The holy war tradition is Western, not originally Islamic.

Evidence

Daniel Pipes, the president of the Middle East Forum, has defined jihad as “holy war.” He believes that it refers to Muslims’ collective effort to expand Muslim-ruled territories at the expense of territories ruled by non-Muslims and that it is inherently offensive. … However, to depict holy wars as something quintessentially Islamic is a historical fallacy because the tradition of holy wars is a Western one. Holy wars were the method of shaping church–state relationships in medieval Europe until about the 12th century. — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 61

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to scholarship on crusading and medieval church-state relations; useful counter-argument for debates about Islamic holy war. — connects to: Modern Islamic scholars define jihad as spiritual striving, not holy war — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad: A Cause of…, 69; Practices Westerners blame on Islam often predate Islam or are geographically limited. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 311; Western hostility to Islam shifted from theological to political rationales across the centuries — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 106
• SEED: Angle: a piece on how ‘holy war’ as a category gets selectively attributed to Islam while its European Christian origins are forgotten.

Broader Connections

• Practices Westerners blame on Islam often predate Islam or are geographically limited. #corroborates (0.55) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 311
• Modern Islamic scholars define jihad as spiritual striving, not holy war #corroborates (0.50) — Asena Karipek, Portrayals of Jihad, 69
• Western hostility to Islam shifted from theological to political rationales across the centuries #contradicts (0.35) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 106