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How the Quran
Looks at War
Insights from Imam Tamman Adi of the
Islamic Cultural Center of Eugene, Oregon
May 11, 2003
The concept of war is mentioned in
the Quran only six times. First, God and his messenger declare a spiritual war
on the rich who make money by unproductive financial transactions (interest,
currency trade, stock market speculation, derivatives). He asks creditors to
give debtors time, or better yet, to forgive the debt as charity. 2:278
Second, after praising Abel for not fighting back when Cain murdered him, and
decreeing that killing one soul is like killing all humanity, God condemns mass
murder by gangs, calling it a war against law and order. The only exceptions
are killing in self defense and court ordered execution of a murderer when the
victim's family does not forgive. 5:27
Third, we learn that people in certain groups will keep trying to kindle a fire
of war, and God promises to put it out. 5:64
Fourth, God condemns nations that regularly violate international treaties and
start wars. He requires other nations to prepare forces of deterrence against
such war starters, but commands us to make peace with them whenever they are
open to it. 8:56ff
Fifth, the Quran tells us that warmongers will commit mass murder and falsely
blame it on Muslims in an attempt to start a war against Muslims. Fortunately,
the verses tell us that such plots are fragile, built on the crumbling edge of a
mud hill, bound to collapse with the plotters into Hell. 9:107ff
Finally, God tells us that when war is over, the killing must stop and prisoners
must be exchanged or set free. 47:4
It is interesting how these verses may be tied together in a scheme that gives
us a fresh perspective of current world events.
Nations under military attack have to stick to very strict rules of self defense.
"You may use lethal force with God's permission only against those who are
currently using lethal force against you . . . but you may only kill the ones
you confront in battle, and you may only expel your opponents from places they
have previously expelled you from. Mass murder because of religion is worse
than plain killing. . . . use force to stop it so that people's souls are free
under God alone. If they stop using force, then you stop, too . . . Respond
only with equal counter attack . . ." 2:190ff
Since the invention of bombs, it has become nearly impossible to limit combat
killing to those who are currently trying to kill you. When "collateral damage"
is expected, it is akin to premeditated mass murder, not self defense. This
defeats the sole purpose of self defense: to preserve one's life and the lives
of defenseless civilians.
Nowadays, atrocities, especially wars against people of a certain faith, must be
stopped with international non-lethal pressure. It seems as if God expected
that, by the time we invented bombs and machine guns, we would be evolved enough
to deter and eliminate wars.
Tammam Adi Ph.D is the Director of the
Islamic Cultural Center of Eugene, Oregon, USA. Originally from Syria, he is a
computational linguist specializing in Arabic.
taadi@earthlink.net
Read other articles by Tammam Adi here.
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