RPW 110
Spring 2011
Response essay
The misinterpretation of Jihad, as a form of violence.

Words: 2000

Our society today faces the greatest challenge in the form of terrorism threatening countless lives and shattering those very ideals that sustain humanity. The misinterpretation of jihad is the primary cause behind many terrorist activities in the recent times. The misinterpretation of this word was first started by Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami, He was a Damascene jurist and a pious Muslim who was the first to preach jihad against the crusaders in the aftermath of the First Crusade. He was one of the first to misconstrue jihad and preach the misinterpretation of jihad .He wrote the book Kitab Al- Jihad which means “book of the holy war”. In this book he proposes for the first time Jihad as a means of warfare against non-believers. “If he did not undertake the sending of enough troops to fight, those who are absent (must) go out, and consider as an obligation that which God (who is praised) said.” The above excerpts explicitly prove the aggressive nature of his ideology and the eventual misinterpretation of Jihad. The above statement suggests to Muslims if god didn’t send enough men to war against non-Muslims then it is the obligation of every Muslim to fight this war against non-believers. This concept was shouted through speakers in mosques and had a lot of audience hence the impact it had on Muslims was much more. His concept of jihad as warfare and fight against non-Muslims originated thus and slowly gained favor amidst other Muslim leaders as well. Jihad today is practiced in many countries all over the world. However, as stated earlier Jihad’s true meaning was lost in the course of human history .What we have and practice today is a corroded or corrupted version of a noble virtue. Jihad its actual meaning is to struggle, striving in the way of Allah (al-jihad fi sabil Allah). Jihad primarily refers to the inner struggle of being a person of virtue and submission to God in all aspects of life. The Quran permits violence only at the event of war as a means of self defense.
“To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to defend themselves), because they are wronged - and verily, Allah is Most Powerful to give them victory - (they are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right - (for no cause) except that they say 'Our Lord is Allah'... (The Holy Quran, 22:39-40)” This quote from the Quran gives permission to Muslims to fight if they are wronged first or if war is declared against Muslims first. This is misinterpreted by extremists. They think that the western heritage has declared a war against their way of life and their religion. However this has been misinterpreted by the demagogues for their selfish ends. Today, the misinterpretation of Jihad is gaining grounds and becoming more prevalent than ever. The children are calculatedly taught that their religion is being threatened, their spirituality and devotion in God is manipulated and transformed into an aggression. They are taught how to use guns and are taught to fight against non-believers. “These Hammas entities engage in the incitement and radicalize society and undertake recruitment efforts to socialize even the youngest children to aspire to die as martyrs” Hammas is a terrorist group and use entities like orphanages and schools to recruit children Thus, it is a compulsion but a camouflaged one. These terrorist organizations do not follow the standards set in the Quran by Allah and Mohamed they make their own variety of the religion and spread this to young minds, who can’t think for themselves at that gullible stage of life. This makes it easier for terrorist organizations as these children can’t think they believe everything to be true and as generations are trained it becomes a trend. However, this very compulsion itself is against the principles of the Quran. . “Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from error” [Al – Qur’an 2:256] The Quran also mentions that if the enemy offers peace and there is yet a chance for deceit the Muslims should accept the peace proposed by the enemy. Thus we see Quran prefers compassion and negotiation over violence and vindictiveness. It without doubt upholds Peace and Harmony as the greatest ideals. If at all there are instances when the Quran sanctions the use of violence it is certainly for defense and for the cause of good to triumph over evil. The word Jihad is misinterpreted as ‘Holy War’. The Arabic equivalent of ‘Holy War’ is harb-u-muqadasah. 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 quote from the Quran is mainly misinterpreted “Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.” [Al – Qur’an 002:190] In this quote from the Quran many Muslims take this to mean that it is a free pass to fight in the name of religion. But they only look at the first part of this quote but Allah also says that there are limits and if the limits are passed they won’t be forgiven. The acts of 9/11 are perceived by many Americans that the act was due to the result of the freedom and the way of life in America. But this does not stand to be true. There is a lot of anti-westernism in the Middle Eastern countries. This is a form of a solution to preserve the culture of these countries. “Most Muslims are not fundamentalists, and most fundamentalists are not terrorists, but most present day terrorists are Muslims and proudly identify themselves as Muslims.”
I agree with the author on this statement above. He speaks the blunt truth. Pluralism in the world has become a treat to Muslims everywhere. Because of extremists the whole religion has got the name terrorism and when you are a Muslim the world looks at you differently and think you are a terrorist. This fight against terrorism is not only for non-Muslims but also real Muslims. The checks in the airports intended towards Muslims as suspects of terror. Many may argue that this is for the protection of innocent people but to only target a certain sect of a population is not a good idea, this in one way may aggravate the anger in them and push them towards terrorism. Many Muslims take the word jihad to another extreme and use that as an excuse to reach personal goals. Even though Osama bin laden cannot be justified for his act his reasoning for the attacks in a letter sent to American seems to bring more light on why the acts were targeted to America in particular.
“Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis;
(i) These governments prevent our people from establishing the Islamic Shariah, using violence and lies to do so.
(ii) These governments give us a taste of humiliation, and places us in a large prison of fear and subdual.
(iii) These governments steal our Ummah's wealth and sell them to you at a paltry price.” Though these reasons stand true they do not justify his acts. The reason seems to convey many Muslims to take extreme actions against non-Muslims. History also proofs that the American government manipulated many of the Middle-Eastern leaders who were weak and use them as an ally to implement and control governments of these small and power less countries. Osama bin laden and his followers do not want any other country to interfere with their affairs and their way of education and politics. Though I don’t stand for what he did I must say that his reasoning stands true. When you are a guest at any other country it is a must and morale to respect the culture and the way of life. The American way of life may suit the United States better but it won’t suit other countries. The American way is neither the only way nor the best way of living life. Terrorism is eating the world in fear. People are scared to walk in the streets. The streets are no safer. Plato’s concepts as professed in The republic I believe can be a step to find a solution to terrorism. In creating a society Socrates suggests that the ‘ship of state’ will be navigated by the Philosopher Ruler, “The philosopher is the man who loves wisdom in the widest sense, including especially learning, knowledge and truth”. The Auxiliaries, those who “discharge military, police and executive duties under the orders of the ruler” will assist the Philosopher Ruler in guiding the state. The state will be protected by the Guardians. Men and women should be given equal opportunities to perform. “Both can and both should follow the same range of occupations and perform the same functions; they should receive the same education to enable them to do so. In this way society will get the best value from both.” This replaces a patriarchal society with an egalitarian one with regards to the sexes. It is important for God and other religious entities to always be the source of good. Finally, it is important that citizens be raised on the Noble Falsehood to ensure obedience to the functioning rules of the society. Socrates suggests that this government that will sustain itself unlike others such as Timarchy, Oligarchy, Democracy and Tyranny. Therefore in assessing the education implemented in the state it is important to note that “all must be made to believe that God is the sole cause of good; we must look for some factors other than God as the cause of evil.” I believe that if this was to be consciously implemented in Islamic education; the misinterpretation of Jihad started by Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami would be eradicated forever. If God was to be believed as the consistent source of good as opposed to encouraging violence and war even in the most provocative, people would never think of resorting to violence at any point in time. Despite the fact that violence is an innate emotion and cannot be governed by will to the extent that Plato supposes, it is important to realize that consistent conditioning of this Utopian measure over generations would cause people to use as less violence as possible. Thus, we can comfortably infer that to a large extent the causes for the terrorist activities are the misinterpretation of the Quran and the concept of jihad. Addressing this misinterpretation and correcting it will prevent many a calamity. Modern day society faces its biggest threat in terrorism. Once associated with the angst of Che Guevera and representative of the struggle against military dictators, terrorism has now spread across the world and is evident in many states of different political color. The United States, the professed invincible champion of the free world has been found to be vulnerable and panicky in the face of cross continental, organized terror attacks. Much of modern day terrorism is justified by its perpetrators in the name of jihad, the holy war against opponents of Islam. Scholars on Islam appear to be polarized on their interpretation of Jihad with many among them feeling the interpretation espoused by terror organizations to be superficial and even facile. Numerous studies are going on in contemporary society about the reasons for Jihad, both from the points of view of its believers and detractors.

WORK CITATIONS

* ibn Tahir al-Sulami, Ali, Kitab Al- Jihad .,n.d -21st April 2011 * Levitt, Matthew, Hammas-politics, charity and terrorism in the service of jihad. Yale university press., Virginia, 2006. Print.

* Lewis, Bernard, The crisis of Islam- holy war and unholy terror. Random house trade paper backs., New York, 2004. Print. * Plato, The Republic. Penguin Books Ltd., London, 2007.print. * Bin laden, Osama. “Letter to America” www.guardian.co.uk, 24 November 2002. Web. 21st April 2011