Jihadist Islam and its Rationale

• Author: Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada
• Position: Full Professor (Catedrático) of International Public Law and International Relations, University of Murcia This study has been carried out within of the I + D Project 'Lucha de Civilizaciones' (Estado Islámico, retos y consecuencias para Naciones Unidas, la comunidad internacional y su Derecho). ¿Una 'Alianza de Civilizaciones contra el Estado ...
• Pages: 21-46

Paix et Securité Internationales

ISSN 2341-0868, Num. 6, janvier-décembre 2018, pp. 21-46

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2018.i6.02

21

JIHADIST ISLAM AND ITS RATIONALE

El islamismo yihadista y sus razones

L’islamisme djihadiste et ses raisons

Cesáreo GUTIÉRREZ ESPADA1

I.- CONTEMPORARY RADICAL ISLAMISM DEFENDS THE JIHAD OR

“HOLY WAR” AS ONE OF THE PILLARS OF ISLAM. II. NEITHER MUSLIM

“REFORMISM” OR THE SO-CALLED “NEO-REFORMISM” HAVE MANAGED

TO ERADICATE THIS CONCEPT. III.- IT IS STILL HERE, AMONGST US,

TODAY. IV. -WHAT NOW?

ABSTRACT: The jihadist Islamism is not Islam. Not all Islam is jihadist or participates in its con-

ception of the same. Many Muslims do not believe that jihad (non-defensive) against the inf‌i del is

one of the pillars of Islam. The World must speak with these Muslims and try to reach agreements

with them that serve everyone, the People of the Book and others.

KEYWORDS: Jihadism, Jihadism and reformism in Islam, Islamic law and the use of force.

RESUMEN: El islamismo yihadista no es el Islam. Ni todo el Islam es yihadista ni participa de su

concepto del mismo. Muchos musulmanes no creen que el yihad (no defensivo) contra el inf‌i el sea

uno de los pilares del Islam. El Mundo debe hablar con estos musulmanes e intentar llegar con ellos

a acuerdos que sirvan a todos, a las Gentes del Libro y a los demás.

PALABRAS CLAVE: Yihadismo, Yihadismo y Reformismo en el Islam, Derecho islámico y uso

de la fuerza.

RÉSUMÉ: L’islamisme djihadiste n’est pas l’islam. Tout l’islam n’est pas djihadiste ou participe à

sa conception de même. Beaucoup de musulmans ne croient pas que le djihad (non défensif) contre

les inf‌i dèles est l’un des piliers de l’islam. Le monde doit parler avec ces musulmans et essayer de

parvenir à des accords avec eux, au service de tous, des gens du livre et des autres.

MOTS CLÉS: Djihadisme, djihadisme et réformisme dans l’islam, loi islamique et usage de la

force.

1 Full Professor (Catedrático) of International Public Law and International Relations,

University of Murcia This study has been car ried out within of the I + D Project “Lucha de

Civilizaciones” (Estado Islámico, retos y consecuencias para Naciones Unidas, la comunidad internacional

y su Derecho). ¿Una “Alianza de Civilizaciones contra el Estado Islámico? (DER2015-64205-R),

MINECO / FEDER (UE), IP: Cesáreo Gutiérrez Espada.

PAIX ET SÉCURITÉ INTERNATIONALES

Journal of International Law and International Relations

Num 6, janvier-décembre 2018 | ISSN 2341-0868

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2018.i6.02

Citation: GUTIÉRREZ ESPADA, C., «Jihadist Islam and its Rationale», Paix et Sécurité Internationales, num. 6,

2018, pp. 21-46.

Received: 18 April 2018

Accepted: 15 October 2018

Jihadist Islam and ist Rationale

Paix et Securité Internationales

ISSN 2341-0868, Num. 6, janvier-décembre 2018, pp. 21-46

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2018.i6.02

22

I. CONTEMPORARY RADICAL ISLAMISM DEFENDS THE JIHAD OR “HOLY WAR”

AS ONE OF THE PILLARS OF ISLAM

1. To some extent, the precursor of Islamic fundamentalism, which took

shape in some Muslim countries starting from the appearance in Egypt,

in 1928, of the Muslim Brothers, was, without doubt the Imam, Taqqi al-

Din Ahmad Ibn Abdelhalim Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328). His work had an

enormous inf‌l uence on contemporary Islamic thinkers, such as the Egyptian,

Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), the Pakistani, al-Maududi (1903-1979) and the

Palestinian, Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941-1989).

Based on some passages in the Quran2, Ibn Taymiyya understood that

2 The Legal system rests on Islam. Essentially, on the Quran and the Sunnah: 1) The Quran

(al-qur ‘an, “reading”, “recitation”) is the Holy Book, which includes the revelations made

to Mohammed (Mahoma) by God, through the angel Gabriel, over a twenty year period

in Mecca and Medina (612-632 AD). The Book is divided into 114 surahs, (suras, al-sura)

or chapters, with more than 6,200 verses or ayahs (al-aya, “signal”, “sign”, “miracle”) in

order of decreasing size. (“Glosario de términos islámicos” [Glossary of Islamic terms],

Islamic Cultural centre, Valencia, .htm>). Muslims

consider the Quran to be infallible, but, in Islam, there is no single source for a true and

off‌i cial interpretation of it. 2) The Sunnah contains the deeds and sayings of the prophet

(hadith [al-hadiz]), being narrations compiled by his contemporaries, textually citing what the

Prophet said, or implied, without commentary on the various matters. The hadith consists

of an isnad (declaration of authenticity specifying the chain of reporters from the nearest up

to Mohammed himself) and the text in the strictest sense (matn). After selection took place,

the AL-BUKHARI (d. 869 AD) collection, with around 8,000 hadiths is the most well known

and inf‌l uential, and is considered to be the authoritative version. It should be pointed out, at

any event, that the hadiths are not infallible and caused considerable differences in substance

and interpretation between the Sunnis and the Shiites (“Introducción histórica”, RIOSALIDO,

J. [ed., translation and annotation]: Compendio de Derecho Islámico (Risala fî-l-Fiqh). Ibn Abi Zaid

Al-Qayrawani, Trotta, Madrid, 1993, pp. 24-25; see also ABU-SAHLIEH, Sami A.A.: Il Diritto Is-

lamico (Fondamenti, fonti, istituzione), Carocci Editiore, Rome, 2008, pp. 183 ss., 191 -197).

Where unresolved by the Quran or the Sunnah, Muslim law calls upon a third source (ijmâ

or general consensus of the community) which requires unanimous consent from the mujta-

hid, legal scholars with great expertise and moral prestige, so that the ruling made as a result

of that consensus is valid. When these three sources do not provide an answer, a mujtahid

may resolve the problem by resorting to deductive analogy (qiyas) based on the Holy Book,

or on the sayings of the Prophet. T he legal scholars, due to their wisdom and integrity, have

ijtihad (the power to create the rule destined to become a legal regulation). Their opinion or

legal ruling (al-fatwa, fatwa in English) which may be made as a response to a consultation

by any Muslim, makes Sharia applicable. The fatwa does not, in principle, have further value