Understanding Jihad - Softcover

Cook, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520287320 ISBN 13: 9780520287327

Verlag: University of California Press, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

First published in 2005, Understanding Jihad unravels the tangled historical, intellectual, and political meanings of jihad within the context of Islamic life. In this revised and expanded second edition, author David Cook has included new material in light of pivotal developments such as the extraordinary events of the Arab Spring, the death of Usama b. Ladin, and the rise of new Islamic factions such as ISIS. Jihad is one of the most loaded and misunderstood terms in the news today. Contrary to popular understanding, the term does not mean "holy war." Nor does it simply refer to an inner spiritual struggle. This judiciously balanced, accessibly written, and highly relevant book looks closely at a range of sources from sacred Islamic texts to modern interpretations, opening a critically important perspective on the role of Islam in the contemporary world.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

David Cook is Associate Professor of Religion at Rice University. He is the author of Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature.

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“Among the plethora of books on jihad published since 9/11, David Cook’s stands out in its ability to extend readers’ awareness of the breadth of Muslim writing about the topic.”—International Journal of Middle East Studies

"Understanding Jihad is one of the most helpful of the spate of new books to appear since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, on the debate about jihad in Islam. Cook's approach is based on historical and textual analyses, and is enhanced by valuable theoretical discussion. This book will help readers find their way through the vast literature by Muslims and non-Muslim scholars on what we can't seem to get away from calling 'holy war.'"—Richard C. Martin, Professor of Islamic Studies, Emory University

"This book is important to current political and religious discourse on the role of Islam in today's world and increases our understanding of the seemingly odd behaviors we observe through the media. A tremendous contribution."—Reuven Firestone, author of Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam

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&;Among the plethora of books on jihad published since 9/11, David Cook&;s stands out in its ability to extend readers&; awareness of the breadth of Muslim writing about the topic.&;&;International Journal of Middle East Studies

"Understanding Jihad is one of the most helpful of the spate of new books to appear since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, on the debate about jihad in Islam. Cook's approach is based on historical and textual analyses, and is enhanced by valuable theoretical discussion. This book will help readers find their way through the vast literature by Muslims and non-Muslim scholars on what we can't seem to get away from calling 'holy war.'"&;Richard C. Martin, Professor of Islamic Studies, Emory University

"This book is important to current political and religious discourse on the role of Islam in today's world and increases our understanding of the seemingly odd behaviors we observe through the media. A tremendous contribution."&;Reuven Firestone, author of Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam

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Understanding Jihad

By David Cook

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS

Copyright © 2015 The Regents of the University of California
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-520-28732-7

Contents

Preface to the Second Edition, 
Acknowledgments, 
Introduction, 
1. Qur'an and Conquest, 
2. The "Greater Jihad" and the "Lesser Jihad", 
3. The Crystallization of Jihad Theory: Crusade and Counter-Crusade, 
4. Jihad during the Nineteenth Century: Renewal and Resistance, 
5. Radical Islam and Contemporary Jihad Theory, 
6. Globalist Radical Islam and Martyrdom Operations, 
7. The Rise of Jihadi States, 
Afterword, 
Appendix: Some Translated Documents, 
Communiqué from the Armed Islamic Group (Algeria; September 8, 1995), 
World Islamic Front for Jihad against Zionists and Crusaders: Declaration of War February 23, 1998), 
A Communiqué from Qa ?Idat Al-Jihad Concerning the Testaments of the Heroes and the Legality of the Washington and New York Operations (April 24, 2002), 
"The Importance of Jihad, on the Goals of Jihad" (by 'Ali al-'Aliyani), 
Under the Shadow of the Spears (by Sulayman Abu Ghayth), 
Translation of "The Last Night", 
"Our Shari'i Stance with Regard to the Government of the Iraqi Karzai" (by Abu Musa'b al-Zarqawi), 
"Proclamation of the Caliphate" (by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, June 29, 2014), 
The Revival of Slavery before the Hour (from Dabiq, October 14, 2014), 
Timeline, 
Glossary, 
Notes, 
Bibliography, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

QUR'AN AND CONQUEST

MUHAMMAD, THE QUR'AN, AND JIHAD

Islam did not begin with violence. Rather, it began as the peaceful proclamation of the absolute unity of God by the Prophet Muhammad (ca. 610 C.E.) in the pagan-dominated town of Mecca. The early suras (chapters) of the Qur'an proclaim this basic message: "Say: He is Allah, the only One, Allah, the Everlasting. He did not beget and is not begotten, and none is His equal" (Qur'an 112). Initially, Muhammad was instructed merely to communicate this message to his immediate family and close friends, who, together with a number of social outcasts and slaves, formed the original community of Muslims. Within a few years, the Prophet and his adherents found themselves increasingly persecuted for their beliefs by the elite of the Quraysh (the tribe that dominated Mecca). Muhammad proselytized among the tribesmen of the oasis of Yathrib, about 150 miles to the north of Mecca, who accepted his message. In 622 he, together with the other Muslims, emigrated to this oasis, which was subsequently called Medina.

Muslim history begins with the hijira — Muhammad's emigration to Medina (although there continue to be major, unresolved problems with the historicity of the events narrated below concerning the life of the Prophet Muhammad and the first conquests). Medina was not a town in the conventional sense but rather a collection of small villages and forts spread over the oasis, divided politically among two pagan Arab tribes — the Aws and the Khazraj — and three smaller Jewish tribes: the Banu Qaynuqa, the Banu al-Nadir, and the Banu Qurayza. Muhammad and the Muslims based their community within Medina, and over a period of five years they converted the Arab tribesmen that occupied the territory.

It was in this context that jihad arose, and the campaigns to gain adherents and control territory constituted the focus of the community's activity during the last nine years of the Prophet's life. Muhammad is recorded as having participated in at least twenty-seven campaigns and deputized some fifty-nine others — an average of no fewer than nine campaigns annually. These campaigns can be divided into four groups:

1. The five "thematic" battles of Badr (624), Uhud (625), Khandaq (627), Mecca (630) and Hunayn (630), undertaken with the goal of dominating the three principal settled areas of the Hijaz: Mecca, Medina, and al-Ta'if

2. Raids against the Bedouin, undertaken to force local tribesmen to support — or at least not to attack — the Muslims

3. Attacks against Jewish tribes to secure the oases in which they resided

4. Two raids against the Byzantines at al-Mu'ta (629) and Tabuk (631) and the campaign led by Usama b. Zayd (632) against Syria, which, though less than successful at best, heralded the direction of Muslim conquests during the years following the Prophet's death in 632.

This evidence demonstrates categorically the importance of jihad to the early Muslim community. It is no coincidence that a number of the Prophet Muhammad's early biographers refer to the last ten years of his life as almaghazi (the raids).

The raids were a mixed success. Unexpectedly, the Muslims emerged victorious from the first of their battles — the Battle of Badr — but campaigns undertaken during the three years following ended in losses or stalemates, compensated in some instances by attacks on poorly defended Jewish tribes, first in Medina and later in the oases to the north. After the Battle of the Khandaq in 627, which was a stalemate, the tide turned for the Muslims, as a result of the Meccans' political weaknesses. By 629 Muhammad controlled the region to the north of Medina almost to the border with the Byzantine Empire, and in 630 he conquered Mecca and its allied town of alTa'if.

This mixed bag of victories, half-victories, Pyrrhic victories, and defeats associated with Islam's origins figured prominently in how the community defined itself. The revelations that constitute the Qur'an coincide with military activity, and many address issues related to the conduct of jihad; one of the earliest of these defines just causes for waging jihad, emphasizing the essential component of justice:

Permission is given to those who fight because they are wronged. Surely Allah is capable of giving them victory. Those who were driven out of their homes unjustly, merely for their saying: "Our Lord is Allah." Had Allah not repelled some people by others, surely monasteries, churches, synagogues and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is mentioned frequently, would have been demolished. Indeed, Allah will support whoever supports Him. Allah is surely Strong and Mighty. (22:39–40)

This verse emphasizes the basic component of justice in the waging of jihad. The persecutions of the pagan Quraysh forced the Muslims to emigrate to Medina. During the course of this migration, many of the Muslims lost most or all of their worldly goods and were unable to adjust to life in the agricultural oasis of Medina (as Mecca lacked any agriculture [see 14:37]). Since Medina lay close to the route between Mecca and Syria, through which the Meccans had to pass in order to continue their trading activities, the Muslims sought recompense for their losses by attacking the caravans of the Quraysh. These attacks precipitated the first round of "thematic battles" leading to the eventual conquest of Mecca by Muhammad and the Muslims. In 624 a Meccan caravan was passing by Medina en route from Syria, and its commander, Abu Sufyan, realizing the danger, sent for reinforcements to assist him. Muhammad, who was leading the Muslims, intercepted the caravan, but Abu Sufyan managed to escape. The subsequent battle at Badr between the Muslims and Meccan reinforcements constituted the first of Muhammad's victories.

Much of sura 8 (the Spoils) deals with this event, which was important to early Islam for a number of reasons. The victory was unexpected because of the fact that the...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: University of California Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0520287320
• ISBN 13: 9780520287327
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 2
• Anzahl der Seiten: 324
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar