Due to violent acts by radical Islamic terrorist groups, the Western world is grappling with the definition of the Qur'anic term Jihad. The September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center only exacerbated their confusion. It is important to understand what the word “Jihad” means before we can analyze how it is interpreted or misrepresented by the West. In Islam, Jihad refers to a duty that Muslims must fulfill, or a religious duty. It could also mean the fight against someone's negative emotions as stated in Oxford Islamic Studies or it could mean the fight against non-believers. For example, converting non-believers for the betterment of Islamic society is something that embodies the word Jihad. In some books containing Islamic law and the Koran it could mean armed struggle against unbelievers. It also means submission to peace and total submission to God as stated in Oxford Islamic Studies. Today the word is used without any religious relationship and directly means the crusade to promote the Islamic religion. Whenever the words Islamic or holy are added to the meaning or are in context, they are used with a religious connotation. Another meaning that tends to be much stronger or more evident in Western societies is that Jihad and terrorism are somehow related or are the same thing. This article will focus on the many different meanings of Jihad and how it has changed over time since 9/11. (As reported in Oxford Islamic Studies) Before 9/11, countries where Islam was not a primary religion were not even aware of the word Jihad. Today, Jihad is a word that encounters negative emotions in non-Islamic countries. Depending on the area the word Jihad means different things. In countries practicing Islam the word is trusted... middle of paper... believers. After 9/11, the word Jihad was unclear to many Americans due to media distortions. This became related to terrorism because terrorist groups used it as justification. So it was a combination of unawareness and media distortion that made the word Jihad related to terrorism. In conclusion, the meaning of the word Jihad has definitely changed enormously since the September 11 attacks. The word which once meant something purely religious and a sacred duty towards the followers of Islam, is now met with contempt and negative emotions and by the world's media. When you hear the word Jihad, you think of terrorism. It's unfortunate that the two have been linked together, but that's the effect terrorism has on society. It instills a sense of fear and insecurity in people, and this in turn has led to a once pure term becoming a sign of evil.