Ma`rifat Siyasi

The introduction of the term "explanation jihad" in the political literature of the Islamic world in the last few years by Imam Khamenei, the commander-in-chief and the highest official in the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, makes it necessary to know its scope. In the well-known opinion of jurists, "Jihad" is only an armed attack on the enemy with special war weapons and is different from Jihad of the tongue and the pen. Also, from a primitive point of view, protecting Islam and Muslims against the attack of the enemy, meaning the concept of "defense" in the well-known opinion of jurists and Imam Khamenei, is not compatible with the term "explanation jihad" and its use in his statements. On the other hand, using the term "Jihad" to explain that the country is currently defending the existence of Islam and Muslims against various enemy attacks, raises a question about the scope of Jihad explanation in Imam Khamenei's defense thoughts. In response to this question, using the comparative-analytical method and Imam Khamenei’s writings and statements, the present research has explained the concept and dimensions of "Jihad" and "Defense" in his thoughts and has proved the conceptual development of this term. It is concluded that "explanation jihad" is one of the examples of jihad and a kind of defense against enemy's attack through distorting facts and events. Because of the various dimensions of defense, explanation Jihad has a wide scope and is different from other dimensions of defense in terms of means and methods of defense