What do these terms mean in arabic?

Can anyone tell me what these terms mean - Jihad, caliphate, and sharia law ?

Jihad = religious war.

Think the christians who brutally murdered millions of native americans in the US...then, you'll have a pretty good idea of what the thinking is.

OR the catholics who finally pushed the arabs out of Spain in 1492, only to start the inquisition - the largest religious & most atrocious religious persecution ever.

Caliphate = a ruler.

Think George W Bush without the thin veneer of societal checks & balances in place - aka, what he's been doing by ripping freedom from the hands of the American people he's swarn to protect & serve.

Sharia law - think puritan laws, eg, can't sell hard alcohol on Sundays, and other 'strange' ideas that would seem foreign, all because your background is different.

I didn't translate them, I'm just using American cultural context to explain

Can anyone tell me the true meaning of these terms without using biased/hate-filled speech ?

Hi amblessed!

I can do my best, although I can't promise anything!!!!

Jihad: literally to 'struggle in the way of God'. The primary aim of jihad is not the conversion of non-Muslims to Islam by force, but rather the expansion and defense of the Islamic state.

Caliphate: Caliph is actually from kalif, the Arabic word for 'successor'. the title of the successors of Mohammed as rulers of the Islamic world, later assumed by the Sultans of Turkey.

Sharia: Literally means 'way' or 'path'. It is the legal framework within which the public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence. Sharia deals with all aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, and social issues.

Hope that helps.

Thanks prkswllflwr !....appreciate that - definately helps.

JIHAD = Struggle, which could be internal (I.e., a struggle to lose weight), or external (I.e., a struggle against someone who is abusing or oppressing you)

CALIPHATE (KHALIFA) = Leader, vicegerent (according to the Qur'an, God created Adam to be God's khalifa on earth, meaning a leader and caretaker)

SHARI'A = Law based on a religious revelation (does not mean specifically MUSLIM, because Jews and Christians also have codes of conduct and laws based on the Torah, Gospel and/or other recognized religious sources)