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The Drama of Jihad: The Emergence of Salafi Youth in Indonesia

Noorhaidi Hasan

in Being Young and Muslim: New Cultural Politics in the Global South and North

Using the backdrop of the bloody communal warfare between Muslims and Christians that erupted in the islands of the Moluccas in the eastern part of Indonesia in January 1999, this chapter examines ... More

Using the backdrop of the bloody communal warfare between Muslims and Christians that erupted in the islands of the Moluccas in the eastern part of Indonesia in January 1999, this chapter examines why thousands of young men, roughly half of whom were university students and graduates between 20 and 35 years old, were so eager to welcome the call for jihad and to risk their lives by venturing to the front lines to fight against Christians. In what way does their collective activism reflect a process of cultural interactions between the local and the global, the hegemonic and the subaltern, and the center and the periphery? It is argued that the determination of Salafi youths to join Laskar Jihad to fight in the Moluccas is more a form of rational choice in their attempt to negotiate identity, and thus claim dignity. Their acts can be conceptualized as drama, a sort of performative practice of youths to demonstrate, in the face of powerful opponents, a hitherto marginalized power and to challenge the hegemonic global order.Less

Intifada to the Rescue

Yezid Sayigh

in Armed Struggle and the Search for State: The Palestinian National Movement, 1949-1993

There had been numerous demonstrations and confrontations during the year 1987, the latest in response to the death of four members of the little-known Islamic Jihad. The occupied territories were ... More

There had been numerous demonstrations and confrontations during the year 1987, the latest in response to the death of four members of the little-known Islamic Jihad. The occupied territories were again electrified on 25 November, when a lone PF-GC guerrilla flew over the Lebanese-Israeli border in a motorized hang-glider and killed six soldiers, and wounded seven at an IDF camp near Kiryat Shmona before being killed himself. To the highly visible threat of Israeli encroachment was added the effect of Israeli policies since 1967 on the local economy. In short, the patterns and skills of revolt were already in place by the start of the intifada. Although the spread of education and unemployment were necessary conditions for rising nationalism in the occupied territories, they did not predetermine political leadership, organizational structure, or ideological preference.Less

Surrender and Capitulation in the Middle East in the Age of the Crusades

John France

in How Fighting Ends: A History of Surrender

The great age of crusading in the Middle East, from 1095 to 1291, witnessed a collision between peoples inspired by rival religions, each of which had its own conception of Holy War. Crusading was ... More

The great age of crusading in the Middle East, from 1095 to 1291, witnessed a collision between peoples inspired by rival religions, each of which had its own conception of Holy War. Crusading was the sole reason the Latins had arrived in the East. For the Muslims, Jihad was a sacred duty which their alien elite used to bond the diverse peoples of the area to their rule. Contemporaries correctly noted that there was a special asperity in such warfare. In the great contest in the Middle East from 1095 to 1291 terrible things happened, but they happened in all wars, and even in the crusades surrender and capitulation were possible, albeit beset with difficulties. This was because neither side had the means to conduct unremitting warfare. Moreover members of the ruling classes on both sides wanted to be spared in the event of defeat or capture.Less

The thirteenth-century accounts of the battle of Manzikert

Carole Hillenbrand

in Turkish Myth and Muslim Symbol: The Battle of Manzikert

This chapter gives translations of Muslim accounts of the battle of Manzikert dating from the thirteenth century. All these narratives are in Arabic; some of them are written in ornate style. The ... More

This chapter gives translations of Muslim accounts of the battle of Manzikert dating from the thirteenth century. All these narratives are in Arabic; some of them are written in ornate style. The authors come from Central Asia, Iraq and Syria. Their accounts of the battle are presented in roughly chronological order. Each of these translations is accompanied by a detailed commentary, analysing their content, style and the specific context in which the author is writing.Less

Forgiveness Toward Humankind

Abdulaziz Sachedina

in The Islamic Roots of Democratic Pluralism

In Muslim culture, the restoration of relationships has traditionally required some measure of retribution, tempered with pardon. The Koran and the Tradition have treated retribution as a ... More

In Muslim culture, the restoration of relationships has traditionally required some measure of retribution, tempered with pardon. The Koran and the Tradition have treated retribution as a prerequisite for restoration. In creating and maintaining relationships that would lead to a just society, the principle of coexistence among individuals and communities requires Muslims to rediscover and implement a missing dimension in a political society: restoration through forgiveness and compassion. In spite of its emphasis on forbearance and forgiveness, the Koran permits the use of force under specific circumstance in keeping with pre-Islamic Arab tribal culture, which had institutionalized the military to defend tribal security. In introducing the injunction legitimizing the limited use of force through the instrumentality of jihad, the Koran was thus responding to moral-religious and political conditions prevalent in 7th-century Arabia.Less

Introduction

Sherman A. Jackson

in Initiative to Stop the Violence: Sadat's Assassins and the Renunciation of Political Violence

This chapter places the Gamā‘ah’s renunciation of political violence in historical context, including the evolution of the group itself, its key members, its ideological profile and organizational ... More

This chapter places the Gamā‘ah’s renunciation of political violence in historical context, including the evolution of the group itself, its key members, its ideological profile and organizational structure. It goes on to examine the reaction to the announcement to renounce violence, both within and without the Gamā‘ah, and the Gamā‘ah’s efforts to overcome these obstacles, including its exchanges with the blind Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Raḥmān. It also includes a detailed analysis of the group’s sharī‘ah-justifications for its new position and some of the implications of that position, including the critique of radical jihadism overall and al-Qā‘idah. The Introduction also discusses the likely impact of the Gamā‘ah’s renunciation and its possible significance for Western observers and analysts.Less

No Grave in the Earth: Antigone's Emigration and Arab Circulations

Edward Ziter

in Antigone on the Contemporary World Stage

The well-known Syrian star of film and television, Jihad Saad, staged Antigone's Emigration in 2006 to a packed audience at the Damascus International Theatre Festival. The play — which literally ... More

The well-known Syrian star of film and television, Jihad Saad, staged Antigone's Emigration in 2006 to a packed audience at the Damascus International Theatre Festival. The play — which literally depicts a woman persecuted and forced into flight by war between two brothers — was performed in a city reeling from an influx of Iraqi refugees as the result of violence between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims. Using the line ‘who has no homeland has no grave in the earth’, this chapter focuses on the way the production depicted ‘authority's violent displacement of its opponents, systematically erasing any memory of resistance from the homeland and any memory of the homeland from those who resist’. It argues that the production implicitly transforms Antigone into a searing analysis of violence in the Arab world and its effects on women.Less

The Trained Triumphant Soldiers of the Prophet Muhammad: Holy War and Holy Peace in Modern Ottoman History

Mustafa Aksakal

in Just Wars, Holy Wars, and Jihads: Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Encounters and Exchanges

This chapter examines the role jihad played in Ottoman war- and peace-making from the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774 to the Ottoman entry into World War I in late October 1914. During the “long ... More

This chapter examines the role jihad played in Ottoman war- and peace-making from the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774 to the Ottoman entry into World War I in late October 1914. During the “long nineteenth century” the Ottoman state utilized and developed the principles of jihad in ways that acknowledged new strictures in their relations with Europe. These strictures had put the Ottomans squarely on the defensive, and the call for religious solidarity in times of war became both a tool for mobilization and a mainstay of self-perception. At the same time, European powers beginning to tap into the geostrategic and commercial importance of the Middle East in the age of imperialism viewed jihad as a major threat that could unite Muslims worldwide and undermine Europe’s global reach. Both of these issues came together in a dramatic way in the Jihad Proclamation issued by the Ottoman government in November 1914.Less

Smartphone Jihad: Hashtags in Conflict Zones

Gary R. Bunt

in Hashtag Islam: How Cyber-Islamic Environments Are Transforming Religious Authority

This chapter introduces concepts associated with electronic jihad and their articulation within cyberspace. It draws on explorations of electronic jihad in diverse international settings, and ... More

This chapter introduces concepts associated with electronic jihad and their articulation within cyberspace. It draws on explorations of electronic jihad in diverse international settings, and includes a case study of an al-Qaeda online magazine. The chapter looks at the different ways in which technology has been integrated into campaigns.Less

E-Jihad and Gen-ISIS

Gary R. Bunt

in Hashtag Islam: How Cyber-Islamic Environments Are Transforming Religious Authority

This chapter discusses the emergence of ‘Islamic State’ and their application of social media in order to promote their activities. This was integral to the development of IS, which integrated and ... More

This chapter discusses the emergence of ‘Islamic State’ and their application of social media in order to promote their activities. This was integral to the development of IS, which integrated and recorded its message for recruitment and propagation purposes. The chapter also explores how this viewpoint was contested online.Less

The Question of Divine Help in the Jihād

Dominique Urvoy

in Violence in Islamic Thought from the Qur'an to the Mongols

The theme of ‘help’ is ubiquitous in the Qurʾān. In it, composites of the root n-ṣ-r appear approximately 120 times with that meaning. But more explicitly, in the sūras that are traditionally ... More

The theme of ‘help’ is ubiquitous in the Qurʾān. In it, composites of the root n-ṣ-r appear approximately 120 times with that meaning. But more explicitly, in the sūras that are traditionally associated with the Medinan period (particularly, sūras 5, 8 and 9), this theme comes to light as the idea of a concrete aid given by God to those who fight for Him: this idea appears twelve times, and in two of these, there is a passage of several verses where the verb naṣara or the substantive naṣr is explicitly stated ten times. This help from God can take on several aspects. The Qurʾān sometimes insists on the contrast between the divine plan and the limited vision of humans: it is then a question of divine inspiration as to the decision to fight, in spite of the reluctance of some people (Q 3:5; 33:11–15), or not to give in to the temptation to flee (Q 9:25).Less

Reading the Qurʾān on Jihād: Two Early Exegetical Texts

Andrew Rippin

in Violence in Islamic Thought from the Qur'an to the Mongols

Understanding the character of early jihād has been the focus of much scholarly effort. The relationship between those fighting and the political power of the caliph, the notion of the obligation and ... More

Understanding the character of early jihād has been the focus of much scholarly effort. The relationship between those fighting and the political power of the caliph, the notion of the obligation and appropriateness of continued fighting and the role of the renunciant tradition among early fighters, especially those who become associated with the scholarly classes, are all issues that have drawn attention. 1 The challenges in tackling these issues are many and are primarily related to the limited number and nature of the early sources available to us to clarify the matter. Two early texts that focus on legal aspects of the Qurʾān comprise sources that have not yet been fully tapped in discussing these questions. One work is by Muqātil b. Sulaymān, who died in 150/767 and, while the text in question, Tafsīr al-Khams Miʾat Ā ya min al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, may have achieved its final form later in the second or even the third hijrī century, it represents some of the earliest Qurʾānic exegetical material we have available. The second work is by Abū ʿUbayd, who died in 224/838, and is devoted to abrogation in the Qurʾān (and, to a lesser extent, the Sunna), entitled Kitāb al-Nāsikh wa-l-mansūkh.Less

Egypt: Extremism in moderation: Understanding state responses to terrorism in Egypt

Dina Al Raffie

in Non-Western responses to terrorism

The Arab Republic of Egypt has a long history of battling jihadism in the region, and as such presents an interesting case study of counter-terrorism (CT) practices in a non-Western setting. Contrary ... More

The Arab Republic of Egypt has a long history of battling jihadism in the region, and as such presents an interesting case study of counter-terrorism (CT) practices in a non-Western setting. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that reduces the Egyptian state's response to the indiscriminate use of repressive measures, the current case study offers a more nuanced analysis of Egyptian state responses to terrorism that spans the country's history since its independence. Despite repressive measures constituting the backbone of Egyptian state responses to terrorism, their use is much more strategic than is often implied in the literature. As this chapter will demonstrate, a comprehensive CT approach including select soft measures does exist in Egypt, albeit with the goal of maintaining regime interests, as opposed to necessarily eliminating the phenomenon. On the contrary, the analysis that follows suggests that regime longevity is highly dependent on the existence of an extremist opposition, and that a strategy of extremism in moderation is perhaps the most prominent, underlying strategic trend that has emerged from Egyptian CT state practices over the past six decades.Less

Saudi Arabia: Islam and Saudi Arabia’s counterterrorism strategy

Roel Meijer

in Non-Western responses to terrorism

Saudi Arabia’s counter-terrorism strategy of the first decade on the twenty first century has been widely acclaimed as highly successful and presented as an example for other Muslim countries. The ... More

Saudi Arabia’s counter-terrorism strategy of the first decade on the twenty first century has been widely acclaimed as highly successful and presented as an example for other Muslim countries. The strategy was developed after the bomb attacks of AlQaida on the Arabian Peninsula in 2003. The program is however deeply religious and is based on the reconversion of terrorists from a Jihadi-Salafism to a quietist and law abiding version of Salafism. The chapter goes into the religious terminology Saudi counter-terrorism program by labelling terrorism as religious “deviation,” radicals as people who have been led by their “passions” and are no longer rational and have diverted form the “middle way”. The article also shows how prominent religious scholars have become deeply involved in the state counter-terrorism program of “intellectual security”.Less

Islamism as a Revitalization Movement

James Toth

in Sayyid Qutb: The Life and Legacy of a Radical Islamic Intellectual

Chapter seven investigates three of Qutb’s most key concepts – the condition of Islamic ignorance, jahiliyya, the vision of God’s dominion, hakimiyya, and the process of going from one to the other, ... More

Chapter seven investigates three of Qutb’s most key concepts – the condition of Islamic ignorance, jahiliyya, the vision of God’s dominion, hakimiyya, and the process of going from one to the other, jihad – viewing them as vital parts of the revitalization approach to social movements introduced in chapter one. Jahiliyya means ignorance of Islam, either from before the Prophet Muhammad or, more recently, caused by secularism. It constitutes a critique of economic, political, social, and cultural modernity. Hakimiyya represents the goals the Islamic movement wishes to achieve. It is also elaborated in the remaining chapters, as the book examines the Islamic system, economy, and state. Jihad, or struggle, moves the umma community from jahiliyya to hakimiyya. There are three standard types, jihad of the heart, tongue, and hand. Qutb added a fourth, a jihad of the sword. Two other abstractions are discussed: the Islamic spirit – the determination of Muslims to achieve perfection – and the Islamic method – a more comprehensive strategic approach in contrast to the quotidian tactics of jihad.Less

The Clash of Ignorance

Manlio Graziano

in Holy Wars and Holy Alliance: The Return of Religion to the Global Political Stage

This chapter presents some of the more common misunderstandings about Islam

Islam and Authority before the Colonial Period

Benjamin F. Soares

in Islam and the Prayer Economy: History and Authority in a Malian Town

This chapter elucidates the social and cultural foundations for the way in which Islam has historically been practiced in this region of West Africa and the relationship of different understandings ... More

This chapter elucidates the social and cultural foundations for the way in which Islam has historically been practiced in this region of West Africa and the relationship of different understandings of Islam to ideas about power and authority before the onset of French colonial rule. It focuses particularly on notions of hierarchy and charisma and emphasizes the centrality of exceptional charismatic leaders, Muslim saints, and and the relationship of such figures to Sufism.Less

Colonialism and After

Benjamin F. Soares

in Islam and the Prayer Economy: History and Authority in a Malian Town

This chapter discusses the history of Nioro du Sahel in Mali as a socio-political and religious space in the aftermath of the French colonial conquest, the development of colonial policies toward ... More

This chapter discusses the history of Nioro du Sahel in Mali as a socio-political and religious space in the aftermath of the French colonial conquest, the development of colonial policies toward Islam and Muslims (‘la politique musulmane’), and some of the major political economic changes associated with colonial rule. Changes in understandings of Islam and its practices in this setting can only be understood in relation to some of the complex social transformations that began under colonial rule and have continued in the postcolonial period.Less