Self-defense in Islamic and International Law: Assessing Al-Qaeda and the Invasion of Iraq

197 Pages·2008·0.662 MB·English

by  Niaz A. Shah PhD, MA, LLB (auth.)

Self-defense in Islamic
and International Law
Other publications:
Shah, N. A. (2006) Women, the Koran and international human rights law:
The experience of Pakistan.Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Self-defense in Islamic
and International Law
Assessing Al-Qaeda
and the Invasion of Iraq
Niaz A. Shah
SELF-DEFENSEINISLAMICANDINTERNATIONALLAW
Copyright © Niaz A. Shah, 2008.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2008 978-0-230-60618-0
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2008 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLANTM
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Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS.
Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave
Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.
Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and
other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and
other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-37345-1 ISBN 978-0-230-61165-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230611658
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Shah, Niaz A.
Self-defense in Islamic and international law : assessing Al-Qaeda and the
invasion of Iraq / by Niaz A. Shah.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Self-defense (International law) 2. Self-defense (Islamic law) 3. Al-Qaeda
(Organization) 4. Iraq War, 2003–7. Terrorism. I. Title.
KZ4043.S45 2008
341.6—dc22 2007039539
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Scribe Inc.
First edition: May 2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to the memory of the victims
of “terrorism” and the “war on terror.”
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
About the Author xiii
1 Introduction 1
Part I
2 Self-defense in Islamic Law 13
3 Al-Qaeda, the Koran, and Politics of Terrorism 47
Part II
4 Self-defense in International Law 87
5 Legality of Iraq Invasion 121
Part III
6 Self-defense in Islamic and International Law 163
7 Conclusion 173
Notes 179
Selected Bibliography 183
Index 191
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Preface
There are many works focusing on terrorism and, after September 11, 2001,
Islamic terrorism. Writers tend to address the issue of terrorism from the per-
spective of their personal background. In many instances, it is easily discern-
able whether a work is written from a Western or a Muslim perspective. In
two respects, however, this book combines both perspectives. First, I am
looking at it from both Islamic and international legal perspectives. Second,
I write as someone who was born into and brought up in the Islamic tradi-
tion and, since 2001, has earned a living in the West.
I have had the opportunity to talk to people from both worlds. On the
issue of terrorism, when I am among Muslims, some will talk as if the entire
population in the West is against Muslims and supports the “war on terror,”
the killing of Muslims, and the destruction of their countries, such as Iraq
and Palestine. The assumption is wrong. The most severe critics of the war
on terror, for instance, are from the West. If we look at the literature on the
legality of the Iraq invasion in 2003, almost every contributor is from the
West. Even those who initially supported the war on terror are against the
current legal treatment of terror suspects, such as indefinite detention.
It is also the case that many in the West try to paint the picture as if every-
one in the Muslim world supports terrorism. Again, this is wrong. The
majority of Muslims do not support terrorism. In fact, many are ashamed of
the stigma terrorism has brought to Islam. Terrorism has also made the
Muslim communities in Europe and elsewhere appear as suspects, causing
embarrassment at airports, train stations, random police stops and searches,
and so on.
Despite the presence of critics of terrorism and of the war on terror, both
in Islamic and Western circles, we often hear only a single point of view. I am
looking at the issue of terrorism under Islamic law to show that neither
Islamic law nor Muslims support terrorism. I am looking at the war on ter-
ror from an international legal perspective (which many Muslims align with
the West) to show that many Westerners regard sending of armies in Muslim
countries, such as Iraq against international law.