Reclaiming Jihad: A Qur'anic Critique of Terrorism

241 Pages·2015·1.54 MB·English

by  ElSayed Amin

E S M.a. a
l ayE d M i n
R ec lai m i ng J i had
a Qur’anic critique
of Terrorism
foreword |i
Reclaiming Jihad
ii| reclaiming jihad
Reclaiming Jihad
a Qur’anic critique
of Terrorism
Dedication
To magdah, Ziyad and the twins
E S M.a. a
l ayEd Min
The IslamIc FoundaTIon
foreword |iii
Reclaiming Jihad
a Qur’anic critique
of Terrorism
Dedication
To magdah, Ziyad and the twins
E S M.a. a
l ayEd Min
The IslamIc FoundaTIon
iv| reclaiming jihad
Reclaiming Jihad: A Qur’anic Critique of Terrorism
Published by
The IslamIc FoundaTIon
markfield conference centre,
Ratby lane, markfield, leicestershire
le67 9sY, united Kingdom
Qur’an house, Po Box 30611, nairobi, Kenya
PmB 3193, Kano, nigeria
Distributed by
KuBe PuBlIshInG lTd.
Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone]
e-mail: [email protected]
copyright © elsayed amin, 2014/1435ah
all rights reserved
The right of elsayed amin to be identified
as the author of this work has been asserted
by him in accordance with the copyright,
designs and Patents act, 1988.
cataloguing-in-Publication data
is available from the British library
IsBn 978-0-86037-593-7 paperback
IsBn 978-0-86037-588-3 casebound
IsBn 978-0-86037-598-2 ebook
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover design and typesetting nasir cadir
Printed by ImaK ofset, Turkey
v
foreword |v
conTenTs
Transliteration Table vi
Foreword by Professor Gordon R. Woodman vii
Introduction: Why does the Qur’an matter
in confronting Terrorism? 1
1. defining Terrorism: secular and Islamic Perspectives 21
2. arming for deterrence in the Qur’an 53
3. Jihad versus Terrorism in the Qur’an 79
4. The modern debate on offensive Jihad 103
5. Terrorism and Its Qur’anic Punishment 126
conclusion: Terrorism and the Path of Persuasion 161
endnotes 169
Index 225
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vi| reclaiming jihad
transliteration table
TRanslITeRaTIon TaBle

Arabic Consonants
initial, unexpressed medial an d ت fi nبa lا: ء ’
a d d k
b dh t l
t r z m
th z [ n
j s gh h
h sh f w
kh s q y
with a shaddah, both medial and final consonants are doubled.
Vowels, diphthongs, etc.
short: a i u
long: a i u
Diphthongs: aw
ay
vi vii
x
foreword |vii
FoReWoRd
There can be little doubt that terrorism is one of the major prob-
lems that confront humanity today. since the bombings at the
World Trade center, new York, on 11 september 2001, and the
declaration a few days later of a “war on terror” by us President
George W. Bush, the problem of terrorism has been seen as a criti-
cal factor in relations between muslims and non-muslims, and also
(although this is often overlooked by non-muslims) between dif-
ferent muslim groups as well as between different non-muslim
groups. The notion of a “war” carries the implication that there are
just two sides to the conflict, perhaps together with neutral parties
who really ought to declare themselves for one side or the other. In
reality the problem of how we should understand and react to ter-
rorism is far more complex.
as dr elsayed amin points out, the meaning of terrorism has
changed much in recent times. Today it is a strongly pejorative
term, although this was not always the case. still, in its current
usage there is considerable doubt as to its precise meaning, and
various problems in determining its applicability to specific acts.
It seems certainly to include acts of violence which are perpetrated
against victims who are, or who include, innocent persons, in the
sense of persons other than enemy combatants. The major systems
of moral belief have often condemned such acts. nevertheless,
popular acceptance even of that condemnatory principle has been
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selectively abandoned, or has been heavily qualified, through the
wars of the twentieth century, in which civilian populations have
been repeatedly targeted by military action, notwithstanding some
progress in the development of the international laws of war.
since the notion of terrorism is today often referred to in de-
bates concerning the practice of Islam, it is vital for anyone who
wishes to act morally to know and understand the Islamic position
on terrorism. The many millions of muslim believers obviously
need to know this so as to be sure how their religion requires them
to act. But everyone else needs to know that as well, so as to un-
derstand the muslim position and to know how they should act
towards muslims. This is especially important in view of the wide-
ly-publicized implied or expressed allegations outside the Islamic
world that Islam is inherently supportive of terrorism. The issue
is vitally important with regard to international relations between
those states which are predominantly Islamic and those which are
not. But in today’s globalized world, in which the population of
virtually every state contains both Islamic and non-Islamic com-
munities, and in which different socially-accepted religious beliefs
and systems of morality and law co-exist, mutual understanding
and respect are also essential in intra-state arenas.
It is extremely difficult to decide what is the correct definition
of terrorism in Islam, or what exactly are the Islamic injunctions in
respect of terrorism. There are variations of opinion on these mat-
ters within the Islamic world. There is a huge amount of literature
in arabic, english and other languages, written by both muslims
and non-muslims. dr elsayed amin’s work seizes on the crucial,
central part of the debates. It studies exegeses by leading scho-
lars of the Qur’anic provisions which refer – or have been taken to
refer – to terrorism. While it rightly aims for general validity within
Islamic thought, it focuses particularly on the views attributable to
sunni teaching, and especially (although by no means exclusively)
on pronouncements made from, or with reference to egypt. even
with these foci, which are entirely justifiable, the bibliography of
literature cited is remarkably large.
The questions on which this work concentrates are the most
foreword |ix
difficult questions arising from the problem of terrorism. The work
asks both how terrorism should be defined for general purposes,
and how it should be understood to be defined in the Qur’an. The
concept bears a certain relationship to the Qur’anic notion of fasad
(corruption, or a negative use of force), although that relationship
seems to be initially unclear and contested. This needs to be investi-
gated, and the uses of fasad elucidated, with a full study of the views
of classical and modern exegetes. since Islam is not a totally pacifist
faith, there needs next to be a consideration of the circumstances
in which the Qur’an enjoins arming as a deterrent to wrongful at-
tack, an injunction sometimes represented as a call to engage in
terrorism. There are strong arguments for holding that this is a se-
rious misinterpretation. The relationship between (prohibited) ter-
rorism and (authorized) jihad, again frequently confused by critics
and some believers, is meticulously investigated, with a full study
of relevant exegeses and academic debates. Finally the work consid-
ers whether terrorism is punishable according to the Qur’an as the
crime of hirabah, and, if it is, how it is to be punished.
I first met dr elsayed amin, and had the privilege of discuss-
ing his work with him, when he was working at the university of
Birmingham on the Phd thesis on which this book is based. he
brings to the work some years of experience at the azhar university,
the leading university in this field in egypt, and as a member of the
egyptian supreme council on Islamic affairs, as well as in other
expert advisory capacities. he is an expert on Islam in english, and
has significant international experience. I would commend to read-
ers, both believers and non-believers, the importance of this work
as a scholarly contribution to understanding, harmony and peace
in the modern world.
Gordon R. Woodman
university of Birmingham
January 2014