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Islam and Holy War

Reuven Firestone

in Jihād: The Origin of Holy War in Islam

This chapter examines the preconceived notions about the various topics and subtopics to be studied and establishes the approach employed. From the conquest of Spain in the early 8th century to the ... More

This chapter examines the preconceived notions about the various topics and subtopics to be studied and establishes the approach employed. From the conquest of Spain in the early 8th century to the siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Turks in 1683, Islam represented a threat to the existence of Christendom. Islam's achievement in all scientific and intellectual fields during its heyday in the Middle Ages caused a reaction in the West that considered Islam as cruel, evil, and uncivilized. Although holy war is defined most broadly as any religious justification for engaging in war, it does not necessarily presume a connection of military activity to religious purposes, though it is often the case. The particular expressions of holy war found in the Islamic world tend to be referred to in the West as jihād. Jihād derives from the root j.h.d, meaning to strive, exert oneself, or take extraordinary pains.Less

Unity and Commitment: The Preacher as Apologist for the Ideology of Islamic Fundamentalism

Patrick D. Gaffney

in The Prophet's Pulpit: Islamic Preaching in Contemporary Egypt

This chapter discusses a sermon chosen to exemplify that type of preacher who legitimates his function by assuming the culturally constituted duty of “struggle” or jihād. The sermon was delivered by ... More

This chapter discusses a sermon chosen to exemplify that type of preacher who legitimates his function by assuming the culturally constituted duty of “struggle” or jihād. The sermon was delivered by Shaykh Umar on April 6, 1979, shortly after the first series of arrests in Minya had shown that official patience with the provocative actions by religious extremists had run out. The identification of Shaykh Umar with the entire community signals an ultimate form of metonym as the leader in the form of the warrior and apologist overreaches the implications of transcendence and all but substitutes ideology for religion.Less

Introduction

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

This chapter discusses the methodological approach of the book and explains how it yields a more innovative and comprehensive examination of the concepts of jihād and martyrdom. The importance of a ... More

This chapter discusses the methodological approach of the book and explains how it yields a more innovative and comprehensive examination of the concepts of jihād and martyrdom. The importance of a diachronic survey of key sources is emphasized for charting the changing semantic landscape of these concepts. Among these key sources are Qur’ān, hadīth, tafsīr, fadā’il al-jihād; andfadā’il al-ṣabr works.Less

Drums, Banners and Baraka: Symbols of Authority during the First Century of Marīnid Rule, 1250–1350*

Amira K. Bennison

in The Articulation of Power in Medieval Iberia and the Maghrib

This chapter explores how the Marīnid sultans expressed their authority to their subjects, especially those living beyond Fes, their capital city, during their first century of rule. The construction ... More

This chapter explores how the Marīnid sultans expressed their authority to their subjects, especially those living beyond Fes, their capital city, during their first century of rule. The construction of palatine cities and madrasas were important marks of Marīnid authority in urban space but, as a dynasty ruling over a large rural tribal population, the Marīnids also needed to express their power and authority beyond the city. The chapter begins with analysis of the textual image of kingship presented in Marīnid chronicles and then considers how that image was disseminated to the population. It looks at Marīnid military progresses (ḥarakāt) between their fortresses and towns and Marīnid military engagements in the rural environment and shows how they used a number of symbols of monarchy, from the historically resonant Qurʾān of ʿUthmān to generic items such as drums and banners to make their power manifest.Less

The Ransom Industry and the Expectation of Refuge on the Western Mediterranean Muslim–Christian Frontier, 1085–1350

Camilo Gómez-Rivas

in The Articulation of Power in Medieval Iberia and the Maghrib

This chapter argues for establishing a connection between the ransoming of captives and the hosting of refugees as a politically legitimising practice. It considers twelfthcentury military and ... More

This chapter argues for establishing a connection between the ransoming of captives and the hosting of refugees as a politically legitimising practice. It considers twelfthcentury military and demographic changes that led to an increase in capture and ransom, the legal framework and social response to the ransoming industry, and leaders’ involvement in the release of captives as a high concern of state. An example of large-scale conquest, enslavement, and ransom in the thirteenth century illustrates how ransom and refuge were causally related and predicated upon the reciprocal social expectations of frontier societies.Less

Jihād as a Means of Political Legitimation in Thirteenth-Century Sharq al-Andalus

Abigail Krasner Balbale

in The Articulation of Power in Medieval Iberia and the Maghrib

In eastern al-Andalus, the end of Almohad authority initiated a period of fierce clashes among Muslim and Christian rivals. Many of these conflicts were presented as holy war, and the eventual loss ... More

In eastern al-Andalus, the end of Almohad authority initiated a period of fierce clashes among Muslim and Christian rivals. Many of these conflicts were presented as holy war, and the eventual loss of the territory to the Christians means narratives often emphasise interreligious warfare. An examination of one independent Muslim ruler indicates the vital importance the doctrine of jihād played in political legitimation, but also the flexibility of this concept. Muḥammad b. Hūd (r. 625–634/1228–1237) fought to assert ʿAbbāsid authority in al-Andalus, and presented himself as a holy warrior (mujāhid) to secure the support of his subjects but, simultaneously, he allied with Castile against his Muslim rivals, believing that this was a jihād in the name of ʿAbbāsid authority. From this perspective, the great battles of thirteenth-century al-Andalus were not determined solely by religious affiliation, but also by debates over what constituted righteous rule.Less

Modern and Contemporary Debates on Jihād and Martyrdom II: Privileging History, Context, and Polysemy

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

In sharp contrast to most of the modern thinkers and activists we focused on in the previous chapter, the scholars and activists discussed in this chapter are distinguished by their inclination to ... More

In sharp contrast to most of the modern thinkers and activists we focused on in the previous chapter, the scholars and activists discussed in this chapter are distinguished by their inclination to engage the concept of jihād in a more diachronic and holistic manner and to emphasize its historically-conditioned multi-layered significations through time. The scholars discussed from this group include Muhammad ’Abdūh, Jamāl al-Banna, and Muhammad Sa’īd Ramadān al-Būtī from the pre-September 11 period. From after the September 11 period, the chapter goes on to survey a growing corpus of works in Muslim-majority societies which are vigorously arguing against contemporary militant and extremist understandings of jihād. Amog these works is an influential treatise written by the prominent Egyptian cleric and scholar ’Alī Jum’a. The chapter then proceeds to focus on three contemporary thinkers and writers who emphasize non-violent approaches to conflict resolution: Jawdat Sa’īd, Wahiduddin Khan, and Fethullah Gülen. This pacifist or near-pacifist strain is genuinely a modern development within Islamic thought and tradition and is grounded in a recuperation of the Qur’anic emphasis on ṣabr as the most important dimension of jihād broadly conceived.Less

Conclusion: Analysis of Texts: A Summation

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

The Conclusion weighs the evidence and assess when, how, and why scholars in the classical and medieval periods — exegetes,hadīth specialists and historians — increasingly chose to privilege a ... More

The Conclusion weighs the evidence and assess when, how, and why scholars in the classical and medieval periods — exegetes,hadīth specialists and historians — increasingly chose to privilege a monovalent, belligerent interpretation of jihād roughly from the late second/eighth century on, which in turn instigated counter-narratives which foregrounded and praised its non-militant aspects. The historical and political motivations propelling these developments are reconstructed and the extent to which this broadens and nuances current perspectives on jihād are indicated. This chapter concludes by observing that the literatures extolling the excellences (fadā’il) of military combat and of patient forbearance in particular often encode a number of these concerns in a consciously vaunting manner, creating competing paradigms of piety while invoking, co-opting, and reworking the common idioms -- Qur’anic and otherwise -- of jihād and martyrdom broadly construed.Less

Striving “for,” “in,” and “in the Path of” God: Qur’anic Imperatives in the Middle Meccan–Early Medinan Period

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

This chapter deals with the Qur’anic concepts of jihād and ṣabr by selectively looking at verses which refer to the non-combative meanings of these terms between the middle Meccan to the early ... More

This chapter deals with the Qur’anic concepts of jihād and ṣabr by selectively looking at verses which refer to the non-combative meanings of these terms between the middle Meccan to the early Medinan period. Several key exegetical works from the Umayyad to the Mamlūk periods are consulted. They include the commentaries of Mujāhid b. Jabr (d. ca. 104/722); Muqātil b. Sulaymān (d. 150/767), al-Tabarī (d. 310/ 923); al-Wāhidī (d. 468/1076); al-Zamakhsharī (d. ca. 538/1144) Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (d. 606/1210), and al-Qurtubī (d. 671/1273) in order to obtain representative samplings of views from various historical periods. The focus in this chapter, as is true of subsequent chapters, is on the retrieval of multiple and contested understandings of jihād and ṣabr through a comparison of early and later works of exegesis.Less

Fighting in the Path of God: A Religious and Moral Obligation

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

Chapter Two discusses the introduction of fighting (qitāl) in the Qur’ān as an important component of jihād in specific circumstances when believers are under attack by hostile forces, ending the ... More

Chapter Two discusses the introduction of fighting (qitāl) in the Qur’ān as an important component of jihād in specific circumstances when believers are under attack by hostile forces, ending the prohibition against armed combat during the Meccan and early Medinan periods. The Qur’ān adopts trenchant language to impress upon the faithful that in response to certain conditions, believers should not shrink from carrying out this religious and moral obligation when commanded to do so by God and His prophet. The taking of human life that armed combat entails in such specific situations is acknowledged in the Qur’ān as an act of enormity. Several verses enumerate the conditions under which qitāl becomes necessary – primarily in self-defense -- and outline the limits of justified military combat which should not be contravened by the faithful.Less

Jihād and Martyrdom Compared in Early and Later Hadı̄th Literature

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

Chapter Five compares early (from before the late third/ninth century) and late hadīth works and brings to the fore a range of competing interpretations on how best to strive in the path of God, ... More

Chapter Five compares early (from before the late third/ninth century) and late hadīth works and brings to the fore a range of competing interpretations on how best to strive in the path of God, engendered by the polyvalence of the term jihād in the Qur’ān. Similarly, early hadīth works, in contrast to later ones, also preserve a broad range of meanings for the terms shahīd and shuhadā’ that are often not replicated in later works. The preservation of the broader semantic content of these terms in diverse early works in comparison with later sources allows for reasoned speculation on the probable historical and socio-political reasons for the subsequent circumscription of their meanings. The chapter discusses in great detail the contents of the fadā’il al-jihād sections in al-Musannaf of ’Abd al-Razzāq, al-Muṣannaf of Ibn Abī Shayba (d. 235/849) and in the six authoritative Sunnī hadīth compilations.Less

Jihād and Martyrdom in Early and Late Treatises on the Merits of Jihād

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

Chapter Six deals extensively with the contents of independent fadā’il al-jihād works, which include the Kitāb al-Jihād of ’Abd Allāh Ibn al-Mubārak (d. 181/797), Kitāb al-jihād by Ibn Abī ’āṣim (d. ... More

Chapter Six deals extensively with the contents of independent fadā’il al-jihād works, which include the Kitāb al-Jihād of ’Abd Allāh Ibn al-Mubārak (d. 181/797), Kitāb al-jihād by Ibn Abī ’āṣim (d. 287/900); the Ahkām al-jihād wa-fadā’ilih by ’Abd al-’Azīz b. ’Abd al-Salām al-Sulamī (d. 660/1262) and the Mashāri’ al-ashwāq ilāmaṣāri’ al-ushshāq of Ibn al-Nahhas (d. 814/1411). The extensive comparison of the contents of these works allows for the mapping of the changing semantic landscape, as reflected in this primarily hadith-based discourse, and permits the establishment of a repertoire of meanings assigned to the termjihad and its socio-political function in different historical contexts. In both chapters Five and Six, the chains of transmission of a number of these reports are scrutinized in order to single out their most prolific narrators and discern the probable motivations for the propagation of these reports.Less

Modern and Contemporary Debates on Jihād and Martyrdom I: Political and Militant Perspectives

Asma Afsaruddin

in Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought

Chapter Eight discusses how late medieval discourses on jihād in particular have been appropriated and selectively adapted for new political and ideological ends by political ideologues and radical ... More

Chapter Eight discusses how late medieval discourses on jihād in particular have been appropriated and selectively adapted for new political and ideological ends by political ideologues and radical Islamists in the contemporary period. In the first group are included Hasan al-Bannā, Abū’l-’Alā’ Mawdūdi, Sayyid Qutb, Ayatullah Khomeini, and Muhammad ’Abd al-Salām Faraj from the twentieth century. From the post-September 11 period the views of Abū Yahyāal-Lībī; Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī, and Abū Baṣīr al-Tartūsī are discussed among others. The Islamicizing rhetoric of these ideologues and radicals are subjected to a close analysis and how they use and misuse the classical and later sources to grant religious legitimacy to their various enterprises is scrutinized in detail. Attention is also paid to the views of the last three on particularly suicide bombings.Less

Situating Islamic State’s Message: A Social and Theological Genealogy

Mehdi Laghmari

in ISIS Propaganda: A Full-Spectrum Extremist Message

This chapter offers a presentation of the message conveyed in Islamic State (IS) propaganda, as well as an in-depth exploration of its social and theological origins. The chapter thus clarifies the ... More

This chapter offers a presentation of the message conveyed in Islamic State (IS) propaganda, as well as an in-depth exploration of its social and theological origins. The chapter thus clarifies the various theological interpretations and social dynamics that constitute the foundation of IS’s message and make it appealing for some. The key concepts structuring IS’s message are highlighted, their origins and evolutions are traced, and the way these concepts have eventually come to coalesce into an autonomous message distinct from those enunciated by other Islamist groups is explained. Such a “genealogy”—ranging from medieval thinker Ibn Taymiyyah to 2018 IS—is required to fully understand how these particular dimensions of this message are articulated and disseminated in specific ways by the various outlets constituting IS’ “full-spectrum propaganda” (magazines, videos, books, etc.).Less

The Jihād of St. Alban

in Playing the Fool: Subversive Laughter in Troubled Times

The term “holy war” evokes the distant Middle Ages, whether of the Christian West or of the Muslim East. Today's headlines tell stories of a crusade or of a jihād, inciting readers to supply the ... More

The term “holy war” evokes the distant Middle Ages, whether of the Christian West or of the Muslim East. Today's headlines tell stories of a crusade or of a jihād, inciting readers to supply the needed emotional and political charge. In Christianity, there was for long (and especially in the Eastern church) a deep resistance to conflating just and holy. On the other hand, matters were singularly and impressively different in Islam. Jihād is one of several words in classical Arabic that denotes war while conveying more generally the notion of moral or physical exertion and struggle. The exertions of philosophers, such as Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes among the Muslims and Moses Maimonides among the Jews, might well be characterized as a jihād of their own. Sir Francis Bacon's Advertisement Touching a Holy War is a display of the very disorder that afflicts the affairs of Christendom of his day as well as a display of the state of mind that might counter it.Less