Islamist Thought and Jihad in the Modern World - Literature review Example

Jihad: The Internal and External Struggle Introduction The Islamic term jihad would not be famous if not because of the United s’ World Trade Center bombing in September 11, 2001. Perpetrators of the condemned act were actually believers of Islam. Muslims then had been dubbed as violent people. At worst, they were referred to as terrorists. The event had put Islam in the limelight. It became the center of critique. Jihad, as one of the recognized duties of Muslims was considered as the hijackers’ motivation in furtherance of the attack. There had been many debates with regard to the ultimate basis and appropriate interpretation of jihad. Nonetheless, there were two significant writers who gave good arguments about it, Abd al-Salam Faraj and Abd al-Hakim Jackson. Both writers recognized the fact that jihad can either be an internal or external struggle. However, the former believed that jihad of the sword (external struggle) is the primary kind while the latter maintained that neither is superior to the other. Abd al-Salam Faraj cited some of the teachings in the Qur’an to support the primacy of jihad of the sword. Realism was used by Abd al-Hakim Jackson to explain the use of either or both forms of jihad. Faraj’s arguments were scripture-based while Jackson’s contentions were reality-based. The Internal and External Struggle Faraj and Jackson admitted that jihad can be internally or externally based. The internal jihad refers to the struggle against one’s soul. It is striving for self-improvement so that a particular purpose can be achieved. In Islam, the purpose could either benefit the individual self or the whole Muslim community. On the other side, external jihad pertains to the struggle against outside forces which can be a private or juridical person. Faraj actually cited Imam Ibn Qayyim’s three aspects in jihad: (1) “jihad against one’s own soul” (2) “jihad against the Devil” and (3) jihad against infidels and hypocrites (qtd. in Euben and Zaman 341). The first belongs to internal struggle while the others can be grouped under external struggle. For him, it is necessary to treat the aspects “as three dimensions of a single simultaneous endeavor rather than as successive stages of struggle” (Euben and Zaman 322). By this statement, Faraj recognizes that there are two kinds of struggle but he sees external struggle as superior than the other. The Qur’an is his ultimate authority (Euben and Zaman 323). According to him, the book of Qur’an authoritatively and unambiguously expresses that fighting is prescribed for each and every Muslim (Euben and Zaman 323). It says: “Establish the Truth according to His word and finish off the unbelievers” (Q 8:7); and “Wherever you encounter the idolaters, kill them” (Q 9:5) (qtd. in Euben and Zaman 323). These passages are used by Faraj as basis for his main argument. One can say that in deriving such argument, Faraj has literally and radically interpreted the book of Qur’an as well as the Hadith. Faraj’s perspective is one-sided. This can be due to the fact that he had no formal education in Islam. His interpretations of the Qur’an and Hadith are only based on what he had experience in life. He did not have the appropriate tools to understand the teachings of Prophet Muhammad. In one sense, it can be stated that he had made a definition of jihad although he lacked adequate knowledge of the Islamic tradition. Moreover, Faraj characterizes jihad as the duty to fight against infidels or individuals with no particular religion. For him, this endeavor should be treated as an individual duty rather than a collective duty among the Muslim people. He considers the Islamic community different from the other communities in the world with regard to fighting. It is his contention that Muslims have the primary duty of fighting with the use of his or her hands to execute God’s commandment (Faraj, qtd. in Euben and Zaman 335). In this sense, Faraj speculates that one of God’s commandments is to fight against the idolaters and to kill them when needed so that the earth will only be occupied by people of faith. He deems this commandment as the main purpose of jihad. Specifically, he insists the idea “that the first battlefield for jihad is the extermination of infidel leaders and replacing them by a complete Islamic order” (Faraj, qtd. in Euben and Zaman 337). It can be understood then that Faraj is a loyal follower of Islam. Euben and Zaman observe that Faraj has formulated a radical reworking of jihad, a definition that made jihad an illegitimate principle (321). Faraj wants an aggressive war which is against the generally accepted principles of international law. It is his postulate that the internal jihad reduces “the value of fighting with the sword so as to” divert “the Muslims from fighting the infidels and hypocrites” (Faraj, qtd. in Euben and Zaman 342). In contrast with the first writer, Jackson is an educated Islam believer. Although Jackson also affirms that jihad has two faces, he explains it in a peaceful manner. It his goal to make the people understand why the hijackers in the bombing used jihad to justify their act. He starts his article with recognition that “Islam is a religion of peace” (Jackson 31). This could mean that Muslims are in fact lovers of peace. In a way, he is trying to disprove the impression that Muslims are violent people and that Islam is a radical religion. He proposes a different understanding of the passages in Qur’an which were cited as proof to such impression. It is his proposition to explore the validity of his premise by the treatment of jihad as a “religiously sanctioned institution of armed violence in Islam” (Jackson 32). He uses the perspective of jus ad bellum to explain jihad. Jus ad bellum pertains to the study of the reasons and rationale of going to war (Jackson 32). Real religious and political causes are cited by Jackson. He contends that “the Qur’an was not introducing the obligation to fight ab initio” (Jackson 38). This claim is actually in opposition with Faraj’s understanding that aggressive war is a primary duty of Muslims. Jackson rather speculates that the passages are merely formulated to respond “to a pre-existing state of affairs” (38). This finding supports Professor Donner’s idea that jihad is more “a product of history” than religion (qtd. in Jackson 37). It is Jackson’s postulate that “peace, the repealing of aggression, rather than conversion to Islam was the ultimate aim of fighting” and not the killing of infidels and hypocrites (38). According to him, this is supported by the following verses in the Qur’an: “If they incline towards peace, then you incline thereto, and place your trust in God” (Q 8:61); and “Fight them until there is no oppression and religion is solely for God / And if they desist, then let there be no aggression except against the transgressors” (Q 2:193) (qtd. in Jackson 38-39). Furthermore, Jackson believes that “the purpose of jihad is to provide for the security and freedom of the Muslims in a world that kept them under constant threat” (41). He sees the inherent hostility of Muslims towards the West as a description of the kind of treatment that the Muslims have experienced in the modern world rather than “a prescription of the Islamic religion” (Jackson 41). To this end, he mentions that the hegemonic power of the West can be a cause of violent jihad. For instance, the United States bombing of Sudan and Afghanistan in 1999 and the recent attack in Iraq have threatened the security of Muslims (Jackson 45). As such, Jackson advises the non-Muslim community “to conduct their military, economic and political affairs” in accordance with the United Nations Charter (46). Conclusion The two writers have different experiences in life which contributed much to their arguments about jihad. Nonetheless, Jackson’s position is more convincing than that of Faraj. As opposed to Faraj’s points which are merely derivations from quotations, Jackson’s contentions are supported with historical facts. Works Cited Euben, Roxanne, and Muhammad Qasim Zaman. Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought: Texts and Contexts from Al-Banna to Bin Laden. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2009. Print. Jackson, Abdul Hakim Sherman. “Jihad in the Modern World.” Pdf file. Read More