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"Jihad"
- the Foreign Policy of Islam
"O Prophet!
Incite the believers to the fight! If there are
amongst you, twenty patient ones, they will defeat
two hundred. And if there are amongst you 100
patient ones, they will defeat 1000 from the disbelievers
as they are a people who understand not."[Surah
Anfaal (8), Verse 65]
"Allah
has preferred in grades those who fight with their
wealth and lives (in the Way of Allah) above those
who sit (at home). Unto each, Allah has promised
good (Paradise), but Allah has preferred those
who fight above those who sit (at home) by a huge
reward."[Surah Nisa (4), Verse 95]
Due to a general lack of
knowledge among Muslims and the Western propaganda
against Islam, both Muslims and non-Muslims have
misunderstood the concept of Jihad to non-Muslims,
Jihad is presented as the diabolical call of "blood-thirsty
people" to convert others to Islam by 'the sword'.
To Muslims, on the other hand, it has been promoted
as a self-help concept whose aim is to make one
a model citizen in whatever society he finds himself
in. Neither of these ideas represent the reality
of Jihad.
Jihad, as a term, cannot be translated
as 'holy war', nor can it be translated, as a
term, as the word 'struggle'. At best, its legal
meaning can be understood as "using military force,
where diplomacy fails, to remove the obstacles
the Islamic State faces in carrying its ideology
to mankind". The aim of Jihad, unlike the Crusades,
past and present, is not to forcibly convert the
inhabitants of other lands to Islam. Rather, it
is to provide them with the security that comes
from the application of Islam, leaving them the
choice of adopting Islam or keeping their own
religions. The affairs of the society however
must be run according to Islamic law. History
confirms that this is and always has been the
role of Jihad, for it was in Muslim Spain that
the Muslims, Christians, and Jews were able to
live peacefully under an Islamic authority. It
was Islam's justice that allowed non-Muslims in
the Islamic State to flourish as artisans, writers,
and thinkers.
Islam neither colonised other land
nor did it enslave the people of newly opened
lands, using them as cheap blood in the battlefields
as was the practice of the Kings and Emperors
of European nations till recently. The Islamic
State annexed all conquered lands to the body
of the State, looking after their affairs with
the same priority as that of its capital. Contrast
this with the imperialist policies of England,
France, Germany and America which raped the lands
which they conquered. Even the capital of the
Islamic State moved out of Arabia to the newly
liberated lands, such as Damascus, Baghdad and
Istanbul. None of these were traditional Arab
lands, they being Roman, Persian, and European
cities. Can one imagine that France would move
its capital to Senegal or the King of Britain
would take up residence in Nairobi. This stands
as clear proof that Jihad is not the tool of an
imperialist foreign policy.
In summary, Jihad is the method
adopted by Islam to protect its lands and save
humanity from slavery to man-made regimes. The
difference between the use of force by the West
and that by Islam is that the Capitalist West
uses force overtly and covertly for the benefit
of a few, such as corporations, while Islam uses
force openly and justly to carry its mercy to
others.
Jihad is a complicated and dangerous
topic. It is one of the main Pillars of Islam
after Tawhid and Dawah. In fact Jihad is form
of Dawah, Dawah by the Islamic State as its foreign
policy. It is dangerous because it involves taking
life, property etc. .It is complex because, just
like a delicate surgical operation, the slightest
of mistakes could be very destructive, Algeria
being a lesson for us all. To understand Jihad
we need to understand at the outset that Allah(swt)
is the only Commander, that He(swt) is the only
one who gives life and takes life and that all
our actions are only for Him(swt).
Jihad should be viewed from two
perspectives and these are (i) Shariah terminology
and in (ii) Arabic lungistic terns. Please read
the following documents to understand the two
and the applicability in certian situations.
The following documents can be read
on-line, downloaded or printed for future reference.
As always, if you have any additional
questions contact us, we'll
be happy to provide you with any additional information
you may need.
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