Anita Rai’s 6th book, JIHAD AND TERRORISM is soon coming out. As with every of her other book, this one too stands out in a sea of run of the mill publications on the same subjects. Rai says: “The spirit of Islam is promotion of peace, love and enlightenment and justice for all. Justice is the guiding force of Islam. And its very spirit requires Islam to defend the oppressed and establish the rule of justice in order to facilitate the superior functioning of the law of God for the optimum welfare of His creatures, basically and spiritually – this calls for Jihad, which means striving hard and honest, in the Way of God. Jihad, as preached and practiced by Muhammad, the Messenger of Peace (pbuh) is not necessarily same and similar to its understanding by the Muslims and the non-Muslims down the centuries. Hence, the history of Jihad – its phases, periods, politics and ploys – is very complex, which is not easy to grasp if one does not have the sophistication and depth of knowledge of the very complex and turbulent history of Islam. The why - when - how of jihad transgressing into terrorism is essential because almost always it is mentioned in the same breath as terrorism and even described as an equivalent. JIHAD AND TERRORISM is about portraying the Essential Jihad – illustrated by the Custodians of Islam (p b u them) and the Holy Book – which is averse to terrorism and wages a constant War on terror. So, although we find the history of jihad and the history of terrorism entangled, jihad and terrorism stand for distinctly separate and profoundly different values.”