Page 168 - Age of Peace Goodword.indd

The Greatest Evil of History

If they are victorious, Muslims who engage in jihad gain in
worldly terms and in the case of defeat and death, they become
martyrs and go straight to Paradise.
Properly speaking, in Islam, jihad in the sense of qital, or
war, is undertaken only in defence. Since defence is a matter
only for the state, it takes place infrequently.
All those Muslim activists who are engaged in war in the
name of Islam are “non-state actors”. No established Muslim
state is involved in this act. The nature of this present violence
is in itself un-Islamic. It is an accepted principle of Islam that
‘To declare war is the prerogative of an established state.’
2
According to this principle, all those Muslim mujahideen
who are engaged in war have no justification to do so in Islam.
Such people must unilaterally and unconditionally abandon
all their activities and adopt totally peaceful methods.

The fact is that this concept of ‘justified war’ – actually, a
wrongful war – has been developed on the basis of a wrong
interpretation of the Islamic scripture, both the Quran and
the Hadith.

In present times, in particular, there is no possibility of
such war. Now, according to modern universal norms, man
has been left no option but that of peace.
The battles waged by Muslims in later times have not
been in defence of their country, but—according to their own
claim—have been engaged in in order to eradicate tyranny
and establish justice. This is without doubt a war of their
own innovation. Nowhere in the Quran or the Hadith have
Muslims been commanded to resort to war for the purposes of
eradicating oppression and establishing justice.
The fact is that this concept of ‘justified war’ – actually, a
wrongful war – has been developed on the basis of a wrong

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