Pacifism in Islam

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Different Muslim movements through history had linked pacifism with Muslim theology.[1][2][3] However, warfare has been an integral part of Islamic history both for the defense and the spread of the faith since the time of Muhammad.[4][5][6][7]

Peace is an important aspect of Islam, and Muslims are encouraged to strive for peace and peaceful solutions to all problems. However, the teachings in the Qur'an and Hadith allow for wars to be fought if they can be justified.[8] According to James Turner Johnson, there is no normative tradition of pacifism in Islam.[9]

Prior to the Hijra travel Muhammad struggled non-violently against his opposition in Mecca.[10] It was not until after the exile that the Quranic revelations began to adopt a more offensive perspective.[11] Fighting in self-defense is not only legitimate but considered obligatory upon Muslims, according to the Qur'an. The Qur'an, however, says that should the enemy's hostile behavior cease, then the reason for engaging the enemy also lapses.[12]

  1. ^ Emily Lynn Osborn (10 October 2011). Our New Husbands Are Here: Households, Gender, and Politics in a West African State from the Slave Trade to Colonial Rule. Ohio University Press. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-0-8214-4397-2.
  2. ^ Louise Müller (2013). Religion and Chieftaincy in Ghana: An Explanation of the Persistence of a Traditional Political Institution in West Africa. LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 207–. ISBN 978-3-643-90360-0.
  3. ^ An American Witness to India's Partition by Phillips Talbot Year (2007)
  4. ^ "Islamic Imperialism | Yale University Press".
  5. ^ Lews, Bernard, Islam and the West, Oxford University Press, 1993, pp. 9–10
  6. ^ Hoyland, Robert G. (2014). In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-991636-8.
  7. ^ Kaegi, Walter E. (1995). Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521484558.
  8. ^ "What does pacifism mean in Islam?". BBC. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  9. ^ Johnson, James Turner (1 November 2010). "1". Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions. Penn State Press. pp. 20–25. ISBN 978-0-271-04214-5.
  10. ^ Boulding, Elise. "Cultures of Peace: The Hidden Side of History", p. 57
  11. ^ Howard, Lawrence. "Terrorism: Roots, Impact, Responses", p. 48
  12. ^ Afsaruddin, Asma (2007). Views of Jihad Throughout History. Religion Compass 1 (1), pp. 165–69.