The answer given to Plyman’s question about Jihad What are the rules for declaring a jihad?
13-Nov-2001
) was disappointingly incomplete. Unfortunately I can only set the record in the general direction of straight since I’m no expert and I just returned (slightly past due) a very interesting book about jihad and holy war:
The Holy war idea in Western and Islamic Traditions by James Turner Johnson
Based on my recollection, here’s some more reply to Plyman:
Can I declare jihad? When is jihad over? Seems that if jihad is not declared, or ignored, there would be one less reason for terrorist attacks. What are the rules about declaring jihad?
- The authorization for a jihad of the sword (as opposed to a personal striving for submission, or “islam” to God) depends on whether it is an offensive or defensive struggle. An offensive jihad, to increase the sphere of Islam (the Dar al Islam, presumed to be internally peaceful and ordered by God’s will) is the duty of the religious (and presumed political, as there is no distinction between church and state in the Mahomedan model) leader. A muslim leader should, conditions permitting, wage jihad in some form annually. Traditional legal interpretation makes it the duty of all able-bodied muslim men to participate in this form of jihad against the realm outside of God’s influence (the Dar al harb or “sphere of conflict”). All infidels who do not submit to the call to Islam are candidates for getting killed, though if it benefits the Islamic community, prisoners may be taken as slaves. Christians and Jews (People of the Book) should be allowed to practice their religion under Islamic controls, and may be required to pay higher taxes.
The problem with declaring such offensive jihads is that no authority exists in the contemporary Islamic world, which is divided into states with conflicting interests and interpretations. Furthermore, Shii’s believe that the only true religious authority is held by the hidden Imam, who has thusfar failed to reappear.
The second violent form of the jihad is waged to defend Islam from attackers. This jihad is the duty of all muslims, regardless of gender or station. Interpreting what constitutes an attack is where rhetorical skill benefits contemporary muslim leaders with itchy trigger fingers. For Mr. bin Laden, to pick a random example, Islam is threatened directly by the presence of infidels on holy soil in Arabia and indirectly by the aftermath of colonial imperialism and the strictures of modern global economic practices, thus making it the duty of all muslims to “defend” Islam from its American attackers. His position is, thankfully, not universal. (though it may be growing.)
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As long as some part of the human world (whether it be territory, practice, institutions or the individual heart) escapes the influence of the sanctified Islamic state, then jihad will continue. A particular offensive jihad may conclude when a particular objective has been reached, but as long as God’s realm is incomplete, then the overall jihad is unfinished.
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The use of terror to further jihad is neither specifically condoned nor prohibited by the Quran. A moderate reading will tend to discourage violence, while a fanatical reading will turn up gems like “bloodshed is preferable to idolatry” which, in the minds of some, justify the killing of those we would consider innocent. Children, by tradition, are thought to be muslims by nature until they consciously turn away from Allah. Also by tradition, the call to Islam should be issued before any attack and those who answer it should be spared. (Although there are provisions in jurisprudence for the “collateral damage” caused by indiscriminate modes of warfare such as besieging a city.)
An oft-referenced story about Mohamed tells of how, upon returning from battle, he commented that he was returning from the lesser (outward) jihad to the greater (inward) jihad. Moderate islamic theology stresses that the duty of each muslim to jihad must first be fought within the individual and that submission to God… the internal state of the individual as well as the muslim community, is of much greater priority than the interface with the Dar al harb. Critics can illustrate how the call to jihad has been repeatedly abused throughout history… a history which is infrequently passed on to the next generation of mujahadin.
- Dystopos
[Edited by C K Dexter Haven on 11-29-2001 at 03:40 PM]