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Definition: Abd al-Salam Faraj was an Egyptian writer whose book, Al-Faridah al-Gha'ibah (The Neglected Duty), played an important role in the development of Islamic extremism in the modern era. According to Faraj, jihad had become a "neglected duty" among contemporary Muslims. This book was first published and distributed to students in Cairo in the early 1980s where it influenced an entire generation of youth.
Faraj argued that both the Qur'an and the Hadith were fundamentally about warfare - war in the service of God and in opposition to evil. The notion of jihad, or struggle, was something Muslims should accept literally. It isn't simply about struggle for personal piety but rather struggle for Islam against God's enemies. Muslims are called to be soldier for Islam, and true soldiers of Islam are willing to use any means available in order to achieve their righteous goals. The reward would be paradise itself - in heaven for the martyrs and on earth for the living once a true Islamic state was established over the entire human population.
Faraj was implicated in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and he was executed in 1982.
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