Legitimate and Illegitimate Violence in Islamic Thought
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.
Examines the development of Muslim theological, legal, literary and cultural discussions about violence and its legitimation
The violent conquest of the eastern part of the lands under Muslim rule by the Mongols marked a new period in the history of Islamic civilisation and in attitudes towards violence. This volume examines the various intellectual and cultural reactions of Muslim thinkers to these events, both within and without the territories subjected to Mongol control. Each chapter examines how violent acts were assessed by Muslim intellectuals, analysing both changes and continuity within Islamic thought over time.
Each chapter is structured around a case study in which violent acts are justified or condemned, revealing the variety of attitudes to violence in the medieval period. They are framed by a detailed introduction, focusing on theoretical perspectives on violence and religion and their application, or otherwise, to medieval Islam.
Key Features
- Examines the portrayal of violence in a variety of Muslim intellectual contexts (historical, philosophical, theological, legal, literary, artistic)
- Employs a broad understanding of violence – from warfare between Muslims (and between Muslims and others) to individual acts of violence
- Enables a better-informed debate about the nature of violence in Islamic thought, and how the positions developed in early Islam were both used and abandoned by later writers
- Positions these classical conceptions of violence and its justification in Islamic thought in the broader methodological debate over violence and its relationship with religious thought
Examines how violence was described and evaluated in the foundational texts of Islam
Read and download the introduction for free here (pdf)
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. Violence is understood widely, to include jihad, state repressions and rebellions, and also more personally directed violence against victims (women, animals, children, slaves) and criminals. By understanding the early development of Muslim thinking around violence, our comprehension of subsequent trends in Islamic thought, during the medieval period and up to the modern day, become clearer.
Key Features
- Examines the portrayal of violence in a variety of different intellectual contexts
- Takes a broad understanding of violence – from warfare between Muslims (and between Muslims and others) to individual acts of violence
- Enables a better informed debate about the nature of violence in early Islam
- Includes contributions from leading international experts including Michael Cooperson, Maribel Fierro, Geert Jan van Gelder, Christopher Melchert, John Nawas, Andrew Rippin and Dominique Urvoy
