Islam and Violence: Difference between revisions

{{QualityScore|Lead=2|Structure=4|Content=3|Language=3|References=3}}Islamic law sanctions several forms of physical violence in domestic, civil, and international contexts, ranging from unprovoked imperial Jihad, to wife-beating, to amputations. While a few modern Islamic scholars have challenged the legality of imperial violence, a smaller minority that also of domestic violence, and yet smaller minority that of civil violence, the overwhelming majority of Islamic scholars today embrace the tradition of Islamic violence in all three respects.

{{Main|Invitation to Islam Prior to Jihad}}The practice of inviting non-Muslim nations to join Islam or pay the Jizyah prior to engaging in offensive Jihad was traditionally first initiated by the Prophet Muhammad. For instance, he is reported to have sent a letter to Heraclius, the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople, stating "I invite you to Islam, embrace Islam and you will be safe; ...But if you reject this invitation of Islam, you shall be responsible for misguiding the peasants (i.e. your nation)." Other similar letters were purportedly sent to other rulers before they were conquered by the Muslims, though their authenticity is doubted by modern academic scholars. Muhammad's lead was reportedly followed by the Rightly-Guided Caliphs Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and Umar Ibn al-Khatab. The leaders of later Islamic empires such as the sultan of the Ottoman Empire also followed suit, and it has even been codified within the Islamic Shari'ah (see sections o9.0 to o9.8 in ''<nowiki/>'Umdat as-Salik wa 'Uddat an-Nasik''). Critics have argued that the modern continuation of this practice is found in the actions of Islamic leaders such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and even terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and Boko Haram, although modern Islamic scholars have argued otherwise.

{{Main|The Genocide of Banu Qurayza}}In the 5th year of Hijra (627 CE), on the orders of Prophet Muhammad, almost nine hundred Jews of a Medinan tribe named Banu Qurayza were massacred by Muhammad's followers. The killing began early in the day, ending in torchlight. Those who escaped death (women and children, excluding boys who had begun to grow pubic hair) were taken captive by Muslims to be sold in slave markets and exchanged for horses and armour. Modern Islamic scholars, acknowledging the event since it is found in the most authentic Islamic scriptures, have presented many arguments to portray the massacre as contextually justified, most notably the idea that the Banu Qurayza had betrayed the Muslims at the Battle of Khandaq. Critics have argued that hadiths to this effect were probably invented later in justification since, if the Muslims really had been betrayed by so large a party, then they should have lost the battle, which they didn't. Historians, by contrast, have at times argued that, contrary to Islamic scripture, the entire ordeal may have been a later invention made to antagonize the Jews and glorify Muhammad, as there is historical evidence which suggests that there were no such populations and tribes of Jews in the vicinity of Muhammad's people.

{{Main|Umm Qirfa}}Umm Qirfa was an old Arab woman contemporaneous to Prophet Muhammad. She belonged to a pagan tribe named Banu Fazara at Wadi Al-Qurra. She was also a chief of her clan and a renown poetess. She was reportedly killed when Muhammad’s followers raided her tribe and won over them. She was tied between two camels which were driven in opposite directions and her body was split apart. Later, her decapitated head was presented to Muhammad, who then ordered it to be paraded throughout the streets of Medina.

{{Main|Wife Beating in Islamic Law}}Wife-beating is instructed by the the Qur'an and the Hadiths, and has been an accepted part of Islam law since its inception. {{Quran|4|34}} states that men are in charge of women and that husbands may, among other things, beat their wives if they fear disobedience. Prophet Muhammad provided tacit approval of wife beating by not scolding Muslims for beating their wives, referred to women who spoke-out against abuse as "not the best among you", forbade Muslims from questioning men who beat their wives, allowed others to hit his wives (the very women whom all Muslims adore and refer to as "the Mother of believers"), reaffirmed the command of wife-beating in his farewell sermon, and himself struck one of his wives in the chest. In addition to Muhammad's actions, three of the four Rightly-Guided Caliphs are also reported to have beaten women. Because of its many endorsements within Islamic scripture, wife-beating is permitted by the majority of Muslim scholars and leaders. This has led to domestic violence being permitted under law in several Islamic states or being largely ignored by the authorities.

{{Main|Jihad in Islamic Law|Jihad (Primary Sources)}}

{{Main|Stoning}}Stoning to death, according to traditional interpretations is primarily a punishment for married persons who engage in unlawful sexual relations (which include homosexual relationships). The criminals "hands are tied behind their backs and their bodies are put in a cloth sack." They are then "buried in a hole, with only the victims heads showing above the ground. If its a woman, she is buried up to her shoulders."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm |title=What happens in Stoning? |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.apostatesofislam.com/media/stoning.htm |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - apostatesofislam.com</ref> The stones which are to be thrown at the criminal "should not be so large that the offender dies after a few strikes, nor so small as to fail to cause serious  injury."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iheu.org/node/262 |title=Should Sharia laws be reconsidered? |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.iheu.org/node/262 |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - Sandhya Jain - International Humanist and Ethical Union, March 9, 2004</ref> Due to the Islamic laws on rape requiring four male eye witnesses before guilt can be ascertained, many rape victims end up being charged with 'adultery' (that is, on alternative evidence such as pregnancy). As was the case for a 13-year-old girl in Somalia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm |title=Stoning victim 'begged for mercy' |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120712/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7708169.stm |archivedate=2012-07-12 |accessdate=2012-07-12}} - BBC News, November 4, 2008</ref> who in October of 2008 was buried up to her neck and stoned to death in front of more than 1,000 people in a football stadium. She was the victim of gang-rape. Incidents of stonings have been reported in Iraq and Pakistan, and forms a part of Afghan, Iranian, Nigerian, Indonesian, Sudanese, Saudi Arabian, and United Arab Emirate law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning |title=Stoning - Frequently Asked Questions about Stoning |archiveurl=http://archive.is/20120915/http://www.stop-stoning.org/faq_stoning |archivedate=2012-09-15 |accessdate=2012-09-15}} - stop-stoning.org</ref> The Qur'an itself does not explicitly mention the act, but there are several sahih (authentic) hadith which speak of Muhammad ordering people to be stoned to death. According to a sahih hadith, the Qur'anic verses of stoning were written on a piece of paper and were lost when a goat ate the paper.<ref>References: Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal. vol. 6. page 269; Sunan Ibn Majah, page 626; Ibn Qutbah, Tawil Mukhtalafi 'l-Hadith (Cairo: Maktaba al-Kulliyat al-Azhariyya. 1966) page 310; As-Suyuti, ad-Durru 'l-Manthur, vol. 2. page 13</ref>

* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mSLSzugDfw&rco=1 Islam & ISIS - Terrorism & Extremism] - The Masked Arab - ''Beginning of a YouTube series covering this topic in the context of primary scripture justifying ISIS's actions''