Are Suicide Attacks equivalent to Jihad

under Islamic Law?

By Mansoor Alam1 A

Abstract:The suicide attacks are rapidly growing rapidly all around the world and are a

major concern these days. The extremist groups such as Al-Qa’eda justify these attacks in the name of Islam. These attacks prove to be cost effective and enable the extremists to continue their struggle with less loss of lives on their part. The paper discovers that such view runs contrary to the Islamic Law (Quran and Sunnah) and suicidal killings amounts to the murder of entire humanity. The projection of Jihad in Islam as professed by these extremist groups bears no reflection to the actual concept of Jihad during the early days of Islam. The Islam as a religion recognises the sanctity of human blood and only allows Jihad in very limited circumstances. The concept of suicide attacks therefore does not fulfill the strict guidelines of Jihad as established during the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) life’s time and does not amount to jihad in anyway. The paper further elaborates on the use of force increases the threats of spreading this radicalism. What needs to be done is to make collective effort on teaching the peaceful message of Islam which require Muslims to establish a peaceful society as was established in Medina by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Introduction:

The recent War on Terrorism is facing its biggest challenges, since it began on October 7

2001, by the US led NATO air-strikes in Afghanistan in pursuit of their hunt to eliminate

Al-Qa’eda, in the form of suicide attacks not only on military targets but also on innocent

civilians. Since October 2007, the list of possible suicidal targets has also included

politicians and domestic political parties along with innocent civilians both in Pakistan

and Afghanistan. On October 18th 2007 the self exiled former Prime Minister Benazir

Bhutto rally was attacked in Karachi on her return from exile, killing more than 150

innocent people and more than 450 injured.1 Similarly 5 members of the Afghanistan

Parliament along with some school children were killed in the bomb blast in Afghanistan

1 A Advocate Lahore High Court, Lahore Pakistan, Doctorate of Juridical Sciences (JSD) City University of Hong Kong, LL.M (WTO & Law) City University of Hong Kong, LL.B (Hons) University of Wolver Hampton U.K., Email: mansooralam21@gmail.com.

1 Bhutto attack highlights instability, by Paul Reynolds World affairs correspondent, BBC News website Friday, 19 October 2007, 13:27 GMT 14:27 UK, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7052570.stm (retrieved on 4/12/2007).

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on Nov 6, 2007.2 There are reports of a female suicide attack on a military check post in

Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan and a suicide car bomb attack is reported to have wounded 22

civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan.3 This brings the question of what is the motivation

behind these illegal killings by the so called Islamic Militants. Since the last Afghan war

which ended in the establishment of Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 1990, these two

countries have been hit hard by the extremist elements. The al-Qa’eda led by Osama-bin-

Laden, has constantly been a threat to the peace and security of the whole world what to

talk of these two countries.4 But this latest method of targeting civilians is a development

which has also taken many lives in Iraq since the downfall of Saddam Hussein in 20035

as well as in Palestine, Israel, Pakistan and Afghanistan along with the West.

The question that arises is how these suicide attackers justify their missions in the

light of Quran and Sunnah and kill or injure innocent people and affect the lives of so

many by creating insecurity within the society. The term "Global War on Terrorism" (or

"War on Terror") is used to describe the ongoing global conflict between the United

States of America and the Al-Qa’eda like militant Islamic terror networks.6 The pivotal

moment in the conflict is traced to September 11, 2001, when 19 members of the terrorist

al-Qa'eda organization hijacked four domestic passenger jet aircraft while in flight and hit

them in World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, killing around 3,087 and costing losses of

billions of US dollars.7

The religion has been made the basis of war on terrorism and when one considers

there emerges a dichotomy between the two. Al-Qa’eda styled militant groups constantly

2 Politicians and schoolchildren were among at least 40 people killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan, BBC News Report, dated 6 Nov 2007, available at, http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7080000/newsid_7082100/7082135.stm?bw=nb&mp=wm&news=1&nol_storyid=7082135&bbcws=1 (retrieved on 3 Dec 2007).

3 BBC News Website reports, Woman in Pakistan suicide bombing, 4 December 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7126637.stm; & Many wounded' in Afghan attack, 4 December 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7126198.stm (retrieved on 3 Dec 2007).

4 Bali Bombings, London underground Attack in 2004, New York and Pentagon Attack in 2001, along with numerous others.

5 BBC News Website, Timeline on Iraq: A chronology of key events, Last Updated: Saturday, 1 December 2007, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/737483.stm (retrieved on 3 Dec 2007).

6 See generally George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People (Sept. 20, 2001), available at http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript (citing al-Qa'eda and the nations that support that "radical network of terrorists" as the enemy in the U.S. War on Terror).

7 See generally Evan Thomas, A New Date of Infamy, Newsweek, Sept. 13, 2001, at 22 (creating a timeline of the atrocities and events that occurred on September 11, 2001).

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invoke religious beliefs as their justification for causing such forms of illegal violence.

However other Groups such as Hamas, Hizbollah, Tamil Tigers, and Mujahidins in

Kashmir are using this ideology to seek their independence or freedoms. Al-Qa’eda

which helped the formulation of Taliban regime in Afghanistan believes that this kind of

suicide bombings are martyrdom and War on Terrorism is against Islam. Osama-bin-

Laden declared himself and al-Qa’eda to be at war with US in 1996 and consider the

present occupation of foreign forces in Muslim and Arab States to be invasion against

Islam and Muslims.8 Behind this ideology they promote their agenda and consider that

Muslims who support the West are against Islam and permit the killing of such Muslims

even. These Islamic extremist claim to be following the true Muslim Religion in

accordance with Qur’an and Islamic Law. Contrarily the Muslim Scholars

overwhelmingly disagree with this stance of extremism projected by these extremist

groups.

If we consider the history there has been misuse of this religious dogma and

individuals, groups and nations have used the religion to engage in aggression against

others.9 For instance the Nazis in the World War II issued metallic belts buckle to their

infantry with stamp saying that “God with Us’ reflecting the religious idea. In short, al-

Qa'eda-styled militants claim that their religious beliefs justify the use of illegal and

aggressive violence.

This paper shall consider the true ideology of Islamic Law as stipulated in the Qur’an

while focusing on the concept of Jihad in the Muslims Holy Book in the First Part. The

Islamic law as professed by Taliban and Al-Qa’eda like shall be analyzed in the second

part. The implication of use of force against these militants and their stance to pursue

suicide bombs as cost effective for fighting the invaders as professed with the extremist

Islamic groups shall be made in the third section of this paper. Before making analysis of

for the future in the final section, the forth section concentrates the assessment of this

8 See The Osama Bin Laden I Know, Peter L. Bergen, (2006). Bergen provides his extensive investigative reporting related to Osama bin Laden and his organization.

9 Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Ralph Mannheim ed., 1999) (1925) writes in this book; ("Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord.").

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extremist interpretation of Islam in the light of Holy Qur’an and Saying of the Prophet

Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him).

Part I Islam as a religion

a) Definition:

Islam means "submission", or the total surrender of oneself to God (Arabic: الله, Allah).

The term "Islam" is derived from the Arabic word s-l-m, which means "peace," and some

translate this term as "surrender." The full implication of the term s-l-m is "the peace that

comes when one's life is surrendered to God."10

Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him)(AD 570-632) introduced Islam into the Middle

East in AD 622. Islam is a monotheistic religion in which monotheism is unambiguously

absolute. The Arabic word for monotheism is Tawhīd which means 'Admitting as One',

i.e. Alone, only One in number.

Follower of Islam is known as a Muslim, meaning "one who submits (to God)".

All Muslims and any person who wants to enter Islam has to give Shahadah (testimony)

of the Islamic creed, which is the absolute declaration in the oneness of Allah and declare

that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the Prophet (Messenger) of Allah.11

The Qur’an is the religious book of Muslims. Word “Qur’an” means “the act of

reciting”12 and is the Holy Book which Allah revealed to Muhammad (God's final

prophet) by Gabriel over a period of 23 years and is the final revelation of God to

Humanity.13 Muslims have no doubt that the Qur’an is the book of divine guidance and

its text in Arabic is the real word of Allah. The Qur’an is divided in 114 Chapters called

as “surahs.” The Muslims adopt strict interpretations of Qur’an in search of Heaven and

fulfilling the commands of Allah.

10 The World’s Religions, Huston Smith, (1991), at 222.11 Shahadah (الشهادة) (meaning testimony, declaration) can roughly translated as, "I bear witness that

there are no other gods beside God (Qur’an 3:18, 47:19) and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah! ".12 Qur'an; 75: 17.13 Qur'an; 17: 106 & Qur'an; 33: 40.

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Muslims regard the Qur'an and the Sunnah (deeds of Muhammad and Prophet’s

saying are called as “Hadith”) as the fundamental sources of Islam.14 According to Islam

and Muslims, Muhammad (PBUH) is the last Prophet of God, who was not the founder

of a new religion. Muslims regard that Muhammad (PBUH) restored the original

monotheistic faith of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets. According to Islam

follower of Judaism and Christianity distorted the messages of their prophets over time

either in interpretation, or in text.15 Islam is the second biggest religion in the world after

Christianity, and is being followed by 1.1-1.8 billion Muslims.16

b) Five Pillar of Islam:

Religious practices of Islam are included in Qur’an. Muslims are required to

adhere to the five pillars of Islam and stead fast on them.17 Along with these essential

elements, the Qur’an also stipulates certain acts and practices of faith which Muslims

must perform and practice. They are:

(1) Declaration:

One must confess, declare and accept the Islamic creed of Shahadah as stated

above. This requires the declaration of Oneness of God and acceptance of Prophet

Muhammad (PBUH) to be the Messenger of Allah. The English translation of the creed

reads as "La ilaha illa Allah; Muhammad Rasul Allah." Islam recognizes other Prophets

to be the Messengers of Allah and Muhammad is the last Prophet of Allah and no Prophet

shall come after Him.18 According to Islam, Jesus was merely a man and reject Jesus'

claim of Godship as well as His Salvation.19

14 Ghamidi (2001): Sources of Islam, http://www.renaissance.com.pk/JulRefl2y6.html retrieved (04/12/2007).

15 Accad (2003): Ibn Taymiya, states that most Muslims accept the veracity of the earlier Holy Books such as Bible.

16 Major Religions of the World—Ranked by Number of Adherents, http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html#Islam retrieved (04/12/2007).

17 Esposito (2002b), p.17.18 “The Prerequisites of the Declaration of Faith” by Jamaal al-Din Zarabozo, This article appeared in two

parts in Al-Basher magazine (Vol.7, No.5 January-February, 1994) retrieved on 4/12/2007, at http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/shahadah/shahadahprereq.html & The World’s Religions, by Huston Smith, (1991), at 242.

19 Qur’an; 4: 157.

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(2) Salaat:

The second pillar of Islam requires offering of prayers (Salaat in Arabic).

According to Hadith, Prophet Muhammad said “Pray as you have seen me praying."

(transmitted by al-Bukhari). Muslims must pray five times a day in the manner prescribed

by the Prophet in the direction of Mecca which is considered as submission to Allah and

is a symbol of social brotherhood.20

(3) Alm:

Third pillar requires distribution of zakat (Alm) to the poor and needy. This is

recognized as an obligatory purification tax on the wealth of every Muslim irrespective of

his age and amount of wealth he posses. Allah stated that: "Of their goods take alms so

that thou mightiest purify and sanctify them..."21 One must give zakat to the deserving

people in compliance with a set mathematical formula. Tajuddin B. Shu`aib details the

purposes as well as the method for the calculation of zakat. 22

(4) Fasting: Muslims forth obligation requires them to fast for one month during the month of

Ramadan each year. The Muslims are to abstain from doing all evil acts in general but

during the fasting month they must protect their fast from all kinds of evil deeds, talk and

must not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. They are also to abstain from doing any kind

of sexual activity. The purpose and objective of fasting is to seek attention and heighten

ones relationship with Allah through leaving all worldly desires to seek blessings of

Allah.23

20 The Prophet’s Prayer Described, Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaani translated to English by Usama bin Suhaib Hasan, the book details the procedure, method and purposes of the prayers in detail, available at http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/prayer/albaani/prayer_1.html, retrieved 06/12/07; see also What You need to know About Islam and Muslims by George Braswell, (2000). During the rakats, or prayer rituals, Muslims prostrate themselves as an act of submission to Allah. Mosque, or masjid, in Arabic means a place of prostration. See also Huston Smith, Supra FN 10 at 246.

21 Qur`an, 9: 103, 2:110 & 2:277; Hadith 2.486, 2.51422 See A section on Zakaat from Tajuddin B. Shu`aib's book Essentials of Ramadan, The Fasting Month,

Da`awah Enterprises International, Los Angeles, California. USA, retrieved 05/12/2007, at http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajuddin/fast_79.html#HEADING140; and Huston Smith supra FN 10 at 246. The Qur’an’s strict percentage applies to complete holdings and not just taxable income.

23 Qur`an; 2:183; & see also Ibid Tajuddin B. Shu`aib's book, available at http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/fasting/tajuddin/fast_1.html (retrieved on 05/12/2007)

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(5) Pilgrimage:

Fifth pillar of Islam is to go for Pilgrimage to Mecca once in life. This the greatest

obligation required on each muslim is physically and economically capable to afford to

go for pilgrimage on his own account to Mecca in Khana Ka’aba on the 9 th day of Dul-

Haj of the Muslim calendar. The great annual pilgrimage to Mecca is called the Hajj.24

Apart from these five core pillars, Islamic Law called as “Sharia” has developed a

tradition of rulings on the basis of which Muslims are to regulate their lives. These

practices virtually covers all aspects of life and society such as strict dietary laws,

banking, warfare, social laws, criminal and civil laws as well as laws of evidence among

others25 but these five pillars are the foundations of Islam as a religion and of Islamic

Law.

With respect to warfare the concept of war in Islam is not only restricted to fighting

the enemies but Islam recognizes the fight against the inner soul supersedes the fight

against enemies. In respect of the issue pertaining to suicide attacks and inciting

individuals to carry such attacks, the instigators derive its relevance from the concept of

Jihad contained in Islam, Qur’an and Islamic history. This requires a close analysis on

concept of Jihad in accordance with Qur’an being the primary source, Hadith and Sunnah

being the true reflections of Qur’anic Verses as secondary sources and spread of Islam in

its earlier development.

c) Jihad in Islam:“Jihad” is Arabic word which means “to strive, endeavor or struggle.” The person

who caries out jihad is called “jahada” meaning a person who is diligent, industrious or

laborious in pursuit of a praise worthy objective. This term applies to both spiritual and

physical struggle. In pre Islamic context terms such as jihad, mujahid and mujtahid

reflected a person who actively struggles for physical and intellectual endeavors and was

not restricted to war-making activities.26

24 See The World’s Religions, by Huston Smith, at 247; & The Muslim Almanac, by Azim A. Nanji (1996), at 15, the method, procedures and requirements for performing Hajj.

25 Esposito (2002b), pp.111,112,118; “The Koran lays down a meticulous code of moral and ethical behavior. Drinking intoxicants, gambling, larceny, lying, eating pork and unlawful sexual relations are just a few of the sins detailed in the Koran.” See generally Caner & Caner, Unveiling Islam, (2002).

26 M. Cherif Bassiouni states in his article on “Evolving Approaches to Jihad: From Self-defense to Revolutionary and Regime-Change Political Violence” published in 8 Chi. J. Int'l L. 119 (2007), “The

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Therefore the term jihad in context of early Islamic days reflected to essentially a

steadfast spiritual struggle to uphold the new faith of Islam acquired by the companions

of Prophet Muhammad. The Qur’an refers to Jihad at several places and in some verses it

refers to jihad as struggle with aggressors in defense of faith.27

In Islam, Allah regards human blood as sacred in any case and cannot be shed without

lawful justification. According to the Islamic teachings the violator of sanctity of human

blood by killing a soul without lawful justification is regarded as killing of the entire

mankind. Qur’an says

"...Whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption done in the land, should be as if he had slain mankind altogether." (5:32)

This verse addresses the situation when the Muslims who had earlier migrated from

Makkah to Medina, were threatened by the forces of Makkah, by this verse Allah

encouraged His true followers to defend themselves and fight for the cause of Allah .The

Qur’an refers to this peaceful and self-defense message of jihad at several places and

citations of all of these verses would be beyond the limits of this paper.The following

Medina-revealed verse balance personal sacrifice and fighting in self-defense.

“Those who believed and those who suffered exile and fought [and strove and struggled] in the path of Allah--they have the hope of the Mercy of Allah: And Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”28

The first 22 yrs of Islam particularly referred to jihad as resistance against

aggressions i.e. self-defense but the spiritual elements of Jihad were more prevalent. The

Prophet, on his return from the battle of Badr expressed the spiritual dimensions of Jihad

by stating that

verb ijtihad means the process of engaging in a diligent, industrious, and laborious endeavor. But it has acquired, since early Islam, an essentially theological significance because it applied to the intellectual process of developing an interpretation concerning a particular problem for which the Shari'ah does not have an explicit answer.” See also the meanings of jihad, in Arabic language dictionary and encyclopedia called Lisan al-Arab lil-Imam al-'Alama Ibn Man Dhur (Cairo: Dar Al-Hadith 2d ed 2003).

27 See generally, Hilmi Zawati, Is Jihad a Just War? War, Peace and Human Rights under Islamic and Public International Law 29-30 (Edwin Mellen 2001).

28 Qur'an 2:218.

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the war is the smaller jihad in contrast to the struggle against oneself for goodness and piety also called as jihad ul-nafs.29

The Qur’an mentions it as the highest quality of a Muslim:

"The most honorable among you in the sight of God is the one who is most God-conscious." (49:13)

When we look at the historical aspects, the jihad was only used for the purposes of

self defense and the Prophet laid down strict humanitarian laws to be followed whenever

Muslims were called for jihad. It includes not killing, or harming, any non-combatants

i.e. women, children, the aged and the sick or those who asked to be spared death. The

Qur’an states that

“Fight in the cause of Allah against those who fight against you; but do not transgress.”30

and“If they cease, then let there be no hostility except against oppressors”31

The distinctive character of armed Jihad at the Time of the Prophet was self-defense

as evident from the battles of Badr (624 CE), Uhd (625 CE) and Khendaq. In these battles

the Muslims were attacked by the superior forces. In these battles the Prophet relied on

these traditional Arabic rules of the War. However when the Muslims under the Prophet

attacked Makkah, it was not for self-defense but was to gain control of Kaaba for which

the Treaty between the Muslims and Makkah leaders was signed at the place of

Hudabiya. One interesting feature was that at the time of Makkah victory by Muslims,

there was not a single blood shed. The Last sermon of the Prophet which he delivered on

his pilgrimage to Mecca and when Kaaba’s control was regained by Muslims, these rules

were followed and all enemies were pardoned by the Prophet. Moreover After Prophet

Muhammad until the time of Kalifa, the concept of jihad closely referred to its use for

self-defense. M. Cherif Bassiouni states in his article

29 This Hadith often referred in Arabic articles, including Ibn Taymiyya, Majmou' al-Fatawa; Al-Zayla'I, Takhrij al-Kashafi; and Ibn Hagar al-Askalani, Al-Kafi al-Shaf but is considered weak due to its transmission to the Prophet Muhammad.

30 (2:190)31 (2:193)

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“Even in jihad, there were prohibitions against violence directed toward women, children, the elderly, the sick and wounded, clerics, and places of worship of Christianity and Judaism. They were not, however, consistently followed except in the days of the Prophet n67 and during some of the first four successors, and also throughout the expansion of Islam in North Africa, Spain, and Southern Europe, and more particularly by the practices of Salah Al-Din el-Ayyoubi in his war of liberation in Palestine and Syria against the crusaders.”32

Till the time of Ali ibn Abi Talib (599-661 CE), the Sunni sect of Islam prevailed.

However after Ali, the dispute between the Shi’a and Sunni over Khilafat extended this

concept of jihad to a never ending concept and there has been no clear interpretation of

jihad by scholars till now. That is the reason that these suicide attacks are regarded as

martyrdom by majority of Arab Muslims which if one closely and carefully follows has

nothing to do with original roots of concept of Jihad.

Since the time of Khilafat, the forceful jihad was only permissible according to Sunni

doctrine;

a) for self-defense;

b) the use of force in non-Muslims controlled area where there was clear threat to the

Muslims ummah(nation);

c) the propagation and practice of Islam was opposed;

d) the non-Muslims refuse to sign a treaty with Muslims; or

e) where the jaziya (protection tax) was resisted by the People of the Book.33

Till 12th Century the major context of jihad remained to some extent the same as had

originally been developed. However the Sunni’s and Shi’a schools could not maintain the

original concept due to subdivisions in each school, a preemptive sort of warlike jihad

emerged from the later interpretation of various schools.34 These diversions lead to

32 M. Cherif Bassiouni, supra FN 26, refers for general discussion, by Christopher Tyerman, God's War: A New History of the Crusades (Belknap 2006); Les Croisades (1096-1270) (Historia Special 1999)in footnote 68& at 125-136.

33 These strict limits on use of force were not part of the Western law until the first world war. See Jackson Maogoto, War Crimes and Realpolitik: International Justice from WWI to the 21st Century (Lynne Rienner 2004).

34 M. Cherif Bassiouni and Gamal M. Badr, The Shari'ah: Sources, Interpretation, and Rule-Making, 1 UCLA J Islamic & Near E L 135 (2002); Wad B. Hallaq, A History of Islamic Legal Theories (Cambridge 1997).

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misuse of Jihad for political motivations by fundamentalist and have lead to the division

of Muslims as nation.

Part II Social Law / Islamic Radicalism:

The politically motivated fundamentalist doctrine urges the use of force for the

internal regime-change, for justifications to attack the western nations as well as those

who do not support their own agendas.35 These fundamentalist assume warlike jihad to be

a holy war and fail to understand the basic ideology behind the concept of Jihad. The

Muslims, who are not aware or familiar with the true concept of Islam and Jihad, become

prey of these fundamentalist organizations like Al-Qa’eda, Taliban and are used as

human Bombs to kill innocent civilians. Such organizations propagate to present a very

strict and literal interpretation of Islam.

a) Extremist interpretation of Jihad:

The Islamic interpretation of Jihad now is considered only to the warlike jihad. The

fundamentalist derive their source from the Qur’an without reading the actual history and

without understanding the true concept of jihad. They refer to the following verses of

Qur’an to support their proposition to fight against the unbelievers of Islam with whom

there is no treaty or truce as a permanent obligation of Muslims. They quote,

Therefore listen not to the Unbelievers, but strive against them with the utmost strenuousness, with the [Qur'an]. at 25:52

That ye believe in Allah and His Messenger, and that ye strive [your utmost] in the Cause of Allah, with your property and your persons: That will be best for you, if ye but knew! at 69:11

35 See generally Khalid Abou el Fadl, The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists (Harper 2005); Mark Huband, Warriors of the Prophet: The Struggle for Islam (Westview 1999); Fawaz A. Gerges, The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global (Cambridge 2005); Oliver Roy, Globalised Islam: The Search for a New Ummah (Columbia 2004)

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Those who believe, and suffer exile and strive with might and main, in Allah's cause, with their goods and their persons, have the highest rank in the sight of Allah: they are the people who will achieve (salvation). 9:20 (Yusuf Ali's translation)

With this ideology they believe that the martyrdom ensures the place in heaven to any

Muslim who gives his live in the cause of Allah while pursuing Jihad. The fundamentalist

rely scholars who assume that the earlier revelations of Qur’an which prescribe jihad for

self defense and for protection of Islam, have been superseded by the later revelations

such as the ones mentioned above.36 The author however does not agree with this and

believes that where there is such a case, the Qur’an explicitly prescribes if the earlier

revelation has been superseded or abrogated e.g. Qur'an 2:106 ("None of Our revelations

do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar:

Knowest thou not that Allah Hath power over all things?").

By adopting these verses of Qur’an they assume that the every muslim is under an

obligation to pursue jihad against foreign or domestic powers with everything they have

to establish their preferred regimes within a territory. They cite a Hadith as stated in The

Sahih al-Bukhari which reads,

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The example of a Mujahid in Allah's Cause—and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause—is like a person who fasts and prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed , otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty."37

The present form of jihad adopted by extremist is for the purposes of promoting their

struggle to seek independence. Since the time of First and the Second World War and

after the de-colonization of various countries different groups in order to pursue their

objectives, phrased their national struggles as jihad which was not related to foreign

oppressors. After the 1948 Palestine war, in which the Egyptian based Muslim

Brotherhood group sent its unit to fight against the Zionist settlers, the term of struggle of

Palestine jihad emerged. Thus the nationalistic liberation was included within the

meaning of Jihad as then announced by the Al-Azhar University and Cairo Research

36 See, for example, Rudolph Peters, Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam (Markus Wiener 1996).37 Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 46.

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centre in 1948. But none of the Governments of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq

pronounced it to be Jihad against the Israel occupation of Palestine.38

However in the case of Afghanistan, the Taliban was supported by the western

powers as well as Pakistan to fight against the USSR invasion. When the war over, the

Taliban adopted a strict Islamic regime. They deprived basic fundamental rights of

human particularly women by restricting them to houses and demanding them to wear

“Burqa”. Similarly they failed to establish and adopt a proper economic and stable

country and used their terrorist behavior to suppress the society. On one hand, they

promoted to follow strict Sharia laws and on the other, they depended on drugs and

weapons money to sustain.

Similarly on Iraq invasion of Kuwait led to the US forces presence in the Arab region

that basically came to help the Arab countries against the Iraqi invasion. The extremist

groups considered it to be the invasion of foreigners on Islam and Islamic countries. The

presence of these forces in Muslim countries led to the declarations of Jihad by the

extremist groups. In 1996, Osama bin Laden, the founder of al-Qa'eda, issued his first

declaration of war against the US by stating that:

“The walls of oppression and humiliation cannot be demolished except in a rain of bullets. The freeman does not surrender leadership to infidels and sinners. My Muslim Brothers of the World: Your brothers in Palestine and in the land of the two Holy Places are calling upon your help and asking you to take part in fighting[*113] against the enemy -- your enemy and their enemy -- the Americans and the Israelis.”39

Following the long liberation movements such as in Palestine, Afghanistan, Lebanon,

Kashmir and in Eastern European states, the local groups like Al-Qaeda, Hamas,

Hizbollah etc have adopted a suicide bombing tactics to defeat their enemies and run their

independence movements. What requires consideration is that how such groups justify

such a tactic under Islamic law and how they manage to encourage people to carry out

attacks on military as well as against civilian.

b) Inducing Suicide Missions:

38 Supra FN 26, M. Cherif Bassiouni states at 137.39 Supra FN 8, PETER L. BERGEN, at 166.

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To continue the liberation movements in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka

and other disputed areas, the extremist groups due to their limited resources have resorted

to the suicide attacks on military and civilian institutions as well as individuals. In

Muslim countries the extremist groups issue various declarations to motivate their men to

embrace martyrdom by committing the suicide attacks to pursue their liberation

movements. The main objective and motivation of recent attacks has been the demand of

withdrawal of occupying forces from the disputed territory or particularly Islamic states.40

However the contrary view is that these attacks have been motivated by the ideology of

Islamic martyrdom.41 In this article the Atran Scot’s finding reveal that there has been

more suicide attacks in the last two years as compared to the total attacks between 1980

& 2003 and in particular there have been 460 attacks in 2006 alone in muslim territories.

The religious declarations by various fundamentalist organizations and groups

overwhelming support the conclusion of this contrary view, that these attacks are

religiously motivated and particularly to Islamic extremism. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi,

often recognized as "the world's most quoted independent Islamic jurist", has called

martyrdom operations42 as:

the greatest of all sorts of Jihad in the Cause of Allah. A martyr operation is carried out by a person who sacrifices himself, deeming his life less value than striving in the Cause of Allah, in the cause of restoring the land and preserving the dignity.

Bin Laden thought of the US government being unjust, criminal and tyrannical in a

fatwa instigating Muslims to initiate Jihad in the strongest forms against the Jews and

Crusaders from his World Islamic Front Organization platform.43 He announced that,

All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on Allah, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema clerics have throughout

40 Pape, Dying to Win (2005), The author data excluded the September 11, 2001 figures and accounts for the period between 1980 & 2003.

41 The Moral Logic and Growth of Suicide Terrorism, by Scot Atran, published in The Washington Quarterly Spring 2006, p.131, 133, retrieved 07/12/2007, available at http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/satran/files/twq06spring_atran.pdf

42 Bodi, Faisal (2001) & “Bombing for God. Special report: Israel and the Middle East”, Guardian Newspapers Limited, Quoted as "In the Muslim world, then, we celebrate what we call the martyr-bombers. To us they are heroes defending the things we hold sacred. Polls in the Middle East show 75% of people in favor of martyr-bombings." Available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,543164,00.html. retrieved on 07/12/2007.

43 See FN 8 above. The Osama Bin Laden I Know, Peter L. Bergen. In his thought-provoking book, Bergen addresses his extensive investigative reporting related to Osama bin Laden and his organization. The fatwa was signed by Sheikh Osama bin-Muhammad bin Laden, Ayman al Zawahiri, Abu-Yasir Rifa'I Ahmad Taha, Sheikh Mir Hamzah, and Fazlur Rahman. at 195.-196

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Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys Muslim countries. On that basis, and in compliance with Allah's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims: The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem] and the holy mosque [in Mecca] from their grip.

On the same lines other Bin Laden’s supporters emphasized on the concept of this

extremist form of jihad to be legitimate against other fellow Arabs and Muslims who do

not follow the strict ideology which they profess. Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi, who was

killed in US attack in June 2006 was ally of Al-Qa’eda, believed that

"slaughtering fellow Arabs who followed different forms of Islam was as important as killing Westerners."44

This message was not only conveyed in these two countries but also in other Muslims

states. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Qubeisi, a Sunni Iraqi Cleric has expressed his views on suicide

attacks by stating that,

"those who commit martyrdom [i.e. suicide] operations who are, by Allah, the greatest martyrs in Islamic history..."45

Hamas activist Muhammad Abu Wardeh stated that,

God would compensate the martyr for sacrificing his life for his land. If you become a martyr, God will give you 70 virgins (houris), 70 wives and everlasting happiness.46

These statements support the non-Muslims idea that Muslim "martyrs"

allegedly believe they are promised 70 or 72 houris or virgins in the afterworld .

This has led some to conclude there is a connection between Islam and suicide

attacks.47

44 See Aparisim Ghosh, The Apostle of Hate, TIME, June 19, 2006, at 36. In 2004, Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi proclaimed his allegiance to Osama bin Laden and established al-Qa'eda in Iraq. He targeted fellow Muslims and their houses of worship.

45 On Dubai TV Channel, May 5, 2004.46 Special report: religion in the UK, “Virgins? What virgins?”, Saturday January 12, 2002, The Guardian,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,2763,631357,00.html (retrieved 01/12/07).47 The Debate on '72 Black Eyed Virgins': A Muslim Debate on the Rewards of Martyrs conducted by “the

Middle East Media Research Institute”, Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 74, October 30, 2001, http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Area=ia&ID=IA7401#_edn4 (retrieved 01/12/07).

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These types of extremist interpretation were given by various extremist leaders who

were successful in persuading their men to carry out suicide attacks. They gathered

support from local religious schools called “Madrasa” from where they were able to

induct more and more extremist to carry out their missions. Recently in the Lal Masjid

incident in Pakistan48 is a clear example of such message been actively conveyed to

children who join these schools to obtain Islamic education. Similarly in Swat District of

Pakistan, the militants tried to impose the strict Islamic regime led by Maulana Fazal

ullah.49 He spread his message through illegal radio broadcast and the situation led to the

security forces being called to handle the law and order situation in which the security

forces captured 90 foreign terrorist have been detained.50 Not only this, various scholars

and leaders have also supported these attacks.

Similarly a close link between the incitement and actual commission of these attacks

appears from the video broadcast by Bin laden In October 2003. He prescribed attacks on

European nations to be fair because of their involvement in Iraq or Afghanistan and in

November and December British counsel and HSBC Bank in Istanbul were targeted with

suicide attacks.51

The close link between these provocations and actual suicide attempts is clear from

the latest reports all around the world. These incidents are reported everyday in all

leading newspapers and new channels. As stated earlier in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq

and Palestine, these incidents have become a daily norm.

48 Daily Times Pakistan, “Eight “high value terrorists” wanted by Pakistan and other countries are holed up inside Lal Masjid”, Staff Report, ISLAMABAD: July 09, 2007,(retrieved 09/12/2007) http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C07%5C09%5Cstory_9-7-2007_pg1_1

49 Terrorism Focus, “Pakistan Loses Swat to Local Taliban”, by Christine Fair, Volume 4, Issue 37, (November 13, 2007) http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2373782.

50 Reported by Geo TV on 05/12/2007.51 Supra FN 41, Scot Atran,at 130.

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Part III Factors encouraging suicide & Homicide attacks:

The extremist and terrorist organization are successfully recruiting more and more

people to carry out these inhuman missions and causing grief, sorrow and horror in

majority of Muslims by killing innocent people. Many families are deprived of their

loved ones many children become orphan, mothers lose their children, and literally in

Asia subcontinent where families depend on the sole male bread and butter winner are

deprived of their source of food, home and shelters.

Poverty in these countries plays a crucial role as majority of nations live below the

poverty line in these countries.52 Overwhelming majority of children is unable to attend

schools as their parents cannot afford the educational costs. As a result, these children are

often sent to religious schools to seek religious educations. Most of these religious

institutions do provide actual Islamic education; but a few of them who actively support

this extremist version of Islam, succeed in brainwashing these children in accordance to

the extremist views.

Another contribution is made by the ignorance of having large families. In this part of

the world the people are ignorant of the actual responsibilities of being the parents which

includes providing them with not only religious education but also equip them with the

modern education to enable them to compete successfully in the society. In this part of

the world, most of the population does not consider the social cost of having large

families as a result of which they fail to evaluate the overall responsibilities of being

parents.

These children not only think of Islam as a hard lined religion but also desire to take

part in the so called wars against Islam. They join the militants training camps from

where they learn to carry out these suicide missions as well as other homicide attacks on

mass levels in the hope of defeating their enemies.53 A recent Pakistani movie titled

52 BBC News report on “Poverty 'fuelling terrorism', “Rich countries are being urged to close the poverty gap World leaders meeting at a development summit in Mexico have called for increased aid to poor countries to help stamp out extreme poverty as a motivation for terrorism. "Poverty in all its forms is the greatest single threat to peace, security, democracy, human rights and the environment," the head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Michael Moore, told delegates.” Friday, 22 March, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/1886617.stm and see also, The Nation reports on “Finally, A Not-So-Bad Bush Doctrine: Poverty Breeds Terrorism”, Posted 03/25/2002 http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=39. (Retrieved on 09/12/2007.)

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Khuda Kay Liya,54 provides a great source of in-depth knowledge and insight of these

suicide attacks effect the lives of many affected families as well as disrepute the Muslims

as a nation altogether.

There is no doubt that these attacks have horrific impacts on many Muslims

themselves then one wonders why these extremist groups still consider them to be

advantageous to their cause.

a) Cost Analysis of suicide attacks:

The foremost intention of the suicidal attackers is to cause the maximum damage

to the property and maximum causalities of human lives. The extremist groups cannot

compare their military power with those of the allied forces e.g. Israel Army is far better

equipped than those of Palestine liberation army. Since such groups have limited

resources to carryout their war, they adopt tactics, which can actually help their cause

without costing them so much financially. At the same time to carry out a suicide attack

limited resources are required as these suicidal belts can be made locally at home by

using the ordinary hardware stuff. The economic cost of these attacks is far cheaper than

actual combat with the military forces where the risk of life is greater and is much larger

in numbers. A suicidal attack is usually carried out by one or two individuals’ lives on

part of the extremist groups but costs much larger damage to their opponents. The 9/11

attacks were carried out by 15 -19 terrorist in total costing more than three thousand

civilian lives and billions of dollars to the US government.55

Similarly it becomes very difficult to successfully stop a suicide attack and to

catch the attacker before hand. In November 2007, many military and officials were the

target of these attacks that were either going to their offices or were performing security

duties in Pakistan. These attacks have been carried out military check posts, police station

and other security forces places in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel and other places. The attacker

even if caught can succeed in his mission as it normally takes less than few second to

trigger the bomb. As Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, has put it,

53 Islam watch website reports how terrorism was initiated in Pakistan, “Musharraf − Patronizer Turned Enemy of the Islamic Terrorists”, by Alamgir Hussain, 22/07/2005, http://www.islam-watch.org/AlamgirHussain/musharraf_patronizer.htm

54 Pakistani Film, “Khuda Kay Liya”, produced and directed by Shoaib Mansoor, released 2007.55 Supra FN 7.

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“the method of martyrdom operations [is] the most successful way of inflicting damage

against the opponent and least costly to the mujahideen in terms of casualties.”56

Moreover it also keeps their struggle alive and draws media attention causing

security concerns within a particular regime. On November 2007, General Pervaiz

Musharaf imposed emergency within the country to deal with the political crisis and due

to internal security concerns after a series of suicide attacks were launched against

military forces.57

Therefore economically these attacks are much more advantageous to extremist

groups who due to underway military operations in the world have to hide out and cannot

directly combat for their cause.

b) Increase in Bargaining position:

These attacks draws so much attention and can actually de-stable a weaker

government such as in Afghanistan that the political leaders are forced to negotiate with

these groups and sometime also agree to their terms. The Koreans captured in

Afghanistan were set free after payment of huge some to the Taliban groups.58 At the

same time the Afghan President Mr. Karzai also offered to negotiate with the extremist

groups local groups due to the threat posed by them by adopting these tactics.59

c) Prevalent Situation allows these attacks:

The main cause of concern is the overall situation around the globe. The Israel

conflict is leading nowhere despite several thousands of lives lost. The Israel invasion of

Palestine territories violates the UN Agreement signed in 1946, is backed up by the US

not only politically but also militarily60 e.g. it is reported that US paid US$ 4 billion as

56 The Economist, Jan 8th 2004, “Martyrdom and murder”, The Economist Newspaper and The Economist Group Copyrights 2004, at http://www.aijac.org.au/updates/Jan-04/140104.html. (Retrieved 09/12/2007).

57 “President's Address to the nation” on November 3, 2007, reported by Geo News TV Network, available at, http://www.geo.tv/president.htm (Retrieved on 07/12/2007).

58 Geo News Website report, “Taliban deny getting ransom for Korean hostages release”, Saturday, September 01, 2007, http://www.geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=10891&param=2 (retrieved 25/10/2007).

59 Geo News Website Report “43 Taliban, 3 soldiers among 48 killed as Karzai urges Taliban talks,” Sunday, September 09, 2007, http://www.geo.tv/geonews/details.asp?id=11290&param=2 (retrieved 25/10/2007).

60 Time Line: The Israeli-Palestine Conflict, by Wide Angle on Human Stories and Global issue, available at, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/suicide/timeline2.html (retrieved 09/12/2007).

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vacating cost to Israel in 1970’s. Similarly a question of equal treatment arises. Are these

occupations legal and not a denial of the peaceful establishment of a free state. The West

initiated a global war on terrorism after one attack in 2001, but since the Israel invasion

thousands of Palestine people have lost lives and are made homeless, jobless and

futureless and are still dreaming of their independent state but of no use. Should they not

be treated equally? Should the Western powers not interfere to resolve this more than 60

years old conflict inducing hatred in Muslims all around the world?

The similar situation prevails in Occupied Kashmir which has not been pursued.

The situation in Afghanistan is far greater than this. The US supported the Afghan

fighters till the collapse of USSR but after that there was no one to help those people,

who lost their generation in fighting, to build up a stable society within their country as a

result of which the extremism flourished there. As a result of these long standing

injustices to the Muslims in these countries, extremist and terrorist are strengthened as

they can easily provoke youth in such places to fight and die as a martyr. The Israeli army

has resorted to targeted killing of the Palestine leaders61 and Yasir Arafat, who during his

life time actively pursued the peaceful solution of the Palestine conflict, was house

arrested on several occasions. When the occupiers adopt these tactics and put a bullet in

return of stones or protest then the weaker has no choice but to adopt these kind of

extreme steps to fight for their cause. These people who have shed lives of their elder in

fighting for independence have no hope and no choice but to continue the fight in which

ever way they can.

Having said this one wonder whether these suicide attacks are permissible according to

the Islamic Law.

Part IV Suicide Attacks & Islam Law:

One needs to find out whether these provocations and extremist concept is inline with

the Islamic law as described in Qur’an and Sunnah which are the foremost source of

61 “Suicide bombing: no warning, and no total solution”, by John Daly reported on 17 September 2001, that “When the Israelis eliminated Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) leader Abu Ali Mustafa on 27 August in a “targeted killing”, response was swift. PFLP central committee member Abu Ali Tallal stated,:” Our riposte will be hard and target American and Israeli interests, wherever they are found. We have no choice but to transform ourselves into human bombs and pursue the Israeli enemy everywhere in the interior and overseas.” Retrieved on 09/12/2007, available at http://www.janes.com/security/international_security/news/jtsm/jtsm010917_1_n.shtml

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Islamic Law. The Qur’an is very clear on this account. It recognizes the sanctity of

human blood and guarantees fundamental rights. The Qur’an expressly forbids the

shedding of blood without any justifiable cause and innocent killings is considered to be

equivalent to the killing of entire humanity. Qur’an Says

“On that account We prescribed for Bani Isra'il that whoever slays another, for other than the crimes of murder or depravity, will be as one who has slain all of humankind”62 (5:32)

At another occasion Qur’an expressly forbids killing of oneself and condemns it. It reads as

“O you who believe! Do not consume your wealth in the wrong way-rather through trade mutually agreed to, and do not kill yourselves. Surely God is Merciful toward you.”63

Similarly another verse of Qur’an prohibits taking of life except by way of justice. It reads:

“…Whether open or secret; take not life, which Allah hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom.”64

The European Council for Fatwa and Research follows these citations as providing

reason for prohibition on suicide killing. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was distressed

to hear that one has committed suicide. It is reported in a Hadith that,

“When a man committed suicide during the Prophet’s lifetime, the Prophet was distressed. He did not perform the janazah prayer for the deceased, but he ordered his companions to do it. When they did, they prayed for the man and requested God’s forgiveness for him.”65

The head of the World Islamic League in London, differentiated between the suicidal

killings of civilians and suicide killings of occupiers. While condemning the London

Underground attacks on 7 July 2005, he stated that,

"there should be a clear distinction between the suicides bombing of those who are trying to defend themselves from occupiers, which is something different from those who kill civilians, which is a big crime."66

62 Qur’an; 5:32.63 Qur’an; 4:29 .64 Qur’an; 6:15165 Quoted in Aljazeera Info Website by Opinion Editorials, June 2004, Committing Suicide Is Strictly

Forbidden in Islam Adil Salahi Arab News, 6/22/04, retrieved on 08/12/2007, available at http://www.aljazeerah.info/Islam/Islamic%20subjects/2004%20subjects/June/Committing%20Suicide%20Is%20Strictly%20Forbidden%20in%20Islam,%20Adil%20Salahi.htm.

66 Sayed Mohammed Musawi, statement on “After London, Tough Questions for Muslims”, by Mona Eltahawy, Washington Post, Sunday, July 24, 2005, (retrieved on 07/12/2007); Page B07, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072201629.html.

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However since the latest ever increasing numbers of suicide attacks, the Muslims

scholars and think tanks all around the world have commented upon the legitimacy of

these attacks. These attacks have been considered as strictly and legally forbidden and are

considered as an act of eternal damnation according to Sunni thinkers.67

Similarly the Shia sect of Islam also declared it to be an act of terrorism.68 The normal

commonsense even does not accept any justification of killing innocent people or even so

called enemies where one targets a person who is in-fact not fighting or threatening an

individuals. In Islam this concept of Jihad and Shahadah is closely related to the

battlefield where the actual enemy willing to kill you poses a direct threat of life upon an

individual. This concept is in fact related to self-defense which allows person to take

enemies life to protect his/her own. In case of suicide innocent people are killed who are

not directly threatening attackers live and secondly the concept of Shahdah demands the

losing of life while fighting with the enemy and by the enemy. A person who blows up

himself is not at any stage is attacked by the enemy and is therefore becomes a killer of

the entire humanity according to the above discussion.

The Future:This way of fighting conflict is not a new and in past these had been adopted as a

war tactics with other nations. In the mid 18th century local groups launched suicide

attacks against colonial-rules in India, Indonesia and the Philippines. The Irish and

Kurdish had also resorted to these suicide missions in the terms of hunger strike or

carrying out bomb explosion for their domestic conflict. The Indian Prime Minister Mr.

Rajeev Gandhi was also assassinated in suicide attacks. The Tamil Tigers have mastered

this technique to fight for their independence from Sri Lanka. In Asian countries, the

67 Ihsanic Intelligence, a London-based Islamic think-tank, published their two-year study into suicide bombings in the name of Islam, titled 'The Hijacked Caravan', and concluded that, "The technique of suicide bombing is anathema, antithetical and abhorrent to Sunni Islam. It is considered legally forbidden, constituting a reprehensible innovation in the Islamic tradition, morally an enormity of sin combining suicide and murder and theologically an act which has consequences of eternal damnation." Retrieved 07/12/07, available at ,http://mac.abc.se/home/onesr/ez/isl/0-sbm/The.Hijacked.Caravan.html.

68 In January of 2006, one of Shia Islam's highest ranking marja clerics, Ayatollah al-Udhma Yousof al-Sanei also decreed a fatwa against suicide bombing however, declaring it as a "terrorist act”:” Even those who kill people with suicide bombing, these shall meet the flames of hell." Feb 2007 interview with Christianne Amanpour of CNN

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Hizbollah suicide car and truck attacks series introduced the explosive devise strategy

adopt from IRA and ETA in 1980’s.69 The 2001, 9/11 attacks and 2005, London Bombing

depicts of simultaneous attacks tendencies to have been adopted by the extremist groups.

Even in the Second World War the suicide pilots were trained to terrorize the American

fleets in the Pacific in 1940’s. However in recent attacks the religion as interpreted by the

fundamentalists has played a crucial role in justifying these attacks and recognizing them

as martyrdom and a form of jihad. But as stated above Islam, specifically prohibits

shedding of blood and has been disliked by the Prophet.

The question arises that how one should tackle this issue to resolve it. The US

and the West has adopted war like methodology to combat terrorism or extremism. Same

approach has been adopted by Pakistan as being the front line ally of the West on War on

Terrorism.

The Pakistan President has repeatedly stated the treat of talibanization within the

country. The facts and incidents speak for them selves. After US-led Nato attacks on

Afghanistan, the NWFP region of Pakistan along with the tribal areas became the hide

outs of the terrorists and foreign militants. The situation in Baluchistan worsened and led

to the domestic war. Now in SWAT district of the country the military is combating the

establishment of extremist Islamic regime. It is reported that more than 1000 Pakistan’s

Army soldiers have lost their lives in eliminating extremism. As a result of these attacks

and combating them with force costs more innocent lives and destruction rather than

actually resolving the situation.

In Singapore there is different tactic adopted to combat terrorism. They follow

religious counseling approach whish has successfully worked as Behind the News

Magazine. Professor Gunaranta stated that “De-programming is not 100 % successful …

some will go back to militancy. But it is the only sensible thing to do.” The Government

spends extra resources by hosting public forums and hosting a website, the approach is

“We believe in rehabilitation. No one is a born Terrorist. No one wakes up in the

69 The Economist, Jan 8th 2004, “Martyrdom and murder”, “Hizbollah's campaign of suicidal car and truck explosions—one of which killed 241 Americans in Beirut in October 1983; 58 people died in a strike on a French barracks on the same day—changed the face of terror.” http://www.aijac.org.au/updates/Jan-04/140104.html, (Retrieved 09/12/2007).

23

morning and says I’m going to be a terrorist. It’s indoctrination… and we are trying to

bring them back to normalcy.” 70

Another aspect which the International community has adopted is to pass

legislation such as UN Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, 1997, and

Convention on Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism 1999. The Governments have

also adopted domestic legislation to counteract terrorism and militancy. But does this

goes to resolving the root cause of the problems.

There is no effort on such a large scale no reduce poverty establishment of the

democratic governments and recognition of the basic fundamental rights of the people

who either become targets of these attacks or carry out such attacks. In religious schools

mostly the poor children are sent and there is no effective government control or support

for these institutions which are more likely to become the breeding ground of future

militants. Moreover the regions facing such horrific incidents on daily basis are to a large

extent under developed where there is lack of infrastructure as well as no job security for

survival. This also becomes evident from the educated young Muslims who attain best

qualifications and when evaluate the injustices caused to Muslims in these places become

extremist and thereby a terrorist by committing such crimes.

Another issue is propaganda of the Muslims on the Media. The true Islamic

message has never been projected and where ever it is projected, it is conveyed to create

a negative image of Islam and the Muslims. The true Islamic ideology and the message of

peace is never the priority of the media or one may say that its not as financially

beneficial to the media operators. Only negative publicity is given projecting Islam as a

religion which denies all human rights and values. This has to be countered by addressing

and projecting the views of the learned scholars so that the actual teachings of Islam can

reach out and the extremism can be effectively countered by way of its projection as a

peaceful religion.

Conclusion:By no means militants are justified to adopt these inhuman tactics but when these

disputes are left unresolved and there is no recognition of their rights, it would also be 70 Statement of Mr Mohammad , who had briefed US military officials in Iraq on Singapore Programme

reported in Behind the News Magazine, “Terrorism Rehabilitation”, distributed in the City University of Hong Kong conference on International Terrorism held on 16/10/2007.

24

unjustified to expect sanity from them. The Afghans who have been fighting for almost

thirty years now are excluded from the world politics. After their first war against USSR

in 1980’s, they were left in the hands of warriors who fought for their defense and no

priority was given to the development of a peaceful and democratic society in

Afghanistan. Similarly the old haunting issues of the United Nations like Palestine and

Kashmir are still not a priority in the eyes of the world powers. The continuous support of

Israel and India and deafening ear for the residents of these volatile areas creates more

hatred for the West and the US, due to their policies. Over and above that these people

are denied their rights and then termed as militants and are suppressed with force using

all the latest technologies and weaponry as well as their occupiers are strengthened with

all sorts of aids and equipment.

The recent invasion of Iraq has seen more than 10,000 civilian lives since the

recent row of suicide attacks were triggered. Does that solve any issue? Does that

promote peace, security and harmony in the world or do these injustices creates and

provoke those emotionally sensitive people who have seen nothing but wars. Such people

are an easy prey of the extremism and radicalism. The extremist groups provide them the

theory of life which is meaningless and by carrying out these attacks these attackers are

lead to a wrong believe of martyrdom and blessing of heaven for the life after death.

This belief runs contrary to the Islamic teachings and Quran and Sunnah.

However it is more of a collective responsibility of the international community to make

positive efforts by provide them basic human and fundamental rights which we in the

developed countries take for granted. Along with this more projection of Muslim

societies of India, Pakistan U.A.E and other countries must be given to diminish the harm

inflicted by such extremist groups to bridge the gaps between Muslims and the rest of the

world.

_____________________________________

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University Press; New Ed edition (2 Nov 2006).

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The Islamic Law of Nations: Shaybani's Siyar by Khadduri, John Hopkins University Press, (1 Jan 2002).

Dying to Win, Pape, (2005)

The Osama Bin Laden I Know, Peter L. Bergen, (2006)

The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam from the Extremists, Khalid Abou el Fadl, (Harper 2005)

The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global, Fawaz A. Gerges, (Cambridge 2005)

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M. Cherif Bassiouni states in his article on Evolving Approaches to Jihad: From

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in 8 Chi. J. Int'l L. 119 (2007).

Ibn Taymiyya, Majmou' al-Fatawa;

M. Cherif Bassiouni and Gamal M. Badr, The Shari'ah: Sources, Interpretation, and Rule-Making, 1 UCLA J Islamic & Near E L 135 (2002).

The Moral Logic and Growth of Suicide Terrorism, by Scot Atran, published in The Washington Quarterly Spring 2006, pp.127-142, retrieved 07/12/2007, available at http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/satran/files/twq06spring_atran.pdf.

Sayed Mohammed Musawi, statement on “After London, Tough Questions for Muslims”, by Mona Eltahawy, Washington Post, Sunday, July 24, 2005, retrieved on 07/12/2007; Page B07, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/22/AR2005072201629.html.

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