Jihad
2001-10-14 by GAmoore@aol.com
Here is a quote from the NY Times article below: "According to Islamic law there are at least six reasons why bin Laden's barbaric violence cannot fall under the rubric of jihad: 1) Individuals and organizations cannot declare a jihad, only states can. 2) One cannot kill innocent women and children when conducting a jihad. 3) One cannot kill Muslims in a jihad. 4) One cannot fight a jihad against a country in which Muslims can freely practice their religion and proselytize Islam. 5) Prominent Muslim jurists around the world have condemned these attacks, and their condemnation forms a juristic consensus (ijma) against bin Laden's actions. This consensus renders his actions un-Islamic. 6) The welfare and interest of the Muslim community (maslaha) is being harmed by bin Laden's actions and this equally makes them un-Islamic." ---------------- NY Times 10/13/01 ---------------- Two Views: Can the Koran Condone Terror? Osama bin Laden has cited Islamic law to justify his terror against the United States, a view that most Islamic scholars say is a gross distortion. Nonetheless this highly unorthodox view is finding some support in the Muslim world. This is an excerpt from an article by Muhammad Ishrat Husain, a retired accountant, that appeared on Oct. 5 in the opinion section of Dawn (www.dawn.com), the largest English-language newspaper in Pakistan. He is writing about the Koranic justifications for jihad and qital, or combat. The subject of jihad has remained under discussion among both Muslims and non-Muslims for a very long time. Since it is a specifically Islamic subject and has the status of worship, it is vital that its meaning and scope is understood in the light of Koranic teaching and the practice of Rasul Allah (peace be upon him), especially in a country which calls itself Islamic and 90 percent of whose population are Muslims. Literally speaking, jihad means struggle and/or striving in the cause of Allah and includes killing and being killed in his way. It encompasses the whole of the life of a believer and can be divided into three major segments: 1) against the enemies of Allah and his religion Islam; 2) against Satan; 3) against the evil inclinations of one's inner self. Jihad can be exercised physically, through the use of wealth, the pen, speech and even by migration. Thus it will be clear that its scope is very wide. In the present-day context, however, the discussion is dominated by only one aspect of it qital. It is this aspect which generally attracts criticism by nonbelievers and restricts it to the mundane consideration (e.g. nationalism) by believers. The injunctions on jihad and qital are so numerous and lucid in the Koran that they leave no doubt or ambiguity in the minds of believers about the spirit behind this very clear command. This is such an important tenet of Islam that the subject of jihad is mentioned in 28 verses and that of qital in 34 verses. It is not the intention to copy here all the Koranic verses on the subject, but only a few will be quoted to explain the scope of the injunctions: "And fight in Allah's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression for verily Allah does not love aggressors" (2:190). "And slay them wherever you may come upon them, and drive them away from wherever they drove you away for oppression is even worse than killing" (2:191). "Hence, fight against them until there is no more oppression and all worship is devoted to Allah alone" (2:193). Reading the above three verses together one can see very clearly that the underlying spirit of qital is to curb and eradicate oppression, wherever it arises in the way of Allah. It is not confined to qital when one is personally subjected to oppression, but it is incumbent upon all believers to help suppress the oppression wherever it is perpetrated. Any believer who has the means and strength to stand up and resist oppression is commanded in very unequivocal terms to fight against it until it is quelled. In other words it is not imperative for Muslims to defend and guard their own rights and freedom only, but they are commanded to crush oppression (fitna) wherever they come across it. There is so much emphasis on this command that one should ponder the strong words used in condemning oppressors. It is easy to draw at least five distinct messages from the verses referred to above. First, aggression and oppression must be resisted with full force. Short of initiating aggression, Muslims are directed to crush oppression with everything under their command. This is because God does not love aggressors. Second, slay the oppressors wherever they raise their head. Here the important point to note is that waging of qital is not restricted to oppression against one's own self but is incumbent upon believers to fight against oppression wherever it is committed. Third, to drive out the oppressors from where they have driven you out. Again, this is a very clear instruction that believers are commanded to drive out oppressors from their place of abode. Individual and collective freedom can only be preserved in this way. Fourth, that oppression (fitna) is worse than killing. We should first get clear the meaning of fitna. There is no exact equivalent of this word in the English language. It can be described as the creation of disorder and mischief for which perhaps the word oppression is a suitable substitute, as used in most English translations. This brief sentence stresses the need of qital against oppression, explaining that the latter is far worse than the former. That is, while it is accepted that killing is evil, yet it is enjoined to crush a bigger evil. Here the important thing for the believers to note is that it is a command of Allah where there is no room to find excuses to avoid qital to suit one's wishes and expedience. Fifth, the believers should keep on fighting against oppression until it is completely eliminated. The sign of its eradication is given as that all worship is devoted to Allah. Hence there is no compromise to cease the battle against this fitna halfway. Any oppression has to be removed in such a way that the Rule of Allah is seen to apply everywhere. As for recompense, there are rewards for all worships and good deeds. But the reward for qital is supreme. Those who sacrifice their lives in the cause of Allah get an exalted eternal life immediately, and are called martyrs (shaheed). . . . It is not surprising that in order to discredit the struggle for freedom by Muslims the nonbelievers have given it the name of terrorism and militancy and are trying hard to degrade the exalted term "jihadi" to give a derogatory connotation. But for those who believe in the hereafter no cost is too high to follow the command of Allah to fight against oppression. ________________________________________________________________ t The following is an excerpt from an article by Bernard Haykel, a professor of Islamic law at New York University, that appeared in Dawn and several newspapers abroad. As a professor of Islamic law I have researched the law of jihad and can state unequivocally that the war bin Laden has engaged us in cannot be labeled a jihad. Furthermore I believe a strong case can be made that he has acted contrary to the tenets of Islam and can be ostracized from the community of believing Muslims. Moderate Muslims will agree with me, certainly, as they are horrified by this attack and are desperate to have it disassociated from their religion. The West must provide moderate Muslims a way out of bin Laden's trap. There is a sound Islamic legal way to do this: bin Laden can be declared a brigand (muharib), that is, a Muslim who throws off obedience by actions that threaten the safety and security of the community. According to Islamic law there are at least six reasons why bin Laden's barbaric violence cannot fall under the rubric of jihad: 1) Individuals and organizations cannot declare a jihad, only states can. 2) One cannot kill innocent women and children when conducting a jihad. 3) One cannot kill Muslims in a jihad. 4) One cannot fight a jihad against a country in which Muslims can freely practice their religion and proselytize Islam. 5) Prominent Muslim jurists around the world have condemned these attacks, and their condemnation forms a juristic consensus (ijma) against bin Laden's actions. This consensus renders his actions un-Islamic. 6) The welfare and interest of the Muslim community (maslaha) is being harmed by bin Laden's actions and this equally makes them un-Islamic. ----------------- End Forwarded Message -----------------