Page 18 - Spirit of Islam-May'17

Rightfully 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 itself un-Islamic. It is
an accepted principle of Islam that, ‘To declare war is the prerogative
of an established state.’ 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
violent activities and adopt totally peaceful activities.
In present times, in particular, there is no
possibility of such wars. Now, according to
The fact is that this modern universal norms, man has been left
concept of 'justified no option but that of peace.
war'—actually, a
wrongful war—has The battles waged by Muslims in later times
been developed on have not been in defence of their country,
but—according to their own claim—have been
the basis of a wrong engaged in, in order to eradicate tyranny and
interpretation of the establish justice. This is without doubt a war of
Islamic scriptures, their own innovation. No where in the Quran
both the Quran and or the Hadith have Muslims been commanded
the Hadith. 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 interpretation of the
Islamic scriptures, both the Quran and the Hadith.
The worst form of this actually unjustified war is that which, in the
beginning, is directed against other nations, but, in its second phase,
develops into infighting amongst Muslims.
The reason is that when combatants see that they have derived nothing
positive from war, they think that there must be some conspiracy
against them to explain why their efforts have become futile.

They even come to regard the people of their own community as
conspirators, and imply that their failure is due to their machinations,
and, this said, they direct their animosity at their own community.

16 Spirit of Islam Issue 53 May 2017