Radical Islam and War or Jihad - Essay Example

Introduction In the world that we live in, conflict has become a norm. The recent past has provided many examples of countries invading other countries, of people blowing themselves up in crowded areas, of vehicles parked in populated areas exploding and of planes crashing against two towers sending flesh and debris crashing to the ground and thousand more lives climbing the heavens. Terrorism has indeed become prominent in the international state of affairs. It has successfully made its presence known by attacks on human lives and property. Such actions were justified as the result of the holy war or Jihad. It is said that the Quran supports in the same way the Bible justified the Crusades. This justification has severe repercussions one of which is that it implicitly states that all Muslims are required to waed the war if they are to live as true Muslims. This paper aims to discuss the role of Jihad as an instrument used by terrorist organiations in their plan of action. The focus will be on the discussion how Jihad serves as a recruitment tool of the organiations. The discussion involves that of establishing the nature of Islam as a religion, its provisions for physical struggle, the consequences of such orienations and its use as a recruitment tool of terrorist organizations. Thru the determination of relevant Quranic verses, this paper aims to provide the background and foundation of the terrorist's interpretationof the Jihad. The Meaning of Jihad Jihad is an Islamic term that means "to exert utmost effort, to strive or to struggle". This definition may mean anything from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to a political or military struggle. The term Jihad is often taken into context as to describe purely physical and military struggle. The military struggles usually come in the form of religious wars. Although this maybe the case, there are actually five different forms of jihad. They are as follows: Jihad of the heart/soul (jihad bin nafs/qalb) is an inner struggle of good against evil in the mind. Jihad by the tongue (jihad bil lisan) is a struggle of good against evil waged with the use writing and speech , an example of which is the dawah (proselytizing) and Khutbas (sermons). Jihad by the pen and knowledge (jihad bil qalam/ilm) is a struggle for good against evil through an academic study of Islam, ijtihad (legal reasoning) and even through sciences (such as medical sciences). Jihad by the hand (jihad bil yad) refers to a struggle of good against evil waged by actions using one's wealth or actions that is virtous such as providing funding for jihad, advocacy campaigns for furthering the cause of Islam, undergoing the Hajj pilgrimage, taking care of the family and may even include espionage. Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) refers to the holy war or armed fighting in the way of God. Of all the forms of jihad, the form which pervades the social scene is the Jihad by the sword. A person who engages in jihad, whatever forms may be, are called a mujahid which means struggler. With this definition, a Muslim person engaging in fighting in a military struggle as well as those who are memorizing the Quran can be considered as a mujahid. The variety of forms of Islam gave rise to the need to classify which of them are more appropriate in terms of value creation and importance. Because of this, the five forms of jihad was classified either as al-jihd al-akbar (the greater jihad) or al-jihd al-asghar (the lesser jihad) , the struggle against one's soul (nafs), , the external, physical effort, often implying fighting. From this classification, it can be seen that the first threeare implied as the greater jihad with the remaining as the lesser jihad. The Aspirations of Islam and Jihad In this paper the word "Islam" has three meanings that have been taken in the context of which it operates. First, using the Western view of Islam, this term is primarily used to denote a religious tradition, much like Christianity, that provides fundamental principles and authoritative perspectives for righteously interpreting human existence (Hannity, 2004). This definition will be retained whenever we are dealing with sourcing the derivation of justifications as well and criteria for jihad. Second, the term "Islam" can also mean as the important ingredient in the determination of internal structuring of core cultural values that stipulates dispositions and practices of jihad that Muslims use in a specified temporal and spatial setting. Finally, the term conveys an overarching ideological system that is related to power acquisition with sacred authority as its rallying point. This mechanism provides means and justifications for the establishing of a state such that it promotes the common good. Thus, we could see that the meanings actually covers the beliefs, attitudes and practices of the community which demonstrate the relationship between the determinative and authoritative but all the while religious teachings of Islam and the state that tries to implement the teachings for the creation of an ideal public order. When dealing with ideal public order, it invariably comes to mind the notion of conflict and conflict solutions systems. Islam provided a foundation in which the Muslims can root and evaluate their actions in dealing with the questions of whether to resist and oppose the abuse of power or submit to it. Islam provided the mechanism of action determination for circumstances that is related to the creation of public order. The historical interplay between the Islam as a religion and Islam as a source of power is seen in the way the Muslim community tended to respond in facing the obstacles to the realization of the ideal vision of the dominance of religious doctrine in determining the state of human affairs on earth. Thus we can see the nature of jihad as a mechanism of realizing the Islamic ideal on earth that addresses the sociopolitical realities that confronted the Muslims. Jihad provided a response mechanism by making Muslims responsible to take arms in the name of a sacred authority when it is threatened or when sociopolitical reasons justify aggressive action. Islam does not diverge from Judaism and Christianity in the emphasizing concern for the moral needs of its followers and the abilities of these people to work for an ideal just society. This core principle of Islam highlighted and stressed the need for people to actively involve themselves in creating the ideal public order called for in the moral and social teachings of Islam. In this sense, Islam although a belief structure, functioned as an "activist" ideology calling upon its believers to defend, preserve, overthrow and transform any social political order within the bounds of the doctrines of the religion. This aspect of Islam becomes significant especially when Islam is considered as an important source of legitimate power. With this active participation called upon by Islam and the interpretation that it can be used to acquire legitimate power, Islam was interpreted as a divine blueprint that should be implemented to realize God's will on earth. This is crucial since it has severe repercussions and one of them is that force should be applied whenever necessary this is where the warlike nature of jihad comes in (Kimball, 2005). Qur'an, the foundational source for Muslim not only of religious but social-political consciousness as well, introduced thru its verses the legitimization of the use of force through the mechanism called jihad. This was seen as a natural adaptation of religions such that it caters as much as possible to the well established tradition of its followers. Pre-Islamic Arab tribal culture had originally made military power as an indispensable institution which provided the security of a tribe and even its continuity (Esposito, 2005). Superiority among the tribes during that time belonged to those who were able to protect all their constituents and avenge all insults, injuries and deaths through their military strength. The pervading system then was that of retaliatory justice which technically meant 'a tooth for a tooth and a life for a life' approach. This ensured that crime would not be committed irresponsibly and be taken lightly. Against this background, the legitimating verses of use of force prescribed by Quran provided the moral restrictions on the use of physical and military power for conflict resolution. By this, the religion still recognized that conflicts are inevitable. Jihad took the meaning of 'fighting' as a mechanism to defend the community and halt any breakdown of such that "there is no persecution and the religion be only for God" (Quran 2:193). Jihad is therefore a prescriptive measure to arrest an injury caused to the community or its people and, by at large, seek justice for the wrongs inflicted on the hapless by those who perpetrate immoralities (Peters, 1996). These people who took advantage of the weak defeated the divine purposes of people on earth and thus deserve punishment. As far as the Qur'an is concerned, the use of force is defensive in nature and is limited to the redress of the violation of interpersonal human conduct. For the Qur'an it is crucial to emphasize its defensive strategy in dealing with the problem of violence stemming from human rejection of faith. This categorization can be made because there is no explicit reference to an offensive jihad in the Qur'an- which is to say that jihad can be used to undertake the conversion of all humanity to Islam. However, as verses are prone to interpretations that significantly deviates from the appropriate context it applies, Jihad became regarded as an instrument or task that is obligatory for all Muslims. Muslim jurists have pointed out that offensive warfare was implied by the verse, which has been labeled as "the sword verse" (Quran 9:5) that declares war on the unbelievers: "slay them wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush." These authorities argued that this verse implied that fighting was obligatory for all Muslims even though non-Muslim entities had not begun hostilities. This interpretation and accommodation of the practice of jihad is relatively widespread in the works of the jurists and statements of terrorist organizations. Due to the extremely successful conquests of Muslim armies during the 7th century (Burke, 2004), Muslim authorities began to redefine jihad such that it accommodates and justifies offensive military actions and efforts to expand the Muslim sphere of influence. Furthermore, the Qur'an is seen to implicitly endorse offensive jihad when it required the Prophet and the believers to strive in creating an ideal public order. Because of this requirement, jihad became an offensive struggle to bring about the kind of world order that Islam envisions. This requirement of an offensive jihad in creating the Islamic world order became the source of tensions between the tolerance in matters that relates to the determination of the religious destiny of human beings and the required active participation of Muslims against those who engage in persecution of Muslims. The growth of Muslim political and military power provided an initiative for wars of expansion and the Qur'an was interpreted such that it accommodates such actions which concerns fighting the hostile non-Muslims "until there is no persecution and the religion be only for God" (Quran. 2:191). Jihad as a Recruitment Tool In the recent past, the call for Jihad has been heard coming from both religious as well as secular Muslim leaders with some of them acting as heads of organizations labeled as terrorists. These sectors have been urging the fight against external aggression and domination. The use of the word jihad for these wars of national liberation or worldwide retaliation - as in the case of the calls of terrorist organizations - has led to severe consequences By its very nature as a responsibility of all Muslims for active participation in Muslim endeavors, whether military or religious in nature, together with the accommodation of the Qur'an has served as a powerful persuading device for the recruitment of Muslims by terrorist organizations. Verses from the Quran The basic operational verses that these organizations have taken as propaganda are the following (Natan, 2006): 1. Responsibility of dealing with Oppressors and Unbelievers "And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight against you and do not transgress bounds in this fighting. God does not love the transgressors. Kill them wherever you find them and drive them out of the place from which they drove you out and [remember] persecution is worse than carnage. But do not initiate war with them near the Holy Kabah unless they attack you there. But if they attack you, put them to the sword without any hesitation. Thus shall such disbelievers be rewarded. However, if they desist from this disbelief, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. Keep fighting against them, until persecution does not remain and in the land of Arabia Allah's religions reigns supreme. But if they mend their ways, then you should know that an offensive is only allowed against the evil-doers. A sacred month for a sacred month; similarly other sacred things too are subject to retaliation. So if any one transgresses against you, you should also pay back in equal coins. Have fear of Allah and keep in mind that Allah is with those who remain within the bounds stipulated by religion." - Qur'an,8:65 "Permission to take up arms is hereby given to those who are attacked because they have been oppressed - Allah indeed has power to grant them victory - those who have been unjustly driven from their homes, only because they said: "Our Lord is Allah" - Qur'an,22:39-40 "And what has come over you that you fight not in the cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: 'Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors, and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help. [You should know that] those who believe fight in the cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve, fight in the cause of Satan. So fight you against the friends of Satan. Ever feeble indeed is the plot of Satan" - Qur'an,4:75-76 2. Rewards for Participation "Consider not those who are killed in the way of Allah as dead. Nay, they are alive with their Lord, and they will be provided for. They rejoice in what Allah has bestowed upon them of His bounty and rejoice for the sake of those who have not yet joined them, but are left behind [not yet martyred] that on them too no fear shall come, nor shall they grieve. They rejoice in a grace and a bounty from Allah, and that Allah will not waste the reward of the believers." - -Qur'an,3:169-171 In the following, a discussion of how terrorist organizations take advantage of the accommodations and varied interpretations of the verses jihad in terms of persuading believers to carry out the organization's plans. The Al Qaeda Osama Bin Laden capitalizes on the universal understanding that Islam sphere of influence eclipsed primarily because of Western conquest and intervention. He points out that, in the current scene, the Western world - the most of which is the USA - displays insensitivity toward Islam as a religion and points out that the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq as a move to further disenfranchised Muslims. The devastating military attacks on Muslim countries that came as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon only served to confirm Bin Laden's notion that Islam's is truly under attack by the non- Muslim and even some Muslim worlds (Emerson, 2004). The verses that were previously enumerated only served to further Bin Laden's cause. It has provided a religious context in his conquest of other nations. Bin Laden uses these verses to recruit Muslims who are dedicated to the Quran to the last letter. With the cunningly devised and instigated military action of the Western world, the Al Qaeda has shown the Muslim world that indeed the threat to 'Islamdom' exists. This serves as a powerful rallying argument to persuade Muslims - majority of which are only exposed to their media campaigns - to become a terrorist, or in their eyes - freedom fighters. (Rashid, 2003) The Al Qaeda states that every Muslim should actively participate in the 'holy war' against the 'infidels' and prepare to sacrifice himself to further the cause of Allah. Participation, according to them, in Jihad is the ultimate service to Allah. (Esposito, 2003) The basic contention is that Muslim who lives by the word of Quran and therefore participate in the holy war against the unbelievers is amenable to a reward in heaven while those who neglect these activities will suffer the punishment from God in Earth and the afterlife. Hamas and Jihad The basic theme of the Hamas is that the Western world, thru Israel, is geared towards the elimination of the Muslim world. Article 28 of its by-laws points out the oppression that Israel inflicted on the Muslims: "when the Jews conquered the Holy City in 1967, they stood on the threshold of the Aqsa Mosque and proclaimed that Mohammed is dead, and his descendants are all women." (Plushnick-Masti, 1993) If we are to apply the verses dealing with oppressions and disbelief, these affront to the Muslims and Allah should be dealt with the elimination of all the Israelis and its supporters for the verse states that all of them must be put to the sword. Hamas capitalizes on the feeling of the Muslims whose homes have been destroyed and who have been banished from their ancient lands and places of worship. Hezbollah and Jihad The Hezbollah has the same grudges as that of the Hamas. The elimination of the state of Israel and its supporters has been Hezbollah's primary goal. The grudge stemmed from Israel's occupation of Lebanon. Further insults included that of the Israels's continued occupation of South Lebanon, Western Bqa's Valley and Golan Heights. The organization was further infuriated with the refusal of Israel to return Palestinian refugees and political prisoners. (Peltierre, 1994) Hezbollah propaganda for the recruitment of its warriors has focused on the inherent responsibility of every Muslim to protect their domain and eliminate the oppressors. Every Muslim is obliged to right any wrong committed to them The cure that is offered is the waging of the holy war -the jihad.(Harik, 2006) Conclusion From the foregoing discussion, it is quite apparent that the instrument Jihad provided by the Quran's verses serves to further the goal of terrorist organizations by providing them the religious justification of waging a war. Although Jihad has five forms, the most prominent of them was Jihad. This was brought about by the sociopolitical conditions and military and religious aspirations of the Muslim world. It should be said that the citing of verses is not essentially faulty. The Muslim world has indeed sustained insults and injuries with the loss of their lands and lives due to the invasion and conflict that other people have deliberately inflicted upon them. The problem is that this citations have been used to recruit Muslims to carry out unreasonable death and destruction to the world. The world that we live in is governed by diplomacy. The unnecessary loss countless lives and homes will not result to anything except despair for both sides. References: Burke, Jason (2004). Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam. Cambridge: Harper and Row Emerson, Steven (2003). American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us. New York: Free PressCooley John.(2002) Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism. USA: Pluto Press Esposito, John L. (2003). Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press Esposito, John (2005).The Islamic World: Past and Present: A Personal Journey Through India, Pakistan, Love, and Hate Oxford: Oxford University Press Hannity, Sean (2004).Deliver Us from Evil: Defeating Terrorism, Despotism, and Liberalism. USA:Regan Books. 4 Harik,Judith Palmer (2006). Hezbollah: The Changing Face of Terrorism. Massachussets: I.B. Tauris. Kimball, Charles (2002). When Religion Becomes Evil. San Francisco: Harper Natan, Yoel. (2006). 164 Jihad Verses in the Koran Retrieved Nov 8, 2006 from http://www.answering-islam.org/Quran/Themes/jihad_passages.html Peeltiere, Stephen (1994). Hamas and Hizbollah: The Radical Challenge to Israel in the Occupied Territories.Pennsylvania: Army War College Studies Institute. Peters, Rudolf (1996). Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam: a Reader. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. Plushnick-Masti, Ramit (2003). Hamas joins forces with Islamic Jihad. Washington Post. Retrieved Nov 8, 2006 from http://www.washtimes.com/world/20031029-113255-5270r.htm Rashid, Ahmed (2003). Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia. Read More