Violence and Muslims

Under what circumstances does Islam tolerate violence or armed struggle? What are the Islamic ethics of war? When Does Islam allow what the western media calls “terrorism,” especially when Muslims are the target of violence and terrorism? Can Muslims use violence to counter violence? Given existing...

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Autor principal: Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
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Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: International Institute of Islamic Thought 2004
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/13fdee33085441d186b08dbfe0979049
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:13fdee33085441d186b08dbfe09790492021-12-02T19:41:28ZViolence and Muslims10.35632/ajis.v21i2.18082690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/13fdee33085441d186b08dbfe09790492004-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1808https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 Under what circumstances does Islam tolerate violence or armed struggle? What are the Islamic ethics of war? When Does Islam allow what the western media calls “terrorism,” especially when Muslims are the target of violence and terrorism? Can Muslims use violence to counter violence? Given existing realities, we need to answer such questions. American and British aggression in various countries, the Hindutva aggression in India, and the general global anti-Muslim environment have disturbed Muslims everywhere. What steps should be taken to counter such negative trends? Ethics and Violence In essence, violence is an unethical act. In a civilized world that values ethical principles, violence is used only to deter and punish criminals and to defend oneself. One may use dialogue, persuasion, communication, and information to achieve an objective, but not violence. Violence cannot be used to achieve religious objectives, because it is an instrument of coercion. Islam, which is based on compassion, love, tolerance, gentleness, and forgiveness, prohibits coercion (2:256). Violence, destruction, and cruelty violate Islam’s very nature (7:199). Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, commanded gentleness and forbade harshness and violence. Sahih Muslim records that Ayesha narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “God is kind, and likes kindness. For kindness, God rewards what He never gives due to violence or through any other means” and that he said to Ayesha: “Be kind and avoid violence and indecency. Kindness makes a situation best and unkindness makes it worst. This is why the Qur’an prohibits offensive violence and discourages violence even as a defensive means” (41:34-35) ... Mohammad Nejatullah SiddiqiInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 21, Iss 2 (2004)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Islam
BP1-253
spellingShingle Islam
BP1-253
Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
Violence and Muslims
description Under what circumstances does Islam tolerate violence or armed struggle? What are the Islamic ethics of war? When Does Islam allow what the western media calls “terrorism,” especially when Muslims are the target of violence and terrorism? Can Muslims use violence to counter violence? Given existing realities, we need to answer such questions. American and British aggression in various countries, the Hindutva aggression in India, and the general global anti-Muslim environment have disturbed Muslims everywhere. What steps should be taken to counter such negative trends? Ethics and Violence In essence, violence is an unethical act. In a civilized world that values ethical principles, violence is used only to deter and punish criminals and to defend oneself. One may use dialogue, persuasion, communication, and information to achieve an objective, but not violence. Violence cannot be used to achieve religious objectives, because it is an instrument of coercion. Islam, which is based on compassion, love, tolerance, gentleness, and forgiveness, prohibits coercion (2:256). Violence, destruction, and cruelty violate Islam’s very nature (7:199). Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, commanded gentleness and forbade harshness and violence. Sahih Muslim records that Ayesha narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “God is kind, and likes kindness. For kindness, God rewards what He never gives due to violence or through any other means” and that he said to Ayesha: “Be kind and avoid violence and indecency. Kindness makes a situation best and unkindness makes it worst. This is why the Qur’an prohibits offensive violence and discourages violence even as a defensive means” (41:34-35) ...
format article
author Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
author_facet Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
author_sort Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi
title Violence and Muslims
title_short Violence and Muslims
title_full Violence and Muslims
title_fullStr Violence and Muslims
title_full_unstemmed Violence and Muslims
title_sort violence and muslims
publisher International Institute of Islamic Thought
publishDate 2004
url https://doaj.org/article/13fdee33085441d186b08dbfe0979049
work_keys_str_mv AT mohammadnejatullahsiddiqi violenceandmuslims
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