Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism

Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism Introduction There has been a long controversy in the Indian society and even in the world at large regarding the concept of the Arabic word Jihad which is used 41 times in the verses of Holy Quran. Jihad has often been used as a synonym for the word terrorism, sometimes for fundamentalism and also sometime for the word “Holy-war”. The word Jihad has been frequently used by politicians, publications and media outlets. Even during the aftermath of the tragic events of 9/11, 7/7 and the recent Mumbai Attacks, many western commentators labelled them as acts of Jihad. However, people failed to realise and sometimes to serve their own evil motive, ignored the fact that an act committed by a particular group or sects of a community cannot be levelled against the whole innocent community as a whole. However, Muslims can hardly find anyone to blame but themselves because they have failed to live by the Islamic tenants, and they have failed to promote the concept of Jihad in Islam

Islam Islam is a Semitic religion. Islam comes from the root word “Salaam”, which means peace. It also means submitting one’s will to Allah. Peace is a goal that Muslims are required to strive for, in their own selves, in their families and in their communities. Muslims accept the Qur’an, as the word of God revealed to His last and final prophet, Muhammad. Islam states that Allah sent messengers and prophets throughout the ages with the message of Unity of God and accountability after death. Islam thus makes it an article of faith to believe in all the earlier prophets, starting with Adam, and continuing with Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, John the Baptist and Jesus.

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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism What is Jihad? The term “Jihad” is derived from the Arabic word “Jahada”1 which means to strive or to struggle. In the Islamic context the word “Jihad” means to strive against one’s own evil inclination. Jihad in Islamic terminology means to strive to improve the society. It even includes to strive in the battlefield for selfdefence. Jihad also includes within its meaning to strive to fight against evil, tyranny and oppression. Any person who engages in Jihad for the sake of Allah according to the rules of Quran and Sunnah, as advocated by Prophet Muhammad is called as “Mujahid”. Mujahidin is the plural of Mujahid.

The Levels of Jihad The concept of Jihad has different meaning relating to the time, place and situation. However, there are mainly four kinds of Jihad. They are: Inner / Social Jihad (Jihad-e-akbar)- A personal struggle within one's self to submit to Allah, fight evil within one's self, achieve higher moral and educational standards. It also means Jihad against evil, injustice and oppression within one's self, family and society.  Religious Jihad (Jihad ash-Shaitan) – Jihad against Saitan to disregard the misgivings and doubts he raises to invalidate Iman. It is Jihad against him by ignoring what he tempts one with erroneous intentions and desires.  Economic Jihad (Jihad al-Kuffar wal-Munafiqeen) – Jihad which comprises of economic measures, and spending from one’s means to improve the living conditions of the poor and the downtrodden.  Physical Jihad (Jihad-e-asghar) - Jihad against all that prevents Muslims from servitude to God (Allah), people from knowing Islam, defense of a

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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism Muslim society (country), retribution against tyranny, exploitation, and oppression and/or when a Muslim is removed from their homeland by force. Thus the concept of Jihad is vast and comprehensive that encompasses various spheres of activity, all directed towards the betterment of self and society.

Fighting in Islam Fighting in Islam connotes to physical form of Jihad. Jihad on the battlefield, in the Islamic perspective, is the last resort, and is subject to stringent conditions. It can be waged only to defend freedom, which includes freedom of faith as well as retribution against tyranny, exploitation, and oppression. Thus the conditions of physical Jihad are clearly defined in the Qur’an. There have been many anthropological studies on war and fighting, and the conclusions are very similar. Not only have humans been fighting and killing for millennia, the act of fighting and killing is a human reality. The reasons for fighting and war differ. Some of these reasons include land, fame, fortune, religion, independence and resources. Humans have also fought to defend themselves and others, or to attack their enemies. In summary, war and fighting are human phenomena that are not specific to any particular race, ideology or religion. In the modern world there are many wars, and they are mostly over resources. An example is the US and UK fighting for oil and strategic dominance in Iraq and Afghanistan. Islam, being a practical way of life, realises that humans fight and engage in war. So, it had laid down certain conditions and rules which are to be followed by the Muslims if they go on war. They are: no killing of innocent people  no killing of women, children and aged person LAW AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism  no burning of crops or trees  only fight those that fight you  no wanton destruction  do not break monasteries  do not kill animals  fight in the cause of GOD against those who attack you, but do not aggress  do not fight the enemies at a Sacred place, unless they attack you from therein  if any enemy personnel seeks asylum, give protection and escort him to a safe place. Although Islam permits Jihad on the battlefield under the conditions mentioned above, the rules of engagement reflect Islam’s inherent inclination towards peace. Military conflict is to be directed only against fighting troops and not against civilians. Thus non-combatants are guaranteed security of life even if their state is at war with an Islamic state. The ravages of war are not an excuse for Muslims to engage in any form of cruelty or violation of human rights. It is forbidden under Islamic law, to ill-treat prisoners of war or to deny them the essentials of life, including medical treatment. Physical Jihad cannot be waged with the objective of compelling people to embrace Islam and if the enemy offers peace, it should be accepted even at the risk of possible deception. According to the Islamic Holy Book - the Quran, Allah has bestowed honour on every individual irrespective of skin colour, race, nationality, etc. Freedom is one of the great favours of Allah and its deprivation is a great misery. Under the Islamic dispensation, no one can be made a captive without a just cause. Prisoners can only be taken in the event of a regular declared war or battle and not for any other reason or under any other pretext.


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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism Envoys are privileged people in the Islamic system. They enjoy full personal immunity. They are not subject to political ransom, no matter how worthy the cause may be, and to kidnap them is a heinous crime. They must not be killed, molested or maltreated. Thus Islamic scriptural commandments and the precepts of the Holy Prophet of Islam concerning diplomatic immunity are free from ambiguities. In a nutshell, taking hostages and maltreating envoys and private citizens in any shape and form is totally foreign to the teachings and doctrines of Islam. It is pertinent to note that all the major religions of the world have prescribed fighting, at some point of time or the other, especially in self-defence or for fighting against oppression. All the major religions encourage their followers to strive in good works. It is mentioned in Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata to fight and kill the enemies even though they are his relatives. A kind of similar provisions also reflects in Old and New Testaments.

Does Jihad means Holy War? In Islam, there is no such thing as holy war. The word Jihad is mistranslated as “Holy War”. The Arabic equivalent of “Holy War” is harb-umuqadasah. This term is not found in any verse of the Qur’an. There is nothing in the Islamic sources that permit a Muslim to fight against non-Muslims solely on the basis that they are not Muslim. This terminology was generated in Europe during the Crusades and their war against Muslims. Islam recognizes Jews and Christians as the "People of the Book" because they all follow the Prophet Abraham, believing in Moses' and Jesus' teachings. For many centuries, Muslims have peacefully coexisted with Christians, Jews, and people of other faiths, maintaining social, business, political and economic treaties. Islam respects all humans and faiths as long as there is no religious oppression, forbidding


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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism Muslims from serving Allah, preventing others from learning about Islam, and not respecting treaties. The Western media and even some scholars sometimes ignore the distinction between Holy War and the aspects of Jihad. It must be remembered that the Holy Quran does not make Jihad, the holy war, in context of an article of faith. The sayings and traditions of the Holy Prophet render it into a formula for active struggle that invariably and incorrectly tended towards a militant expression. Modern day terrorism is contrary to the purview of the real spirit of the Islamic Jihad.

Can Jihad be compared with “Terrorism”? Terrorism is usually defined as ideologically motivated indiscriminate violence that targets civilians, with the intention of inspiring terror in order to achieve economic gains or to serve political ends. The term "terrorism" does not exist in the Quran or the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. Terrorist acts are severely condemned and Islam prescribes most severe punishment. Islam is a religion and a way of life that does not separate politics from religion. Islam is a religion of mercy, unity and most importantly peace with one's self and others, to defend not to fight. Terrorism is always directed to harm innocent civilians while Jihad does not permit this. Terrorism is often fuelled by materialistic or territorial goals generally with no regard to religion whereas a jihad is the struggle in the path of god and has no other goal apart from this. Terrorism is always directed towards the killing of innocent civilians and may be by way of explosions, attacks, etc, while, jihad is not permitted against innocent. It is clear that terrorism has no place in the noble concept of Jihad. Even Jihad that involves physical conflict is the very antithesis of terrorism, as is clear from the following differences: LAW AND SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism 1. Jihad can be launched only by an established authority as a policy in order to deter aggression. Terrorism, on the other hand, is committed by individuals or groups that have no legitimacy to speak for the majority. When terrorism is committed by states, it usually depends on misleading the masses. 2. Jihad is limited to combatants while terrorism involves indiscriminate killing of civilians. 3. Jihad, when the need arises, is declared openly, while terrorism is committed secretly. 4. Jihad is bound by strict rules of engagement while terrorism is not bound by any rules. Islam demolishes any supposed justification of modern day hostagetaking and hijacking of innocent people not involved in actual combat. The presentation of Islam as a crude and barbaric religion which gives itself the right to cause unwarranted human and material suffering and destruction under the guise of Divine authority, is not the kind of Islam we find in the Holy Quran and in the precepts of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. In other words, the philosophy of Islam totally rejects terrorism.

The Cause of Terrorism The history of terrorism and political violence demonstrates that it is cross-cultural, cross religion and is driven by a number of factors often born out of a sense of political injustice, occupation or invasion. An academic study by Professor Robert Pape, an Associate Professor at Chicago University, published in his book ‘Dying to Win: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism’2, demonstrates that

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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism the advent of suicide bombing is not unique to Muslims but is rather a generic human issue driven by a number of political factors rather than theological beliefs. The study included the first complete database of every suicide attack around the world from 1980 to early 2004. The study found that: • The world leader in suicide attacks was the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka – a Marxist, secular group. • Two thirds of Muslim ‘suicide bombers’ have been from countries where US forces have or are still maintaining military forces. • The presence of US forces is creating suicide attackers in Iraq which was a country that had never previously had a suicide attack in its history prior to the 2003 invasion. According to the study, political injustice provides a possible reason for the proponents of such attacks to justify such actions. It is therefore crucial that acts of political violence are analysed as a separate issue based upon the individuals who choose to engage in them. The Professor Robert Pape states, “the data show that there is little connection between suicide terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, or any one of the world’s religions. . . . Rather, what nearly all suicide terrorist attacks have in common is a specific secular and strategic goal: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from territory that the terrorists consider to be their homeland”3 Regarding the July 2005 bombings in London, the British government was forewarned that its involvement in the catastrophic US invasion of Iraq had 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_to_Win:_The_Strategic_Logic_of_Suicide_Terrorism


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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism increased Britain’s vulnerability to the threat of retaliation. The leaked report from the UK’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), which predated the attacks, warned: “Events in Iraq are continuing to act as motivation and a focus of a range of terrorist related activity in the UK”. In April 2005, a report drawn up by the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) entitled “International Terrorism: Impact of Iraq” was even more explicit, stating: “We judge that the conflict in Iraq has exacerbated the threat from international terrorism and will continue to have an impact in the long term. It has reinforced the determination of terrorists who were already committed to attacking the West and motivated others who were not.” Thus, the causes of terrorism has no link with Jihad as such, because no religion in the world, and even Islam does not prescribes it.

Conclusion:As the great historian De Lacy O’Leary wrote in “Islam At the Crossroads”4:- “History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.” It is essential to understand what role Western foreign policy has played in exacerbating the sense of political injustice and in driving individuals to undertake acts of political violence against those they perceive as aggressors. This is not a justification, but it does set a context for a discussion to find answers 4

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Islamic perspective on Jihad and Terrorism to contemporary political problems. This can be done only by going to the root causes of the violent acts and cure the wrong suffered by the people which led them to form terrorist groups. Rather than to blame a whole community or its leanings towards Islam and its concept of Jihad, it is important to understand the political nature of the factors that drive such acts as opposed to solely attributing them to Jihad, which does not take account of the history of political violence across cultures, religions and ways of life. Because if we look at the history, we can understand that even far more devastating acts were being done by Mussolini and Hitler; and the acts done by them were never considered as Holy War, although they were Christians. The acts were against humanity and hence condemned. Similarly, it has to be noted, that Muslims are simply human beings that believe in Islam, which is a comprehensive way of life that seeks to promote religious tolerance and social cohesion. The Islamic concept of Jihad is not indiscriminate terrorism, rather it is a mechanism that seeks to remove oppression and protect the innocent. Regardless of how legitimate a cause may be, Islam does not condone the killing of innocent people. Terrorizing the civilian population, whether by individuals or states, can never be termed as jihad and can never be reconciled with the teachings of Islam. This has to be borne in the minds of the NonMuslims as well as Muslims that the concept of Islamic Jihad is far different than the concept of terrorism, which Islam totally contempt’s, and the true concept of Jihad has to be publicised so that it does not remain an absurd myth.

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References:1. Communal Harmony Meet, held in Chennai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T6k6KDM0bQ (published in April 14, 2012) 2. http://www.irf.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4 20%3Asimilarities-between-islam-and-hinduismpart8&catid=76%3Aqueries-on-islam-may-2011&Itemid=199 3. http://www.aboutjihad.com/terrorism/islam_jihad_terrorism.php 4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_to_Win:_The_Strategic_Logic_of_Su icide_Terrorism 5. http://www.hamzatzortzis.com/essays-articles/politics-currentaffairs/is-jihad-terrorism/ 6. http://willbselling.com/book-reviews_277.html 7. http://www.whyislam.org/faqs/islam-on-violence/why-does-islam-havethe-concept-of-jihad-or-holy-war-which-some-use-to-justify-violenceand-terrorism/ 8. http://islam1.org/khutub/Jihad%20in%20Islam%201.htm 9. http://lostislamichistory.com


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