Originally Posted by wikipedia

"For instance, Mahatma Gandhi's struggle for Indian independence is called a "jihad" in Modern Standard Arabic (as well as many other dialects of Arabic) even though it was neither an Islamic struggle nor conducted violently; the same terminology is applied to the fight for women's liberation."

Originally Posted by wikipedia

Jihad
meaning "to strive" or "to struggle", in Arabic, is an Islamic term and considered a duty by some Muslims. It appears frequently in the Qur'an and common usage as the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid, the plural is mujahideen.

A minority among the Sunni scholars sometimes refer to this Islamic duty as the sixth pillar of Islam, though it occupies no such official status. In Twelver Shi'a Islam, however, Jihad is one of the 10 Practices of the Religion.
The classifications of Jihad are controversial. Dictionaries often define jihad as "Muslim holy war or spiritual struggle against infidels," but many Muslim sources deny jihad refers to a holy war,while still others define it as combat in the way of God, making no mention of non-violent jihad.

According to scholar John Esposito, Jihad requires Muslims to "struggle in the way of God" or "to struggle to improve one's self and/or society." Jihad is directed against the devil's inducements, aspects of one's own self, or against a visible enemy. The four major categories of jihad that are recognized are Jihad against one's own self (self-perfection), Jihad of the tongue, Jihad of the hand, and Jihad of the sword.