True Islam, Jihad, and Terrorism: The Science of Islamic Foreign Policy (Religion and Spirituality)

After the rise of the Islamic State of Syria and Levant (ISIL), the world has been debating over an old issue, characterised by some as the clash of civilisations. Jihad, the Arabic term for struggle, was the target and Islamic terrorism and Islamic fascism became the popularised terms of the post-9/11 era. The following discourse has formed two theories attempting to define Islam and the role of Jihad in Islam. The first is that of the apologists that define Jihad as an internal struggle; the second sponsors the concept of offensive Jihad. In this book, existing theories are deconstructed to establish that there is no such thing as offensive Jihad or internal Jihad. Debunking both branches of political thought was possible using a cognition tool derived from the education system instituted by the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure of this controversy. The deconstruction is then followed up with an examination of an actual historical case, vis. the wars for Islam at the time of The Prophet as well as during the four rightly guided Caliphs. By doing so, this book systematically eliminates all confusion regarding Jihad. By addressing the fundamental premises involved in both sides of this controversy, the book develops an analytical tool that is free from dogmatic assertions and ensuing contradictions, eventually defining the significance of this analysis for a properly balanced understanding of Islamic foreign policy and Shariah law. A clear directive is produced in order to analyse any violence that takes place today and determine if the justification provided is Islamic or not. TRUE ISLAM, JIHAD, AND TERRORISMTHE SCIENCE OF ISLAMIC FOREIGN POLICY TRUE ISLAM, JIHAD, AND TERRORISMTHE SCIENCE OF ISLAMIC FOREIGN POLICY CONTENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PREFACE Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION:BRIDGING THE MODERN AND CLASSICAL 1.1. THE CONTEXT 1.2. THE YARD STICK 1.3. HOW IT ALL BEGAN: FUNDAMENTALS OF IBN KHALDUN,LOCKE AND HOBBES 1.4. DOES ‘MY JIHAD’ EVER BECOME MEIN KAMPF? 1.5. JUS IN BELLO 1.6. REBELLION AND CIVIL WARS 1.7. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE WORD ‘JIHAD’? 1.8. REALITY CHECK Chapter 2 THE ISLAMIC COGNITION MODEL 2.1. THE STANDARD AND IDEALS 2.2. DEDUCTIVE LOGIC AND ISLAMIC COGNITION 2.2.1. Role of Intention in Cognition 2.3. HSSA DEGRADATION FROM ISLAMIC COGNITION 2.4. THE BASICS: ISLAM AND POLITICS 2.4.1. Islam versus Politics 2.4.2. Ijtihad and the Apologists 2.5. The Latitude of Permissibility: Example of the Caliphs 2.6. CONCLUSION Chapter 3 UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL ISLAM AND MORALITY:IBN KHALDUN VERSUS HOBBES AND LOCKE 3.1. INTRODUCTION 3.1.1. The Fundamental Premises of Ibn Khaldun 3.1.2. The Premises of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke 3.2. COMPARING STANDARDS 3.3. APPLICATION OF THE MODELS 3.4. DECONSTRUCTION OF ABDULLAHI AHMED AN-NA’IM’SMISINFORMATION AND CRITICISM OF POLITICAL ISLAM 3.4.2. An-Na’im and Kharajite Ideology 3.4.3. “Reform” Interpretations 3.5. DECONSTRUCTION OF AN-NA’IM’S VIEW ON THE HISTORICALISLAMIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGION AND STATE 3.5.1. Islam and Secularism 3.5.2. An-Na’im’s Schism between Religion and Politics in Islam 3.5.3. An-Na’im’s Interpretation of Religious and Political Authority 3.5.4. An-Na’im’s Accusations of the Political and Religious InstitutionsClashing in the Prophet’s Time and Time of the Rashidun Caliphate Chapter 4 COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE JUS AD BELLUMIN THE EARLY ISLAMIC ERA 4.1. SUMMARY 4.2. QUR’ANIC CRITERIA FOR HOSTILITY 4.3. HISTORICAL ANALYSIS 4.4. THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S MILITARY ENGAGEMENTS 4.4.1. Ghazwah, Badr, and Uhud 4.4.2. The Banu Qurayzah Incident 4.4.3. March to Mecca 4.4. INVASIONS OF EASTERN BYZANTIUM AND THE RIDDA WARS 4.5. THE INVASION AND CONQUEST OF SASSANID PERSIA 4.6. CONCLUSION Chapter 5 THE ISLAMIC JUS IN BELLO:RESTRICTIONS SURROUNDING WARFARE IN ISLAM 5.1. REGULATIONS SURROUNDING WARFARE: IN THE HEAT OF WAR 5.2. AFTER THE WAR: DISTRIBUTION OF PROPERTY, DEALING WITHCAPTIVES AND NON-COMBATANTS (WOMEN AND CHILDREN) 5.2.1. War Spoils and Property 5.2.2. Inhabitants and Fighters 5.2.3. Captives of War Chapter 6 REBELLION AND CIVIL WAR IN ISLAM 6.1. THE FIRST CIVIL WAR: THE ISLAMIC STANCE 6.1.1. Historical Discussion 6.1.2. Islamic Stance on Mu’awiyah’s Civil Strife 6.2. THE SECOND CIVIL WAR: ISLAM’S TRUE FACE OF REBELLION 6.4. ISLAMIC STANCE ON REBELLION: THE QUR’AN AND SUNNAH Chapter 7 THE MODERN SCHOLARSHIP:A CONTEMPORARY VIEW 7.1. THE ISLAMIC JUS AD BELLUM 7.1.1. Supporters of the Notion of Offensive Jihad 7.1.2. Supporters of the Defensive Notion of Jihad, and Others 7.2. CLASSICAL SCHOLARS’ INTERPRETATIONS OF JIHAD 7.3. CONCLUSION Chapter 8 TERRORISM, ISLAMIC LEGITIMACY, ANDREGULATIONS ON ISLAMIC WARFARE 8.1. WHAT IS TERRORISM AND DOES ISLAM ALLOW IT? 8.1.1. Logical Definition of Terrorism 8.1.2. Terrorism and the Islamic Jus in Bello 8.1.2.1. Killing of Civilians 8.1.2.2. Hostage-Taking 8.1.2.3. Suicide Bombing 8.1.2.4. Damage of Private and Public Property 8.1.2.5. The Perpetrators of Violence Matters 8.1.3. Conclusion 8.2. EXAMPLE OF APPLICATION 8.2.1. Profiles: Saudi Arabia and ISIS 8.2.1.1. Saudi Arabia 8.2.1.2. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) 8.2.2. Criteria and Critical Comparison Chapter 9 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 9.1. SUMMARY 9.2. 9/11 TERROR ATTACKS AND REDEMPTION OF ISLAMOPHOBIA 9.3. SO, WHERE IS THE TRUTH? 9.4. GOD, GOD-GIVEN AUTHORITY, AND THE CALIPHATE 9.5. JUS AD BELLUM IN TRUE ISLAM 9.6. THE ISLAMIC JUS IN BELLO 9.7. WHEN REBELLION AND CIVIL WAR IS LEGITIMATE 9.8. SO, WHY DON’T ISLAMIC SCHOLARS GET IT? 9.9. STEPPING INTO MODERN REALITY 9.10. THE BOTTOM LINE BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX: LETTERS OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMADTO HEADS OF STATE AND TRIBAL LEADERS 1. THE LETTER SENT TO HERACLIUS I 2. THE LETTER SENT TO KHORSOW II 3. THE LETTER TO MUQAWQIS OF EGYPT(CYRUS OF ALEXANDRIA, D. CE 642) 4. THE FIRST LETTER TO NEGUS OF ETHIOPIA 5. LETTER TO HORMUZ (HORMUZAN D. CE 644),THE SASSANID GOVERNOR OF IRAQ 6. LETTER TO HAUZA BIN ALI, GOVERNOR OF YAMAMA 7. LETTER TO HARIS GHASSANI,THE GHASSANID KING (OF DAMASCUS) 8. LETTER TO JAIFER AND ‘ABD, RULERS OF OMAN 9. LETTER TO THE KINGS OF HIYMAR (IN SOUTHERN YEMEN) 10. THE MADINAH CHARTER 11. THE TREATY OF HUDAYBIYYAH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS INDEX After the rise of the Islamic State of Syria and Levant (ISIL), the world has been debating over an old issue, characterized by some as the “clash of civilizations”. Jihād, the Arabic term for “struggle”, was the target and “Islamic terrorism” and “Islamic fascism” became the popularized terms of the post-9/11 era. The following discourse has formed two theories attempting to define Islam and the role of Jihād in Islam. The first is that of the apologists that define Jihād as an internal struggle; the second sponsors the concept of “offensive” Jihād. In this book, existing theories are deconstructed to establish that there is no such thing as “offensive” Jihād or “internal” Jihād. Debunking both branches of political thought was possible using a cognition tool derived from the education system instituted by the Prophet Muhammad, the central figure of this controversy. The deconstruction is then followed up with an examination of an actual historical case, viz. the wars for Islam at the time of The Prophet as well as during the four rightly guided Caliphs. By doing so, this book systematically eliminates all confusion regarding Jihād. By addressing the fundamental premises involved in both sides of this controversy, the book develops an analytical tool that is free from dogmatic assertions and ensuing contradictions, eventually defining the significance of this analysis for a properly balanced understanding of Islamic foreign policy and Shari'ah law. A clear directive is produced in order to analyze any violence that takes place today and determine if the justification provided is Islamic or not.