A Peaceful Jihad

Based on extensive ethnographic research, this book examines how the Islamic community in Java, Indonesia, is actively negotiating both modernity and tradition in the contexts of nation-building, globalisation, and a supposed clash of civilizations. The pesantren community, so-called because it is centered around an educational institution called the pesantren, uses education as a central arena for dealing with globalization and the construction and maintenance of an Indonesian Islamic identity. However, the community's efforts to wrestle with these issues extend beyond education into the public sphere in general and specifically in the area of leadership and politics. The case material is used to understand Muslim strategies and responses to civilizational contact and conflict. Scholars, educated readers, and advanced undergraduates interested in Islam, religious education, the construction of religious identity in the context of national politics and globalization will find this work useful.

All the teachings of Islam are based on the principle of peace.... It is no exaggeration to say that Islam and violence are contradictory to each other. The concept of Islamic violence is so obviously unfounded that prima facie it stands rejected. The fact that violence is not sustainable in the present world is sufficient indication that violence as a principle is quite alien to the scheme of things in Islam. Islam claims to be an eternal religion and, as such, could never afford to uphold any principle which could not stand up to the test of time. Any attempt to bracket violence with Islam amounts therefore, to casting doubt upon the very eternity of the Islamic religion. Islamic terrorism is a contradiction in terms, much like pacifist terrorism. And the truth of the matter is that, all the teachings of Islam are based directly or indirectly on the principle of peace.

Jihad: A Commitment to Universal Peace by Marcel Boisard “In Jihad, Boisard explains, in very precise terms, what jihad really is. He discusses the fallacies and the falsities that surround the Western understanding and depiction of jihad. The West continues to refuse to accept that principles based on religion can be brought into the ‘philosophy of our industrial age.’ They ignore the fact that Islam is not hostility, but dynamism, and that ‘adl, Ihsan, Musawat—justice, compassion, equality—are the three pillars of healthy human relations for the true believer.” -Aminah Janan Assilmi In today’s complex, and often confusing, social reality, Islam has been at the forefront of political, social, and economic debate. Dr. Boisard cuts through the maligned portrayal of jihad that runs rampant in modern times, to dispel the myths of this widely-misunderstood concept of social and personal struggle for righteousness. This book provides a clear, concise, and accurate explanation of jihad, that derives from the fundamentals of the religion itself.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all feature parallel accounts of the "end times," and all three accounts feature a messianic Savior, an apocalyptic final war between good and evil, and a central role for the city of Jerusalem. Do these three "end times" scenarios intersect in some way? In a world that cries out for peace, which will prevail-Jesus or jihad?

Written by a number of Islamic religious authorities and Muslim scholars, this work presents the views and teachings of mainstream Sunni and Shi’i Islam on the subject of jihad. It authoritatively presents jihad as it is understood by the majority of the world’s 1.7 billion Muslims in the world today, and supports this understanding with extensive detail and scholarship. No word in English evokes more fear and misunderstanding than "jihad." To date the books that have appeared on the subject in English by Western scholars have been either openly partisan and polemical or subtly traumatized by so many acts and images of terrorism in the name of jihad and by the historical memory of nearly 1,400 years of confrontation between Islam and Christianity. Though jihad is the central concern of War and Peace in Islam: The Uses and Abuses of Jihad, the range of the essays is not confined exclusively to the study of jihad. The work is divided into three parts: War and Its Practice, Peace and Its Practice, and Beyond Peace: The Practice of Forbearance, Mercy, Compassion and Love. The book aims to reveal the real meaning of jihad and to rectify many of the misunderstandings that surround both it and Islam’s relation with the “Other.”

Human rights abuses and violations in Saudi Arabia attract international condemnation. But within the country, an Islamic civil rights movement, 'HASM', has called for change. While its members have received international human rights awards, the Saudi authorities have persecuted and imprisoned them. This book is the first to study human rights in the kingdom from the perspective of these prominent Saudi civil rights activists, uncovering the actual ideas that motivate their activism. Based on analysis of the group's texts, the book highlights that HASM neither supports an overthrow of the government, of which they are accused, nor are they “liberal” advocates of universal human rights. Their complex thought is a contribution to contemporary Islamic discourse because they make a case for 'peaceful civil jihad' through the protection of citizens' basic rights, but within a rigid, Salafist interpretation of social affairs that imposes heavy limits on politics, human rights and democracy. Furthermore, HASM's texts use war rhetoric and anti-Semitic language, with different arguments and words for domestic or international audiences. The most comprehensive text on this Islamic civil rights movement, the book employs detailed discourse analysis and includes sources from HASM texts in both Arabic and English.

Islam means "peace" and "submission to God." With its ethical system of instruction for a balanced life based on faith and reason, how did this "religion of peace" come to be feared? After the 9/11 tragedy, Islam was judged by many in the West to be a hub of terrorism and a threat to world peace. People everywhere voiced concern over its concepts of war and Jihad. Ashraf traces these and related concepts from their inception in Qur'anic injunctions and the Prophet's precepts to their current interpretation, evaluating them in their spiritual, moral, juridical, and cultural contexts. Misunderstandings about Islam lie at the core of much bitterness and violence. With no central authority to definitively interpret its teachings, misconceptions regarding Islam's ideology of war and peace abound. To label Islam as militant is to misinterpret jihad as simply a call to war and to ignore its laws governing warfare, which emphasize restraint as far as possible. Islamic Philosophy of War and Peace explains the spirit of Islam, its mandate for peace, and what the pluralistic notion of jihad stands for in the hope that clearing up ambiguities will foster peaceful relations between Muslims and the rest of the world.

In this book, Dr. Louay Safi provides a systematic analysis of the Qur’anic reference and the prophetic traditions on peace and war. He critically examines the views of classical and modern Islamic scholars in light of the original intent of the Shar’ah. While his views on this subject were articulated as early as 1988, his analysis continues to provide a balanced understanding of the most misunderstood concepts of Islam.