The Encyclopedia of World Religions

242 S jivanmukti

The execution of Joan of Arc, from Les Vigils de Charles VII, by Martial de Paris, 15th-century manuscript illumination (Ms. Fr. 5054, fol. 7, Bibliotèque Nationale, Paris; Giraudon/Art Resource, N.Y.)

includes attempts to combat error and spread the truth of I SLAM orally and in writing (jihad of the tongue and the pen). In addition, because Islam does not dichotomize or split religious and secular spheres, Muslims believe that it may also be nec essary to fight for God’s truth with military means (jihad of the sword). Muslims have disagreed about what jihad of the sword entails. Muslim scholars tradition ally taught that rulers should engage in jihad to extend Muslim rule over the entire world. (This ideal applied to political control; it did not advo cate forced conversion.) In the late 19th and the 20th centuries, modern Muslims tended to limit military jihad solely to wars of self-defense. In the second half of the 20th century, some Mus lims who embraced religious NATIONALISM advo cated aggressive military jihad even against fel low Muslims.

jivanmukti A Sanskrit word meaning “liberation while living.” Hindus believe that the self ( ATMAN , jiva ) is bound in a series of rebirths ( SAMSARA ) as a result of its actions ( KARMA ). By practicing various psycho-physical disciplines, a person may become free of these bonds and achieve the state of release or liberation. When that happens, the self cannot simply abandon the body immediately. The effects of past actions still need to work themselves out. Jivanmukti refers to the state of being liberated while still living in the body. Some schools, such as the Saiva Siddhanta, recognize several stages of jivanmukti. Persons who achieve jivanmukti are called jivanmuktas.

Joan of Arc ( c. 1412–31) a French woman who, inspired by voices, spurred on the French against the English in the Hundred Years’ War When