Violence In Islamic Thought From The Qurasa Ae N To The Mongols

This volume brings together some of the leading researchers on early Islamic history and thought to study the legitimacy of violence.

This volume brings together some of the leading researchers on early Islamic history and thought to study the legitimacy of violence.

How was violence justified in early Islam? What role did violent actions play in the formation and maintenance of the Muslim political order? How did Muslim thinkers view the origins and acceptability of violence? These questions are addressed by an international range of eminent authors through both general accounts of types of violence and detailed case studies of violent acts drawn from the early Islamic sources.

This book examines how violent acts were assessed by Muslim intellectuals, analysing both changes and continuity within Islamic thought over time.

This volume shows the diversity of approaches to violence in Islamic thought between the 19th century and the present day, avoiding the limiting characterisations of Islam being inherently 'violent' or 'peaceful'. It shows how ideas of 'justified violence' - grounded in Islamic theological and juristic traditions - reoccur throughout history, up to the contemporary period. Chapters on earlier events provide context for contemporary debates on violence, showing how traditional legal and theological ideas (such as the sovereignty of God's law and peace treaties) are used to both legitimise and de-legitimise violence.