Prominent Islamic Scholars, Islamic Jihad, Terrorism and Jus in Bello

• In Event: Terrorism

Abstract

Many terrorist organizations carry out their attacks based on motivations that have predominantly religious characteristics. These terrorist groups are condemned for their indiscriminate use of violence against the civilians. It has long been debated whether religions lead people to commit indiscriminate violence and terrorist acts. Several Islamic scholars are believed to provide the ideological framework to many Islamist terrorist organizations. This paper argues that just like determining the framework of a legitimate war; thoughts and teachings of the Islamic scholars that are associated with the use of violence should be evaluated through the lenses of two criteria, namely “jus ad bellum” and “jus in bello”. These two criteria are utilized for the determination of legitimate warfare. While “Jus ad bellum” sets acceptable justifications for initiating a war, “jus in bello” determines the framework of acceptable wartime conduct. Emphasizing the importance of this distinction, this paper examines the thoughts of several Islamic scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Sayyid Qutb, Hasan al-Banna, and Yusuf Al-Qaradawi from the perspective of ‘jus ad bellum’ and ‘jus in bello’.

Authors

• Kadir Akyuz, University of Bridgeport

• Robert Riggs, University of Bridgeport