The Islamic Theory of Jihad and The International System

Jihad is one of the basic religious issues in Islam. Generally it is known as the war of Muslims against non-believers (Kafir). During the reign of Khulafah-e-Rashedun Jihad was used to guide to challenge any attack or war from non-believers (Kafir). Thus, conventional meaning of Jihad connotes to war, holy war, and just war. Somehow Jihad has become a misunderstood term to the non-Muslims and also to some Muslims. This prevailing understanding or misunderstanding is still strongly influencing the Muslim- non-Muslim relations even in our age. Jihad leads people to reflect on a media-shaped image of the Iranian Revolution, various Jihad movements in the Muslim world especially in the Middle East which are associated with anti-Zionism, anti- Westernism and terrorism. Muslims war against Kafir is not the only Jihad. According to Hadith, to a Muslim, the best Jihad is to fight against his own Nafs (uncontrolled-will). A Muslim, at first, will have to organize Jihad in himself and this is the basic necessity for establishing a just society. The author in this book has tried to eliminate the misconceptions with Jihad and showed that the theoretical structure and framework of the doctrine of Jihad developed in the classical period was not formulated solely based on the Qur’anic principles and the Prophetic practices. The underlying objectives of the work are: i. A systematic investigation into the classical doctrine of Jihad; its meaning, nature and characteristics, and its functional and operational system. ii. An historical analysis of the modern international system and its development especially in the post-World War II and post- Cold War periods. iii. A critical textual and contextual evaluation of the classical doctrine of Jihad in the light of the present day international system. iv. A possible redefinition, reinterpretation and reconstruction of Jihad in the context of the present day. This book will help eliminate the misconceptions with the issue and understand the true message of it.