Excerpt:
An Islamic-advocacy group linked to terrorism is launching a public-relations campaign to argue that jihad doesn't mean Islamic holy war, but instead a "concerted effort … with the purpose of getting to a better place."
However, the campaign, which is being launched Dec. 14 by an affiliate of the Council on American Islamic Relations, isn't a formal religious declaration by United States or Arab Islamic authorities, and it does clash with orthodox judgments dating back 1,400 years to the beginning of Islam.
"It is [public] education about what we believe," said Ahmed Rehab, who serves as the founder of the project, head of CAIR's Chicago affiliate and CAIR's strategic communications chief.