Sohail Hashmi
Sohail Hashmi – Interpreting the Islamic Ethics of war and peace
Hashmi lays out some of the tenets of Jihad and Islamic concepts of war and notes that there are some ambiguities in the term. It is a still evolving concept which is struggling to incorporate modern application. Hashmi's conclusion is that the war theory of Islam is similar in many respects to that of Just War Theory.
In Islam war is an accepted and necessary part of human existence.
Ibn Kaldun – “War is endemic to human existence, something natural among human beings. No nation, no race is free from it.”(659)
After noting that war is inevitable Hashmi turns to the question of ‘why is humanity prone to war’ and provides six answers
1. Even though we are born completely innocent and with full knowledge of God and his moral commands, over time society corrupts us and erodes our sense of right.
2. God’s intention for humanity is to live in peace, eventually. We must first eliminate all the causes for strife in the world, this process will sometimes involve warfare. This is also a process that will eventually end and we will live in peace
3. “[G]iven mans capacity for wrongdoing, there will always be some who choose to violate their nature and transgress against God’s commandments.”(659) Because we have free will and the chance to choose between following God’s commandments or not, there will always be those who choose wrongly, and hence there will always be the strife and conflict that is at the root of war.
4. Opposition is encountered because of those who reject God
Kufr – rejection of God
Kufr results in the inclination towards violence and sin. This can happen to an individual but creates war when it happens to a whole society.
“When an entire society rejects God, oppression and violence become the norm throughout the society and in relation with other societies as well as the moral anarchy that prevails when human beings abandon the higher moral code derived from faith in a supreme and just Creator, the Qur’an suggests, is fraught with potential and actual violence…”(660)
5. “[P]eace, is attanable only when being surrender to God’s will and live according to God’s laws.
6. Because not everyone has yet accepted Islam there will be conflict between Islam and non-Muslims and Muslim’s are commanded to defend Islam. “The use of force by the Muslim community is, therefore, sanctioned by God as a necessary response to the existence of evil in the world.”(660) Fighting is a burden that is placed upon Muslims that is required in order to defend the faith.
This is why war exists, and is inevitable. All other violence is prohibited. The only acceptable time to go to war is if there is a threat to the Islamic community from an outside invader or influencer. This parallels Just War theory’s command that war is only legitimate if it is in self defense.
Hashmi then turns to analyzing the life of Muhammad and concludes that he taught violence only as a last resort and only if there is a reasonable chance of success. Both of which parallel Just War theory.
He concludes:
“No war was jihad unless it was undertaken with right intent and as a last resort, and declared by right authority. Most Muslims today disavow the duty to propagate Islam by force and limit jihad to self-defense. And finally, jihad, like just war, places strict limitations on legitimate targets during war and demands that belligerents use the least amount of force necessary to achieve the swift cessation of hostilities.”(665)
Hashmi lays out some of the tenets of Jihad and Islamic concepts of war and notes that there are some ambiguities in the term. It is a still evolving concept which is struggling to incorporate modern application. Hashmi's conclusion is that the war theory of Islam is similar in many respects to that of Just War Theory.
In Islam war is an accepted and necessary part of human existence.
Ibn Kaldun – “War is endemic to human existence, something natural among human beings. No nation, no race is free from it.”(659)
After noting that war is inevitable Hashmi turns to the question of ‘why is humanity prone to war’ and provides six answers
1. Even though we are born completely innocent and with full knowledge of God and his moral commands, over time society corrupts us and erodes our sense of right.
2. God’s intention for humanity is to live in peace, eventually. We must first eliminate all the causes for strife in the world, this process will sometimes involve warfare. This is also a process that will eventually end and we will live in peace
3. “[G]iven mans capacity for wrongdoing, there will always be some who choose to violate their nature and transgress against God’s commandments.”(659) Because we have free will and the chance to choose between following God’s commandments or not, there will always be those who choose wrongly, and hence there will always be the strife and conflict that is at the root of war.
4. Opposition is encountered because of those who reject God
Kufr – rejection of God
Kufr results in the inclination towards violence and sin. This can happen to an individual but creates war when it happens to a whole society.
“When an entire society rejects God, oppression and violence become the norm throughout the society and in relation with other societies as well as the moral anarchy that prevails when human beings abandon the higher moral code derived from faith in a supreme and just Creator, the Qur’an suggests, is fraught with potential and actual violence…”(660)
5. “[P]eace, is attanable only when being surrender to God’s will and live according to God’s laws.
6. Because not everyone has yet accepted Islam there will be conflict between Islam and non-Muslims and Muslim’s are commanded to defend Islam. “The use of force by the Muslim community is, therefore, sanctioned by God as a necessary response to the existence of evil in the world.”(660) Fighting is a burden that is placed upon Muslims that is required in order to defend the faith.
This is why war exists, and is inevitable. All other violence is prohibited. The only acceptable time to go to war is if there is a threat to the Islamic community from an outside invader or influencer. This parallels Just War theory’s command that war is only legitimate if it is in self defense.
Hashmi then turns to analyzing the life of Muhammad and concludes that he taught violence only as a last resort and only if there is a reasonable chance of success. Both of which parallel Just War theory.
He concludes:
“No war was jihad unless it was undertaken with right intent and as a last resort, and declared by right authority. Most Muslims today disavow the duty to propagate Islam by force and limit jihad to self-defense. And finally, jihad, like just war, places strict limitations on legitimate targets during war and demands that belligerents use the least amount of force necessary to achieve the swift cessation of hostilities.”(665)
posted by Charles Carlson at
8:41 AM
