Symposium to Deal With Concept of ‘Jihad’

The Islamic concept of jihad, a term often translated “holy war,” will be discussed in a special three-hour symposium today at the Islamic Center of Southern California, starting at 10 a.m.

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and, most recently, Iran’s supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have called for a jihad against America, whose troops have been sent to Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf crisis.

Leaders of the Islamic Center, at 434 S. Vermont Ave., contended that calls for “holy war” have often been misused for political purposes in the Muslim Middle East. Speakers will include Fathi Osman, resident scholar at the center, and John Esposito, director of the international studies department at Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass.