Page 72 - Islam Denounces Terrorism

70 Islam Denounces Terrorism

Muslims are warned by Almighty God not to overstep the bounds,
even though they have deliberately been prevented from performing
their religious obligation of the Hajj (pilgrimage) and have been treat-
ed unjustly. God commands Muslims to behave justly even under
those conditions, and commands them to behave well and not be
angered. Muslims have an obligation to obey this commandment in the
Qur'an, no matter what the circumstances.

The verse that describes the only justification for fighting – self-
defence – also contains another condition on the subject of war: not to
go to excess. This means that in the event of an attack a Muslim must

simply defend himself, must not overreact and must take no other
action than defensive measures. In other words, aggression, violence,
anger and extremism are banned in the Qur'an.

Other verses reveal the obligation to engage only in defence war
against aggressors in these terms:

God does not forbid you from being good to those who have not
fought you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from
being just towards them. God loves those who are just. God merely
forbids you from taking as friends those who have fought you in the
religion and driven you from your homes and who supported your
expulsion. … (Qur'an, 60:8-9)

There is an important distinction here. It is unlawful for Muslims
to attack people who have never attacked them, even though they are
strongly opposed to Muslims on the level of ideas. A Muslim has a
responsibility to treat such people with respect and justice. According
to this verse, Muslims are only permitted to engage in defensive war-
fare against people who oppress them because of their beliefs and actu-
ally physically attack them; against people who initiate hostilities, in

other words. Everyone will, of course, defend himself if he is attacked.
This is the right of every person, nation and country, and is also the
correct thing to do.