christian Heritage College; an elder emeritus for Servants To Asia’s Urban Poor; and a member of AMARAH–Australian Muslim Advocates for the Rights of All Humanity.Dave Andrews is an Australian Christian anarchist author, speaker, social activist, and community worker who, along with his wife, Ange, and their family have lived and worked in intentional communities with marginalized groups of people in Australia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India for over forty years. Along with friends, Dave and Ange started Aashiana, Sahara, and Sharan–three Christian community organizations working with slum dwellers, sex workers, and people with HIV/AIDS in India. He is also a part of Waiters Union, an inner-city Christian community network working with Indigenous Australians, refugees and people with disabilities in Australia. Dave is also an Elder for Servants to Asia’s Urban Poor, an educator for TEAR Australia, a Christian international aid and development agency, and a lecturer at the University of Queensland and Christian Heritage College.