-------- Original message --------
From: Lee Makwiny
Date:27/03/2014 14:12 (GMT+03:00)
To: progressive-kenyans
Cc: kiswahili
Subject: [wanabidii] Re: [PK] Towards understanding Jihad
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Towards a better understanding of Jihad
- See more at: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-160344/towards-better-understanding-jihad#sthash.zt593p5R.dpufWEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014 - 00:00 -- BY ABU AYMAN
TERROR: Some of the spent cartridges after the Sunday attack at Joyland Church in Likoni, Mombasa.Photo/Elkana JacobThe concept of Jihad is perhaps the most misconstrued and most manipulated concepts in Islam. This misunderstanding regrettably is not only found among non-Muslims but also exists among Muslims as well.
The misinterpretation has led to Islam to erroneously being seen as a faith which promotes terrorism, violence and sanctions the killing of innocent people.
The media has also helped to fuel this false notion by occasionally linking jihad with religious extremism and indiscriminate violence.
To many non-Muslims, jihad is defined as holy war and seen as an ideology which calls for Muslims to wage war against non-Muslims.
This notion has partly been fuelled by the attitudes of some Muslims who consider jihad as a pathway to exert vengeance on non-Muslims because of the oppression of the Muslim populace by state entities.
These perceptions have cast negative light on the true meaning of jihad and have harmed the image of Islam as a religion which promotes tolerance and supports mutual understanding between the various faiths.
The misunderstanding of jihad was among the reasons which led to last month's killing of six people in the police raid on the Musa mosque in Mombasa.
Jihad is often translated as "holy war" waged by Muslims against non-Muslims but this meaning is far from the truth as 'holy war' translated in Arabic is harb al muqaddasatu, a terminology which does not exist in the Qur'an, the hadith-tradition of Prophet Muhammad and in explanations of earlier and contemporary Islamic jurists.
Holy war referred to in Latin as bellum sacrum, ironically has its origin in Christian Europe where wars such as the Crusades and Spanish Reconquista were considered to be religious in nature and blessed by Popes and the Christian clergy to take back Palestine and Andalusia which were under Muslim rule.
Lexically, the term holy war means a conflict pitting one religion against another. There is no verse in the Qur'an or Prophetic tradition that allows Muslims to wage war against any non-Muslim on the sole ground that they are not following Islam. As stated in Baqarah 2:256, the Qur'an is clear that there is no compulsion in religion.
Further, as the prominent Egyptian scholar Sheikh Jamal Badawi stated, Islam does not view war as holy as it involves bloodshed, injury, destruction of properties and human suffering — principles which Islam strives to protect.
Islamic texts provide evidence that the normative relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims is that of peace, tolerance, justice, mercy, and mutual respect. No single verse in the Qur'an, when placed in its proper textual and historical context, permits fighting others on the basis of their faith, ethnicity or nationality.
In Arabic, the term jihad literarily means "struggle" or "striving." In the Qur'an, it is a word that is distinct from qital, which means armed fighting.
Jihad is a central and broad concept that includes the efforts for an individual to be a better Muslim, to make struggle to improve the quality of life in society — for both Muslims and non-Muslims, fighting against tyranny or oppression and the struggle on the battlefield to defend Islam and Muslims.
According to Islamic teachings, jihad is an obligation upon all Muslims to strive against all forms of oppression, injustice, tyranny and oppression. Jihad can be made with the pen and also with the tongue to ordain and promote good and also to prevent evil in the society.
"The highest form of jihad is to speak the truth in the face of an unjust ruler" is an impeccably authenticated saying of Prophet Muhammad which suffices to dispel the utterly false impression that jihad is synonymous with warfare.
Jihad also involves the propagation of Islam and Muslims are required to spread the message of Islam with wisdom, tolerance and respect of others beliefs.
It is prudent for Muslims to enlighten non-Muslims about the true teachings of Islam and also to correct mistaken beliefs among Muslims about the faith.
The 8th century Islamic scholar Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, in his prominent commentary Fathul Baari on the traditions of Prophet Muhammad, explained, "Jihad is not limited to military fighting against an enemy, but it refers to striving hard and struggling against one's own self, against impulses of the devil, and in enjoining the doing of what is right and good and forbidding the doing of what is wrong and evil in the society."
The combative jihad is allowed in the Qur'an for legitimate self-defence in the face of unprovoked aggression or resisting severe oppression on religious or other grounds.
War in Islam is not to convert people by force, or to colonise people or to acquire land or wealth or for self-glory. Its purpose is basically to defend life, property, land, honour and freedom for oneself as well as defence of others from injustice and oppression.
Islam forbids Muslims to be initiators or aggressors, but it permits them to defend themselves when necessary. The Qur'an issues this decree as follows: "Fight in the way of Allah against those who fight against you, but begin not hostilities. Indeed Allah does not like transgressors." [Qur'an 2:190]
More so, even on the battlefield, there are clear regulations as taught by Prophet Muhammad which requires Muslims when engaging in battle to be fair and just.
These clear laid down rules of war forbid the killing of non-combatants and there is no justification for what is known in modern language as collateral damage — killing of innocent women, children and the elderly.
During times of war, houses of worship such as churches and synagogues and their occupants are expressly prohibited from being attacked. In addition, cutting down of trees and destroying infrastructure which has no military or strategic importance is forbidden. Prisoners of war should also be treated as humanely as possible.
In times of conflict when there is an inclination on the part of the enemy towards peace, Muslims are commanded to cease fighting and open doors of negotiations with the aggressor to ensure that peace is ultimately achieved.
One thousand and four hundred years ago, Islam formulated the ethics of war long before the Geneva Conventions came into being.
The purpose of any battle is to restore peace and not to promote violence and the Qur'an has provided the circumstances under which defensive warfare is permissible and Muslims are strictly forbidden from transgressing these parameters.
Killing of innocent civilians, whether through aggression or suicidal means, is under no circumstances permissible in Islam. Islam encourages the oppressed people to struggle for their liberation and it commands other Muslims to help those who are oppressed and suffering, but Islam does not allow, under any circumstance, the killing of non-combatants and innocent people.
Unfortunately some people have gone ahead to quote Quranic verses out of context to wrongly justify acts of violence and the indiscriminate killing of innocent people.
The Quran categorically forbids the killing of any innocent soul which is categorised under major sins. "And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right." (17:33). It further states that, "Whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land — it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one — it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. (5:32)
From an Islamic perspective, ends do not justify means and to achieve a just purpose it must be done in a just and legitimate way.
The fact remains that Islamic teachings are not derived by what some Muslims are doing today or by misinterpretations and the best way to understand Islam is through its sources.
Jihad is never a tool of waging war against the innocent; it is never a means of flexing muscles or bullying the weak and oppressed.
Islam aims at establishing a world order where all human beings — Muslims and non-Muslims — can live with justice in peace, harmony and good will.
It therefore becomes a cardinal duty for Muslims to join hands with others in working for peace and justice for all people and co-operate in matters of goodness and virtue to nurture a society which promotes peace, fairness and justice and to stop all acts of aggression, impunity and violence against innocent people. This should be our jihad today.
Abu Ayman is a Nairobi-based journalist. abuayman888@yahoo.com
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