Violence in Islamic Thought from European Imperialism to the Post-Colonial Era

Explores Muslim attitudes towards violence from the 19th century to the present day

• Examines perceptions and expressions of violence in a wide range of contexts in the modern period: Algeria, Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Iraq, Israel, Libya, Nigeria, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen
• Shows the nuances behind headline-making events and organisations such as al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Islamic State, Salafi jihadism, the Mahdi Army, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Arab Revolutions
• Engages with key figures including Fażl-i Ḥaqq Khayrābādī, Ahmad Riza Khan, Muqtadá al-Ṣadr, Muḥammad al-Maqdisi, Ayman al-Ẓawāhirī and Turkī al-BinʿAlī
• Enables a more informed understanding of the nature of violence in the modern period, in the Muslim world and beyond

Muslim attitudes toward violence have been reshaped in light of the colonial context since the 18th and 19th centuries, and in response to regional and world-changing events of the contemporary period. This volume shows the diversity of approaches to violence in Islamic thought, 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.

Violence in Islamic Thought from European Imperialism to the Post-Colonial Era is the final volume in the Violence in Islamic Thought trilogy. Taken together, the three books cover key aspects of violence in Islamic thought from the earliest time to the present day, mapping a trajectory of thinking about violence over 14 centuries of Islamic history.