Lecture 3 - Historical Perspective Flashcards
What is the Short-history of Jihad?
Violence against other muslims is prohibitted
Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) Archetypical Islamist Revivalist
Problem: Islamic society in decline, moral and political corruption
Cause: Return to time pre-Islamic ignorance, Islamic leaders had fallen from the faith
Solution: 1. Legitimize violence against corrupt Muslim rulers
2. Jihad as ‘Sixth pillar’
Lasting influence: armed jihad re-envisioned as the right to fight Muslims rulers who had strayed from the ‘right path’
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1791): founding father Saudi Arabia (Wahhabism)
Problem: Arabic society in decline
Cause: Deviation from strict interpretation Islam, e.g. worship of idols and holy sites
Solution: 1) Return to roots of Islam: Quran and Sunnah
2) Prophet and early followers as role models (Salafs)
Hassan al-Banna & Muslim Brotherhood (1928)
Problem: End of Ottoman Empire 1924, British rule of Egypt
Cause: Deviation from ‘true’ Islamic practice, corrupting western influences
Solution: 1) Education & Social Programs
2) Increasing emphasis in al-Banna’s thinking on jihad as personal duty
3) MB has increasingly militant offshoots
What is Greater and Lesser Jihad?
- Greater Jihad: personal struggle against temptation & sin
- Lesser Jihad: warfare for the sake of religion
What is Jahiliya?
o Jahiliya: Jahiliya is a term used in Islam to describe the period of ignorance and unbelief that existed before the advent of Islam. It refers to the negative Muslim evaluation of pre-Islamic life and culture in Arabia as compared to the teachings and practices of Islam
What is Jahiliya without borders?
Sayyid Qutb led militant section MB
- Jahiliya without borders: either existed or it didn’t
o Jahiliya: Jahiliya is a term used in Islam to describe the period of ignorance and unbelief that existed before the advent of Islam. It refers to the negative Muslim evaluation of pre-Islamic life and culture in Arabia as compared to the teachings and practices of Islam
o He believed that Egypt was in a state of Jahiliya, which he defined as a state of domination of humans over humans, as opposed to their submission to God
o Need for a worldwide movement
What is the difference between jihadism and salafism?
Salafists & jihadists share broad goals:
- Back to a ‘pure’ Islam
- Literalist interpretation Quran & Sunna
- Salafs as role models
But disagree on the means:
- A-political salafists: religious education, preaching
- Political salafists: change through political participation
- Salafi-Jihadists: only violence can save the Ummah -the community of Islamic people-
Who is the Near Enemy and who is the Far Enemy?
Near enemy = Nearby muslim regimes geographically close, to be replaced by a true Islamic state.
Far enemy = Nearby muslim regimes were weak in essence, but strong because of foreign-aid. The far-enemy must be attacked to weaken the near-enemy
