Yeah, it's more like the traditional view of Islamic jihad, as I understand (note: I am not Muslim, and may have this entirely wrong, please feel free to correct me). It CAN denote war, but it can also denote the struggle of being a good student, or a good father, or struggling against the very forces of nature to bring in a good crop.

Thus, any hard-fought struggle, to a Klingon, can bring glory, though different kinds of glory. DS9 points this out with Garak's claustrophobia in "By Inferno's Light", with Martok stating "there is no greater enemy than one's own fears".