The Concept of Jihad in Islamic Texts: An Analytical Study of Violence between Mainstream Scholars and Extremists
In: Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur'an and Hadith StudiesThis paper seeks to analyze both the Islamic texts dealing with jihad and the relationship between them and its practice. The desire to promote peace and harmony is based on general Islamic religious purposes, or Maqāṣid al-šarīʿa, of the two interpretations of the extremists and mainstream scholars. Bearing in mind that these texts are believed to be divinely-inspired, the interpretations are, however, human. The said texts have been the subject of two broad interpretational approaches: the orthodox interpretation that is widely accepted by the mainstream and supported by Islamic principles in general, and the interpretations of certain minorities that are rejected by the mainstream. This paper seeks to examine the qualitative research methodology and theological analysis used by contemporary extremists groups of what seems to be textual evidence of “violent jihad” in Islam. The significance of this study is to investigate the appropriate use of interpretations that could be acceptable to mainstream scholars and reflects the real nature of Islamic principles. Subsequently, it concludes that the violence that is manifested in extremist activities is the result of the misinterpretation of some Islamic texts regarding jihad, and that, in contrast, the best modern interpretation of jihad is ğihad al-nafs, which, alongside many other meanings that promote peace, has been declared the correct path by mainstream scholars in their response to the extremists.
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Anonymous , Jihad and the Islamic Law of War. , (The Royal Āl al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought Press , Amman 2009 ) n.d. http://www.lettertobaghdadi.com/new-signatories/.
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al-‘Awaayshah Shaykh Husayn , '“The general Issue of ʿAqidah from fundermentals of the Salafee creed” ', in Abu aminah Bilal Philiphs (ed), BilalPhiliphs.com. , (2015 ) http://bilalphilips.com/portfolio/general-issues-of-faith/.
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Dillon Michael R. , Wahhabism: is it a Factor in the spread of Global Terrorism? , (Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey 2009 ).
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Faisal Shaikh Abdullah Anonymous Students Anonymous “The 21 aims and objectives of Jihad” Authentic Tauheed 2014 July 9 accessed Fabruary 14, 2015 http://www.authentictauheed.com
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Faraj Muhammad Abdul salām Umāmah Abū , Jihād the Absent Obligation , (Maktabu al-Ansār, Birmingham, UK 2000 ).
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Hashmi Sohail H. , '“Interpreting the Islamic Ethics of War and Peace” ', in Sohail H Hashmi (ed), Islamic Political Ethics: Civil Society, Pluralism, and Conflict , (Oxford University Press , England 2002 ) 195 -215.
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Ishak Mohd Shuhaimi bin Hajj , '“Islam and Media” ' (2012 ) Vol. 8 (NO:7 ) Asia Social Science (Canadian Centre of Sceince and Education) , June : 263 -269.
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Khan Maulana Wahiduddin , Islam and Peace , (International Center for Peace and Sprituality, Islam Abad 2013 ).
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Lacroix St’ephane & Hegghammer Thomas , '“Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi Arabia:the Story of Juhayman Al-Utaybi” ' (2007 ) Middle East Studies : 103 -122.
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Mash’hūr Musṭafa , Mustafa Mash’hūr (ed), Al-Jihād huwa al-sabīl , (Dār al-da‘awah , Cairo 1943 ) I vols.
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“Master Papers (ISIS)” E world Publishing accessed 06 21, 2016 n.d. https://www.papermasters.com/isis.html
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Schleifer S. Abdallah Prof. , Al-Mahdi Al-Rawadieh, Afab Ahmed, Zeinab Asfour, Lamya Al-Khraisha, Moustafa Elqabbany & Minwer Al-Meheid (eds), The world’s 500 Most Influencial Muslim , (Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Amman 2014/2015 ) I vols 2014/2015.
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Qadhi Yasir “Mahdi between fiction and reality” Yutube n.d.
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Qadhi Yasir , '“On Salafī Islam” ', in Amad Shaykh & Haytham Soliman (eds), Muslim Matters , (2014 ) http://muslimmatters.org/2014/04/22/on-salafi-islam-dr-yasir-qadhi/#comments-51211.
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Unknown Author , Jihad and the Islamic Law of War , (The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought Press , Jordan 2009 ) Unknown I vols.
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6
Yasir Qadhi, “On Salafī Islam”, in Muslim Matters, ed. Amad Shaykh and Haytham Soliman, available online at: http://muslimmatters.org/2014/04/22/on-salafi-islam-dr-yasir-qadhi/#comments-51211.
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7
Mohammad Shuhaimi bin Hajj Ishak, “Islam and Media”, Asia Social Science. Canada Journal of Science and Education, 7/8 (2012), 263-69.
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8
Wahiduddin Khan, Islam and Peace, Islamabad, International Center for Peace and Spirituality, 2013, p. 1.
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10
Ibid., p. 6.
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12
Ibid., p. 5.
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13
Ibid., p. 6.
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24
Ibid., p. 15.
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25
Ibid., p. 14.
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26
Ibid., p. 14.
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30
Ibid., p. 12.
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42
Ibid., 2.
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62
Dillon, Wahhabism: Is it a Factor in the Spread of Global Terrorism? p. 33.
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63
Sohail H. Hashmi, “Interpreting the Islamic Ethics of War and Peace”, in Islamic Political Ethics: Civil Society, Pluralism, and Conflict, ed. Sohail H Hashmi, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002, 195-215.
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The Concept of Jihad in Islamic Texts: An Analytical Study of Violence between Mainstream Scholars and Extremists
In: Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur'an and Hadith StudiesThis paper seeks to analyze both the Islamic texts dealing with jihad and the relationship between them and its practice. The desire to promote peace and harmony is based on general Islamic religious purposes, or Maqāṣid al-šarīʿa, of the two interpretations of the extremists and mainstream scholars. Bearing in mind that these texts are believed to be divinely-inspired, the interpretations are, however, human. The said texts have been the subject of two broad interpretational approaches: the orthodox interpretation that is widely accepted by the mainstream and supported by Islamic principles in general, and the interpretations of certain minorities that are rejected by the mainstream. This paper seeks to examine the qualitative research methodology and theological analysis used by contemporary extremists groups of what seems to be textual evidence of “violent jihad” in Islam. The significance of this study is to investigate the appropriate use of interpretations that could be acceptable to mainstream scholars and reflects the real nature of Islamic principles. Subsequently, it concludes that the violence that is manifested in extremist activities is the result of the misinterpretation of some Islamic texts regarding jihad, and that, in contrast, the best modern interpretation of jihad is ğihad al-nafs, which, alongside many other meanings that promote peace, has been declared the correct path by mainstream scholars in their response to the extremists.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 2535 | 1261 | 25 |
| Full Text Views | 292 | 24 | 2 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 96 | 37 | 2 |