Kapitel 6 Islamische Gewalt im Lichte des Thomas-Theorems

In: Islam in der Moderne, Moderne im Islam
Author:
Hans G. Kippenberg
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Zusammenfassung

While there is no shortage of studies on Islamic terrorism, only few studies address the ending of terrorist groups. After elucidating the concept of terrorism and its evolvement, this article uses such studies – on religious as well as other terrorist groups – to show that only in few cases a military war caused their ending. Moreover, it argues that such groups often renounced violence due to changes in course of their political participation. To explain such changes, I introduce the Thomas theorem, which, from a perspective of sociological action theory, shows that a value does not – as Parsons has it – determine the preference for all situations, but that rather the definition of a certain situation determines the choice of an appropriate value. A conflict of Muslims with other groups can thus be defined both in a militant and quietist manner. This I illustrate with five cases of jihadi groups that renounced violence, even though their experience of injustice remained the same. The assumption that jihad as a violent maxim is structuring the acts of Muslims in all situations of conflict, is biased and partial. It supposes that they are incapable of settling a peace contract and it contributes to a non-ending war on terror. In fact, Muslims can choose enduring injustice instead of jihad if this is in the interest of the common weal of their community.

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