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Arguing the Just War in Islam
By
John Kelsay
Description
Jihad, with its
many terrifying associations, is a term widely used today, though its
meaning is poorly grasped. Few people understand the circumstances
requiring a jihad, or \\\\\\\"holy\\\\\\\" war, or how Islamic militants
justify their violent actions within the framework of the religious
tradition of Islam. How Islam, with more than one billion followers,
interprets jihad and establishes its precepts has become a critical
issue for both the Muslim and the non-Muslim world.
John Kelsay\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s
timely and important work focuses on jihad of the sword in Islamic
thought, history, and culture. Making use of original sources, Kelsay
delves into the tradition of shari\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'a--Islamic jurisprudence and
reasoning--and shows how it defines jihad as the Islamic analogue of
the Western \\\\\\\"just\\\\\\\" war. He traces the arguments of thinkers
over the centuries who have debated the legitimacy of war through
appeals to shari\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'a reasoning. He brings us up to the present and
demonstrates how contemporary Muslims across the political spectrum
continue this quest for a realistic ethics of war within the Islamic
tradition.
Arguing the Just
War in Islam provides a systematic account of how Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s central
texts interpret jihad, guiding us through the historical precedents
and Qur\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'anic sources upon which today\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s claims to doctrinal truth and
legitimate authority are made. In illuminating the broad spectrum of
Islam\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s moral considerations of the just war, Kelsay helps Muslims
and non-Muslims alike make sense of the possibilities for future war
and peace.
Contents
Introduction
1. Sources
2. Shari\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'a
Reasoning
3. Politics,
Ethics, and War in Premodern Islam
4. Armed
Resistance and Islamic Tradition
5. Military
Action and Political Authority
6. Muslim
Argument and the War on Terror
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
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