Imamiyah on Islamic Jihad in International Relations with Regard to its opposition to Terrorism

The study, aiming at surveying Imamiyah view on jihad, tries to answer the question: how is jihad explained in Imamiyah view and does it differ from terrorism or not? The hypothesis follows as: for Imami Shiite, jihad is regarded as a measure to repel oppression and sedition; it is, therefore, fully contrary to terrorism. For examining the hypothesis, a conceptual frame of the ontology of international relations in Shiite view has been given and then a fundamental picture of Imami`s view on Jihad presented. For the purpose, the analytical descriptive method and for gathering information the library-based method has been used. As is shown, Imamiyah defining jihad and its types and deciding its conditions for each type`s being necessity, has viewed jihad as a way against oppression and sedition and for establishing peace and humanistic relations.