Re: Jihad and cookies

[Guest guest]

The answer as to what " jihad " means, according to Hamza Yusuf, an Islamic

scholar, is the fourth from the last in this Q & A list.

Namasté

Sam

Published Sunday, Sept. 16, 2001, in the San Mercury News

Expert says Islam prohibits violence against innocents

Muslim scholar: Terrorists are mass murderers, not martyrs

BY RICHARD SCHEININ

Mercury News

Tuesday's terrorist attacks have saddened and maddened millions -- and raised

questions for many about Islam. Speculation abounds that the hijackers were

inspired by terrorists like Osama bin Laden, who teach that violent acts can

pave the way to paradise. But what does Islam really say about such matters?

About jihad and martyrdom?

We asked Hamza Yusuf, an Islamic scholar in the East Bay, who said the

attackers were ``enemies of Islam.'' Not martyrs, but ``mass murderers, pure

and simple.''

Yusuf, whose articles about Islam are published internationally, talked about

the attacks, the hysteria that he fears could grip the United States, and the

role that Muslims and others must play in opposing violence. ``We've got to

get

to some deeper core values that are commonly shared,'' he said.

QWhy would anyone do what the hijackers did?

A Religious zealots of any creed are defeated people who lash out in

desperation, and they often do horrific things. And if these people indeed are

Arabs, Muslims, they're obviously very sick people and I can't even look at it

in religious terms. It's politics, tragic politics. There's no Islamic

justification for any of it. It's like some misguided Irish using Catholicism

as an excuse for blowing up English people.

They're not martyrs, it's as simple as that.

QBecause?

AYou can't kill innocent people. There's no Islamic declaration of war against

the United States. I think every Muslim country except Afghanistan has an

embassy in this country. And in Islam, a country where you have embassies is

not considered a belligerent country.

In Islam, the only wars that are permitted are between armies and they should

engage on battlefields and engage nobly. The Prophet Muhammad said, ``Do not

kill women or children or non-combatants and do not kill old people or

religious people,'' and he mentioned priests, nuns and rabbis. And he said,

``Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees and do not poison the wells of your

enemies.'' The Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet, say that no one can punish

with fire except the lord of fire. It's prohibited to burn anyone in Islam as

a

punishment. No one can grant these attackers any legitimacy. It was evil.

QWhat role should American Muslims have in opposing this brand of violent

Islam?

AI think that the Muslims -- and I really feel this strongly -- have to reject

the discourse of anger. Because there is a lot of anger in the Muslim

communities around the world about the oppressive conditions that many Muslims

find themselves in. But we have to reject the discourse of anger and we have

to

move to a higher moral ground, recognizing that the desire to blame others

leads to anger and eventually to wrath, neither of which are rungs on a

spiritual ladder to God. It's times like these that we really need to become

introspective.

The fact that there are any Muslims -- no matter how statistically

insignificant their numbers -- who consider these acts to be religious acts is

in and of itself shocking. And therefore we as Muslims have to ask the

question, ``How is it that our religious leadership has failed to reach these

people with the true message of Islam?'' Because the acts of these criminals

have indicted an entire religion in the hearts and minds of millions.

Ultimately, this is a result of the bankruptcy of these type of people who

claim to be adherents to the Islamic religion. These people are so bankrupt

that all they have to offer is destruction.

QWhy do some people regard the hijackers as martyrs?

AThat's an abomination. These are mass murderers, pure and simple. It's like

Christians in this country who blow up abortion clinics or kill abortion

doctors. I don't think anyone in the Christian community, except a very

extreme

fringe, would condone that as an acceptable Christian response. In the same

way, there's no Muslim who understands his religion at all who would condone

this. One of the worst crimes in Islam is brigandry -- highway robbery, or

today we'd say armed robbery -- because it disrupts the sense of well-being

and

security among civilians.

QSuicide bombers have cited a Koranic verse that says, ``Think not of those

who

are slain in Allah's way as dead. Nay, they live, finding their sustenance in

the presence of their Lord.''

AThat is meant for people who are legitimately defending the lands of Islam or

fighting under legitimate state authority against a tyrannical leader. There

is

no vigilantism in Islam. Muslims believe in the authority of government.

Imam Malik, an early Islamic legal authority, said that 60 years of oppression

under an unjust ruler is better than one hour of anarchy.

QThen why is there such strong support in parts of the world for the attacks?

ABecause we're dealing in an age of ignorance and an age of anomie, the loss

of

social order. And people are very confused and they're impoverished. What

Americans are feeling now, this has been business as usual for Lebanese

people,

Palestinian people, Bosnian people.

QWhat about Israeli people?

ACertainly the fear element is there for Israeli people -- that's true, and

the

terror that they've felt. And there are still a lot of Jewish people alive who

remember the fear and terror of what happened in Europe, so that's not far

from

people's memories.

It seems at some point, the cycles of violence have to stop. It's a type of

insanity, especially when we're dealing with nuclear power. People are saying

that this was an attack on civilization -- and that is exactly the point. And

I

think the question we all have to ask is whether indiscriminate retaliation is

going to help preserve civilization.

The perpetrators of this and, really, all acts of terror are people who hate

too much. There's a verse in the Koran that says do not let the hatred of a

people prevent you from being just. Being just is closer to piety. The evil of

wrath is that justice and mercy are lost.

QHow do you explain Palestinians and others celebrating the attacks in the

streets?

AWhen you see ignorant people in the streets, rejoicing -- the Prophet

condemned it. It's rejoicing at the calamities of your enemies, and Islam

prohibits that. They do have a lot of anger toward America, because America

produces much of Israel's military hardware and so many American tax dollars

go

to support Israel. You have a lot of animosity in the Arab world. But the vast

majority of Arabs are horrified by what's happened. There's animosity in the

Muslim world toward American foreign policy. This is the unfortunate price of

power and its exercise in the world, that you incur the resentment and

animosity of a lot of people. But the majority of Muslims who I know don't

have

anger toward individuals or the American people.

QThe concept of jihad has been widely used to justify violence.

AJihad means struggle. The Prophet said the greatest jihad is the struggle of

a

man against his own evil influences. It also refers to what Christians call a

``just war,'' which is fought against tyranny or oppression -- but under a

legitimate state authority.

QWhat is the Arabic word for martyr?

AShaheed. It means witness. The martyr is the one who witnesses the truth and

gives his life for it. There are people in this country like Luther

King

who would be considered a martyr for his cause. Also, if your home, your

family, your property or your land or religion is threatened, then you may

defend it with your life. That person is a martyr. But so is anybody who dies

of terminal illness; it's a martyr's death. Because it's such a purification

that whatever wrongs they once did, they're now in a state of purity.

And the greatest martyr in the eyes of God is the one who stands in the

presence of a tyrant and speaks the truth and is killed for it. He is martyred

for his tongue.

QWhat does Islam say about suicide?

ASuicide is haram in Islam. It's prohibited, like a mortal sin. And murder is

haram. And to kill civilians is murder.

QWhat is a martyr's reward?

AThe Prophet said that a martyr who dies doesn't have a reckoning on the Day

of

Judgment. It's an act through which he is forgiven. But the Prophet also said

that there are people who kill in the name of Islam and go to hell. And when

he

was asked why, he said, ``Because they weren't fighting truly for the sake of

God.''

If there are any martyrs in this affair it would certainly be those brave

firefighters and police that went in there to save human lives and in that

process lost their own.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--

Scheinin can be contacted at or by e-mail at

rscheinin@....

[Guest guest]

Sam,

" The answer as to what " jihad " means, according to Hamza Yusuf, an Islamic

scholar, is the fourth from the last in this Q & A list. "

***

And thus -again- a clear demonstration that one question can provoke many

answers. All right in their way, none definitive, credibility for any

particular answer uncertain.

Well, sort of uncertain.

However, I am happy to list a credible source for my own answer:

Albert Hourani, History of the Arabic Peoples, p 151;

Albert Hourani, in whose name MESA's Book Award is given, was born in

Manchester, England, on 31 March 1915, the son of Fadlo and Sumaya Hourani,

immigrants from Marjayun in what is now South Lebanon. He attended Magdalen

College, Oxford in 1933, where he read philosophy, politics and economics.

He graduated in 1936 and went to the Middle East where he taught politics

for two years at the American University of Beirut. With the outbreak of

World War II, he joined the Royal Institute of International Affairs where

he worked with and came under the influence of Arnold Toynbee and Hamilton

Gibb. He served as an analyst at the Office of the British Minister of

State resident in Cairo from 1943-1945, and worked as principal researcher

and writer at the Arab Office, where he helped with the presentation of the

Arab case to the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry which visited

Palestine in 1946. After that, he devoted the rest of his life to an

academic career. In 1948, he was offered a fellowship at Magdalen College

and, three years later, he took up the post of first University lecturer in

the modern history of the Near East and later became director of St.

Antony's College Middle East Centre. He was a frequent visitor to

universities in the United States and the Middle East, and he received

recognition and numerous awards.

Albert Hourani's influence as a scholar and a teacher continues to be felt

throughout our field. In 1946 he published Syria and Lebanon and in 1947

Minorities in the Arab World. In 1962, he published his classic, Arabic

Thought in the Liberal Age 1789-1939, which went through two editions and

numerous reprints. In 1991, he capped his remarkable career with the

publication of The History of the Arab Peoples, which was instantly

recognized for its remarkably rich portrayal of the history and culture of

the Arab Peoples. Between 1946 and 1993, he published eight books and

edited seven others; he also published over 150 articles and over 100 book

reviews. Among his articles, " Ottoman Reform and the Politics of the

Notables, " originally published in 1968 and reprinted in 1981, has provided

a concept-that of the politics of the " notables " -which has inspired

generations of historians to study the society and politics of the modern

Middle East from within.

Much of Albert Hourani's work reflected his deep appreciation for the

intellectual traditions of the Middle East and the West. He was a

remarkably enlightened interpreter of the historical processes which inform

social life of different civilizations, and had a keen understanding of the

ways in which ideas are exchanged and filtered through different cultural

prisms and historical experiences.His genius was an integral part of the

personal and professional ethic that informed all his work and

relationships.More than any other single individual, he established modern

Middle East studies on a solid academic basis.

Albert Hourani died in Oxford on 17th January 1993. He lives with us

through his scholarly work, through the institutions he helped create,

through his students, but above all, through the standards of personal and

professional conduct associated with his name. It is, therefore, with

tremendous pride and joy that we established an award in Albert Hourani's

name. In doing so we recognize that his name and legacy will continue to

expand the frontiers of Middle Eastern studies, that he will continue to

enrich the intellectual and historical traditions of the worlds and peoples

he loved, and that he will continue to guide and inspire the work of future

generations of scholars. They could receive no greater honor, or challenge.

Leila Fawaz, Tufts University, April 2000

***

Hamza Yusuf, incidentally is a well known 'entrepreneur' in all things

'Islamic'. He has a learning center (http://www.jannah.com ) but is

hesitant to itemize his bonafides on his web site; maybe he does once one

pays the 'initiation fee'.

Anyway, part of his answer, as I indicated is applicable to one application

of the concept of Jihad; " It also refers to what Christians call a ``just

war,'' which is fought against tyranny or oppression -- but under a

legitimate state authority. " on the other hand might be similar to concepts

in the shari'a, but misses the target.

***

regards,

[Guest guest]

> The Prophet said the greatest jihad is the struggle of a

> man against his own evil influences.

> a *Holy* war

> inasmuch as it is against the heretic and infidel in oneSELF and ONLY

> against the heretic and infidel in oneself (which is, after all, the only

> one one can *really* be sure of).

You se a difference between these two statements?

The spokespeople for Muslim community of France hold by my definition.

I definitely claim my cookies, though!

m

[Guest guest]

Mike, all,

My point is missed precisely because the frame of reference problem arises.

***

There are many ways to answer this question. You can ask any muslim. You

can ask 'spokespeople for Muslim community of France'. You can ask scholars

such as Hourani. You can ask both sunni and shi'a scholars, and, perhaps

even journey to those places where the 'ulama and the development of

shari'a is an ongoing affair.

Who has the right answer? *But*, you originally stated *all orthodox*

muslims and so point directly to the development of that orthodoxy, which

in turn points to the shari'a for which the definition of jihad has been a

concern for over 1,100 years. I actually presumed that you, Mike, would be

interested to find out that jihad had been regarded as a political concept

as well as a spiritual concept 'way back when'. The history of Islam is

fascinating, worth some study if you were to ask me. The Hourani book is

one of the most important books written about the history of a religion in

this century. . .well worth a look-see. :-)

***

> The Prophet said the greatest jihad is the struggle of a

> man against his own evil influences.

Greatest, highest, innermost, whatever. . .this is my favorite perspective

and I know it is yours. But, one can't just wave their hand and make more

than a millennia of highly involved legalistic prudence, one of the

bedrocks of orthodox Islam, go away to collapse the definition of jihad to

what someone in another frame of reference happens to believe is true.

Of course, it is true if you believe it; rather, its true because you

believe it so. I'm speaking of something completely different raised by

your mention of orthodox.

no need to quibble, I agree right now to disagree. I hope some day to put a

platefull of cookies in front of you Mike.

regards,