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Literary Review
In defence of Jihad
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SHAJAHAN MADAMPAT reviews two very different books on the theme of Jihad. One a work of formidable scholarship, the other an example of how not to write history.
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To those against whom war is made, permission is given (to fight), because they are wronged; — and verily, Allah is Most Powerful for their aid. (They are) those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right, — (For no cause) except that they say, `Our Lord Is Allah'. Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another, there would have surely been pulled down monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of Allah is commemorated in abundant measure.
The Holy Quran, 22: 39-40.
IN our times, no other word has gained such universal currency, as has Jihad. And no other concept has been subjected to so much of misinterpretations as Jihad has been, by both its practitioners and critics. No other word has, in the history of languages, withstood for such a long time a translation (as "holy war") so far removed from its meaning, linguistically, conceptually and historically — despite a deluge of essays, books and theses having been produced on it round the globe.
The two books under review here are the latest additions to the discourse. Noorani's is a work of formidable and awe-inspiring scholarship, driven by a sincere desire to set the record straight, which he does with remarkable élan. Akbar's is a sweeping historical account of the theme, marred by journalistic excesses and the absence of scholarly rigor and focus. While Noorani tries to sift the chaff from the wheat, Akbar ends up canonising history of amazing complexity into a single, ill-defined monolith, whose central theme appears to him to be Jihad.
Noorani's book is actually a compilation of quotes, meticulously culled out of a plethora of authentic texts, arraigned in a coherent order, and interlaced with a minimum of substantive comments. He begins by tracing the roots of contemporary Muslim disaffection with the West. It is rooted not in religious animosity between Muslims and Christians, but in the sinister and shortsighted politics that western powers played during colonial period and continue to play even today in the Muslim world. The tragic results of that politics range from the establishment of Israel and all that followed, to the Western support and patronage for brutal dictatorships in the entire West Asian region, quite against the collective will of the people. "Arab wrath is directed against their own corrupt leaders no less than against the United States, Britain, and the state they planted in the Arab world — Israel". "Much of the current opposition to democracy in Islamic lands comes directly from Western government policy rather than from the activities of those omnipresent villains, the Muslim fundamentalists". The book also deals in brief with the portrayal of Islam and Muslims in much of Western media, marked by stereotyping and demonisation.
Having placed the issue in context, Noorani discusses the scriptural and theological background of the idea of Jihad. Jihad, contrary to the widespread perception, is not a blank cheque for every fanatic to indulge in mindless violence. Jihad is twofold; the primary one, the Greater Jihad, is to fight the enemy within, the spiritual cleansing of the self ever prone to decadence, and the second, the lesser Jihad, is legitimate struggle in self-defence, waged in pursuit of justice, and against oppression. The lesser Jihad is only for those whose consistent pursuit of the Greater Jihad is never on the wane; the one without the other is futile. The wars waged during the long course of history by Muslim rulers can hardly pass for the lesser Jihad, for not only were they not preceded by the Greater Jihad, they have barely met the conditions stipulated in the Quran. (See the verse quoted above). Noorani quotes Yusuf Ibish: "The Greater Jihad is fighting one's animal tendencies. To bring these passions under control, that is what Jihad means".
"The Lesser Jihad — fighting on behalf of the community, in its defence — is a duty incumbent on a Muslim provided he is attacked. A man has the right to defend his life, his property, and he has to organise himself along these lines. Of course, one can produce incidents in history and ask whether in fact the principle of self-defence applies. It is true that Muslims have waged wars; wars of conquest, wars in the ordinary sense, often not at all related to religion or faith. But this indicates that some Muslims have not exercised the Greater Jihad".
In Akbar's book, we see reductionism and amateurism at their worst. He chronicles the major hostile encounters between the West and all kinds of Muslims at all periods — Umayyads, Abbasids, Moguls, Ottomans, 20th-century Arabs, Taliban and so forth — and triumphantly concludes that the thread that connects them all is Jihad. For him, all these form parts of an undifferentiated whole and a narrative that brings them together constitutes a "cohesive history of Jihad". The book is full of such ahistorical and ill-conceived statements and declarations such as: "Jihad is the signature tune of Islamic history". The author's haphazard and careless approach is evident throughout the book, reaching its ridiculous low in his glossary and transliterations of Arabic statements. Many terms and words in the glossary are described inaccurately at their best and downright erroneously at their worst. Dhimmi, Fatwa, Fakir, Furqan, Hadith, Ihram, Ijma, Imam, Kalimah, Khutba, Maulvi, Mimbar, Mufti, Murtadd, Rikaah, Salat al Salih, Shahadah, Souk, Umma, Zanjabil and many others are terms that Akbar has either described inaccurately or has got all wrong. Some transliterations are so awkward their meaning is quite different from what is intended. This is a book that tells you how not to write a history of Jihad.
Islam and Jihad, A.G. Noorani, LeftWord, 2002, p.115, Rs.75.
The Shade of Swords: Jihad and the Conflict between Islam and Christianity, M.J. Akbar, Roli Books, 2002, p.352, Rs.395.
The reviewer can be contacted at shajahanmadampat@rediffmail.com
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