"Jihad" comes from a verb that signifies "the use or exertion of one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or his ability in contending with an enormous object." Thus, jihad is not strictly a term that refers to war or interstate conflict, or even to actual fighting or warfare; it may be achieved by peaceful means or by a combination of violence and peaceful means. In all cases, however, in the Muslim world jihad has come to mean an exertion of one's power in God's cause to spread Islam to everyone and everywhere. Anyone who offers an alternative to Islamic law or culture is viewed as making war upon God, which results in the call for jihad. The objective of each type of jihad is the spreading of Islam and the establishment of an Islamic world-state. The call to jihad remains in effect as long as the universal domination of Islam has not been attained. Thinking of jihad in terms of multiple decades or even centuries would be consistent with the historic pattern. If the experience in other countries holds true in the United States, terrorism has become the weapon of choice for jihad for many of the small Islamic groups that desire to undermine America's way of life. Because of the splintered nature and divergent doctrinal stance within Islam, it may be difficult to generalize, so community-oriented policing requires that sheriffs and their planners become familiar with the various Islamic groups that live, worship, or practice ethnic and cultural traditions within the community. Because jihad is a religious concept, sheriffs face issues of freedom of religion when investigating or charging supporters for violation of the law, at least where conspiracy is alleged. Crime analysts must be attentive to the possibility that robbery, burglary, and other crimes are being committed by terrorist groups to provide resources to support their aims. Because of the long-term nature of jihad and the persistence of many of its fanatical adherents who advocate violence as a means of achieving dominance, sheriffs' departments must establish a structure and ongoing practice of intelligence gathering and vigilance in assessing the threat of jihad as practiced by Muslims in their communities, while maintaining the protections and freedoms afforded to all religions under the U.S. Constitution. 27 notes