Jama at e Islami unmasked - I

    What They Mean By Jihad 

1. Thus Spake Maulaanaa Moudoodi

It is becoming clearer now that ‘Jihad’ is an Islamic term that stands for use of force and terror to establish a theocratic state in the name of Allah. However, there are so many varieties of apologists who want us to believe that Islam is a synonym for peace! Moulana Syed Abul a’ala Maudoodi, the architect of the theoretical framework for Jama at e Islami stands out as one who convincingly argued the Islamic case for Terrorism! The sacred book of Jama at e Islami,generally known in Kerala as ‘Khutbat’ is a collection of his Friday sermons. He had delivered these sermons before those assembled for the Jum’a  prayers in the mosque of  Dar-ul-Islam, Pathankot. It is a simple and coherent exposition of what we might call Islamic Fascism or Jihad or as these people would like to call it Fundamentals of Islam.*

2. The Meaning of Jihad

Moulana has defined the term as follows:

 “Islam demands from those who accept God as their sovereign (not imaginary but real sovereign) and affirm faith in the law sent by Him through His Prophet (peace be upon him), that they should gird up their loins to enforce their Monarch’s laws in his land and break the power of the rebels among His subjects who have become supreme sovereigns, and rescue Allah’s subjects from becoming subjects of others. In the eyes of Islam it is certainly not enough for you to believe God as God and his law as true law. Simultaneous with your faith in these two verities, the duty devolves on you that wherever you are, in whichever country you live, you must get up there for the reform of God’s creation, try to transform the wrong principles of government into correct principles, take away the power of legislation and lordship from those who do not fear God and are unbridled. And then taking over the leadership and superintendence of God’s servants, conduct the affairs of the government in accordance with God’s laws and with belief in their responsibility and accountability in the Hereafter as also in God being the Knower of the unseen. The name of this striving is Jihad.”

3. Apologetic Modernists

But there are Modernists who are apologetic. They do not share Maulana Moudoodi’s view. They seem to be ashamed to take an offensive posture contrary to what  Moudoodi did. One famous representative of this defensive stance is Rafiq Zakaria:

“As for the concept of jihad, which has caused much resentment among non-Muslims, it has been deliberately misused by certain Muslim groups to fulfill their motivated objectives. The word is derived from jehd, meaning struggle. Hence it refers to struggle in the cause of God or in the pursuit of truth. Force is, of course, not excluded; but the term is generally classified in to two: al-jihadul Akbar, the greater struggle, and al-jihadul Asghar, the lesser struggle. The former refers to conquest of one’s self, to overcome temptation over evil, which may range from anger, revenge, avarice, to stealing, cheating, even illicit fornication; the latter refers to the obligation to defend individually or collectively by means of force, against those who are enemies of Islam. The wars that were fought by the Ghoris, khiljis, Tughlaqs, Lodhis and the Mughals in India were all for the furtherance of their family fortunes; none for Islam and none were so proclaimed by them.

And yet because the rulers were Muslims, their wars have been described as jihad by historians. Likewise the murderous operations of the terrorists, who misuse it these days to further their political objectives, are falsely highlighted by both their supporters and detractors as jihad.

Allama Abdullah Yusuf Ali has pointed out that it is verse 20 in Surah al-Thauba which provides the only appropriate description of what Allah means by jihad. And it thus rules out wars in India or the present terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in India as jihad.  This has been clearly explained by the Allama: “Mere brutal fighting is opposed to the whole spirit of jihad, while the sincere scholar’s pen or the preacher’s voice or a wealthy man’s contributions may be the most valuable form of jihad”.

Moulana Azad has gone to the extent of saying that jihad can be waged by Muslims against even their co-religionists who do not truly follow the path of truth. He has stated that in the eyes of God those “who have sacrificed everything in the path of truth and endure steadfastly the trials and tribulations that befall them in the way of truth rank the highest. That is the criterion of goodness. It is a lesson for the present day Muslims who have developed an outlook on life and follow a way of living so alien to the teachings of Islam”.

Jihad implies therefore as much a righteous deed, which helps a person to purify himself, as an armed defense against those who obstruct the believers in pursuing the path of truth.” .1

4. Jihad as understood by the West

The following is a representative view of the western scholars about Jihad:

“Some modern Muslims, particularly when addressing the outside world, explain the duty of jihad in a spiritual and moral sense. The overwhelming majority of early authorities, citing the relevant passages in the Qur’an, the commentaries, and the traditions of the prophet, discuss Jihad in military terms. According to Islamic law, it is lawful to wage war against four types of enemies: infidels, apostates, rebels, and bandits. Although all four types of wars are legitimate, only the first two count as jihad. Jihad is thus a religious obligation. In discussing the obligation of the holy war, the classical Muslim jurists distinguish between offensive and defensive warfare. In offence, jihad is an obligation of the Muslim community as a whole, and may therefore be discharged by volunteers and professionals. In a defensive war, it becomes an obligation of every able-bodied individual. It is this principle that Usama bin Ladin invoked in his declaration of war against the United States.

For most of the fourteen centuries of recorded Muslim history, jihad was most commonly interpreted to mean armed struggle for the defense or advancement of Muslim power. In Muslim tradition, the world is divided in to two houses: the House of Islam (Dar al-Islam), in which Muslim governments rule and Muslim law prevails and the House of War (Dar al-Harb), the rest of the world, still inhabited and, more important, ruled by infidels. The presumption is that the duty of jihad will continue, interrupted only by truces, until all the world either adopts the Muslim faith or submits to Muslim rule. Those who fight in the jihad qualify for rewards in both worlds- booty in this one, paradise in the next.” .2

5. Rituals and Rites as warm- ups aimed at Training for Jihad

The Modernists always complain to the world that Orientalists and other westerners are incapable of understanding the essence of Islamic spirituality. Many who are not aware of what is going on in the Islamic societies may be   misled by the Islamist plea that the westerners misrepresent Islam because of their enmity towards it. Moulana Moudoodi has made it amply clear that Islam needs no such sympathetic or apologetic justifications.

It is quite interesting to note that the entire religious practice has been presented by him in a military idiom. Prayer, Fasting, Alms-giving and Pilgrimage etc. are generally considered by Muslims as the  rites of worship which lead men toward spirituality and make them eligible for the attainment of a permanent abode in Paradise. But our Moulana says these are not mere acts of worship! He tells us that the five obligatory rituals that a Muslim considers the five pillars of Islam are really meant as training for a greater mission!!

 “I have  repeatedly referred to this point in my previous lectures that Salat, fasting, hajj, and Zakat, which Allah has made obligatory for you and made them pillars of Islam are not like the `Ibadat of other religions comprising such rituals as pooja-pat, nazr-o-niaz and jatra etc., that you just perform them and have Allah pleased with you. The truth of the matter is that these functions were made obligatory to prepare you for a big purpose and train you for a great task.” .3

In a later edition, the same is seen more clearly stated:

“The Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving and Pilgrimage are so important that they are described as the pillars of Islam. They are not, however, like the worship rites in other religions. This we must understand clearly. Nor are they meant to please Allah by their mere outward observance. These acts of worship have in fact been ordained to prepare us for a greater purpose and to train us for a greater duty.” .4

Yes, in the political vision of Jama at e Islami, even the obedience and discipline displayed in and observance of the daily rites anticipate something terribly more important –  bloodshed, massacre, Genocides………………….

Read their sacred book, you will wake up from delusions if you had any.

The verdict of the trial by International Tribunal relating to the Genocide in Bangla Desh is one among many of the substantiations of their cruel adherence to the horrific Political Philosophy. 

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 *       I have verified more than one rendering of the text:

 (1) the Malayalam copy by name ‘Khutbat’, published by Islamic Publishing House, Marikunnu, Calicut. (Third Edition, 1963),

 (2) The English version of the book, ‘Fundamentals of Islam’ published by Isha at e Islam Trust Publications and copy righted to Markazi Maktaba Islami. (Second Edition, April 1980).

(3) February 2008 Edition is Human Welfare Trust Publication No. 132 and Edited by one Khurram Murad (ISBN 81-8088-030-3(set) 81-8088-031-1)

 His elaboration of the concept of Jihad is the theoretical foundation  as shared and  understood by all Islamic Terrorists. (Page number will be given as reference. Emphasis will be added by enlarging text size wherever necessary for special attention.).

1. pp. 124 to 126, “Communal Rage in Secular India” by Rafiq Zakaria, 2003, Popular Prakashan, Mumbai.

2. pp. 24- 25, “The Crisis of Islam” by Bernard Lewis; 2003, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London.

3. Page 243, Second Edition, ‘Fundamentals of Islam’, Emphasis added as next text size.

4. The February 2008 edition of the same book, copies of which are available in the book stalls of ‘Islamic Publishing House’, has this chapter on Jihad retained in it under the title, ‘Meaning of Jihad’ (pages 285 to 293), in which the new Editor has made certain stylistic changes. But the argument remains the same.