Islam and Warfare

This splendid book does not quite deliver what it promises, i.e. a treaty on the Islamic law of warfare. Instead, while also addressing Muslim jus ad bellum and jus in bello, it is mainly an excellent exposition of the sources of Islamic law in general, scientifically dealing with the entire scope of international law, the Muslim tradition of concluding treaties, secularism, pacifism, and taqlid. (Close to half of the text is given to footnotes). All that is exposed in extraordinarily fluent English with the purpose, and effect, of contradicting S.P. Huntington’s claim that Islam is a religion of the sword – a caricaturising prejudice pre-dating the 9/11 catastrophe by some 1300 years. It also contradicts the mainstream perception that both individual and collective jihad merely meant religiously sanctioned aggressive warfare for the propagation of Islam. In real fact, both forms of jihad stand for, and are confined to, peaceful, merely defensive measures – to be observed by Muslims irrespective of their opponents’ conduct.