13176200:.MASSHOLE. said:
The Islamic Front is a body of different Islamist militant groups. Unfortunately, within the group there are both moderate factions and fanatic factions.
So, I want to clear somethings up in this thread.
In the Islamic world, jihad can have multiple meanings and there are multiple types. The violence which we all associate jihad with is part of the lesser jihad. The lesser jihad can be defined as the struggle to implement or defend Islam but this does not not necessarily involve violence. Within the lesser jihad can be near jihad or far jihad. Near jihad is considered fighting within a state to remove a enemies of Islam (government/leaders) while far jihad is considered fighting the enemies of Islam worldwide. For example, HAMAS engages in near jihad against the Israeli government, while al-Qaeda engages in far jihad against the US, England, Spain, etc.
Background of Syria:
The majority of the Syrian population in Syria is of the Sunni Muslim sect, but the government is full of Alawites. Groups in the Syrian War are engaging in near jihad, attempting to "defend" Islam as they see al-Assad's government as repressing the practice of Islam because it is made up of Alawites and did not implement Shariah law.
However, some of the groups (ISIS, Al-Nusra) have looked back to religious texts in the Qur'an, sunna, and hadith, seeing that there once was a swath of land called the Levante and that the Prophet proclaimed they would return to it. However, al-Nusra currently sees the Syrian conflict as a more pressing issue for a multitude of reasons, while ISIS is attempting to take over the entire region of the Levante. However, both of these groups have no open plans to engage in warfare against the West until their goals in the Levante are complete.
None of the Syrian groups however have open plans to engage in far jihad until their goals in Syria and the surrounding area are complete.