sign in sign up
<<
Home , Adam Parfrey, Alamut, Azariqa, Banu Qurayza, Battle of Hunayn, Fasad

Florida State Libraries

Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate

2006 Ending Oppression and Establishing Justice: Examples from Islamic History of Select and Islamist Groups Justifying the Use of Armed Force Fazal Mohammed Hassan

Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

ENDING OPPRESSION AND ESTABLISHING JUSTICE:

EXAMPLES FROM ISLAMIC HISTORY OF SELECT MUSLIMS AND

ISLAMIST GROUPS JUSTIFYING THE USE OF ARMED FORCE

BY

FAZAL MOHAMMED HASSAN

A Dissertation submitted to the Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2006

Copyright © 2006 Fazal Mohammed Hassan All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of

Fazal Mohammed Hassan defended on September 15, 2006.

______

Peter P. Garretson

Professor Directing Dissertation

______

Patrick O’Sullivan

Outside Committee Member

______

James P. Jones

Committee Member

______

Jonathan Grant

Committee Member

Approved:

______

David Johnson, Chairperson, Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities

______

Joseph Travis, Dean, College of the Arts and Sciences

The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members.

ii Dedicated to my parents whose hard work and sacrifice made this possible.

iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No man is an island- Told by John Dunn and sung by Bob Marley

I was taught the above phrase by a woman who took me by the hand, enrolled me into Broward Community College North Campus, read my papers, and helped me with math. Without the help of Dotlyn Lowe, finishing an Associates of Arts degree, much less a Ph.D, would have been much more difficult. Throughout the years, I have been fortunate to have met many special people who helped me along this journey. They cannot all be mentioned by name, but they are in my heart, always. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Peter Garretson, who himself, took me by hand and helped me through the writing of this dissertation. Thank you for being my major professor when finding one was proving difficult. Without your help, writing a dissertation would have seemed daunting and insurmountable. I am also thankful to Drs. Grant, Jones, and O’Sullivan for being on my committee and helping me through this process. I wish to acknowledge those who work in libraries around the world, but in Strozier Library, Nova Southeast University, and Tamarac Library in particular for helping me with interlibrary loan. Special thanks go to my siblings whose patience and love made this endeavor a little easier. Concluding thanks go to Dr. Jim Colvert who pushed me to pursue a Ph.D in May of 1993. Do not forget that I will always love you at least 50.01 percent. I would also like thank Batool Bashir who helped ignite the thirst for knowledge that has lasted the past thirteen years. Finally, no dissertation could hold the amount of gratitude I owe to family and friends. I was taught the above quote fifteen years ago and it will never leave me. In conclusion, in my third and fourth report cards in the ninth grade back in 1988- 1989, my GPA for the third was .9 and fourth had a GPA of 1.1, respectively. That third report card held five F’s and two D’s, while the fourth one had four F’s and three D’s, or something like that. Over the past seventeen years, I can only say that by having the health, money, and time to dedicate the past eleven and a half years could I have attained a Ph.D. For that, I am grateful to “something” that cannot be mentioned aloud in a secular society. It is to that “something” that I ultimately owe this dissertation to.

iv NOTE ON TRANSCRIPTIONS

Since there is not one standard form on the transliteration of words from to English, the author used the spelling that was most often used by authors. One note must be made evident however. The author’s spelling of Mohammed was based upon the spelling of his middle name. Other transcriptions of Mohammed are , Muhammed, or Muhammed.

v TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT vii

INTRODUCTION 1

1. HARB (WAR), (STRIVING), AND QITAL (FIGHTING) IN THE LIFE OF

MOHAMMED 13

2. ARMED FORCE IN THE AND AHADITH 38

3. , ASSASSINS, AND IBN TAYMIYYA 60

4. THE BACKGROUND TO 20th CENTURY 85

5. : POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC IDEOLOGIES 112

6. ARMED FORCE IN THE WRITINGS OF 134

7. AL-JIHAD 159

8. AL-QAEDA 185

CONCLUSION 209

GLOSSARY 217

BIBLIOGRAPHY 219

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 231

vi ABSTRACT

This dissertation examines the justification for using armed force throughout ’s history. Special emphasis will be made to the following three terms, harb, jihad, and qital. These three words translate into war, struggle, and fight respectively. Not only are these terms the catalyst for the expansion of Islam in its first century, 632 to 732, but they have also contributed to many ideologies. The origins for such ideas begin in the seventh century and Islam’s most prominent religious figure, Mohammed. It is only fitting that the first chapter of this endeavor starts with his life and the reasons why he went to war with others. As his life showed, he never declared a “jihad” on others, a term that is used constantly in the media. It is important to remember that according to Muslims, Mohammed never did anything out of his own opinion; it was all done with the endorsement of . The Qur’an and Ahadith will also be examined, as they are the major sources for justifying and conducting war. After the death of Mohammed in 632 however, armed force began to take on a different meaning. This work covers Mohammed, the Kharijites, the Assassins, Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb, al-Jihad, and al-Qaeda, with emphasis placed on Mohammed and Qutb as key figures, and their respective justifications for using or writing about resorting to armed force as a means to an end. During this dissertation, comparisons will be made between all of the before-mentioned Muslims and their respective reasons for fighting or writing about the use of armed force. It is the main thesis of this work that violence committed in the name of God by Muslims throughout Islam’s history is based upon the need to end oppression and establish justice. This dissertation differs itself from other written works by solely examining the life and works of individual Muslims and Islamist groups and their justification for resorting to armed force. Though this topic has gained momentum since the events of 9/11, it is the intention of this work to show that using armed force is not new, but a political instrument used to establish Shari’ah or Islamic law. The term “political” is used because for most Muslims, including all those mentioned in this dissertation, believe that Islam is not just a personal belief system, like most in the West believe, but an ideology that is to be used for all times and for all facets of life.

vii INTRODUCTION

The focus of this dissertation examines the concepts of harb (war), jihad (struggling), and qital (fighting) through the ideologies of certain Muslims and Islamist groups throughout Islam’s history. The subject of and violence is pertinent today since religion has always played an important role in the lives of many. Needless to say, armed conflict has also played a major part of other religious traditions with such examples beginning in the Old Testament and Yahweh’s command for the to destroy the Canaanites. Other possible examples are the and the Thirty Years War. Islam has also had bouts of violence as three of its first four Caliphs were murdered; the last two by Muslims. The very first topic for a dissertation suggested to the author was, “Is violence endemic to religion?” The scope of this dissertation is not a total examination of religion and violence, since that would no doubt be an enormous task, but on what a few of Islam’s most noted followers have written and acted upon on the subjects of fighting and war. The subject of this work is important not only because of what has happened since September 11, 2001, but because it can help many today understand why certain Muslims in the past have justified the use of armed force. While there have been many studies on religion and violence, there is a gap on linking the ideologies, referring to armed struggle and a few of Islam’s most noted ideologues. Questions of why people resort to violence is abundant in literature, but other aspects explored in this endeavor examine specific verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith of Mohammed (c.570-632) to drive home the point that Muslims throughout the past thirteen centuries have been essentially using the same argument for armed confrontation; to end oppression and establish justice.1 This is where the dissertation contributes to the fields of history and religion. By looking at specific verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith that connect to certain Muslims throughout history, the reasons for justifying jihad al-qital (struggling through fighting) can be ascertained. The target audience of this work includes both scholars of history and religion, but also laymen. This study will especially appeal to those who are interested in Islam and the Middle

1 The Qur’an is Islam’s holy book and contains for Muslims the actual spoken words of God. The Ahadith are the words of Mohammed and they expound on what the Qur’an delineates. More on both sources can be found in footnotes throughout this dissertation, especially the first two chapters.

1 East. Overall, students of the Humanities and Social Sciences will benefit from this dissertation. The reason behind writing this dissertation is due to a lack of emphasis placed on Muslims and Islamist groups from history and their respective motives for using armed force. What differentiates this work from others is that some look at the issue of Islam and war from a standpoint of ethics, such as John Kelsay, while others such as Gilles Kepel tend to focus on the modern trend of Muslims and its sometime violent reaction against the West.2 Professor Kelsay’s book, Islam and War, looks at the reason why Saddam Hussein went to war and his call for a jihad. It also looks at the ethical issue of “just war” theory in Islam, while this work almost exclusively examines keen individuals and groups throughout a broad sweep of history. Kepel’s work, Jihad, looks at the current state of Islam where Muslims are using armed force for political motives. It is a look that is more geographic that biographical, which is why this work is being done. Others such as Ibn Warraq, a pseudonym for someone who no longer adheres to Islam, have written on Islam’s violent past while attributing the violence to “Islam’s nature.” It is the intention of this to dispel the notion of a “violent Islam” while trying to emphasize that the use of armed force in Islam has only been carried out by the minority of Muslims. The subject of the history of the justification of armed force used by Muslims that this dissertation tends to follow, with a few notable changes such as focusing on a few personalities over time rather than looking at the use of jihad from Islamic scholars, is a subject that has been written by Bonner, Cook, and Rudolph Peters.3 The use of primary sources is important to this work. Some of those referenced in this work are Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag (1950-1982), and (1957-present), just to mention three. The writings of these men express, not only their respective interpretations of how Muslims should conduct their lives, but also how the Shari’ah ought to be implemented around the world. The basic argument of this work is to look at key Muslims and Islamist groups throughout Islam’s

2 Works referenced or researched for this introduction include John Kelsay, Islam and War (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993) and Gilles Kepel, Jihad (Cambridge, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002).

3 Books that contributed to this introduction include Michael Bonner, Jihad in Islamic History (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 200), David Cook, Understanding Jihad (Berkeley, University of California Press, 2005), and Rudolph Peters, Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam (Princeton: Markus Wiener, 1996).

2 history and examine their justification for resorting to the use of armed force. Even though this is a subject that can take volumes to write, it is the intention of this dissertation to only focus on a select few. The justification for resorting to armed force where religion is concerned is not new. When one studies religion, they will discover that it does not take long to discover that there is a side encompassing episodes of war, bloodshed, and intolerance, especially where Western religion is concerned. Ideologies encompassing millions, or in the case of , over one billion people, are going to have problems where interpretation is considered. To stop adherents from having opinions of their own is difficult to do. As the eighteenth century ended, was poised to conquer the rest of the world, exploiting countries for natural resources, while implementing western laws, and bringing secularism and to its colonies. In some cases, efforts to convert the native population to Christianity were also made. Much of the anger shown by Muslims today can be seen as an extension that began when Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798 and defeated the Mamluks. The French not only stamped their influence on Egyptian society, but the entire Levant, Lebanon and in particular. British hegemony in the begun when it landed in Egypt in 1882 taking it away from and helping to finish the Suez Canal. Sayyid Qutb went so far as to say that the war that was being waged against Muslims in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was a continuation of the Crusades and that the colonizing that was taking place was just another wave of invaders meant to destroy Islam. Although this dissertation is not a look at religious violence, it is only fitting that mention should be made about it. People who are disillusioned with the world they currently live in tend to view it as degenerating because there is an absence of religious values. For Sayyid Qutb, there was a need to return to the early years of Islam. Ayman al-Zawahiri (1951-present), a member of al-Qaeda, called Qutb, “the most prominent theoretician of the fundamentalist movement” and Islam’s most influential contemporary “martyr.”4 Both men are studied in this work. Qutb was not going all the way back to Mohammed, but particularly to a thirteenth century theologian, Ibn Taymiyya (1263-

4 Jessica Stern, Terror in the name of God (New York: Harpers Collins, 2003), 46.

3 1326), who exclaimed that a Jihad, or struggle, could be waged against lax Muslims because they were not upholding the faith, thus being seen as hypocrites. Whether it is Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb, or Osama bin Laden, there have been many people, both men and women, Muslim and non-Muslims, who have called on followers to revert back to their respective and practice it in its original state. Many of the Muslims covered in this dissertation were influential in their own right including theologians and ideologues such as the Kharijites, the Assassins, Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb, Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag, and Osama bin Laden. The ideologies of some of these men share at least two of the following criteria; a return to Shari’ah (Islamic Law), blaming for the miseries of the world, and calling the entire world jahiliyyah or ignorant, including the Islamic World. Qutb’s ideologies include all three. His writings, for example, were so influential that they had an impact on the , where his works were translated into Farsi by Khamenei who was the Supreme Leader of in 2001.5 The interpretation of Islam has been open to people of all ethnicities. Because of this, Ibn Taymiyya was able to make his mark in Islamic jurisprudence. He wrote such things as advocating the death penalty for a Christian who insulted the Qur’an.6 He also stated that Jews lost their status as due to their rejection of Islam. This hard-line stance taken by Ibn Taymiyya was continued in the twentieth century by Sayyid Qutb. According to Youssef Choueiri,

In his affidavit, Qutb defended the acquisition of arms and the training of young recruits in their use as mere defensive measures, designed to avoid the repetition of the 1954 events. He considered his new organization with a state bent on the destruction of Islamic radicalists.7

Qutb’s influence extended to other or Ikhwan members who fled Egypt as they were rounded up, imprisoned, and in some cases even executed. If Qutb influenced Muslims in any way, it was in the form of trying to overthrow

5 Daniel and Steven Simon, The Age of Sacred Terror (New York: Random House, 2002), 63.

6 Ibn Taymiyya, quoted from Benjamin, 67.

7 Youssef M. Choueiri, Islamic Fundamentalism (: Twayne, 1990), 150.

4 governments that were seen as jahiliyyah or ignorant.8 In 1981, the death of approximately ten thousand Ikhwan members in the city of Hamah, Syria attested to some Muslim Brotherhood members use of force in order to establish Shari’ah. Not only will this work show that certain Muslims throughout Islam’s history share the same philosophy for using armed force, but also other important points. An example of this, and maybe the most powerful, is the issue between Jews and Muslims. Even though relations between Jews and Muslims have been mostly peaceful, there has been a surge of anti-Jewish anger by Muslims since the establishment of in 1948. While some tie this frustration strictly to Israel’s establishment in 1948, some Muslims are willing to go back to the seventh century when Mohammed faced opposition by a few Jewish tribes. This hostility for Qutb and bin Laden, for example, has been due to Jewish attempts to derail Islam and divide Muslims. For these Muslims, there has always been a constant struggle or jihad to fight ideologies espoused by non-Muslims that are contrary to the Shari’ah, whether they are religious, or Christianity, or non-religious, communism or Greek Philosophy. For Qutb and others, these are all manifestations made by non-Muslims who have had hostility towards Muslims. Many Muslim ideologues have been inspired by the brutal treatment of governments, for example, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Nasser regime. For Qutb, Muslims who tortured other Muslims for wanting to implement Shari’ah could not be true Muslims. Many Muslims in the Egyptian government were seen as committing takfir or apostasy because they were seeking help from the Ikhwan (brotherhood) while trying to brainwash them in order to show allegiance to Nasser. For Qutb, leaving Egyptian society was legitimate because this followed in the footsteps of what Mohammed did in the seventh century. The abandoning of a society considered jahiliyyah was justified for him because this was the only way that Muslims could change society. For Qutb, Muslims who resided in a society that was not implementing the Shari’ah were not living a lifestyle fit for a Muslim. While the term “leaving,” has been debated by Muslims as either meaning physically leaving or spiritually leaving, that has

8 The terms Hakimiyyah and Jahiliyyah will be discussed in further detail in chapters five and six respectively.

5 been up for debate as much as other things written by Qutb. No matter what other Muslims thought however, for Qutb, Muslims living in a society not using the Shari’ah were seen as living in an apostate society. One man was so inspired by the idea of abandoning the society he saw as jahilliyah, that he founded a group, al-Takfir wa al- Hijrah, which means The Apostasy and the Immigration Group. Shukri Mustafa believed that following the steps taken by Mohammed and reiterated by Qutb should be followed. For Mustafa, the immigrants left for a short time only to return and conquer their infidel society, establishing the Shari’ah. This group however, did not get far as then Egyptian president Mohammed was aware of its intentions after the kidnapping and murder of the Minister of Religious Endowment. After this episode, Sadat clamped down upon the group and Mustafa was executed. Episodes of war in the abound as fighting between Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as, Muslims and fellow Muslims, litter the past thirteen hundred years. The earliest evidence of qital, which can be translated as to assassinate, as well as kill or murder, being used by Muslims against fellow Muslims was the of (d.656, the third Caliph of Islam). Uthman was killed for allegedly being ostentatious and neglecting the needs of the . It was only a matter of time before Muslims would shed their fellow Muslims’ blood further as the fourth Caliph of Islam, not to mention, Mohammed’s son-in-law and cousin, Ali (d.661) was also assassinated by the Kharijites. The history of Islam is full of moments displaying bloodshed and murder between Muslims and non-Muslims with Muslims being the aggressors. This dissertation will also focus on the ’ most famous terrorist, Osama bin Laden. For him, a war against America will be a protracted one taking years to finish. He is taking his example from the Soviet-Afghan war fought from 1979 to 1989. The mighty Soviet Union thought it could take Kabul and replace a fallen dictator with another Marxist leader, but the (soldiers for the religion) countered the invasion using guerrilla tactics. Because of this, they were able to wear out the Soviets causing them to leave in 1989. Though Qutb never went into specifics on how to conduct an actual war, bin Laden did, in his Declaration of War Against The Americans Occupying The Land Of The Two Holy Places, where he was quoted as saying;

6 Nevertheless, it must be obvious to you that, due to the imbalance of power between our armed forces and the enemy, a suitable means of fighting must be adopted i.e. using fast moving light forces that work under complete . In other words to initiate a guerrilla war.9

The war against the Soviets cost the lives of an estimated one million Afghans and fifteen thousand Soviets.10 Unfortunately for the Afghans, after kicking out the Soviets in 1989, the mujahideen turned the guns on themselves for another ten years until the took control of Kabul ushering in a form of Shari’ah that even Iran denounced as extreme. The Taliban was working with bin Laden and al-Qaeda, allowing the group to train members of its organization for carrying out attacks against Western targets in the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia. The current “war” between al-Qaeda and the is not a conventional one. There are no borders and no clear distinction between combatants and soldiers, especially where al-Qaeda is concerned. In the minds of many Muslims, there are only two worlds, the Dar al-salaam and Dar al-harb. For the ghazis (Warriors) of Islam, the borders covering two combating parties have no bounds and can be anywhere around the globe. The weapons that were traditionally used in warfare are by this point second choice as knives, swords, and even guns have been replaced by bigger and deadlier weapons such as bunker busting bombs and airplanes. Osama bin Laden has already tried to acquire such weapons as botulin, mustard gas, VX, sarin, chlorine, and hydrogen cyanide are now the weapons of choice for al-Qaeda.11 In a fatwa or religious edict, bin Laden declared war on the US citing such things as as a pretext to war. On February 23, 1998 he stated;

We, with God’s help, call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God’s order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslims ulema, leaders, youths,

9 Osama bin Laden, “Message to his Muslim brothers in the whole world and especially in the : Declaration of Jihad against the Americans occupying the land of the two holy ; expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula,” al- (September 2, 1996).

10 Stern, 47.

11 Luciana Pellicani, “,” Telos no. 129 (Fall-Winter year n.a.): 42.

7 and soldiers to launch the on ’s American troops and the supporters allied with them.12

Al-Qaeda started as a group known as the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, and they recruited their soldiers from the mujahideen who fought the Soviets in .13 After the Soviets were expelled from Afghanistan, al-Qaeda decided to wage war against the only other superpower left in the world; the United States. Al-Qaeda has struck targets all the way from Manhattan to Bali, not to mention the bombings of America’s embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998, both within minutes of each other. The war in Afghanistan saw men from all around the globe come and fight the Soviets and to rule a country based on the Shari’ah. Manuscripts spelling out al-Qaeda’s ideology have even been found in Manchester, England. The ability to quickly help Muslims in distress around the globe is one reason why groups like al-Qaeda or the Ikhwan Muslimoon are so popular. Al-Qaeda’s mission statement is “the overthrow of godless regimes and their replacement with an Islamic regime.”14 Al-Qaeda was able over the years to forge alliances with such groups as , Jamah Islamiyyah, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The reach of al-Qaeda is something that resembles a multi-national organization due to its ability to hit targets that are thousands of miles away. Organizations like al-Qaeda and the Ikhwan Muslimoon are inspired by men such as Ibn Taymiyya and Sayyid Qutb because they believe that Islam is the motivating force that should help people all around the world. Groups like al-Qaeda see countries that are not following the Shari’ah as jahiliyyah (ignorant) and that they have the right to be overthrown, even by force. The influence of the men and groups covered in this dissertation can even be seen in the current Arab-Israeli conflict, especially, on Hamas. Hamas, founded by Shaykh Yasin in 1988 following the first Intifada in 1987, claims to be a branch of the

12 Osama bin Laden, quoted from Pellicani, 43.

13 Pellicani, 42.

14 Matthew Harrison, “What makes al-Qaeda a global learning network?” Foresight 7, no. 1 (2005): 7.

8 Muslim Brotherhood in .15 After the outbreak of the first Intifada in 1987, Hamas was convinced that the only way of liberating Palestine from the yoke of Israeli occupation was through armed uprising. When Hamas drafted their covenant in 1988 delineating their views of the current conflict, they laid out thirty-six points on what they thought about the current situation. Article 13 of The Hamas Covenant is the most blatant in stating, “There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except through jihad.”16 Article 6 states “The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is a link in the train of jihad against the Zionist invasion.”17 Jihad is the central point not only in Hamas’ ideology, but also in Islamic Jihad’s, which has linked their views to Qutb. One of Islamic Jihad’s senior leaders, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Aziz Odeh [Awda] declared: “We consider Sayyid Qutb to be a genuine representative of the Islamic revolutionary trend.”18 Islamic Jihad’s views on jihad come directly from Qutb who stated regarding Jihad, “Anyone who understands this particular character of the religion will also understand the place of jihad bi-al-sayf (striving through the sword), which is to clear the way for striving through preaching in the application of the Islamic movement.”19 Islamic Jihad also has a leaflet that says: “The struggle against the unbelievers has two aspects-the ideological and the physical. But the physical aspect is jihad.”20 The only dilemma regarding the current Arab-Israeli conflict and groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad is whether their respective struggles are nationalistic in nature or theological. The basic arguments of this dissertation are organized chronologically and presented as follows. In chapter one, the justification of armed confrontation in Islamic history begins with Mohammed. Although this statement may be troublesome for many Muslims, there cannot be any doubt that as “The of ,” Islam’s history begins with him. According to tradition, Islam is the natural religion of man and Allah

15 Raymond William Baker, Islam without fear, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003), 21.

16 Beverley Milton Edwards, “The Concept of Jihad and the Palestinian Islamic Movement: A Comparison of Ideas and Techniques.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 19, no. 1 (1992): 50.

17 Edwards, 50.

18 Edwards, 52.

19 Stern, 56.

20 Edwards, 52.

9 has always sent messengers and to humankind to show them how to conduct their lives.21 was the first prophet and Mohammed the final. Mohammed’s mission, being last, therefore was for all humankind and seen as particularly more important that previous messengers and prophets. It is with Mohammed that this endeavor must begin. In chapter two, attention is given to the texts of Islam, the Qur’an and the Ahadith, and their references to harb (war), jihad (struggling), and qital (fighting). The Qur’an is Islam’s most holy text since for Muslims, it contains the actual words of God as they were revealed to Mohammed via the . The Qur’an was revealed over a twenty-three period beginning in 610 and ending in 632, the year of Mohammed’s death. It contains general instructions on how a Muslim should conduct his/her life, as well as, stories of previous messengers and prophets sent by Allah. The Ahadith go into deeper detail on how Muslims should do such things as eat, pray, and even conduct war. They are the words of Mohammed and not Allah’s; therefore, they are considered slightly less authoritative. Chapter three focuses on two Islamist groups and one theologian. The Kharijites or those who secede, the Assassins, and Ibn Taymiyya are the focus of this chapter. The year 661 marks when the Kharijites killed Ali, the fourth Caliph. They are the first group in Islam to break away from the only to fight it giving rise to other Muslim groups who used armed force to accomplish their goals. The Assassins, an eleventh century , are looked at since they not only killed Muslims, but also non-Muslims, with religious connotations. The chapter ends by examining Ibn Taymiyya, a thirteenth century theologian, who not only preached against what he saw as lax Muslims, but also fought against them as well, laying a firm foundation for much of Sayyid Qutb’s thought. Chapter four shifts from the thirteenth to the twentieth century and a summary of Egypt’s most prominent personalities. The authority of Ibn Taymiyya had been so thorough that no significant theologian delineating the use of war arrived until the late

21 More on the difference between messengers and prophets can be found in chapter one. Messengers are those religious men sent by Allah who not only spoke the religious messages, but also were given or revealed holy texts. Examples include, with the , David with the , with the , and finally for Muslims, Mohammed with the Qur’an. Prophets are those men who Allah sent to humankind with just verbal messages. Thus, all messengers were also prophets at the same time, but not all prophets were messengers.

10 nineteenth and early twentieth century. With European colonialism spreading throughout the globe, much of Africa and Asia found themselves being ruled by foreigners who introduced new concepts as and secularism. These conditions caused many in Egypt to question those in power who were seen as puppets of the West, as well as, the religious leadership in the country. The lives of men such as King Faruq, Said Zaghlul Pasha, (1918-1970), Mohammed Anwar Sadat (1918-1981), Hosni Mubarak (1928-present) and others will be explained briefly. This chapter will help to set up the next two and its main subject, Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966). Chapter five focuses on Sayyid Qutb and his political and economic ideologies respectively. The next two chapters are significant since he has been called the “The philosopher of Islamic terror,” by one writer, while others see him as a Muslim who wanted social justice for his people, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.22 This chapter is a biography of Qutb as it examines his beginnings as a secularist who also adored and embraced to someone who wrote against the regime because they were not interested in implementing Islamic law. After studying in the United States, Qutb was convinced that Islam was the answer to humanity’s problems. Upon return, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood and wrote articles and books capturing the eye of Nasser, who eventually arrested and executed the ideologue for fear that a revolution was imminent. Looking at his economic and political views, lays the foundation for the following chapter, which focuses on his views of jihad. Chapter six examines three works of Qutb’s: Social Justice in Islam, In the Shade of the Qur’an, and . Social Justice in Islam was published in 1948 or 1949 and was written before he visited the United States. In the Shade of the Qur’an is a thirty- volume work, which explains the essence of the Qur’an. Milestones, arguably his best- known work, concludes the chapter as it is the book that was used against him at his trial in 1966. Since Qutb was executed before he could have divulged what he exactly meant in his writings, what he did write was open to interpretation. The last two chapters are on groups that chose to interpret the above books literally, where they resorted to the use of armed force as a means to an end.

22 Paul Bedmad, “The philosopher of Islamic terror,” The New York Times, 23 March 2003, sec 1A, p.3.

11 Chapter seven looks at al-Jihad, the group that assassinated Egyptian president Anwar Sadat on October 6, 1981, and its leader, an electrical engineer by the name of Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag. Al-Jihad was formed in the mid-1970’s as Sadat allowed room for Islamist groups to grow as a deterrent to communists and political parties that opposed to him. As these groups realized that Sadat had no plans for implementing the Shari’ah, protests against the president grew causing Sadat to crack down on those same Islamist groups he once supported. The actions of al-Jihad on the 6th of October were inspired by Farag’s book, The Neglected Duty, and his book went on to become an example to another group that still dominates newscasts around the world. The last chapter is to al-Qaeda that this dissertation concludes. Chapter eight examines al-Qaeda or the Base or Foundation, and its justification for armed force. It is almost impossible to look at the organization without writing about Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. These two men are the focus of the group that has been responsible of the deaths of thousands around the word. This chapter, therefore, looks at the origins of the group in Afghanistan, and the ideologies of bin Laden and al- Zawahiri. As al-Qaeda is considered by the United States as the world’s most dangerous organization, it is only fitting that this group conclude the dissertation. It is on these respective men and groups that this dissertation focuses on and their influence on others. It is also important to remember that these men and groups represent the minority of Muslims around the world. Most Muslims abhor violence and see it as a last resort where oppressive regimes exist. The theme of ending oppression is fitting as it the reason why those mentioned in this work are turning to armed force.

12 CHAPTER ONE: HARB (WAR), JIHAD (STRIVING), AND QITAL (FIGHTING) IN THE LIFE OF MOHAMMED

Though the word Islam is derived from the Arabic root S-L-M or salaam meaning peace, the history of the faith has often shown otherwise.23 Whether it was Mohammed himself or al-Qaeda, Muslims have been fighting themselves and non-Muslims for the far majority of the faith’s thirteen centuries. Terms commonly used to describe the fighting that went on, and continues to do so, between Muslims and Muslims, as well as, Muslims and non-Muslims, are harb (war), jihad (striving or struggling), and qital (fight), respectively. The most common of the aforementioned words is jihad, which means to strive and struggle, but not necessarily in a physical or violent manner. The actual fighting that involves hurting and killing others is referred to as jihad al-qital or striving through physically fighting. The word qital, other than meaning fighting, can also be translated to mean assassinate, kill, or murder.24 The term jihad erroneously translated as “Holy War,” in much of the western world, means to strive or struggle to achieve a goal. This striving may or may not involve fighting, but when it does, then the term qital should be mentioned. The term harb however, is a general term for “war,”, so it can imply a war where combatants are killing each other or where there is a struggle between ideologies. The best example of this are the terms “Dar al-harb,” and “Dar al-salaam,” which translate as “Abode or House of War,” and “Abode or House of Peace.”25 It is the intention of this chapter to examine the life of the main figurehead of Islam, Mohammed, and his reasons for using the three above terms. This chapter examines Mohammed’s struggles and battles with others, setting the scene for later Muslims to justify fighting others. With this dissertation covering such groups as the Kharijites, the Assassins, al-Jihad, and al-Qaeda, as well as, men like Ibn Taymiyya and

23 The word Islam not only means peace, but also is more commonly translated as “Submission to the Will of God.” As stated above, the root of Islam is S-L-M or salaam, which means “peace.” Arabic, being a Semitic language, often derives its words from a three syllable root.

24 The definition of the three above words has been provided by Elias A. Elias and ED. E. Elias, Elias’ Pocket Dictionary (: Edward Elias Elias, 1980).

25 These two terms, Dar al-harb and Dar al-salaam were developed after the death of Mohammed and were used to describe the worlds of non-Muslims, Dar al-harb, and the world of Islam, Dar al-salaam.

13 Sayyid Qutb, it is important to keep in mind that those Muslims who have fought and killed fellow Muslims, not to mention, non-Muslims, have always been in the minority. Though Mohammed may have fought only non-Muslims in order to both defend and establish Islam as a religion in the Arabian Peninsula, his actions have been followed by others throughout Islam’s history as an example of what a Muslim should do. It is with the life of Mohammed that this chapter begins so that the origins of harb, jihad, and qital can be delineated. With Mohammed being the quintessential exemplar of what a Muslim should do, his actions have come down in Islamic history as being or “recommended.”26 Does that mean he recommended his followers to fight and kill others, including Muslims who did not follow the Shari’ah, Islamic law? That is and has been ultimately up to individual Muslims. Before the life of Mohammed is examined, it is important to focus on the Arabian Peninsula, the land where he was both born and raised. This is important because critics throughout Islam’s history have pointed out that culture played just as big a part in Mohammed’s life as religion did, of not more.

The Arabian Peninsula at the time of Mohammed’s birth

The land of Arabia was a barren wasteland governed by tribes using laws based on bloodlines. If one man was slighted in the least bit, then the law of “an eye for an eye” gave justification for his tribe to exact revenge on not only him, but also his entire tribe. It was a land where most women had no rights and were the property of a male counterpart, namely their grandfathers, fathers, husbands, sons, grandsons, or nephews. The economic ways of life in the Arabian Peninsula were two-fold. First, most people were shepherds who tended to their flocks of camels, horses, and sheep migrating in order to find pastures for their flock and secondly, trading where people sold their goods within the peninsula itself or outside as far away as . Some of the goods traded ranged from clothing to incense. In the Arabian Peninsula, Makkah was the commercial capital where merchants came and went selling their goods, while others came to make

26 The term Sunnah denotes a procedure taken by Mohammed. An example of this can be, “It is Sunnah to wear a beard a fist long.” However, it is not or obligatory to do so, many conservative Muslims believe that Muslims should try to emulate everything Mohammed did.

14 pilgrimages to the Ka’aba.27 The year 570 CE generally marks the year when a man was born who completed a religion according to Muslims, or started a new one for others.28 The man was Mohammed ibn Abdullah and that religion was Islam.29 He has been at the center of many controversies ranging from being a child-molester to a terrorist. No matter what anyone believes about him, there is no denying that Islam today has over one billion adherents. Today the religion of Islam receives a tremendous amount of attention from the media as a religion of violence and militancy. Indeed, during the lifetime of Mohammed, who died in 632 CE, there were engagements that involved both fighting (qital) and non-violence (jihad) to establish Islam as the main religion of the Arabian Peninsula.30 Many Muslims believe that Mohammed’s mission was not only to establish Islam as the religion of the Arabian Peninsula, but the entire world. This dissertation must deal with the man whose life had the biggest impact not only on those subsequently dealt with such as the Kharijites, the Assassins, Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb, Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag, and Osama bin Laden, but who is also considered to be the proto- typical Muslim. Mohammed was even called “the walking Qur’an.” Like other religions such as Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, , Judaism, and Christianity, Islam is linked with one man, Mohammed. This chapter will focus on Mohammed’s life and his reasons for waging a harb (war) against other and

27 The spelling of Makkah is based on a more Arabic transliteration of the city’s name, whereas most western transliterations are spelled . The author has chosen the former spelling over the latter. The Ka’aba is the cube-like structure found in the Masjid al- (the sacred sanctuary). It is the focal point for millions of Muslims daily as they pray facing the Ka’aba specifically contrary to just facing “east.” The Ka’aba, before being the focal point of Muslims, was the focal point of pilgrimage and prayer for people in the Arabian Peninsula who adhered to traditional religions.

28 Muslims do not believe that Mohammed founded a religion, but completed one. The author has read many books on religion in general and Islam in particular that has stated that Islam was founded by Mohammed. Therefore, the author has put both connotations.

29 The spelling of Mohammed is not always a consistent one. There are multiple spellings of this proper name; some believe the most common name in the world. The author has decided to maintain the spelling of Mohammed as such, where other spellings are rendered “Muhammad,” “Muhammed,” or “Mohammad.” The use of “Mohammed” is common and can e found in many articles and books. It is also the way the author spells his middle name.

30 The author wishes to differentiate between battles that are of both a physical and non-physical nature. Jihad is Arabic for “striving” and “struggling,” while qital is the physical component of jihad, qital specifically means to fight physically. One can just as well struggle non-violently against something such as an addiction. Qital, however, on the other hand deals with actually physically fighting another, such as on the battlefield.

15 Jewish tribes. Those reasons for waging a harb have given justification to others for fighting their respective governments and countrymen in order to establish Shari’ah or Islamic Law. This chapter also examines Mohammed and his wars against others in his lifetime, justifying to others today that fighting, fi-si-bi-Allah, in the way of God, is not only lawful, but also incumbent upon all Muslims that have the mental and physical ability to do so.31 Finally, it is important to remember that Islam teaches that Mohammed never did anything of his own accord; it was all in conjunction with the will of God (Allah). Many Muslim theologians refer to the Qur’an for the justification of using armed force against others, not only as a defensive measure, but as an offensive one as well. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the actual word of God to Mohammed. According to Islam, the Qur’an has not been altered in any way and God himself vows to protect it for all-time. Many Muslims take the words of the Qur’an literally even going so far as to attribute anthropomorphic characteristics to God. Though issues of social context and history come into play, once verses had been revealed to Mohammed himself, then it is up to ordinary humans to interpret them. Though the issue of who has the authority to interpret the Qur’an has been less of a point of contention in the Sunni World than in the Shi’ite World, there are voices in the Sunni World who state that only those educated in religious have the right to make religious decisions, and this will actually be one argument against Sayyid Qutb, and others. The history of Islam, for most Muslims, begins with Adam and ends with Mohammed in 632.32 Many Muslims see Islam as a religion as something that has existed ever since God created the universe. It is mankind’s natural state of being, submitting to the will of God. When God created Adam and , he made Adam a vicegerent to the world. As time passed, God periodically sent prophets and messengers to remind human beings of him and their responsibility to him. Some of the most notable prophets, those without a written message, were Adam and , while some of the

31 The Arabic word “Allah” is not one word, but a term made of two, al and ilah. Al is Arabic for “the,” while ilah means “God” in Arabic. Since Makkah was home to three hundred and sixty , Allah was considered to be “first among equals.” Therefore, Allah trans-literally means “The God.”

32 ‘Ali Dashti, Twenty Three Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammed, trans. F.R.C. Bagley (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1985), 3.

16 more prominent messengers, those with a message that was written down during the life of that messenger or after, were Moses and Jesus.33 From time to time, this one true God felt the need to keep sending prophets and messengers whenever humanity disobeyed his commandments. It is interesting to note that all messengers were also prophets, but not all prophets were messengers. Mohammed was both a prophet and a messenger in that he spoke not only the Qur’an, but also foretold of other things as well such as the Ahadith.34 Those words revealed to Mohammed were written down and became known as the Qur’an.35 For Muslims, Mohammed was the last prophet and messenger to be sent to mankind as stated in the Quran, “Mohammed is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) The Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets: and Allah has full knowledge of all things.”36 This is a significant statement because not only is Mohammed considered a prophet; he is also considered to be the last who finalized God’s religion, Islam. Since Mohammed is considered to be Islam’s last prophet, his call is considered to be special. If this is taken into account, then Mohammed’s actions can be considered official because Islam states that he never did anything of his own volition; everything he did, he was commanded to do by God.

Mohammed’s life prior to 610

Mohammed was born in either the year 569 or 570 CE in what was considered by many Muslims as “The Year of the Elephant.” His birth took place in the city of Makkah

33 Islam distinguishes between messengers and prophets. Messengers are those who received written information from God. This information may have been in the form of a revelation only to be written down later. An example of this is the Ten Commandments written on tablets. A prophet is someone who verbally tells of the future, but his words are not written down. Mohammed, therefore, was both a messenger and prophet for having the Qur’an revealed to him and also verbally others of his mission.

34 The Ahadith are Islam’s second most revered source for divine knowledge after the Qur’an.

35 The final compiling of the Qur’an took place during the caliphate of Uthman who was Caliph from 644- 656. The compiling was a three-step process that included not only written words on parchment and sheep- skin, but compilation took place with the help of people who memorized some and wrote some, as well as, some people who memorized the whole of the Qur’an.

36 Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an (Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah: The Custodians of The Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Complex for the printing of The Holy Qur’an, 1994), (33:40). Ali’s translation is considered by many to be the most accurate. It will be the translation used unless otherwise noted.

17 to his parents ‘Abd Allah and Aminah.37 It is quite ironic that Mohammed was born in a year that is remembered by a battle that took place setting a precedent for what was to come. ‘Abd Allah’s father was ‘Abd al-Muttalib of the powerful Hashemite clan which is part of the larger Quraish tribe. His father died before he was born and his mother soon after when he was six years old. Mohammed’s grandfather, ‘Abd al-Muttalib, took custody of him, but only for two years when he himself succumbed to death, but not before designating Abu Talib, ‘Abd Allah’s full brother as the new guardian of Mohammed. It was in the hostile climate of Arabia that Mohammed was shielded from its brutality throughout his childhood and allowed to grow up in relative ease and comfort. Mohammed’s profession was trading and he worked the caravan routes of Arabia that led him throughout the Arabian Peninsula up to .38 It was in his twenties when Mohammed started working for a woman, Khadijah, who was a member of the clan of Asad.39 Khadijah heard of Mohammed’s reputation as a hard working and honest man and therefore asked him to lead a caravan of goods to Syria. Khadijah was married and widowed twice before and was in the unique position of being a woman who owned and ran a business. When Mohammed was about twenty-five years old and Khadijah was forty, she proposed marriage to him. He accepted, thus allowing him even more time for leisure and meditation. They had several children, including , their most famous child who was to become the wife of Ali, Mohammed’s cousin and son-in- law.

Mohammed’s call to prophethood

As Mohammed’s life went on, he periodically meditated on Mount Hira pondering life’s most basic questions. It was in the year 610 CE, at the age of forty, that

37 Martin Lings, Muhammad (London: George Allen & Unwin (Publishers) Ltd, 1983), 19. Lings’ account of Mohammed’s life is a major work “based on the earliest sources.” Lings’ book covers eighty five chapters and is extremely detailed.

38 F.E. Peters, Mohammed and the Origins of Islam (New York: State University of New York Press, 1994), 196. Peters’ book is a thorough one as he starts from Abraham and finishes the history of the Arabian Peninsula to Mohammed’s death.

39 Lings, 34.

18 Mohammed received the first of many revelations that continued for twenty-three years, until his death in 632 CE.40 This first revelation was in the of , meaning burning or heat, and it was during this lunar month that all Muslims who were of pubescent age, and mentally and physically able to do so, were commanded to fast from sunrise to sunset not drinking or eating anything. during Ramadan is one of the . Many Muslims have always believed to this very day that jihad is the sixth pillar.41 When Mohammed received this first revelation commanding him to Recite, he was reluctant at first, but in the end, he did not have a choice, according to Mohammed himself,

the took me and whelmed me in his embrace until he had reached the limit of mine endurance. Then he released me and said: ‘Recite!’ I said: I am not a reciter,’ and again he took me and whelmed me in his embrace, and again when he had reached the limit of mine endurance he released me and said: ‘Recite!’, and again I said ‘I am not a reciter.’ Then a third time he whelmed me as before, then released me and said:42

Recite in the name of thy Lord who created! He createth man from a clot of blood. Recite; and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful, He who hath taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not.43

The five verses above were Mohammed’s first revelations and there is even an heir of violence apparent since Mohammed was being grabbed by the archangel Gabriel and squeezed until he did what was commanded of him. As Mohammed fled from Mount Hira, he was always confronted not only with the presence of Gabriel, but the angel’s voice saying: “O Mohammed, thou art the Messenger of God, and I am

40 Karen Armstrong, Mohammed (San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992), 45-46. Armstrong’s biography is excellent as she adds maps and genealogical charts of Mohammed’s lineage.

41 Islam is based on five pillars, faith, prayer, fasting, alms, and pilgrimage. However, many Muslims have always believed that jihad is the sixth pillar. Jihad, for those who believe it is the sixth pillar, state that the struggle to spread the faith, verbally or non-verbally is incumbent upon all Muslims.

42 Uri Rubin, The eye of the beholder (Princeton: The Darwin Press, Inc., 1995), 64. This book is a biography of Mohammed based on early sources.

43 Qur’an 96:1-5.

19 Gabriel.”44 Mohammed then went home to tell Khadijah of his experience. It was soon after that the roots of the Ummah, or community of believers, started to develop. In terms of identity, the boundaries of who was a believer and who was not were being drawn, as were battle lines that inevitably led to several battles. As time passed and Mohammed preached his message of the one God and slowly gained converts, starting with his family, he was confronted by men who did not want to see him succeed, such as Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, and Abu Sufyan.45 Often times there is an aura of confrontation and violence when a new ideology meets an old one. The Makkan establishment did not want to see Mohammed, or anyone else, disrupt the economic or social status quo. Mohammed was offered everything from money to women if he stopped preaching his newfound faith.46 When it was obvious that he would not his message, the Makkan leadership attempted to assassinate him, and it is was then that Mohammed determined that if he were to remain in Makkah, his life, and the lives of his followers would be threatened, but now a bigger picture confronted Mohammed. He understood that he could not run forever, but one day he would have to stand up to those that tried to assassinate him and fight them on several fronts, including ideologically and physically.

Mohammed’s confrontations with the Makkan authorities

The day to stand up to the Quraish came later when Mohammed had better odds, especially where numbers and support were concerned. He left Makkah on July 15th or 16th 622 CE and entered the city of Yathrib, which is known today as Madinah al-Nabi, City of Mohammed, or just Madinah.47 July 15th or 16th not only marks the Hijra or

44 Lings, 44.

45 Allama Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, The Life of the Holy Prophet (Middlesex: Dar-ul Tabligh North America, 1999), 62. Abu Jahl was the head of the powerful Mukhzum clan in Makkah. The Mukhzum clan was part of the Quraish tribe. Abu Lahab was an uncle to Mohammed and part of the Hashemite clan of the Quraish tribe. Abu Sufyan, of the Umayya Clan, was an enemy of Mohammed, but would later go on and embrace Islam in 631, one year before Mohammed’s death.

46 Dashti, 91.

20 migration of Mohammed from Makkah to Madinah, but it also marks the beginning of the . The concept of hijra also plays a part in Sayyid Qutb’s theory of one withdrawing from a society that does not conform to Shari’ah. Whether or not this withdrawing is literal or metaphorical is a matter of dispute, but this will be touched upon later in the dissertation. When Mohammed entered Madinah, he was welcomed with open arms because people had already heard about the new message of Islam. The main tribes of Madinah, the Aws and Khazraj, had heard from the Jews living there that a Prophet was to come to them. These tribes then helped Mohammed with his mission, thus earning the title of “” or helper or supporter. Those that left Makkah were known as exiles or “” and they formed a bond that lasted throughout Mohammed’s life.48 Some of those that greeted Mohammed when he entered Madinah were Jews, but possibly more out of curiosity than good will.49 One of the first things Mohammed did was to make a pact with those in Madinah, not only with the Ansar and Muhajirun, but also with others such as the Jews who had been living in the Arabian Peninsula since the second Diaspora in 70 CE. Mohammed made a pact with the Jews, which is reproduced below by historian ;

In the name of the Most Merciful and the Compassionate God. Granted by Mohammed, Mohammed, to the Believers, whether of Quraish or of Yathrib, and all individuals of whatever origin who have made common cause with them, all these shall constitute one nation. The state of peace and war shall be common to all Muslims; none among them shall have the right of concluding peace with, or declaring war against, the enemies of his co-religionists. The Jews who enter into this covenant shall be protected from all insults and vexations; they shall have an equal right with our own people to our assistance and good offices. The Jews of the various branches of ‘Awf, Najjar, Harith, Jashm, Tha’labah, Aws, and all others domiciled in Yathrib shall form with the Muslims one composite nation. They shall practice their religion as freely as the Muslims. The clients and allies of the Jews shall enjoy the same security and freedom. The guilty shall be pursued and punished. The Jews shall join the Muslims in defending Yathrib (Madinah) against all enemies. The interior of Yathrib shall be a sacred place for all those who accept this Charter. The clients and allies of the Muslims and of the Jews shall

47 The spelling of Madinah is also one that differentiates itself from author to author. The common western spelling of has been ignored for the more common Arab transliteration of Madinah.

48 Rizvi, 69. The term Ansar refers to those inhabitants of Madinah who received Mohammed after his emigration from Makkah. The term Muhajirun refers to those Muslims who left Makkah to immigrate to Makkah.

49 Lings, 121

21 be as respected as the principals. All Muslims shall hold in abhorrence anyone found guilty of a crime, injustice, or disorder. None shall uphold the culpable, even if he may be his nearest in kinship. All future disputes between those who accept this Charter shall be finally referred, after God, to Mohammed.50

Another tribe, the Banu Zamra who were not Jewish, entered into a treaty with Mohammed and this is presented below;

This is the document of Mohammed, Messenger of God, for Banu Zamra. Their lives and property are safe. If they are attacked by anyone, they will be assisted except when they themselves fight against the religion. In return, they will come to the help of Mohammed when called upon by him.51

Mohammed’s struggles with the Makkans began almost as soon as he entered Madinah. It was in Madinah that Mohammed was confronted with a dilemma; if the Muslims always fled when trouble came, namely in the form of the Makkans, then Islam would never be established in Arabia and throughout the world. Whether or not Mohammed planned for Islam to be established throughout the world is up for debate. On the other hand, if he and his supporters confronted the Makkans, then they risked the possibility of being massacred, which could have led to the end of Islam. The number of Muslims at this point was relatively few compared to the Makkans who were more organized and outnumbered the Ansar and Muhajirun. Mohammed originally sought to take the city of Makkah, but it proved impenetrable, forcing him to seek other ways to weaken the city and those opposing him inside. The time to fight came when Makkan caravans traveling to Syria passed close to Madinah. They were attacked by the Muslims, thus weakening them in three ways; the first was by attacking the forces and inflicting numerical casualties; the second way was if raids against the Makkans proved successful, the Muslims could have an opportunity to gain much needed booty; and the third and final way was to cripple the Makkan economy in the hopes of starving the city into submission since it relied on imported food.52 In addition, if these methods proved

50 Ibn Hisham, quoted from Rizvi, 74-75,

51 Rizvi, 76.

52 Hugh Kennedy, Mohammed and the Age of the (London: Longman, 1986), 35.

22 true, then Makkan prestige would suffer greatly leading to disunity and shame, while bolstering the Muslims in their faith and solidarity. There were periodic raids on the Makkans by the Muslims during the first eighteenth after the Hijra, but the first real test of the newly formed Ummah or community of believers occurred in 624 CE when a large caravan carrying “fifty thousand dinars worth of goods set out from Gaza to Makkah.”53 This caravan was led by Abu Sufyan of the Umayya Clan, who went down in Islamic History as one of the biggest enemies of Islam. Abu Sufyan was also infamous for another reason; he was the father of the future Caliph Mu’awiya who contended with Ali for power and ultimately won in 661 CE.

The

Due to the raids during the previous eighteen days, Abu Sufyan did not take any chances with this large cargo of goods and gathered anywhere between nine hundred and fifty to one thousand men, seven hundred camels, and one hundred horses, under the leadership of Abu Jahl, Mohammed’s uncle and the head of the Mukhzum Clan, to protect it.54 Though the caravan made it safely to Makkah, Abu Jahl was still determined to put an end to Mohammed and the much smaller force of Ansar and Muhajirun that numbered anywhere between three hundred to three hundred and sixteen.55 However, the Ansar and Muhajirun were waiting for the Makkan forces at the town of Badr. The Muslims were wise enough to set their camps near wells giving themselves a source of water. Badr was situated roughly eighty-five miles southwest of Madinah and the battle took place during the month of Ramadan. Before the battle, Mohammed himself had been preparing the Ansar to fight. He knew that in the past, battles had been averted even at the last moment. As the battle started, the Muslims suffered casualties and Mohammed managed to rally his troops by exclaiming, according to , “By Him in whose

53 Kennedy, 35.

54 H.U. Rahman, A Chronology of Islamic History 570-1000 CE (London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1989), 13.

55 Kennedy, 35.

23 hand is the soul of Mohammed, no man will be slain this day, fighting against them in steadfast hope of his reward, advancing not retreating, but God shall straightway enter him into .”56 After this statement, Mohammed gave the command to charge after hurling pebbles at the Quraish uttering “Defaced be those faces!” no doubt giving an inclination to the fact that the enemy would be defeated. This charge was lead by the battle cry “Ya mansur amit”, which roughly translates into “O thou whom God hath made victorious, slay!”57 The claim that Mohammed made when he threw pebbles into the eyes of the enemy was later corrected when he received a revelation that it was not he that threw those pebbles, but God: “Thou threwest not when thou threwest, but it was God that threw.”58 From the standpoint of the Muslims, God’s hand played a part when played a role in the battle definitively turning the tide in favor of the Muslims. Some Muslims reported the heads of enemies flying off before they were struck. The battle of Badr showed an example of divine help, an ideology that would be written by many Muslims throughout the next fourteen hundred years. The Battle of Badr took place in 624, just two years after the Hijra and was a major success for the young Muslim community. During the battle, the Muslims managed to kill Abu Jahl while taking animals and prisoners of war. In concluding this section on Badr, it is worth noting that three captives had been put to death, Abu Jahl, Nadr of ‘Abd ad-Dar, and ‘Uqbah of ‘Abdu Shams. According to ‘Ali Dashti, Nadr ibn al-Hareth was put to death not only for fighting against Mohammed, but also for criticizing the Qur’an as containing “fables of the ancients.”59 ‘Uqbah was also put to death for being one of the most hostile enemies to Mohammed on, as well as, off the battlefield. As ‘Uqbah was decapitated, according to Dashti, he asked Mohammed, “What would happen to my children?” with Mohammed replying “Hellfire.”60 Martin

56 Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasul Allah, quoted from Lings, 147. Ibn Ishaq was one of the earliest biographers of Mohammed. His book, Sirat Rasul Allah (Story of Mohammed of God), was written in the eighth century.

57 Lings, 148.

58 Qur’an 8:17.

59 Dashti, 47, 97-98.

60 Dashti, 98.

24 Lings does not report this short exchange of words. This showed that Mohammed was not going to allow all enemy captives to live, especially if they were considered a threat to the future of the Ummah. The consequences of Badr were a multi-faceted one. The battle had historical importance because the victory allowed the young Ummah to consciously recognize itself as a religious organization and its ability to inflict a loss on the much larger force and that by this victory, there was the old sentiment and belief that “God was on our side.” Badr will in affect give the Muslims the confidence that helped drive Islam from Southern France to Northern India. Chapter two will focus on which verses in the Qur’an pointed to the victory at Badr. The intention of this is to show that Sayyid Qutb and others took their example of waging war, against great odds, from the Battle of Badr and later battles after the death of Mohammed. As groups like the Kharijites, the Assassins, al-Jihad, and al-Qaeda have fought enemies with more men and weapons than themselves, they too, taking example from the Muslims at Badr, have turned for divine help as a way of victory.

Mohammed’s dealings with the Jews of Madinah

During the interlude between Badr and the next major battle, Uhud, according to Hugh Kennedy, “Mohammed took this time to move against Jews and those that only adopted Islam to appease him.”61 These people were labeled as munafiqun or hypocrites and they may have only adopted Islam in order to improve their social status. Special emphasis has been given to Mohammed’s relationship with the Jews of Madinah, not only during this time, but throughout his life. Jewish tribes in Madinah had been invited to adopt Islam, but few had accepted the offer. Unlike the Arabs who adhered to the traditional beliefs of the Arabian Peninsula, the Jews posed a bigger ideological problem to Mohammed due to their religious beliefs regarding a , mainly problems of one coming from the genealogy of Isma’il. This clash of ideologies was ongoing until Mohammed’s death, and some say until this day.62 One Jewish clan that was attacked was the who were silversmiths controlling much commerce. One Muslim

61 Kennedy, 35.

62 Kennedy, 36.

25 who had ambitions of attacking the Jews was ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Awf. Al-Rahman wanted land for the Muslims who did not have much of their own. The Jews were also allies of ‘Abd Allah b. Ubayy who posed a threat to Mohammed. After a trivial argument left one and one Muslim dead, Mohammed executed the entire Banu Qaynuqa clan. The allies of ‘Abd Allah b. Ubayy were banished and all their property was confiscated.63 Another incident occurred when Abu Sufyan wanted revenge riding with two hundred horsemen and the chief of the Jewish Tribe Banu Nadhir, Sallam ibn Mashkam, treating them to a feast while divulging the weaknesses of Madinah’s outer lying regions. On the next day, Abu Sufyan raided Madinah killing a Muslim by the name ’ad ibn ‘Amr, while destroying some houses.64 The ongoing struggle between Mohammed, the Muslims, and Jews is something that can even be seen in the writings of Sayyid Qutb. Many Muslim today have looked at the history of Islam and seen the Jews as obstacles to the development of the Ummah.

The

The Muslims had only a short time to rest because a year later in January 625, the Muslims and Makkans confronted each other again in battle, this time near the hill of Uhud about three miles to the north of Madinah. The Makkans tried to avenge their loss at Badr by mobilizing a force of three thousand men, while Mohammed could only muster seven hundred. The reasons for a quick response by the Makkans was due to the fact that they not only wanted to avenge the loss at Badr, but also by organizing a huge force against the Muslims, they could exact a victory, thus causing some Muslims to question Mohammed’s authority and leadership. Once again, Mohammed knew if he did not meet the Makkans’ challenge, then both his character and mission would be questioned. Mohammed situated fifty archers on a hill overlooking the battle and according to historian Mohammed ibn ‘Umar al-Waqidi, instructed them to,

63 Kennedy, 37.

64 Rizvi, 84.

26 Keep their cavalry from us with your arrow. Let them not come upon us from our rear. Be the tide of battle for us or against us, stay at this post! If ye see us plundering the enemy, seek not to have a share in it; and if ye see us being slain, come not to our aid.65

He knew the seriousness of the battle and instructed his men not to leave their posts, but when it seemed as if victory was near for the Muslims, many men, who were archers, did indeed leave their posts exposing them to a Makkan counterattack, which happened. This attack was led by Khalid ibn al-Walid.66 Later, Khalid adopted Islam and earned the nickname “The Sword of Islam”. Many Muslim historians label him as the greatest general in the history of Islam, Arab or non-Arab. Mohammed was injured during the battle, losing two teeth and being struck on the head by a sword. His injuries led to confusion among the Muslims with some yelling “Mohammed is slain.” This is an important point to make because Mohammed himself fought and was injured in battles.67 If Mohammed fought, should not others? He commanded armies in the field giving instructions and rallying troops. In the end, the Makkans won the battle, but did not follow up their victory on the battlefield by pursuing the enemy. For unknown reasons, the Makkans marched back home, while some say that the Makkans just wanted to teach the Muslims a lesson. The battle though was a psychological blow to the Muslims who were bewildered; they could not understand why they had lost this battle. The Muslims lost seventy men while the Makkans lost only twenty. Mohammed admonished the archers for leaving their posts. Nevertheless, he did not punish any of them. This was due to the Muslims’ need to prepare for the next inevitable battle.

The Battle of the Ditch

After the battle of Uhud, there were more skirmishes with the Muslims fighting against the Jews and Makkans. Below are some verses from the Qur’an that dealt with the Jews and Arabs at the time they fought against Mohammed in the Uhud campaign.

65 Mohammed ibn ‘Umar al-Waqidi, Kitab al-Maghazi, quoted from Lings, 178.

66 Rahman, 14.

67 Armstrong, 186.

27 After the battle of Uhud, there was a rumor that the Makkans were quickly regrouping and ready to launch a counterattack. Mohammed, upon hearing this news, went out to meet the Makkans, who never showed up. He then received the following verses.

Those who respond to the call of Allah and the Messenger even after the wound had afflicted them, those among them who do good and guard (themselves against evil) shall have a great reward. Those to whom the people said: Surely men have gathered against you; therefore, fear them, but this only increased their faith, and they said: Allah is sufficient for us and most excellent Protector is He. So they returned with favor from Allah and (His) grace; no evil touched them, and they followed the pleasure of Allah, and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.68

The significance of these verses shows that Mohammed was expecting more warfare. They can also be used to signify that if Muslims were to suffer setbacks, through faith they would overcome their foes even when outnumbered. Badr and Uhud both showed the plight of the Muslims in their best and worst of times. Badr was a victory against great odds while Uhud could be considered a loss. The Ummah still had other battles to fight and it is the intent of this chapter to set up the precedent for qital or war in the physical sense. When Muslims today justify war, they refer back to Mohammed. The fighting continued after Uhud and had been going on since 624 practically non-stop in the form of banditry and small-scale fighting. After Uhud, the Muslims and Makkans tried to win alliances from the rest of Arabia and it was becoming more and more apparent that the rest of the Arabian Peninsula was going to have to choose which side they were going to join, either Madinah with the Muslims or Makkah. The Muslims and Makkans both won and lost battles, on the battlefield, as were the cases for Badr and Uhud, respectively. Both sides were weary from the previous battles, but were determined to deliver the knockout blow to the other side. Though this did not officially happen until 630 CE, there were more battles to be waged. After Uhud, the Makkans under the Quraish, Sulaym, and tribes joined forces with the Jews in Madinah and the outer lying regions.69 Together they assembled a force of ten thousand men

68 Qur’an 3:172-174.

69 Peters, 192.

28 under the supervision of Abu Sufyan and invaded Madinah, while Mohammed only had a force of three thousand, including some who were fifteen years of age including the son of the future Caliph Umar, ‘Abd Allah. This battle, often called “The Battle of the Ditch or Trench” was given that name because of Mohammed’s prowess to dig a ditch around the city of Madinah. The ditch, which took six days to dig, did not have to be continuous for Madinah was well fortified by rocky terrain. The assault on the city began from the north where the city “was not protected by lava-flows, those choppy seas of almost impenetrable which are so common from Syria south to the Hijaz.”70 The fear of a successful Makkan attempt was so powerful on the minds of the Muslims that they missed four consecutive prayers, which were made up later in the day.71 Verses from the Qur’an allude to the battle.

When they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when the eyes turned dull, and the hearts rose up to the throats, you began to think diverse thoughts about Allah. There, the believers were tried, and they were shaken a tremendous shaking.72

And when a party of them said: O people of Yathrib! There is no place for you to stand, and a party of them asked permission of Mohammed saying: Verily our houses are exposed, and they were not exposed; they only desired to flee away.73

According to Muslim legend, during the course of the battle, a strong wind uprooted the tents of the Quraish and cast terror causing them to flee. This incident is also related in the Qur’an;

O ye who believe! Remember the bounty of Allah unto you when came upon you the hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that ye saw not: and Allah is seeing all what you do.74

70 Kennedy, 39.

71 Lings, 224.

72 Qur’an 33:10-11.

73 Qur’an 33:13.

74 Qur’an 33:9.

29 And God turned back the unbelievers in their rage; they did not achieve any advantage, and Allah sufficed for the believers in fighting, and Allah is Strong, Mighty.75

As the battle continued, it was becoming apparent that both sides were enduring hardships as a lack of food and the weather were taking its toll. Mohammed knew this and sent Uthman to make a treaty with the tribe of Ghatafan offering a third of the date crop of Madinah upon their withdrawal from the field, an offer which was accepted. The reasons for the Makkans inability to take Madinah could have been due to their lack of knowledge of warfare, while others say that the Makkans fell short of supplies, not to mention the weather was not good.76 When it became apparent to the Makkans that the Jewish tribe of the and other factions opposed to Mohammed would not help, the attack upon the city disintegrated. The fact that Madinah could not be taken had a psychological impact on the Makkans who tried time and time again to take the city and failed each time. Madinah’s co-equality with Makkah was established by this stalemate and it showed that the Muslims were a force to be reckoned with.

Mohammed’s consolidation of the Arabian Peninsula

In the hours that followed, events happened that in the mind of this author shaped the Islamic World’s relationship with Jewry. During the battle, it was felt that the Banu Qurayza did not uphold a pact to help the Muslims and eventually Mohammed was forced to confront them about this issue. His aggressions also turned to the Jewish tribe of the Aws. After initially feeling that they could not be trusted, Mohammed appointed an early convert, Sa’d b. Mu’adh, to act as an arbiter to decide their fate. This feeling of mistrust between Jews and Muslims is a theme that is felt even to this day. The decision to appoint Mu’adh was made because he was a former member of the Aws. However, the decision was not beneficial to them as the women and children were sold into slavery, and the men, seven hundred according to some estimates, were executed.77 Some also

75 Qur’an 33:25.

76 Rahman, 15.

30 escaped as will be seen later on. The following verse from the Qur’an outlines the fate of the Banu Qurayza;

And He drove down those of the who backed them from their fortresses, and He cast awe into their hearts: some you killed and you took captive another part (of them). And He made you inherit their land and their dwellings and their properties, and (to) a land which ye have not yet trodden, and God has power over all things.78

After this incident, Mohammed was the undisputed leader of Madinah and could negotiate with the Quraish one on one. Both sides, the Makkans and Muslims, were not able to defeat the other decisively on the battlefield. The Makkans suffered due to caravans being unable to deliver goods outside of Arabia, while Mohammed knew that he could not keep fighting. He eventually needed the help of the Makkans, but he could not compromise his view that there was only one God, Allah, and that he was Allah’s messenger. Mohammed briefly turned his attentions away from fighting the Makkans to trying to establish economic ties with tribes in Arabia that were neutral, including even tribes as far away as Southern Palestine and Syria. If there was a difference between the Muslims and Makkans, Mohammed was not only trying to establish economic ties, but was also trying to win the tribes over to Islam and recognize him as Allah’s Prophet.79 It is worth noting that as Mohammed was making alliances with tribes outside of Makkah, he was not trying to recruit an army to invade it; it was his intention to take it by peaceful means. Peaceful measures should be taken before war is implemented, for war was a last resort. After the battle of the ditch, Mohammed felt strong enough to lead a group of fourteen to sixteen hundred Muslim males to Makkah to make the or lesser pilgrimage in February 628 CE.80 The Umrah could be performed anytime as opposed to

77 Kennedy, 40.

78 Qur’an 33:26-27.

79 Kennedy, 41.

80 There are two pilgrimages according to Islam. The first, Umrah, is voluntary and could be completed anytime. The second, , is one of the five pillars of Islam and can only be completed during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijja. The Islamic Calendar is a lunar one so that the Hajj is performed at different times

31 the Hajj, which has to be performed at a certain time in the Islamic Calendar. According to some, Mohammed “dreamed that with his head shaved he entered the Ka’ba, and its key was in his hand.”81 The fighting of the last six years had exhausted both the Makkans and Muslims, and an armed conflict at this point was unlikely. The Makkans did object, as many of the Muslims were armed. Initially, they did not allow the Muslims to perform their rite, but to oppose them would mean to fight another battle. It was a precarious situation for the Makkans because by giving into the demands of Mohammed, they were acknowledging his power, and also their weakness. At this point, the Pact of Hudaibiya, named after a town ten miles west of Makkah, was drawn up calling for the Muslims to make the pilgrimage and allowing Mohammed to preach and convert the local populous.82 Some say that the location of the town was chosen by Mohammed’s horse, Qaswa’. Two of the greatest military leaders in the history of Islam converted to the faith after this pact, Khalid ibn al-Walid, mentioned earlier and Amr ibn al-As who would later conquer Egypt. The Muslims were not allowed to perform the pilgrimage that year, but were allowed to the next year when the Makkans had to abandon the city for three days. It was agreed the Muslims could not bring any weapons with them except for sheathed swords. This treaty to allow the Muslims access to Makkah was good however for only ten warless years.83 Other terms mentioned in the treaty were that no Muslims in Makkah could migrate to Madinah, but any Muslim wanting to settle in Makkah could do so. Also, Muslims leaving Makkah had to return, but Muslims leaving Madinah for Makkah would not be returned.84 This pact was considered a Muslim victory because of the gains made without resorting to an armed confrontation. The power of this pact also showed Mohammed’s political cunning for when he first tried to make the pilgrimage he had only fourteen to sixteen hundred men, but two years later, he returned with ten thousand.

of the year. Both pilgrimages are performed in Makkah and the Masjid al-Haram, which houses the Ka’aba.

81 Lings, 247.

82 Rubin, 181-182.

83 Mahmud, 18.

84 Rizvi, 105-108.

32 This army of ten thousand also formed a pact, ridwan, which has much significance in history. The word ridwan essentially means “good pleasure”, but in a deeper meaning describes “God’s final and absolute acceptance of a soul and His taking of that soul to Himself and His Eternal Good Pleasure therein.”85 The term bayah or allegiance is something that many Muslims allude to even to this day. For many Muslims, making a bayah means to swear allegiance to a Minhaj or leader. Today, swearing a bayah means pledging loyalty to an , , or another religious authority.86 The Pact of Ridwan was formed when Mohammed felt overcome and called his followers to pledge loyalty to him while sitting under an acacia tree. Verses from the Qur’an comment on this episode of history as it mentions;

Verily We have given thee a clear victory.87

God was well pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance unto thee beneath the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, and sent down the Spirit of Peace upon them, and hath given them the need of a near victory.88

God hath truly fulfilled for His Messenger the vision: God willing, ye shall enter the inviolable in safety, not fearing, with the hair of your heads shaven or cut. But He knoweth what ye know not, and before that hath He given you a near victory.89

This sense of pledging loyalty plays a role in Islamic, if not all religious, history as men and women have pledged loyalty to others, even to the death. On a smaller note, an army of Muslims were defeated by a coalition of tribes, the Bali, Judham, and Lakhm “near the village of Mu’ta on the edge of the cultivated lands east of the Dead Sea.”90 Among the dead on the Muslim side of this battle was Mohammed’s adopted son, Zayd

85 Lings, 95.

86 An Imam or Mullah is someone who leads the congregational prayer service, but it can also designate someone whose full-time profession consists of being a religious leader. Minhaj is the generic term for leader, but in terms of Islam, is meant to describe a religious leader such as an Imam or Mullah.

87 Qur’an 48:1.

88 Qur’an 48:18.

89 Qur’an 48:27.

90 Kennedy, 42.

33 b. Haritha and the brother of Ali, Mohammed’s son-in-law and cousin, Ja’far b. Abi Talib. Khalid b. al-Walid led the Muslims back to Madinah after this defeat. After Hudaibiya, Mohammed turned his attention towards the Jews of and defeated them in their stronghold.91 Some of these Jews came from the tribes of Banu Nadhir and Qaynuqa and were exiled after being accused of being untrustworthy after The Battle of the Ditch. Many from these tribes escaped to Khaybar, a city eighty miles from Madinah and pledged to attack the Muslims.92 Khaybar was a series of fortresses that were connected by walls. The Jews had ten thousand of their own troops, but were expecting four thousand more from the Banu Ghatafan. It is also important to note that not all of the Jews of Khaybar were united as some wanted peace and others war. This played a role in the upcoming battle as some Jews gave secrets to Mohammed in return for their lives and possessions. This was the case when the strongest fort of Khaybar, the Citadel of Zubayr, was taken when someone inside gave secrets away in return for his life.93 Mohammed spent sometime digging a ditch to separate the Jews from the Banu Ghatafan. As the fighting began, for several days nothing decisive was achieved, but on the sixth day a spy was caught and in exchange for his life, he told the Muslims which fortress had weapons and which was the most lightly guarded. After attacking a poorly guarded fortress, the Muslims were able to take it and obtain siege engines, thus making their conquest of Khaybar easier. One fort after another was taken. After attacking with just fourteen hundred troops, Mohammed was able to subdue them. Mohammed then allowed some to keep their property and practice their religion as long as they paid “the Muslims half the produce of their lands.”94 One person, Kinanah, was put death for lying to Mohammed about having no valuable possessions, while his family were made captive. The siege of Khaybar was important as it isolated the Quraish from the Jews and now with momentum on his side, Mohammed had the opportunity to concentrate on the Quraish.

91 S.F. Mahmud, A Short History of Islam (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1988), 17.

92 Dashti, 183-184.

93 Lings, 265-266.

94 Rizvi, 114-118.

34 The Treaty of Hudaibiya and the Pact of Ridwan were in jeopardy as a tribe under the protection of Mohammed was attacked by the Quraish. Mohammed then took an army of ten thousand to Makkah causing the Makkans put their arms down. One of those who laid down their arms and even accepted Islam was its one time archenemy Abu Sufyan and his son Muawiyah, who became a secretary of Mohammed. The city of Makkah now lay at Mohammed’s feet and though he could have executed those that opposed and fought him, he allowed them to live. However, there are some accounts that some Makkans were put to death after some incidents. According to Hugh Kennedy, “There were a small number of executions, not of leaders of the Quraish but of men who had apostatized from Islam or singers who had mocked Mohammed.”95 Eventually Mohammed destroyed the three hundred and sixty idols inside the Ka’aba and then prayed at the sanctuary. Mohammed also returned the keys of the Ka’aba to its hereditary keepers. After the conquest of Makkah, there were only a few minor skirmishes and one battle, notably at Hunayn when an army was amassed at Taif. This army numbered twenty thousand and was made up of tribes, including the and Thaqif.96 The battle fought on the 6th of Shawwal caused many Muslims to lose their lives, but in the end the opposing army put down their arms and surrendered the city of Hunayn without much bloodshed. What makes this battle significant is that there are verses in the Qur’an directly relating to the .

God hath helped you on many fields, and on the day of Hunayn, when ye exulted in your numbers and they availed you naught, and the earth for all its breadth was straitened for you, and ye turned back in flight. Then God sent down His Spirit of Peace upon His Messenger and upon the faithful, and sent down hosts they saw not, and punished those who disbelieved. Such is the wage of the disbelievers; and afterwards God relenteth unto whom He will, for God is Forgiving, Merciful.97

In conclusion, this dissertation will further examine verses in the Qur’an, as well as sayings of Mohammed, that both did and did not appear in this chapter that will justify

95 Kennedy, 43.

96 Kennedy, 43.

97 Qur’an 9:25-27.

35 the use of armed force by later generations of Muslims. One year after the Battle of Hunayn, the city of Taif itself capitulated.98 These were the last two significant battles to take place during the lifetime of Mohammed and not-withstanding an expedition to Tabuk, the Arabian Peninsula was literally under the yoke of the Qur’an. Throughout the course of the fighting that Mohammed engaged in, he often gave much of the spoils away to charity as he did after Hunayn, giving much of that booty to the Makkans and Quraish. According to Allama Syed Saeed Akhter Rizvi, “The spoils of war, which consisted of twenty four thousand camels, forty thousand goats, and a considerable quantity of silver, were distributed among the army.”99 Many of the Ansar believed that Mohammed, after conquering Makkah, would forget about his helpers from Madinah, and accused him of not being fair in that he gave much of the spoils of Hunayn to the Makkans and little to them. However, Mohammed reassured them that he did not forget them and that he would always consider Madinah his true home. Not one of Mohammed’s military campaigns was strictly for booty or for terrorizing the opposition, but to defend the faith of Islam. At the same time, one can also come to the conclusion that he also went on the offensive to defend his faith, initiating the much used saying, “the best defense is a good offense.” If there were one last foray during Mohammed’s life, it was to the city of Tabuk, situated between Madinah and Damascus in October of 630 CE. Having heard that a large army of Byzantines and Arab tribes, including the Amela, Ghassan, Hudham, and Lakhm, had amassed north in Syria, Mohammed put together an army of his own totaling thirty thousand with ten thousand horses. The news of this “imminent attack” was false and after staying twenty days in Tabuk, the Muslim army returned to Madinah.100 It was after this expedition and the death of Mohammed that the Arabian Peninsula was secured for Islam, but also that the Muslim Ummah was ready to go on the offensive to both defend and expand their faith. The purpose of this chapter was to demonstrate that war and the use of armed force was used by Mohammed himself to defend his community of believers and his religion. Osama bin Laden has been quoted as saying “the empire of Islam and the modern borders

98 Mahmud, 19.

99 Rizvi, 128.

100 Lings, 319.

36 of were forged only through the physical jihad.”101 In the following chapter, detail will be given to the terms harb, jihad, and qital. When Mohammed fought against others in the battlefield, he was in a state of war, as well as, struggling in a physical fight. It is to chapter two that this dissertation turns in examining the use of these terms and their origins, the Qur’an and Ahadith.

101 Sayed Khatab, The Power of Sovereignty (London: Routledge, 2006), 2.

37 CHAPTER TWO: ARMED FORCE IN THE QURAN AND AHADITH

And fight those who have not faith in God nor in the Hereafter, and (who) forbid not what God and His Prophet have forbidden, and (who) are not committed to the religion of truth, of those who have been brought the book, until they pay tribute by hand, and they are the low.102

For many people who adhere to a religion, organized in particular, they try to refer to its origins to find reasons for justifying their beliefs and actions. Whether it is Judaism and the Torah, Christianity and the Bible (Old and/or New Testaments), or The Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormons, and the Book of Mormon, most organized religions contain written documentation of what the belief system holds, as well as, rites and rituals. The same rules apply to Muslims and their faith, Islam. It is the intention of chapter two to demonstrate that Islam’s holy writings, the Qur’an and the Ahadith are contributing to the use of armed conflict, which has helped to plague the faith during the life of Mohammed and after his death. The following six chapters deal with Muslims and Islamist groups that borrow from these two written sources to legitimize their resorting to the use of armed force. Before this dissertation delves into the lives of Muslims after the death of Mohammed, this chapter examines the use of armed force in the Qur’an and Sunnah during his life.103 The goals of this chapter are to analyze Mohammed’s reasons for fighting, as well as, what exactly did he say concerning war. Since Muslims believe that the verses from the Qur’an were revealed at certain times to meet certain needs, it is important to keep in mind that Mohammed received revelations regarding harb, jihad, and qital or war, striving, and fighting respectively. Chapter two will not only focus on the use of armed force and war in the Qur’an, but also the Ahadith (plural of ) or sayings of the Prophet. Although Ahadith were not divinely revealed by God according to Muslims, they are phrases that Mohammed

102 Qur’an 9:29. Translation of the Qur’an provided by Abdullah Yusuf Ali unless otherwise noted.

103 The Arabic term Sunnah connotates the practices of the Prophet. They are voluntary according to many Muslims. An example of this is the phrase, “It is Sunnah to wear a beard.” It is not mandatory for a Muslim male to wear a beard, but voluntary and many Muslims would believe that the Muslims who does wear a beard would gain rewards for doing so.

38 uttered during his lifetime to his companions and were either memorized, written down, or both. Ahadith are considered the written works that go into detail of what the Qur’an states only briefly. For example, the Qur’an may extol believers to pray five times a day, but it does not elaborate how to; this is where Ahadith come into play. The Ahadith details how Muslims should perform ablutions before praying, as well as, how to perform them. In the Ahadith, there are rules on fighting and how war should be conducted. It is not the intention of chapter two to delineate what exactly the Qur’an and Ahadith have to say about fighting, striving, and war, but the justification for resorting to such measures by Mohammed and others after his death. This chapter, therefore, focuses on the sources, the Qur’an and Ahadith in particular, for the use of armed force and war in Islam. It is only fitting that the Qur’an be examined first since for Muslims, it supercedes the Ahadith.

The Qur’an

The Qur’an is being dealt with first because according to Muslims, it contains the actual words of God to Mohammed via the Archangel Gabriel, whereas the Ahadith are Mohammed’s words. It is also important to keep in mind that Mohammed never spoke from his own accord. Everything he said or did from the year 610 was divinely sanctioned according to Muslims. The Qur’an contains for Muslims the rules and regulations of how a Muslim should live his/her life. There are passages that deal with rites of passages such as birth, marriage, and death, not to mention other facets such as inheritance and God’s judgment of humans in the akhira or hereafter. Mohammed received his first revelation in the year 610 CE and his last in 632 CE, covering the last twenty three years of his life. According to Muslims, as he received these revelations straight from God, he recited them to his followers who memorized them, wrote them down on bone or parchment, or both. The Qur’an contains one hundred and fourteen chapters (surahs), divided into thirty parts, and containing more than six thousand verses. It is generally, though not entirely, written from longest to shortest chapter and many of its verses are recited everyday as many Muslims pray five times a day. The shortest chapters contain three verses, chapters 103 (Al-‘Asr or Time through the Ages), 108 (Al-

39 Kauthar or Abundance), and 110 (An- or Help), while the longest is chapter 2 (Al- Baqarah or The Heifer) which contains two hundred and eighty six verses.104 Many Muslims memorize the entire Qur’an early in their lives including Sayyid Qutb himself by the age of ten. In choosing a translation of the Qur’an, Yusuf Ali’s translation is still the most relevant English translation because of its consistent use among scholars of Islam, both Muslim and non-Muslim. His 1994 edition was published in Madinah, Saudi Arabia itself and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd complex for the printing of the Holy Qur’an. The fact that Islam’s second holiest city after Makkah is the site for its printing does show a very high regard for Ali’s translation. In the index of Ali’s translation, there is an array of topics ranging from to Zodiacal Signs, including fighting, desertion in fight, jihad, prisoners of war, retaliation disapproved, striving, and war against God. There are also verses relating to certain battles such as Badr, Uhud, The Battle of the Ditch, the siege of Madinah, and the Tabuk expedition. There is even mention in the Qur’an of a Byzantine army being defeated in Palestine and Syria by only to reconquer it later (the Byzantines lost Palestine, including and Syria in 614-615 and retook it seven years later in 622). Below is a list of the entries under each of the above-mentioned topics as written in the index of Ali’s translation and how many verses in the Qur’an refer to each respective topic.

Fighting: thirty-four verses referring to fighting. Desertion in fight: three verses referring to desertion in fight Jihad: one verse referring to Jihad Prisoners of War: five verses referring to prisoners of war Retaliation disapproved: one verse referring to retaliation disapproved Striving: six verses referring to striving War against God: two verses referring to war against God Badr: twenty three verses referring to Badr Uhud: forty eight verses referring to Uhud The Battle of the Ditch: four verses referring to The Battle of the Ditch The Siege of Madinah: nineteen verses referring to The Siege of Madinah The Tabuk expedition: forty two verses referring to the Tabuk expedition

104 Chapter two is often referred to as “The Cow,” however, Abdullah Yusuf Ali has translated “Baqarah” as “Heifer.”

40 Rome loss and recapture of Palestine and Syria: four verses referring to Rome’s loss and recapture of Palestine and Syria105

The Qur’an uses three words where the issue of armed force occurs, harb, jihad, and qital. The term harb derives the Arabic root H-R-B and means war.106 Another definition of the root H-R-B given is sanctuary or chamber. Harb is mentioned eleven times with six referring to war and five denoting a sanctuary. An example of harb in the Qur’an pertaining to war is “If ye gain the mastery over them in war, disperse, with them, those who follow them, that they may remember.”107 The root for jihad is J-H-D. Hanna E. Kassis lists such definitions for the root J-H-D as “striving, endeavoring to swear an oath to God, strive, and fighting for the faith.”108 It is made reference to thirty-nine times with thirty-three referring to “struggling” and six to “swearing by God the most earnest oaths.” An example of jihad delineating striving in the Qur’an is, “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.”109 Lastly, the root for qital is Q-T-L meaning “to kill, slay, slaughter, or to perish.” It is mentioned one hundred and fifty-two times with all referring to killing, slaying, slaughtering, and perishing.110 An example of qital alluding to these verbs in the Qur’an is, “And fight them on until there is no more persecution and the religion becomes Allah’s. But if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression.”111 References to terms such as harb, jihad, and qital, as well as, how war should be conducted according to Islamic war will be discussed throughout this chapter. It is not the intention of this chapter to list every verse in the Qur’an pertaining to armed

105 Ali, 2037-2080.

106 Hanna E. Kassis, A Concordance of the Qur’an (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 542- 543. Kannis’ contribution to both the roots of terms in the Qur’an, as well as, how often they mentioned was invaluable. Arabic, being a Semitic language, often contains words based on a three-syllable format.

107 Qur’an 8:57.

108 Kassis, 587-588.

109 Qur’an 2:218.

110 Kassis, 928-933.

111 Qur’an 2:193.

41 force, but only certain verses that stand out, especially where others after Mohammed’s death use them. As mentioned in the previous chapter, many Muslims believe jihad is the , but Muslims disagree on how jihad is defined and how it should be conducted. The word and concept of jihad will be examined throughout this entire dissertation since it has been used much more than harb or qital in the media. When it comes to war, the Qur’an does not only relegate it to the battlefield. The term harb or war is even used when it comes to the issue of usury. The Qur’an states: “If ye do it not, Take notice of war from Allah and His Messenger: But if ye repent Ye shall have Your capital sums: Deal not unjustly, and ye shall not Be dealt with unjustly.”112 Is the term war here to be taken literally or figuratively? Abdullah Yusuf Ali stated his opinion in his or explanation of this verse, “This is not war for opinions, but an ultimatum of war for the liberation of debtors unjustly dealt with and oppressed.”113 The issue of or interest is the only case in the Qur’an that is tantamount to waging war against Allah and that is because many Muslims believe that charging interest is oppression in and of itself. The punishment for waging war against Allah is also delineated;

The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land: that is their disgrace in this world, and a heavy punishment is theirs in the hereafter; except for those who repent before they fall into your Power: in that case, know that Allah is Oft- forgiving, most Merciful.114

Ali stated this was the punishment proscribed for those who committed crimes against the state. However, if they repented before they received their punishment, they were exonerated.115 Hence, using the concepts of jihad and harb against people who charged interest was seen as fighting oppressors. Those who were charged interest were seen as being exploited and being indebted to a system that caused them to remain poor.

112 Qur’an 2:279.

113 Ali, 128.

114 Qur’an 5:33-34.

115 Ali, 293-294.

42 The focus of this chapter will now move on to several examples of the use of harb, jihad, and qital in the Qur’an. When the laws and regulations in Islam were being formulated and codified in the seventh century, Mohammed talked about the nature of jihad and its two types, the inner and outer also known as the greater or lesser jihads. The inner jihad also known as al-jihad al-akbar (the greater struggle) is the fight that one has within himself. It is considered the greater struggle because one is not always in a constant state of war with others, but being that humans tend to live anywhere between fifty to eighty years, they are at risk of falling into temptation and sin, while angering God. The struggle with one’s nuffs or inner self is seen as the defining of an individual’s character because they must overcome their own desires, temptations, and weaknesses. The struggle against or temptation is an ongoing battle that one has to face everyday and is within themselves. The lesser jihad also known as al-jihad al-saghir (the lesser struggle) is the conflict one has with other people such as war on the battlefield.116 While one in the western world can easily conceive of war as a bigger struggle than fighting oneself, Muslims are inclined to believe that the inner struggle within oneself is the larger or greater struggle. If one considers the use of a greater and lesser struggle between Muslims and non- Muslims, there is a contradiction. One sees a struggle within oneself as a greater battle than fighting an enemy that carries a gun or a knife, while the other is certainly convinced that the one with a bomb is more dangerous than his own human nature. Attention will now turn to certain verses in the Qur’an relating to topics that were listed above dealing with harb, jihad, and qital, and what their social contexts were in particular. It is important to remember that when the verses referring to harb, jihad, qital, as well as the entire Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet, they were revealed at certain times for certain needs.117 In other words, there were historical and social

116 Farish A. Noor, Terrorizing the Truth (Penang: Just World Trust, 1997), 93.

117 Those who have written on the subject of Islam are various. They include ’ (c.710-796) al-Muwatta or The Smoothed Path. Another is Abu al-Walid Mohammed Ibn Mohammed Ibn Rushd (1126-1198), known in the West as Averroes. His major contribution to the study of harb, jihad, and qital was the Bidayat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihayat al-Muqtasid or The beginning for him who interprets the sources independently and the end for him who wishes to limit himself. Al-Tabari’s (838-923) Kitab Al-Jihad or The Book of Jihad is also worth reading. (1332-1406) mentions Jihad in his Introduction to History or al-Muqqddima. Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) wrote about Jihad in his Kitab al-Wagiz fi madhab al-imam al-Safi’i. These are only a few books written on the subject of war in Islam.

43 contexts that were connected to the verses revealed.118 It is the intention of this dissertation to explain that the armed struggles committed by Muslims throughout history have been done without examining why Mohammed resorted to fighting. The verse that began this particular chapter was revealed in Madinah when the odds for fighting the Quraish were better than they were in Makkah. In Makkah, the Ummah of community of Muslims were surrounded by people who were hostile to Mohammed and his message. After his Hijra to Madinah in 622, Mohammed found more support for his message and people who were willing to fight and die for Islam. Verse 9:29 was a command to Muslims to charge a poll tax or to non-Muslims in lieu of paying the or alms that Muslims had to pay, as well as, performing military service under an Islamic state. The word jizya literally means compensation and did not have a fixed amount.119 According to Imam Shafi’i, the jizya was “one dinar per year,” while according to , “the tax varied in amount, and there were exemptions for the poor, for females, children, slaves, monks, and hermits.”120 The jizya was for all non- Muslims including those considered “People of the Book,” Jews and . There could be no impediment to rules there stated under the Shari’ah, if so, then the rights of those protesting could be revoked. Verse 9:29 does not state that Muslims are to fight all non-Muslims for all times, but only those that may hinder others from practicing their respective faiths. One can even interpret that to “fight those who have not faith in God, nor in the Hereafter, and (who) forbid not what God and His Prophet have forbidden, and (who) are committed to the religion of truth” can even be applied to Muslim rulers as Sayyid Qutb later wrote. Though this dissertation is not about religion and war per se, a subject that has been written on for centuries, attention must be given to what Islam teaches about the use of war. Many of the verses stated in the previous chapter and subsequent chapters have been alluded to by many Muslims throughout the centuries. Some have seen war as a social necessity. Afif A. Tabbarah believes “Islam recognized war as a means to solve

118 Noor, 150.

119 Morteza Mutahhari, Jihad (Tehran: Islamic Republic of Iran, 1980), 9. Mutahhari’s book looks at the early sources for war in Islam. It is a comprehensive look that incorporates all four schools of thought.

120 Ali, 507.

44 some social problems at a time when tyranny was the sole obstacle in the face of the call for justice.”121 He cited the often-used Qur’anic verse, “If it were not for God’s support of some people against others, there would be chaos on earth.”122 Tabbarah takes the standpoint that war is a necessity when it comes to overcoming oppressive regimes, a view that Qutb later expounded on in his writings. The need to fight individuals and governments that are oppressive is one definition of the lesser jihad as it is directed at entities other than oneself. The topics of Islam and war are complicated, but the debate is even more cumbersome when the questions of whether the ruling government is not using Shari’ah comes into picture. Are the rules for war the same for Muslims when they are living in an Islamic state as opposed to living in a secular one? Is a Muslim who says, “there is no compulsion in religion”, referring to moments when there is an Islamic state or at any time? Although these questions are hard to determine, ultimately they are up for interpretation. In order to help answer, or get a better grasp of terms such as harb, jihad, and qital, various verses and interpretations from the Qur’an and Ahadith that pertain to the use of armed force and war will be examined. By looking at Mohammed’s life, there is little mistaking that Islam and Qur’an allow for fighting. Since Mohammed himself fought, it will be demonstrated that generations of Muslims to this very day have followed his example, resorting to jihad al-qital (struggling through fighting) in order to achieve their goals. For most Muslims, Islam seeks to find a peaceful settlement before war is brought into the picture. The Qur’an states that war is not a tool to be used just because others have a different religion. The following verse sheds some light on the matter: “God does not enjoin you from befriending those who do not fight you because of religion, and do not evict you from your homes. You may befriend them and be equitable towards them. God loves the equitable.”123 In another verse, it is stated, “Therefore, if they leave you alone, refrain from fighting you, and offer you peace, then God gives you no excuse to

121 Afif A. Tabbarah, The Spirit of Islam: Doctrine & Teachings, http://www.submission.org/war.html. Tabbarah’s article explains the justification for war under Islamic law. It is a detailed article with verses from the Qur’an used often.

122 Qur’an 2:251. Translation provided by Tabbarah.

123 Qur’an 60:8.

45 fight them.”124 Lastly, “If they resort to peace, so shall you, and put your trust in God. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.”125 There is a sense of fighting only out of self-defense and also that there is an obligation to befriend those who do not fight you. There is a clear call for making peace with people and not be at war. If this is Islam’s call for peace first and foremost, then it is only correct to write that Islam also gives permission to fight for other reasons. Islam also gives permission to fight in self-defense as mentioned in the Qur’an. When one looks at moments in the Prophet’s life, they see a man who did not fight back immediately until his life was in complete danger. He did not lash out at people just because they made fun of him or threw things at him, but when there was an attempt on his life, and he was forced to flee Makkah, permission was given to fight and defend his life and religion. There are many verses in the Qur’an that deal with fighting in self- defense. “Permission is granted to those who are being persecuted, since injustice has fallen them, and God is certainly able to support them.”126 Another is,

They were evicted from their homes unjustly, for no reason other than saying, “Our Lord is God.” If it were not for God’s supporting of some people against others, monasteries, churches, , and masjids – where the name of God is commemorated frequently – would have been destroyed. Absolutely, God supports those who support Him. God is Powerful, Almighty.127

Lastly, “You may fight in the cause of God against those who attack you, but do not aggress. God does not love the aggressors.”128 From the three verses above, not only is the right to fight given by God himself, but also there is even an extolling to do so against an oppressive regime.129 The last verse written is particularly interesting as the

124 Qur’an 4:90.

125 Qur’an 8:61.

126 Qur’an 22:39.

127 Qur’an 22:40.

128 Qur’an 2:190.

129 Ali, 508.

46 Qur’an not only calls on Muslims to fight when an enemy has driven them from their homes, but also when an enemy has attacked. In what may be the most controversial clause according to Tabbarah is fighting fi- si-bi-Allah or in the way of God. For Tabbarah, “the Islamic nation is commanded to establish justice on earth” and to fight oppression wherever it may be.130 Verses in the Qur’an back this approach. “You shall fight in the cause of God, and know that God is Hearer, Knower.”131 Another reference is, “You shall strive for the cause of God as you should strive for His cause.”132 Oppression is the impetus behind fighting to establish justice. Sayyid Qutb expounded on the theory of establishing hakimiyyah or God’s sovereignty through fighting in his book Milestones since that was done when oppression was abolished. There are a number of verses that mention fighting and that God does not help those that do not help themselves. The Arabic word for injustice and oppression is zulm and according to Morteza Mutahhari, “In all these conditions jihad is an urgent necessity; and such a jihad is in defense, in resistance against zulm, against injustice and oppression, against transgression.”133 Many of the verses relating to war were revealed in Madinah. This is because the Muslim community was not strong enough to fight the Quraish in Makkah, and had to wait until the number of Muslim converts grew. When Mohammed reached Madinah in 622 CE, verses regarding warfare started to be revealed, including;

Those who readily fight in the cause of God are those who forsake this world in favor of the Hereafter. Whoever fights in the cause of God, then gets killed, or attains victory, we will surely grant him a great recompense. Why should you not fight in the cause of God when weak men, women, and children are imploring: “Our Lord, deliver us from this community whose people are oppressive, and be You our Lord and Master.134

130 Tabbarah, p.n.a.

131 Qur’an 2:244.

132 Qur’an 22:78.

133 Mutahhari, 29.

134 Qur’an 4:74-75.

47 If we relate this and other verses in the Qur’an to the life of Mohammed, we see that the Prophet was fighting in the cause of God against oppressive people, for example Makkah. This theme of fighting oppressive governments and at the same time establishing justice, namely Islam, in the land goes hand and hand with views that others after the Prophet use to justify their actions, including Qutb who said in his book Milestones that peaceful measures should be taken first, and if all else fails, war was prescribed.135 Another verse that falls under fighting in the cause of God is; “Those who believe are fighting for the cause of God, while those who disbelieve are fighting for the cause of tyranny. Therefore, you shall fight the ’s allies; the devil’s power is nil.”136 It seems that by going on the offensive, Muslims were defending the rights of the oppressed, allowing them to practice their faith, and eradicating tyranny all at the same time. Not only does Islam permit war, it also has rules for it as well.

The Rules of War

The rules of war have been laid down by the Prophet and are often quoted by Muslims. As was written above, verse 2:190 of the Qur’an states that there should not be retaliation greater than what was imposed on the individual or army. “You may fight in the cause of God against those who attack you, but do not aggress. God does not love the aggressors.” The Qur’an does not go into detail on the rules or war. These are mentioned in the Sunnah or practice of Mohammed. It is important to remember that the Qur’an does not go into detail on certain things such as war or prayer. For example, the Qur’an mentions prayer, but it is the Ahadith that tell Muslims how to pray. The same thing goes for war. The Qur’an mentions war and a few things, but it is the Ahadith that go into detail on the subject. Some of the rules of war mentioned in the Ahadith are that the enemy’s children, women, sick, old, and clergy are not to be harmed. This differs from the onslaught that one saw witnessed in World War II. It is worth noting that Muslims did not always follow these rules of war as the history of India for example has shown or current examples of public bombings by al-Qaeda where innocent people are

135 Sayyid Qutb, Milestones (Syria: Dar Al-Ilm), 53.

136 Qur’an 4:76.

48 indiscriminately killed. Muslims such as Mahmud of Ghazni in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries and Tamerlane in 1398 brought great devastation to the inhabitants of India and elsewhere, including Muslims in the case of Tamerlane. Other Islamic rules of war concern the killing of the wounded or the use of torture. The Qur’an mentions the fair treatment of war captives; “They donate their favorite food to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. We feed you for the sake of God; we expect no reward from you, nor thanks.”137 Rules, not mentioned above, the forbid the poisoning of wells, destruction of tress or other natural objects such as the diversion of rivers, and the desecration of the dead, in other words dead bodies are not to be mutilated.138 Islam also has a law of protection that allows people who previously fought Muslims to reside peacefully inside Muslim land if they promise not to fight any longer. This is stated in the Quran; “If one of the idol worshippers sought safe passage with you, you shall grant him safe passage, so that he can hear the word of God, then send him back to his place of security. That is because they are people who do not know.”139 There is a two-fold reason why Islam might give this person protection. Not only is that person seeking protection from Muslims, but also from the party he previously left if they show hostility toward them. The Qur’an also gives a stipulation on dealing with those that violate the terms of peace under Muslim protection. “If they violate their oaths after pledging to keep their covenants, and attack your religion, you may fight the leaders of paganism – you are no longer bound by your covenant with them – that they may refrain.”140 The focus of the chapter will turn to the Ahadith, which elaborate on what the Qur’an states. Although the Ahadith rank below the Qur’an as entailing holy doctrine, they still are important, and for that reason, they are worth looking at. The Ahadith are also being used to justify the use of armed violence.

137 Qur’an 76:8-9.

138 Tabbarah, p.n.

139 Qur’an 9:6.

140 Qur’an 8:72.

49 The Ahadith

The Qur’an is not the only source of religious learning for Muslims. The Sunnah or practices of the Prophet are also recorded in Ahadith (plural for Hadith), or traditions of Mohammed. According to some Muslims, the Sunnah of the Prophet must be followed systematically because he was the example of how a Muslim should live his life. Likewise, these Muslims would also say that his words should be followed to the letter because they explain the Qur’an. Where the Qur’an may tell someone to pray, pay alms, fast, and make the hajj, it does not explain how. This is where the Ahadith come into play. The Ahadith will also help with such subjects as harb, jihad, and qital. Like the Qur’an, the Ahadith can be interpreted differently and there are a wide range of sayings of the Prophet concerning subjects such as war. There is a set of Ahadith that have been revealed by God to the Prophet according to Muslims and these are categorized as Hadith Qudsi or “sacred actions, sanctions, traditions, or words” of the Prophet.141 Where most Ahadith can be traced to the prophet through a sanad or chain of commentators, Hadith Qudsi were revealed by God, according to Muslims, directly to Mohammed, but the Prophet put those revelations in his own words. Thus, the Hadith Qudsi are one-step below the Qur’an in terms of authority.142 These Ahadith are definitely worth examining since they were divinely revealed according to Muslims. The portion of this chapter is to examine the Ahadith in order to compare references made to them by Sayyid Qutb and others later in the dissertation. If there is justification for the use of armed force in the Ahadith and the Sunnah, there are certain verses in the Qur’an that allude to it; Verses include; “We sent not an Apostle, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the Will of God.”143 “He who obeys the

141 Forty Hadith Qudsi, translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies (Cambridge: The Holy Qur’an Publishing House, 1997), 7. Ibrahim and Davies’ translation of the Forty Hadith Qudsi are thorough. They are also the standard translation as their version often appears during searches for Hadith Qudsi. Another reason why their translation was chosen was since it is recent. Since Mohammed was the one uttering the sayings found in Forty Hadith Qudsi and Forty Hadith, his name will not appear in the footnote.

142 Forty Hadith Qudsi, 9.

143 Qur’an 4:64.

50 Apostle, obeys God.”144 “O mankind! The Apostle hath come to you in truth from God: believe in him: it is best for you.”145 “O ye who believe! Obey God, and obey the Apostle, and make not vain your deeds!”146 “In that We have sent among you an Apostle of your own, rehearsing to you Our Signs, and sanctifying you, and instructing you in Scripture and Wisdom and in new Knowledge.”147 “Now hath come to you an Apostle from amongst yourselves: it grieves him that ye should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to the believers is he most kind and merciful.”148 “Ye have indeed in the Apostle of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and in the Final Day, and who engages much in the praise of Allah.”149 “And thou (Mohammed) (standest) on an exalted standard of character.”150 There are other verses in the Qur’an that allude to the Prophet’s mission and how his ummah was commanded to follow his teaching, but there is no need to list them as the previous eight verses should suffice. The next six chapters will show that certain Muslim individuals and groups are referring to Mohammed’s practices and sayings in order to achieve their goals. It is to the terms harb, jihad, and qital, in the Ahadith that this chapter now turns to. Ultimately, the interpretations of the Qur’an and Ahadith are fueling the actions of terrorists. Ahadith, are sayings of Mohammed that deal with many aspects of life ranging from praying to giving alms to the poor. One Hadith found amongst those revealed to Mohammed is the following;

On the authority of the son of Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: I have been ordered to fight against people until they testify that there is no God but Allah and that Mohammed is the Messenger of Allah and until they perform the prayers and pay the Zakat, and if they do so they will have gained protection from me for

144 Qur’an 4:80.

145 Qur’an 4:170.

146 Qur’an 47:33.

147 Qur’an 2:251.

148 Qur’an 9:128.

149 Qur’an 33:21.

150 Qur’an 48:4.

51 their lives and property, unless [they do acts that are punishable] in accordance with Islam, and their reckoning will be with Allah the Almighty.151

The above Hadith was related by both al-Bukhari and Muslim respectively, two of Islam’s most trusted relaters of Ahadith, if not the most trusted relaters of Ahadith.152 How is one supposed to understand this Hadith? The word qital is used and there is much ambiguity as one could see as to the phrase, “I have been ordered to fight against people.” Though Muslims tend to differ on how to interpret Ahadith, as well as their importance, some are reconciled that they go hand in hand with the Qur’an. Another Hadith states;

On the authority of ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: The blood of a Muslim may not be legally spilt other than in one of three [instances]: the married person who commits adultery; a life for a life; and one who forsakes his religion and abandons the community.153

This Hadith was also related by both Imams al-Bukhari and Muslim respectively. The last instance does seem to be the most interesting as apostasy seems to be condemned here and the violence that has been perpetrated by Muslims against other Muslims can be seen as an interpretation that one side has abandoned the ummah. In the last Hadith of the Forty Hadith where a reference to harb, jihad, and qital is made, it states:

On the authority of Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from -fire. He said: You have asked me about a major matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah Almighty makes it easy. You should worship Allah associating nothing with Him; you should perform the prayers; you should

151 Forty Hadith, Translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies (Cambridge: The Holy Qur’an Publishing House, 1997), 46.

152 Imams al-Bukhari (d.870) and Muslim (d. ninth century) were men who lived in the Middle East and Central Asia during the ninth century. They are considered Islam’s top two transmitters of the sayings of Mohammed. They allegedly walked hundreds of miles and interviewed hundreds of people who were related to Mohammed.

153 Forty Hadith, 58.

52 pay the Zakat; you should fast in Ramadan; and you should make the pilgrimage to the House. Then he said: Shall I not show you the gates of goodness? Fasting [which] is a shield; charity [which] extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths of night. Then he recited: “Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of that We have bestowed on them. No soul knoweth what is kept hid for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do.” Then he said: Shall I not tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar, and its topmost part? I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah. He said: The peak of the matter is Islam; the pillar is prayer; and its topmost part is Jihad. Then he said: Shall I not tell you of the controlling of all that? I said: Yes, O Messenger of Allah, and he took hold of his tongue and said: Restrain this. I said: O Prophet of Allah, will what we say be held against us? He said: May your mother be bereaved of you, Mu’adh! Is there anything that topples people on their faces-or he said on their noses-into Hell-fire other than the harvests of their tongues?”154

This particular Hadith was related by at-Tirmidhi. The fact that Jihad is related as the topmost part of Islam is worthy to note even though it seems that Jihad in terms of struggling here refers to withholding negative speech towards someone, for example, in the case of backbiting which is making negative comments behind someone’s back, but for others it can mean jihad in terms of a physical struggle against oppressors. In Norlain Dindang Mababaya’s Great Words of Wisdom, Ahadith are listed alphabetically ranging from subjects on ablution to Zakat. In the text, she does have a subheading titled “Jihad” and she has three examples, which are listed below.

He who fights in order that the word of God be supreme fights for God’s cause. (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, Nasai). The most excellent of believers is he who strives hard in the way of Allah with his person and his property. (Bukhari). It is the best kind of jihad to confess the word of justice before an oppressive king.155 (Tirmidhi).

The two top Ahadith were narrated by Bukhari, while Muslim narrates the second, and Tirmidhi the last. As has been mentioned before, the idea of the oppressive ruler is delineated regularly in Islamic history, with the need to strive and struggle against him first through words, but also if necessary, through action. Although for now, just Ahadith

154 Forty Hadith, 98-100.

155 Dindang Norlain Mababaya, Great Words of Wisdom: Guides to Successful Life (Marawi City: Wisdom Enrichment Foundation, 1988), 39. Those whose names are in parentheses are responsible for the transmission of the Hadith or saying of Mohammed.

53 are being listed, throughout the remainder of this dissertation, focus will return to verses from the Qur’an. In a similar Hadith, one on the subject of being a tyrant states; The worst of rulers is he who is a tyrant.156 The best form of jihad is to speak out the truth before a tyrannical dictator.157 A pattern of identifying who are the oppressed and oppressors is being articulated, as well as, what should be done by the oppressed. It is a theme that is followed by Qutb and others throughout the history of Islam.158 One can see the Prophet and explain Islam as liberating the Arabian Peninsula from oppressive rule.159 In Norlain Dindang Mababaya’s second book, Teachings of the World’s Great Prophet: Comprehensive Guidance to Success gives more Ahadith on jihad, which are worth looking at.

If anybody’s feet get dust laden in jihad, the fire of hell will not touch him. (Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Daud, Tirmidhi, and Nasai). March in the name of God, and fight with him who believes not in God; and march forth and defraud not, nor betray, nor mutilate, nor kill children or old men. (Muslim, Abu Daud, and Tirmidhi). Strengthen your forces for fighting with infidels. Remember! In archery lies strength. (Muslim). This religion will last forever and a party of Muslims will always be fighting in the cause of God till Doomsday. (Muslim). The pilgrimage of my people is (also) a jihad in the way of God. (Abu Daud). One day’s sentinel duty in jihad in the cause of God is better than a thousand days worship. (Tirmidhi).160

156 Imam Muslim, quoted from Mababaya, Great Words of Wisdom: Guides to Successful Life, 98.

157 Ahmad Nasai, quoted from Mababaya, Great Words of Wisdom: Guides to Successful Life, 80.

158 Sayyid Qutb, Islam: The Religion of the Future (: Al Faisal Press, 1992), 12.

159 In the Ahadith, there are subjects that are related to harb, jihad, and qital, such as martyrdom and prisoners of war, which are being left out due to the scope of this work only dealing with fighting, striving, and war. There are Ahadith that state that actions are better than words or that martyrs are not forgotten, forgiven of all of their sins, and permitted entrance into paradise without being judged. Martyrdom and prisoners of war, as well as, other subjects relating to harb, jihad, and qital will not be the focus of this dissertation, even though they play a crucial part in fighting, striving, and war.

160 The following transmitters, those in parentheses, have been quoted from Dindang Norlain Mababaya, Teachings of the World’s Great Prophet: Great Prophet: Comprehensive Guidance to Success (Marawi City: Wisdom Enrichment Foundation, 1988), 66.

54 Later in this dissertation, we shall see how these verses and Ahadith are being interpreted by Muslims like Qutb and others. The matters of who is to be fought, how that fighting should take place, and the course of fighting is something that can easily change from person to person, place to place, and time to time, therefore it is important to remember that these Ahadith are like the Qur’an, for Muslims, interpretation is ultimately left to the individual, and judgment to God. One of the major contributors to the collection of Ahadith was Imam Muslim and it is to his recordings of Mohammed’s saying that this chapter now turns.

Imam Muslim

Focus will now move exclusively to one of the most trusted commentators when it comes to Ahadith and that is Imam Muslim. Like other books about Ahadith, his collection deals with a variety of topics ranging from the five pillars to jihad. As one goes through the books of Imam Muslim, there are subjects written on fighting besides jihad. One is the Kitab al-Qasama wa’l-Muharaba wa’l-Qisas wa’l-Diyat or The book pertaining to the oath, for establishing the responsibility of murderers fighting requital and blood-wit. The relevance of the next two paragraphs is to show that there are different aspects of fighting, not just in war. Mohammed was arbiter of disputes that would not end in the tradition of “An eye for an eye.” The first part of this book deals with hearing the arguments of two parties where one has been accidentally killed and exacting both an “oath (qasama) which is taken either by the legal heirs of the person murdered in order to establish responsibility of the murder on particular persons or by those about whom there is a doubt of being criminal for proving their innocence” and the paying of a blood-wit (Qisas) in that case. A chapter of Imam Muslim’s titled “Pertaining to the Combatants and Apostates” deals with people who committed crimes against others, but where the Kitab al-Qasama deals with accidental death, the book “Pertaining to the Combatants and Apostates” deals with murder that it was pre-meditated. Imam Muslim narrates a series of Ahadith where people were executed for crimes against Muslims, such as the following;

55 Anas b. Malik reported that some people belonging (to the tribe) of ‘Uraina came to Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) at Madinah, but they found its climate uncogenial. So Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) said to them: If you like, you may go to the camels of Sadaqa and drink their milk and urine. They did so and were all right. They then fell upon the shepherds and killed them and turned apostates from Islam and drove off the camels of the Prophet (may peace be upon him). This news reached Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) and he sent (people) on their track and they were (brought) and handed over to him. He (the Holy Prophet) got their hands cut off, and their feet, and put out their eyes, and threw them on the stony ground until they died.161

Imam Muslim gives an explanation to this incident as he states that Mohammed punished the perpetrators according to the Qur’anic verse:

“The just recompense for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger, and strive to make mischief in the land is that they should be murdered, or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides, or they should be exiled.”162

Further reasons for the brutal treatment of the ‘Uraina according to Imam Muslim was that those executed were trusted with watching the sheep and goats of the poor, but instead of tending to the animals, the ‘Uraina killed them, while driving other livestock away. Lastly, those executed were found guilty of killing shepherds.163 Though Islam states that being merciful to others is incumbent on all Muslims, the act of this magnitude could not be ignored and lightly punished according Imam Muslim. It was seen as being a deterrent for others who may think of committing similar crimes. Imam Muslim also wrote of the above incident, when the Prophet gauged out the eyes of those involved in the crimes, the mitigation against mutilation was not revealed and that what the Prophet did was just requital (qisas) of what had happened to innocent Muslims. Exile would only be used if the crimes were of a lesser nature where no one was killed and the arbitrator chose to exile those found guilty.

161 Imam Muslim, Chapter DCLXIX no. 4130, Pertaining to the Combatants and Apostates, translation provided by ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (Lahore: Printing Press, 1980), 893. Siddiqi’s edition is a recent one and includes all Ahadith recorded by Imam Muslim.

162 Qur’an 5:33.

163 Imam Muslim, Chapter DCLXXII, 893.

56 Another chapter written by Imam Muslim is “When it is permissible to take the life of a Muslim.”164 This is a subject that plays a part in the history of Islam as Sunni and Shi’a have called the other apostates and acted out violently against the other, mostly Sunni against the minority Shi’a. These Ahadith are also significant because they do give authority to those in charge of a state or organization to execute other Muslims. Imam Muslim relates;

‘Abdullah (b. Mas’ud) reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: It is not permissible to take the life of a Muslim who bears testimony (to the fact) that there is no God ‘but Allah, and I am the Messenger of Allah, but in one of the three cases: the married adulterer, a life for life, and the deserter of his Din (Islam), abandoning the community.165

There is no doubt in the mind of this author that the last condition, desertion, is a reason why many Muslims, not just in the twentieth century, but also throughout the history of Islam, have been killed by other Muslims. Chapter three of this dissertation will demonstrate that Muslims have been killed because it was deemed by other Muslims that they abandoned their faith and Ummah (community) of Muslims. The issue of apostasy has been most contentious. Some have said that the apostate could easily revert back to his/her original faith. It is not the intent of this author to go into detail of each subheading of fighting, struggling or striving and war, but to report it and relate it to part of Islamic History. Actually, after the death of the Prophet, would launch wars of apostasy against certain tribes who believed that the pacts they made with the Prophet only were good until he died and not after his death. In one of the longer books concerning the writings of Imam Muslim, Book XVII, Kitab Al-Jihad wa’l-Siyar or The Book of Striving or Struggling and Expedition, contains forty nine chapters and sixty eight pages dealing with topics ranging from the battles of Hunayn, Taif, and Badr to rules dealing with war, including, the justification for the use of stratagem in war.166 It is important to keep in mind that the Qur’an only gives general

164 Imam Muslim, Chapter DCLXXIII, 898.

165 Imam Muslim, Chapter DCLXXIII no. 4152.

166 Imam Muslim, Book XVII Kitab Al-Jihad Wa’L-Siyar, vi-viii.

57 information concerning the everyday practices of Muslims, while the Ahadith go into detail. As one goes through the chapter of jihad in the book of Imam Muslim, there are many Ahadith listed. One Hadith used by Osama bin Laden himself is titled “Disapproval of seeking help from a disbeliever on a military campaign.” The Hadith states;

It has been narrated on the authority of A’isha, wife of the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) set out for Badr. When he reached Harrat-ul-Wabara (a place four miles from Madinah), a man met him who was known for his valor and courage. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) were pleased to see him. He said: I have come so that I may follow you and get a share from the booty. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to him: Do you believe in Allah and His Apostle? He said: No. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Go back, I will not seek help from a Mushrik (polytheist). He went on until we reached Shajara, where the man met him again. He asked him the same question again and the man gave him the same answer. He said: Go back, I will not seek help from a Mushrik. The man returned and overtook him at Baida. He asked him as he had asked previously: Do you believe in Allah and His Apostle? The man said: Yes. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said to him: Then come along with us.167

Imam Muslim states that there is discrepancy between this Hadith and others that allow a Muslim to solicit the help of a non-Muslim in times of war. He relates two instances during the battles of Badr and Hunayn where the Prophet used the help of two non-Muslims, but Imam Muslim also says that using the help of a non-Muslim should only be used where there is no other choice and that the character of the non-Muslim should be sound.168 There also seems to be a contradictory message used here referring to Osama bin Laden because at one instance he used the help of the US to combat the Soviet Union in Afghanistan during the 1980’s, but has condemned Saudi Arabia for allowing US troops on Saudi soil and for using US troops to fight and kill fellow Muslims in .

167 Imam Muslim, Chapter DCCLIII no. 4472.

168 Imam Muslim, Chapter DCCLII no. 1006.

58 The book of Ahadith is full of examples of using force to fulfill a goal. One Hadith according to Imam Bukhari states;

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Musa Ash’ari that once a man went to the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) and said: One man fights for the sake of spoils of war, the second one fights for fame and glory and the third to display his courage and skill; which among them is the fighter for the cause of Allah? Upon this the Holy Prophet (may peace be upon him) replied: He who fights with the sole objective that the word of Allah should become supreme is a Mujahid (one who fights in the cause of God) in the cause of the Lord.169

For many Muslims, the Kharijites and Ibn Taymiyya to name two, qital fi-si-bi- Allah or fighting in the way of Allah is a duty incumbent on all Muslims. Although only a few Ahadith dealing with fighting and war were listed, it is the intention of this chapter to bring up not the example of fighting and war, but the actual justification for doing so, which is divine. For Muslims, fighting in the name of Islam is not something that is done for glory or terrorism, but to end oppression while establishing justice. For the purposes of this dissertation, these two objectives are the same. In the next chapter, throughout history others did the same thing that Osama bin Laden and Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag have done, use the Qur’an and Ahadith to justify their actions. Whether it is bin Laden or Zangi who used the concept of the jihad to wage war against the Crusaders to retake Odessa in 1144, only to be assassinated himself, the rules are the same, use divine words, as in the case of the Qur’an, or holy words, as in the case of the Ahadith, to justify your actions. Not all instances of fighting, war, or striving were listed in this chapter because it was not necessary. If need be, in the upcoming chapters, if a Muslim does use a Hadith or verse to justify their actions, attempts will be made to cite it, while comparing it with what others said before. In the following six chapters, this dissertation will look at select Muslims and Islamist groups and their views on harb, jihad, and qital, while examining which verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith are being used. The purpose of the next chapter is to look at the Kharijites, the Assassins, and Ibn Taymiyya, and their ideologies concerning war, striving, and fighting that have helped shape Islamic history.

169 Imam Muslim, Kitab Al-Jihad Wa’L-Siyar (The Book of Jihad and Expedition), 939.

59 CHAPTER THREE: KHARIJITES, ASSASSINS, AND IBN TAYMIYYA170

The last two chapters focused on the issue of armed force in the life of Mohammed and its role in the Qur’an and Ahadith. This was to set up the subsequent centuries of warfare that have plagued the Islamic World. Almost immediately after the death of Mohammed, wars broke out over Arabia called wars of ridda or apostasy. These were wars, rather than battles, fought by Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam, to keep the young Ummah together and to prevent any possibility of negating the gains made by the Muslims during the previous twenty-three years.171 Whether it was Abu Bakr or Osama bin Laden, Muslims have been using the Qur’an and Hadith to back up their justifications for waging war in order to abolish oppression and establish justice.172 In the tradition of the Prophet, subsequent Muslims have fought wars in order to establish the Shari’ah or Islamic law. This chapter examines the ideology for qital or fighting through the eyes of three Muslims and Islamist groups, the Kharijites, the Assassins, and Ibn Taymiyya. This section also analyzes the verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith that were utilized by these respective Muslims. As far as scholarship about the Kharijites is concerned, there are only a few books on the group due to the lack of sources. One book is Elie Adib Salem’s Political theory and institutions of the Khawarij. While it looks at the group historically, this dissertation differs in that emphasis is made on the religious justifications for the group’s actions, whereas Salem’s book looks at the political workings of the group. The same can be said for other writers on the Kharijites such as Reza Aslan and Raymond Baker. This portion on the Kharijites in this dissertation follows Patricia Crone’s book, God’s Rule: Government in Islam, since she does utilize verses from the Qur’an to back up the

170 The author has decided to follow the Anglicized version of spelling for both the Assassins and Kharijites. The word Assassin derives from the Arabic Hashishim or “One who delves in Hash”, while Kharijite is derived from the Arabic Khawarij which maintains its meaning of “Those who secede.”

171 The terms caliph and caliphate are an Anglicized version of the Arabic calipha meaning “successor,” or in the case of Islam, “One who succeeds the Prophet of leading the community of believers.” Islam has had several caliphates, the most prominent being the Umayyad (661-750) operating out of Damascus and the Abbasid (750-1258) which was run from Baghdad.

172 All verses from the Qur’an are translated by Yusuf Ali unless otherwise noted.

60 sentiments of the group. Besides Crone, Karen Armstrong and Halim Barakat look at the group with religious edicts backing their stance.173 In the section on the Assassins, the first source that always stands out is ’ classic book, The Assassins. The work done in this chapter slightly differs from Lewis, whose book focuses on the sect itself without making any connections with preceding historical or religious currents as far as using armed force is concerned. Lewis in affect writes a history of the group, while this dissertation examines the group’s contribution to the use of armed force after its demise in the thirteenth century. Other writers who side more with Lewis are Laurence Lockhart and Stewart Bell. Those who wrote about the group’s use of religion in their thought are Peter Bergen, Richard Chasdi, and Youssef Choueiri. The section on the Assassins is more along the lines of the second group of three authors.174 The last section of this chapter is on Ibn Taymiyya. Writers such as Thomas Michel have focused on a strict biography on the theologian without emphasizing his religious contributions. Others that do this are Binyamin Abrahamov and Steve Emerson. This dissertation examines Ibn Taymiyya’s legalistic skills backed by religious doctrines found in the Qur’an and Ahadith. This falls along the lines of such writers as Donald P. Little, Rudolph Peters, and Paul Heck.175

173 Books referenced and/or researched for this chapter include Elie Adib Salem, Political theory and institutions of the Khawarij (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1956), Reza Aslan, No God but God (New York: Random House, 2005), Raymond William Baker, Islam without fear (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003), Patricia Crone, God’s Rule: Government in Islam (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), Karen Armstrong, Holy War (New York, Anchor Books, 2001), and Halim Barakat, The Arab World (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1993).

174 The following sources were helpful in shaping this chapter: Bernard Lewis, The Assassins (New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1968), Laurence Lockhart, Hasan-i-Sabah and the Assassins (London: School of Oriental Studies, 1930), Stewart Bell, Cold Terror (Canada, Wiley, 2004), Peter Bergen, Holy War, Inc. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002), Richard Chasdi, Tapestry of Terror (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2002), and Youssef Choueiri, Islamic Fundamentalism (Boston: Twayne, 1990).

175 The following articles and books helped the author to look at Ibn Taymiyya from both historical and religious viewpoints. Paul Heck, “Jihad Revisited.” Journal of Religious Ethics 32:95-128, Rudolph Peters, Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam (Princeton: Markus Wiener, 1996), Donald P. Little, “The Historical and Historiographical Significance of the Detention of Ibn Taymiyya.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 4, no. 3 (July 1973): 311-327, Thomas Michel, “Ibn Taymiyya: Islamic Reformer.” Studia Missionalia 34, no. n.a. (1985): 213-232, Steve Emerson, American Jihad (New York: The Free Press, 2002), and Binyan Abrahamov, “Ibn Taymiyya on the Agreement of Reason with Tradition.” The 82, no. 3-4 (July-October 1992): 256 (18).

61 When the Prophet died in 632, the Ummah, full of religious zealotry, began expanding beyond the borders of the Arabian Peninsula, namely against the lands occupied by the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires, respectively. If there is one Muslim who used the Qur’an and Hadith to justify his war on others it was Abu Bakr (r.632-634). Imam Muslim, one of Islam’s great compilers of Ahadith, wrote about a speech made by Abu Bakr who sent an army into Syria. Abu Bakr stated:

Stop, O people, that I may give you ten rules for your guidance in the battlefield. Do not commit treachery or deviate from the right path. You must not mutilate dead bodies. Neither kill a child, nor a woman, nor an aged man. Bring no harm to the trees, nor burn them with fire, especially those which are fruitful. Slay not any of the enemy’s flock, save for your food. You are likely to pass by people who have devoted their lives to monastic services; leave them alone.176

These rules were written in the previous chapter and here is an early example of a Muslim who was trying to keep the teachings of the Prophet alive. In another example, a girl had her hand amputated because she was singing songs mocking Abu Bakr. When word of this reached him, he was horrified at the subsequent punishment that befell the girl. His words were:

I have learnt that you laid hands on a woman who had hurled abuses on me, and, therefore, got her hand amputated. God has not sought vengeance even in the case of , which is a great crime. He has not permitted mutilation even with regard to manifest infidelity. Try to be considerate and sympathetic in your attitude towards others in future. Never mutilate, because it is a grave offence. God purified Islam and the Muslims from rashness and excessive wrath. You are well aware of the fact that those enemies fell into the hands of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) who had been recklessly abusing him; who had turned him out of his home; and who fought against him, but he never permitted their mutilation.177

In previous Ahadith, there was an order not to mutilate bodies and exact (punishments) against people excessively. The Prophet himself was ridiculed regularly by the non-Muslim Arabs and Jews living in Arabia but he did not take revenge against

176 Imam Muslim, Sahih Muslim translated by ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (Lahore: Ashraf Printing Press, 1980), 940. See chapter two for further information on Imam Muslim and his transmissions of the sayings of Mohammed.

177 Imam Muslim, 940.

62 people just for making fun of him even when he had an opportunity to do so. Abu Bakr was also not the only Caliph to have an opinion when it came to taking up arms against others. Commentaries by the second Caliph , about war have also survived. He stated:

Always search your minds and hearts and stress upon your men the need of perfect integrity and sincerity in the cause of Allah. There should be no material end before them in laying down their lives, but they should deem it a means whereby they can please their Lord and entitle themselves to His favour: such a spirit of selflessness should be inculcated in the minds of those who unfortunately lack it. Be firm in the thick of the battle as Allah helps man according to the perseverance that he shows in the cause of His faith and he would be rewarded in accordance with the spirit of sacrifice which he displays for the sake of the Lord. Be careful that those who have been entrusted to your care receive no harm at your hands and are never deprived of any of their legitimate rights.178

The words uttered by these two men who lived and fought alongside the Prophet echo his sentiment, there is to be no collateral damage. Innocent people are to be spared and mercy and kindness is to be implemented whenever necessary. It is the intention of this chapter to start looking at certain battles that took place after the death of the Prophet and examine the specific verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith that were used to justify them. When the Prophet died, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam, but revolts took place by tribes that had sworn fealty only to the Prophet himself and after his death, those allegiances fell apart. Abu Bakr fought these tribes in order to bring them back to the fold of Islam and these battles have been called wars of apostasy ever since. Besides these wars, the enthusiasm of the new religious community could not be contained just inside of Arabia, so soon after the death of the Prophet, Arab armies started to attack beyond their borders and were extremely successful, eventually conquering large swaths of land from Southern France to Northern India during the one- hundred years following the Prophet’s death. However, those nearest to the Arabian Peninsula felt the brunt of Islamic religiosity first. The Byzantine and Sassanid Empires had been fighting each other for centuries and in the process exhausted themselves. The wars fought by these two empires allowed

178 Imam Muslim, 940-941.

63 the Arabs to come in and fill the vacuum left by both powers. Not only were they defeated, but also many of the inhabitants inside the Byzantine Empire were happy to see the Muslims because many Christians felt that Byzantine rule was unjustly harsh. Thus, the Muslims were often seen as liberators while the Byzantines were seen as oppressors. Very little is written of the actual words of Abu Bakr or the rest of the or Rightly Guided Caliphs (r.632-661).179 In the two years of leadership under Abu Bakr, the Muslims fought battles against Arab tribes that revolted after the death of the Prophet in order to keep the Ummah together. According to historian Hugh Kennedy, “The Prophet had punished those who broke their alliances with him and had forced them to surrender to his authority, and his khalifa was going to follow in the same tradition.”180 Though there is no direct quote by Abu Bakr on why he pursued the wars of apostasy, he was following the example of the Prophet when it came to sedition. Under Abu Bakr, the Muslims consolidated the Arabian Peninsula, swept into Palestine, Persia, and Syria, while keeping the momentum of the Ummah going strong. It is not the intention of this work to delineate every battle that took place in the history of Islam, but just the more significant ones, as well as a few specific groups and theologians, while providing commentary on the justification of the battles waged. This chapter is just a brief look at battles waged in early Islamic history and their justifications before this endeavor moves to the early twentieth century. The justification for these early battles establish the foundations for later twentieth century thinkers and philosophers. As time passed, the Islamic community met with internal grudges that cost the lives of three of its first four Caliphs, Omar, Uthman, and Ali, the last two being murdered by fellow Muslims. Omar may have been killed by a Muslim, but sources only state that a Persian slave, Abu Lulua, who may have been freed, stabbed him to death.181 The most controversial murder of a Muslim by other Muslims was that of Ali by the Kharijites who believed that Ali was wrong for allowing the Syrian governor Muwaiya’s

179 The reign of the Rashidun or Rightly Guided Caliphs is as follows; Abu Bakr (r.632-634), Umar (r.634- 644), Uthman (r.644-656), and Ali (r.656-661).

180 Hugh Kennedy, The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates (London: Longman, 1986), 54. Kennedy’s book is exceptional as it covers not only Mohammed’s life, but also the reign of Islam’s first four Caliphs.

181 H.U. Rahman, A Chronology of Islamic History 570-1000 CE (London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1989), 30.

64 troops to put leaflets of the Qur’an on the tips of their spears and force arbitration from him. The Kharijites believed that only God could decide such a matter and after Ali decided to go to arbitration with Muawiyah at the , he was seen as abandoning the Shari’ah because of his actions. According to Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l- muluk or The History of al-Tabari, when the decision for arbitration was made, a group of men stepped forward and proclaimed, “Authority belongs to God alone” (La hukma illa lillah subhanahu) and fought against Ali.182 In the history of Islam, there have been numerous Caliphs. According to Thomas Patrick Hughes, there have been at least eighty-eight Sunni Caliphs, twenty-six for Shi’ites, including those of the Fatimids, and another fifty-seven (surely Sunni) that ruled in Spain.183 As mentioned earlier, the first four were known as the “Rightly Guided” Caliphs and were friends or relatives of the Prophet. However, after the death of the Prophet, different interpretations of who should rule and how arose. The Kharijites played a major role in the history of Islam since they literally seceded from the Ummah, as their name would attest, and murdered the Caliph Ali because they believed he was wrong for going to arbitration with Muawiyah. The following pages deal with the Kharijites and their impact, on not only the history of Islam, but also the justification of using armed violence as a means to an end for many Muslims and Islamist groups in the subsequent thirteen centuries to the present day.

The Kharijites or those who secede

As was written earlier, after the murder of Uthman, Ali was elected unanimously as the next Caliph. As his short reign was full of rebellion and fighting, he moved the

182 Al-Tabari (839-923) lived during the and his history of the early years of Islam covers thirty-nine volumes with each volume encompassing roughly two-hundred pages. Since it was written in the ninth and tenth centuries, it is an early source for the history of Islam. Al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk), vol. 17, The First Civil War translated and annotated by G.R. Hawting. (New York: State University of New York Press, 1996), 90.

183 Thomas Patrick Hughes, Dictionary of Islam (Clifton: Reference Book Publishers, Inc.), 263-269. The terms Shi’ite and Sunni signify Islam’s two major . Sunnis represent roughly ninety percent of Muslims, while Shi’ites make up approximately ten percent. The word Shi’ite is Arabic for “Party,” while Sunni is translated as “Orthodox.” The difference between these two groups can be later found in this chapter.

65 Caliphate to from Madinah to escape the discontent of people who were upset that an inquiry was not made into the death of Uthman. Then a group of Muslims convinced , the widow of the Prophet, to go to war against Ali, and the Battle of the Camel occurred. After Aisha and her army were defeated on the battlefield, she was left to retire in Madinah, but new trouble for Ali soon emerged. In Syria, the governor of Syria Muawiyah, who headed the house of Omayyah, wanted Ali to avenge the murder of Uthman. He moved east with an army and encountered Ali’s which was moving north at Siffin. When Ali’s army was winning the battle, Muawiyah’s side fixed copies of the Qur’an to their spears forcing the forces of Ali to stop fighting and forcing a meeting between the two leaders.184 It was due to this meeting that a group of Muslims known as the Kharijites, who numbered approximately twelve thousand, made a name for themselves.185 After having fought for him at Siffin, they lost favor in the leadership of Ali for allowing someone who was not Caliph to force him to a meeting. Indeed, the Kharijites saw Muawiyah as a rebel and someone who was lower in rank to Ali. Arbitration was not for men, but for Allah alone. To them, Ali lost his legitimacy as Caliph by allowing Muawiyah to force him to submit to his requests. After nothing came out of the negotiations, Ali now saw himself without the support of many, including those who are now known as Kharijites. The word Kharijite means those who revolt, secede or withdraw. Another interpretation of their name is “those who go out.” The Kharijites not only seceded, but also chose their own Caliph from Kufa named Abdullah al-Rasibi, and soon after, they recruited their own army and revolted against Ali only to lose two thousand men at Nahrawan.186 After this defeat, they decided to attack by stealth and a Kharijite named Abdur Rahman ibn Muljam managed to kill Ali in a mosque in the city of Kufa.187 The Kharijites’ battle cry was “No decision but that of God.”188 It is important to note that the Kharijites formed the first group to break away from the mainstream of

184 S.F. Mahmud, A Short History of Islam (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1988), 37-41.

185 Hughes, 270.

186 Rahman, 40.

187 Mahmud, 42. 188 Rahman, 40.

66 Muslims and that it was relatively early in the history of Islam. They interpreted the Qur’an literally and had little interest in politics. The Kharijites were also known in history as Haruris (because they assembled at Harura) and (because they were known to shout “Judgment belongs to God alone” or La hukma illa li’llah).189 They believed that anyone could be ruler of the Ummah by their piety alone and not by social status. It is not agreed upon whether they were a political or religious group, but at this time in Islamic history, there may not have been a difference between the two. It seems the central issue here was the legitimacy of the caliphate, an issue that continues to this very day. They were also the first people to believe that if the Caliph was not performing his duty correctly, he could be deposed or not followed. Not many people are sure what the Kharijites meant by “judgment belongs to God alone.” Some, including Yusuf Ali, are convinced that they did not believe in any type of government at all. As far as the murder of Uthman, which inevitably put pressure put on the Caliph Ali, some have commented on the issue. According to Patricia Crone, the murder of Uthman was justified to some Shi’ites because of his nepotism:

Of the rebels against Uthman, only the Kharijites retained a clear conviction that it had been right to kill him. The accounts of the first civil war abound in discussions of the question whether Ali had been implicated in the killing (directly or by sheltering the killers) if it were true. But why should Ali’s followers accept the Uthmani premise? Of course Ali had been on the right side: “Ali’s killing of Uthman was one of his greatest acts of obedience to God,” as some Shi’ites continued to say in agreement with the Kharijites. Where he had gone wrong was in accepting arbitration with people whom he should have fought until they reverted to God’s command or were killed. This was how the Kharijites saw it, and to them, Ali’s change of mind was paradigmatic of non- Kharijite behavior.190

The verse that Crone refers to in the Qur’an is:

If two parties among the believers fall into a fight, make ye peace between them: but if one of them transgresses beyond bounds against the other, then fight ye (all) against the one that transgresses until it complies with the command of Allah; but if it complies,

189 Patricia Crone, God’s Rule: government and Islam (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004), 54.

190 Crone, 55.

67 then make peace between them with justice, and be fair: for Allah loves those who are fair (and just). The Believers are but a single Brotherhood: so make peace and reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers; and fear Allah, that ye may receive Mercy.191

Another translation of the above verse is “fight the insolent until they return to God’s command.” When it comes to an argument between two contending Muslim groups, Yusuf Ali believed the entire community should be involved. Ali continued, “It would be expected to act justly and try to compose the quarrel, for peace is better than fighting. But if one party is determined to be the aggressor, the whole force of the community is brought to bear on it.”192 It seems that Yusuf Ali was speaking of one group that does not want to make peace and the consequences of what should happen to that group since the needs of the Ummah are more important than that particular group. The only problem is the matter of interpretation. Who is the transgressing group as verse nine mentions in surah forty-nine? Is it Muawiyah for challenging the Caliphate and authority of Ali or is it Ali for allowing Muawiyah to dispute with him to a standstill? According to Patricia Crone, the Kharijites take the latter view. The Kharijites saw Muawiyah as the aggressor for coming out of Syria with an army and fighting the Caliph of Islam. They lost on the battlefield and still made demands on the Caliph. Not only did Muawiyah make demands on Ali, he was dictating the rules of the arbitration thus reducing Ali almost to a bystander. By allowing himself to be a bystander, Ali lost his life and in the minds of many Muslims, the future legitimacy of the Caliphate. According to Kharijite theology, Abu Bakr and Umar were true Caliphs, but both Uthman and Ali started as legitimate Caliphs only to lose their status not only as Caliphs, but also as Muslims. This was also true of following Caliphs. Ultimately, all subsequent Caliphs for the Kharijites were nothing but “kings and tyrants.”193 The Kharijites also believed that it was not possible to live under the rule of non-Muslims because they believed that any ruler other their own was an infidel. They held that one had to withdraw himself from the community, hence leave or secede, from that

191 Qur’an 49:9-10.

192 Ali, 1590.

193 Crone, 56.

68 community just as Mohammed had done in Arabia. This withdrawal or hijra is also a concept taken up by Sayyid Qutb and Shukri Mustapha in the twentieth century.194 This is one element or theme borrowed from the Prophet; to leave an oppressive non-Muslim government only to return and conquer it. The Kharijites did not believe in a Caliph or a series of Imams like Imami Shi’ites believe in, but just individual Imams for every respective mosque. However, there have not been many verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith to back their claims (at least that the author has been able to find), there is the theme of making a hijra only to return and conquer. The Kharijites were a significant group because in the history of Islam, the community of believers had their first schism, but not their last, and this break included a theology where using armed force was justifiable against fellow Muslims. The Kharijites survived throughout the Abbasid Caliphate by moving from Kufa to . Although the word Kharijite is a general term, there were subsets of the group in Iran known as the , Arabia as the Najdiyya, North Africa as the Sufriyya, and , as well as, other parts of North Africa as the Ibadiyya.195 Their only criterion for rule was merit. Abu Bakr and Omar were the most pious and learned men in Arabia when they were elected and that was a legitimate enough reason for them to be Caliphs. Being from the Quraish tribe had nothing to do with their or anybody else’s rule. Hereditary succession meant nothing to the Kharijites. As an Imam, the Caliph was seen as God’s vicegerent on earth and if he was not doing what was in accordance with God’s rule, then he would be asked to step down, if he refused, then he could be killed. The Kharijites believed in community consensus where the most suited person could be elected as Imam or leader of the community. The Kharijites hold a special status in Islamic history as they were the first group of Muslims to not only secede from the Ummah, but also to kill fellow Muslims for not following Shari’ah. The concepts of harb, jihad, and qital used by Muslims against others did not end with the Kharijites, as another influential group in the history of Islam was preparing to do the same. It is to the Assassins that this chapter now turns to for they not only targeted fellow Muslims, but also non-Muslims.

194 The term Hijra is Arabic for “migration.” It is used to commemorate the Prophet’s “flight” or “emigration” from Makkah to Madinah in 622. It also signifies the beginning of the Islamic Calendar.

195 Crone, 55.

69 The Assassins

The Assassins were unique in Islamic history and are essential to this discussion because of their indiscrimination when it came to murder. Like the Kharijites, the Assassins were involved in, as their name implies, political assassination of not only non- Muslims, but also fellow Muslims they believed had strayed from the path of Islam. To be more precise, from the correct interpretation of that path. These two groups are by no means the only two groups in the history of Islam to murder other Muslims and non- Muslims, but they are two unique cases. After the death of Ali, the world of Islam degenerated into bloodshed and schism with rival groups fighting for control of the Dar al-salaam.196 The Abbasids (r.750-1258) even massacred up to eighty or more Umayyad princes at one seating effectively ending one caliphate and beginning their own.197 The following portion of this chapter deals with the Assassins who used the idea of qital, which could be translated not only as fighting, but also assassination and murder, to their advantage. Themes from the sirah or life of Mohammed, the Qur’an, and the Ahadith gave them justification for their actions.198 After the death of the Caliph Ali, there emerged the two major factions of Muslims that still exist today. After Ali’s death in 661, there was conflict within the Ummah as to how to choose a Caliph. The group that are now known as Sunni believe that a Caliph can only be elected through community consensus and a bloodline is not significant. Shi’ites, on the other hand, believe that the Caliphate or successor to the Prophet should come down through one bloodline. The great-grandson of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet, was Ja’far al-Sadiq the sixth Imam. Ja’far had two sons, Isma’il and Musa, but Isma’il died during the lifetime of his father. When Isma’il, the eldest of the two, died, many Shi’ites declared his younger brother Musa the seventh Imam.

196 Dar al-salaam and Dar al-harb are respectively terms that mean “Abode of Peace” and “Abode of War,” respectively, and have their origins in the early years of Islam. They describe the metaphysical distinction between the worlds in which Muslims and non-Muslims live in. Some Muslims believe that this imaginary line has no boundaries, while others state that the Sahara Desert was one border. The author adheres to the former opinion in that there is a physical border separating the two abodes.

197 Rahman, 83.

198 Sirah can loosely be translated as biography or story and is usually referred to Mohammed where Islam is concerned.

70 However a rift developed that has not healed to this very day. Other Shi’ites believed that since Isma’il was the older of the two, his son, Mohammed, should be the seventh imam. In the course of time, the group of Shi’ites known as Isma’ilis would give the Islamic World three great leaders, Qarmat, founder of the , Ubaidullah, the real founder of the Fatimid Dynasty, and Hasan ibn Sabah, the founder of the Assassin Order, also known as, Sheik al-Jabal or Leader of the Mountain.199 The history of the Assassins begins with Hasan ibn Sabah and it is to him that this dissertation now turns to. Although not much is written about the childhood of Hasan al-Sabah, it is worth noting that he was a classmate of Nizam al-Mulk, and possibly Omar Khayyam. The former was assassinated on the order of Sabah.200 Hasan al-Sabah was born at Ray in Northern Persia.201 After retiring to the Elburz Mountains, he built the mighty fortress of . An elegant speaker, Sabah was able to convince followers to obey him by assuring them entrance to paradise. In return, they were expected to kill and terrorize people whom Sabah thought were not committed to his cause. Their most famous victim was the Grand Vizier Nizam al-Mulk, who while working for the Seljuk Sultan Malik Shah, was killed after failing to capture the Assassin stronghold Alamut. Nizam al-Mulk was not the only prominent Muslim killed by the esoteric organization as two Abbasid Caliphs were also struck down, al-Mustarshid and his successor al-Rashid bi’llah.202 Alamut was not destroyed until Hulagu Khan, Genghis Khan’s grandson, destroyed it in the thirteenth century on his way to destroying Baghdad in 1258. The Assassins also tried, but failed, to kill Salahudin Yusuf ibn Ayub (Righteousness of the Religion son of ) also known as Saladin. Saladin was able to quell somewhat the Assassins’ appetite for murder when he launched a campaign against them. According to ‘Ala’ud- Din Ata Malik-i-Juvaini, the finishing touches were put on the Assassins in 1265 by Baybars (r.1260-1277), during his reign as Mamluk Sultan.203 Although the reasons for

199 Mahmud, 131-132.

200 Mahmud, 146-147.

201 Laurence Lockhart, “Hassan-i-Sabbah and the Assassins,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies 5, no. 4 (1930): 675.

202 Lockhart, 685.

71 Hasan al-Sabah’s use of murder may not correspond strictly to Islamic Theology, he may have been using the concepts of qital fi-si-bi-Allah or fighting in the way of God, martyrdom, and paradise as means to justify his ends. Nevertheless, the case for the Assassins’ use of murder and mayhem had no basis in Islam. According to Bernard Lewis, “Hasan [i-Sabah] never claimed to be an Imam-only a representative of the proof- the source of knowledge of the hidden Imam of his time, the living link between the lines of manifest Imams of the past and the future, and the leader of the da’wa.”204 In other words, Hasan al-Sabah did indeed have religious justifications for his actions. The word assassin comes from the transliteration of hashish. This is because the followers of Hasan al-Sabah used to either chew or smoke hashish before carrying out an assassination. The euphoric state caused by smoking hashish added to the Assassins’ deadly abilities to go undeterred into battle, even dying in the process. The Assassins, who lasted roughly from 1090 to 1272, were followers of the Hidden Imam who proclaimed that, “His rivals were usurpers, their followers sinners, their teachings falsehood.”205 Some of their killings were planned months or even years ahead while waiting for the perfect moment to strike.206 If one assassination attempt failed, another was planned, if need be, in broad daylight. There was no limit to their plans and they even consorted with non-Muslims. The Assassins befriended Christians as both sides wanted certain Muslims dead, such as Saladin. The Assassins tried but failed in their attempts on the great leader’s life. As stated earlier, Hasan al-Sabah saw himself as a representative of the Hidden Imam. Bernard Lewis goes on to say, “For some, it was a means of striking at a hated domination, whether to restore an old order or to create a new one; for others, the only

203 ‘Ala’ud-Din Ata Malik-i-Juvaini, Jahan-kusha, in Lockhart, Hassan-i-Sabbah. Juvaini was a Persian historian from the Mongol period who was ordered by Hulaku Khan after the capture of Alamut to examine the Assassins’ library. Juvaini found a biography of Sabbah titled the Sarguzasht-i-sayyidna by unknown authors. It is to both the Sarguzasht-i-sayyidna and Jahan-kusha that we owe much about the history of the Assassins.

204 Bernard Lewis, The Assassins (New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1968), 62. In what may be the best-written account of the Assassins, Bernard Lewis’ 1968 is regarded as a classic and a must have for those interested in the group or Islam in general.

205 H.A.R. Gibb and J.H. Kramers, Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1965), 49-49.

206 Lockhart, 680.

72 way of achieving God’s purpose on earth.”207 The last explanation sheds light on the Assassin reaction to ruling Sunni rulers that may have helped explain the formers’ attempt to establish an Ismai’li agenda. Finding evidence in the Qur’an and Ahadith supporting the actions of the Assassins has proven to be difficult. This is due to the destruction of their sources by the Mongols in 1257. Sinan, an Assassin leader, whose nickname has come down in history as “The Old Man of the Mountain,” issued a response to Saladin when the latter sent an epistle to the former. Sinan’s reply contained several verses from the Qur’an and a hadith from the Prophet. First, in his reply to Saladin, Sinan quoted from the Qur’an, “Those who have done wrong will know to what end they will revert.”208 Second, Sinan added, “When the truth comes the false vanishes; verily the false is apt to vanish.”209 Third, “Say:-Wish then for death if you speak truth.”210 Fourth, in finishing his response to Saladin, Sinan said that the execution of Saladin would not be difficult because “for God that is not of much account.”211 Fifth, Sinan urged Saladin to read the first verse from a chapter in the Qur’an titled “The Bee” which stated, “The decree of God has come, seek not to hasten it; glory be to Him and exalted be He away from all that they associate (with Him).”212 Finally, Sinan told Saladin to read the last verse from chapter thirty-eight from the Qur’an titled “Sad”, which read, “Ye shall surely know the story of it after a while.”213 The Hadith quoted by Sinan was “No prophet suffered what I suffered” pointing to himself as a messiah of a sort.214 Other themes from Islamic history are inferred as well from the Assassins and their motives.

207 Lewis, 139.

208 Qur’an 26:228. The verses from the Qur’an in the section titled “The Assassins” are Lewis’ translations.

209 Qur’an 27:23. Lewis translation used, 116.

210 Qur’an 2:88. Lewis translation used, 116.

211 Qur’an 14:23. Lewis translation used.

212 Qur’an 6:1. Lewis translation used.

213 Qur’an 38:88. Lewis translation used.

214 Lewis, 116.

73 The life of the Prophet revealed themes of retreating or making a hijra from the dominant society, but there is no evidence of the Assassins making a concerted effort to conquer that dominant land from which they retreated. Another theme that is inherent in the actions of the Assassins was risking of one’s life to carry out orders. What we do know of Hasan al-Sabah is from his biography, the Sarguzasht-i-sayyidna.215 The Sarguzasht-i-sayyidna states that al-Sabah had survived an illness causing him to switch from a belief in the sect of Shi’ite Islam to the sect. After studying the Ismai’li sect of Islam in under Ra’is Abu’l-Fadl, he felt a need to overthrow the kingdom of Isfahan.216 Historian Laurence Lockhart stated that the evidence for al- Sabah’s turn to assassination might never be known; “When the idea of forming this Order first occurred to Sabah and what were his real motives will probably never be known with any degree of exactitude.”217 If there was one theme being used by al-Sabah, it was the promise of paradise. In an account given by Marco Polo on a visit to one the Assassin strongholds, he writes:

He [that is, the Grand Master] had caused a certain valley…to be enclosed, and had turned it into a garden, the largest and most beautiful that ever was seen, filled with every variety of fruit. In it were erected pavilions and the most elegant that can be imagined…And there were runnels too, flowing freely with wine and milk and and water; and numbers of ladies and of the most beautiful damsels in the world, who could play well on all manner of instruments, and sang most sweetly, and danced in a manner that it was charming to behold. For the Old Man desired to make his people [i.e. the Fida’is or devout followers] believe that this was actually Paradise. So he had fashioned it after the description that Mohammed gave of his Paradise…And sure enough the Saracens of those parts believed that it was Paradise!218

The description given above of al-Sabah’s paradise and the paradise of the Qur’an are similar. The theme of paradise and all that it contains is followed here with wine,

215 Lewis writes of the Sarguzasht-i-sayyidna in 1968 that “No copy has so far come to light, but the book was available to Persian historians of the Mongol period, who had access to the spoils of Alamut and perhaps of other Ismai’li fortresses and libraries.”, 146.

216 Lockhart, 677.

217 Lockhart, 677.

218 Marco Polo, The book of Ser Marco Polo, trans. and ed. Sir Henry , 3rd edn. Revised by Henri Cordier, i, London 1903, chapters 23 and 24, 139-143, quoted by Lockhart, 680-681. The book of Ser Marco Polo is a translation of Polo’s famous travels throughout the known world in the thirteenth century.

74 milk, women, and “runnels flowing with water.” If there is one reason why people believed al-Sabah, it was because he used to make those who were going to enter Alamut imbibe hashish before doing so. The promise of paradise for those willing to die for their faith, especially a faith preached by a great orator, whether it was the Prophet himself or Hasan al-Sabah is a powerful reason why some Muslims resorted to fighting and the use of armed force to achieve their goals. A reason why the Assassin Order lasted so long may be attributed to the Crusades which began in 1095 and lasted until 1290. If the Crusades had not occurred, it is possible that Sultans governing surrounding principalities could have completely overwhelmed the Assassin Order, but were instead forced to deal with the threat from Europe.219 Although the example of Hasan al-Sabah and the Assassins may seem extreme, there is legitimacy in using them for this dissertation. They were Muslims who resorted to using jihad al-qital (struggling through fighting) against both Muslims and non-Muslims, while promising the reward of paradise for followers who happened to die in the process of assassinating someone. Though this dissertation is not on the topic of martyrdom, it cannot be ignored that the promise of a better world to come has motivated many Muslims in the past and present to commit acts of violence, including murder. The final section in this chapter deals with one of the most influential theologians who formulated the idea of jihad against both Muslims and non-Muslims, Ibn Taymiyya. Many Muslims believe that Ibn Taymiyya was one of the greatest ideologues when it came to the concept of the jihad.

Ibn Taymiyya

Taqi al-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyya (c.1263-1326) was born at Harran directly after the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 and was a staunch opponent of the Mongols who eventually converted to Islam and ruled large portions of the Middle East. He was one of the few thinkers and writers to emerge during the rule of the Mamluks, to have a significant impact on Islamic Ideology. Ibn Taymiyya lived in Damascus where he was a professor of Law after his family was forced to flee Harran from the

219 Lockhart, 685.

75 Mongols.220 He was known for being “a great scholar, a fearless fighter, and outspoken in argument.”221 In fact, he took over the position of Hanbali Professor from his father following the latter’s death in 1282. Ibn Taymiyya was also known to have very strict views of the Qur’an and even interpreted it literally. His views were seen as being radical to others. He emphasized that the true example of Islam only comes from the pious ancestors (al-salaf al-salih), or the three generations following the death of the Prophet.222 Ibn Taymiyya has been respected by many Muslims for his Islamic ideology, as well as his participation in fighting the Mongols on the battlefield. In 1299, he was asked by the Sultan of Egypt to preach a jihad against the Mongols, which he did, but also as in the tradition of the Prophet, he also fought against them “at Shakhab, near Damascus.”223 Not only did Ibn Taymiyya fight Mongols, but he also fought fellow Muslims such as Isma’ilis in 1305 and the Armenian Kingdom of Asia Minor which had befriended the Crusaders.224 Afterwards, he was ordered to the court of Cairo and was questioned on the subject of . He was sentenced along with two of his brothers to one and a half years in a dungeon for what was considered to be adherence to anthropomorphic ideas which was tantamount to blasphemy. Ibn Taymiyya was accused of holding that the Qur’an was to be interpreted literally, and that meant such concepts of God sitting upon a throne over the heavens and the hand of God were literal, that God had human like features. It would not be the only time he was imprisoned. In addition to his sentence in Cairo in 1305, he was condemned to another year and half in prison for political reasons and sent to Alexandria for eight additional

220 Islamic legal jurisprudence is divided among four schools of thought all named after their respective founders. They are the (preeminent in North and West Africa) named after ibn Malik (d. 795), , Shafi’i named after al-Shafi’i (d. 820), and Hanbali name after ibn Hanbal. All four of these schools of thought arose during the late eighth and early ninth centuries, with the Hanbali School considered the most conservative of the four.

221 Mahmud, 173.

222 Rudolph Peters, Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam (Princeton: Markus Wiener, 1996), 43. Salafis today represent a small number of Muslims around the world, including the US, who believe that it was the first three generations of Muslims who were correct in their understanding of the faith, and hence, their example is the only correct one.

223 Gibb, 151.

224 Emmanuel Sivan, Radical Islam (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985), 100.

76 months to finish his sentence. After his time in prison, he was appointed to a professorship by the Sultan of Egypt, al-Nasir.225 In 1313, Ibn Taymiyya was ordered to accompany the army departing for Syria. Upon his return from combat, he was once again interred in prison for issuing fatwas pertaining to marriage. For proclaiming these fatwas, he was given a five month and eighteen day term only to be interred a last time for his negative views regarding the visitation of saints and prophets. After his enemies took away his books, pen, and paper, Ibn Taymiyya seemed to have lost the will to live and died in 1328. He believed passionately in following the Qur’an and Ahadith to the letter, but also at times, for Ibn Taymiyya, the individual had to use reason () to reach some conclusions. Ibn Taymiyya was a staunch opponent of innovation (bida’a). He was so appalled by Muslims seeking help from saints that he concluded that it was unlawful to do so, a religious edict followed by many through time, including Mohammed ibn Abdel Wahhab. Many tombs in the eighteenth century were destroyed by Wahhab who was a follower of the Hanbali School of Thought. Not only did he attack the visitation of tombs, he also attacked other Muslim theologians such as al-Ghazali, for reiterating apocryphal Ahadith. Ibn Taymiyya was so bold that he criticized the Caliphs Omar and Ali for making mistakes, while giving the Friday sermon. He also wrote against Judaism and Christianity as faiths that changed their respective scriptures, as well as against the maintenance of synagogues and churches.226 The tone in which he wrote was highly charged and explosive, so his works are still studied today, especially where jihad is concerned. His tone has resonated so loudly through the ages that throughout the 1970’s as riots broke out in Egypt, for example, the Bread Riots of 1977, students and “terrorist groups” fought against the same things Ibn Taymiyya spoke out against, such as the visiting of tombs of saints, as well as, Coptic Christians.227 Ultimately, Sayyid Qutb rallied behind the calls of Ibn Taymiyya as one who wrote about the damage that modernity does to the fabric of Islamic Society.

225 Gibb, 151.

226 Gibb, 152.

227 Sivan, 124.

77 As was delineated before, when the Mongols swept into the Middle-East, they were not Muslims but followed the religion of their ancestors, but after settling in the lands they conquered, they adopted the faith of the majority, like many before and after them. The Mongols retained much of their heritage and were prone to make gestures that many Muslims would consider heterodox. Ibn Taymiyya was certain that the Mongols’ interpretation of Islam was corrupting the faith. Something had to be done if Islam was to go back to a state of purity and remain so in the future. If one were to ask the question; from where was Ibn Taymiyya borrowing some of his themes? The answer is certainly from the Qur’an and Ahadith in particular. In the case of apostasy, he seemed to have been borrowing ideologies from Abu Bakr’s . Ibn Taymiyya believed that the use of warfare, economic sanctions, and even counter- were legitimate means of returning those who apostatized from Islam back to the faith.228 Indeed, Ibn Taymiyya stated in his book, Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence, “Every group of Muslims that transgresses Islamic law…must be combated, even when they continue to profess the credo.”229 This was the very essence of Ibn Taymiyya’s writings on apostasy and what could be done to bring back those that left to Islam. For many Muslims, anyone who adopts Islam, utters the , prays five times a day, and observes Ramadan was a Muslim, but for Ibn Taymiyya, this was not enough. For Ibn Tamiyya and other Muslims, just because one follows the five pillars of Islam does not necessarily mean they are Muslims. Being a Muslim here means that if one fails to follow or implement the Shari’ah, they are no longer Muslim, according to Ibn Taymiyya. According to Emmanuel Sivan, this seemed to have been something unprecedented; “But here Ibn Taymiyya introduced a new Criterion.”230 Some of the injunctions laid down by Ibn Taymiyya resorted to jihad and the status of non-Muslims,

228 Sivan, 115.

229 Ibn Taymiyya, Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence translated from Arabic by Dr. Omar A. Farrukh, (Beirut: Khayats, 1966), 99. More on the life of Ibn Taymiyya may be found in this chapter and as a theologian, Taymiyya wrote many tracts on religion. Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence covers eight chapters and subjects ranging from Jihad to matrimony. It is an excellent book for reference since it contains many verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith.

230 Sivan, 97.

78 sexual behavior, alcohol, and gambling. Does this mean that those not following Shari’ah are to be fought against? For Ibn Taymiyya, the Islam practiced by the Mongols was worse than Shi’ite Islam since it was based on a jahiliyyah or ignorant mentality that predated the Prophet.231 Writing in his book Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence, he stated:

It has been established from the Book, from the Sunna, and from the general unanimity of the [Muslim] nation that he who forsakes the Law of Islam should be fought, though he may have once pronounced the two formulas of Faith (in Islam). There may be a difference of opinion regarding rebellious groups which neglect a voluntary, but established, piece of worship…but there is no uncertainty regarding the duties and prohibitions, which are both explicit and general. He who neglects them should be fought until he agrees to abide (by these duties and prohibitions): to perform the five assigned prayers per day, to pay the Zakat [alms], to fast during the month of Ramadan, and to undertake pilgrimage to the Ka’ba [at Makkah]. Furthermore they should avoid all forbidden acts, like marriage with sisters, the eating of impure foods (such as pork, cattle that has died or was unlawfully slaughtered, etc.), and the attack on the lives and wealth of the Muslims. Any such trespasser of the Law should be fought, provided that he had a knowledge of the mission of the Prophet, Peace be Upon Him. This knowledge makes him responsible for obeying the orders, the prohibitions and the permits. If he disobeys these he should then be fought.232

Ibn Taymiyya in this one passage referred to qital or fighting four times and it seems as if he is directing his words against those who forsake Islam and the Ummah. In the third line of the above quote, it even seems as if he is suggesting that those Muslims who did not submit to the five pillars should be fought. Ibn Taymiyya also, at least from this reference, does not invoke the verse in the Qur’an about “there is no compulsion in religion.” He may have been one of the first Sunni thinkers to write about using force to oust a leader in power since it is customary in Sunni thought that a bad leader could be replaced by peaceful means, as opposed to Shi’ite thought that is more proactive in replacing lax rulers by force if need be. For Ibn Taymiyya, the use of jihad was legitimate against a ruler who refused to implement Shari’ah. As far as the Qur’an and

231 The Arabic term jahiliyyah means ignorant, but has a broader meaning where Islam is concerned. Jahiliyyah describes the mentality of people in the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam. It is a concept that many Muslims, such as Sayyid Qutb, believe still exists. More directly, jahiliyyah can mean one or a society that does not practice Islam.

232 Taymiyya, 100. The use of brackets such as ( and [ were based upon what the respective authors chose. All quotations were copied directly from those sources consulted.

79 Ahadith are concerned, there is a theme that is being followed. One of Ibn Taymiyya’s students, , even mentioned the following verses from the Qur’an, as justification for the call for a revolt against governments that do not use Shari’ah as the basis of their rule:

It was We who revealed the Torah (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the Prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah’s Will, by the and the Doctors of Law: For to them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s Book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear Me, and sell not My Signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are unbelievers. We ordained therein for them: “Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.” But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are wrong-doers. And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary, confirming the Torah that had come before him: We sent him the : therein was guidance and light. And confirmation of the Torah that had come before him: a guidance and an abomination to those who fear Allah. Let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are those who rebel. To thee We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and guarding it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah hath revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that hath come to thee. To each among you have We prescribed a Law and an Open Way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single People, but (His Plan is) to test you in what He hath give you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah; It is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute.233

In these five verses, mention is made three times that those who do not adhere to what Allah has revealed are unbelievers, wrongdoers, or rebels. There is also one verse extolling followers to follow what Allah has revealed in the above verses. The above verses seem to have been directed against Jews and Christians, but is it for all times or only until Shari’ah was to be implemented? After the assassination of Anwar Sadat in 1981, the Egyptian Ministry of Religious Affairs commented on the above verses that were used by Farag and his al-Jihad group to justify the assassination. The Ministry argued “that the verses actually concern Mohammed’s polemics against Jews and

233 Qur’an 5:44-48.

80 Christians (on the one hand) and Arab pagans (on the other). Current politics are not mentioned, but the warning is clear: Beware of those who manipulate the Holy Writ.”234 For Ibn Taymiyya, the Yasa Laws brought by the Mongols were a form of pollutant and a deviation from the laws of Allah.235 By not living according to the Shari’ah, the Mongols were introducing customs that originated on the Steppe, essentially committing bida’a or innovation, and living in sin. The precedent put forth by Ibn Taymiyya had repercussions in later times as other writers such as Sayyid Qutb and Mohammed Abdel al-Salam al Farag argued that if a Muslim government was not living according to Shari’ah, then it could be overthrown using force if necessary. Ibn Taymiyya even wrote tracts on government where he believed that “the main function of government, [in his view], is to maintain order through coercion, but coercion exercised in a correct way, i.e. by enforcing God’s law.”236 Ultimately, fighting was for Ibn Taymiyya a necessity “until there is no persecution and the religion is God’s entirely.”237 For him, there were two types of penalties imposed on people in the Shari’ah: the punishment of those who are under the sway of Islamic Law and secondly, those that fought against Islamic Law, it is for the second group that jihad may be waged. For Ibn Taymiyya, not only is jihad incumbent on Muslims, but it is even seen as being meritorious. The focus will now turn to Ibn Tamiyya’s book titled, Public and Private Law in Islam or Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence. Chapter eight of this work is titled Jihad (Holy War) and Decisive Fight. It is a rather lengthy chapter of twenty-seven pages and is thorough in giving Qur’anic and Ahadith evidence as to why Jihad is such an integral part of Islam. In this chapter, Ibn Taymiyya asked the question, one among many; is fighting people in order to make them pay the Zakat (alms) legal?238 He answers this question with an astounding yes since he sees withholding Zakat as an

234 Sivan, 104.

235 The Yasa Laws were the customary laws of the Mongol people living on the Steppe.

236 Peters, 43.

237 Qur’an 2:193 and 8:39.

238 Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and encompasses a Muslim to pay roughly 2.5% of his/her total wealth on a yearly basis to the poor.

81 offense against God and the Ummah. It is clear in the chapter that waging a jihad while resorting to qital against Muslims and non-Muslims alike was considered legal for Ibn Taymiyya. This chapter outlines Ibn Taymiyya’s justification for going to war and fighting fi-si-bi-Allah or in the way of God.239 Ibn Taymiyya made a distinction in exacting penalties on two groups of people. One are individuals who live under the sway of the Shari’ah, while the other is the group considered rebellious “who was summoned by the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to propagate the religion of Allah, and he did not respond, he should be fought until there is no more civil discord and the only worship be that of Allah.”240 To justify this, he went to the Qur’an, where he found the following verses:

Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for persecution is worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay them. Such is the reward of those who reject faith but if they cease, Allah is Oft- Forgiving, Most Merciful. And fight them on until there is no more persecution and the religion becomes Allah’s. But if they cease, let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression.241 And fight them on until there is no more persecution, and religion becomes Allah’s in its entirety but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do.242

The point that Ibn Taymiyya is making is that there is no distinction whether someone professes the faith or not. If they do not practice Islam, they are disbelievers and are to be fought. Verses one hundred and ninety to one hundred and ninety-three in chapter two according to Yusuf Ali relate to the year 628 when the treaty of Hudaibiya was written and the Muslims were not allowed to perform the pilgrimage, but Ibn Taymiyya does not consider this. Verse thirty-nine of chapter eight, also deals with self- defense according to Yusuf Ali when the Ummah was suffering persecution at the hands of the Quraish. Ibn Taymiyya on the other hand painted with a wide brush using an example from one specific time and place to justify actions perpetrated in later times.

239 Taymiyya, 135-161.

240 Taymiyya, 135.

241 Qur’an 2:190-193.

242 Qur’an 8:39.

82 Ibn Taymiyya’s writings do not tell of the Ummah fighting in self-defense, instead, he seems to interpret the above verses to provoke Muslims to fight offensively. This chapter has focused on two groups and one individual that have played a significant role in the history of Islam. Whether the Kharijites were more influential than the Assassins is open for debate, but the Kharijites were the first group to openly rebel against the Caliph and started murdering fellow Muslims with impunity. The Assassins were worth writing about because they were Muslims that had a history of not only killing non-Muslims, but also Muslims. In other words, they seemed to have used the same rationale for killing members of two different faiths. Lastly, Ibn Taymiyya is of the greatest significance because of his influence on later generations of Muslims not only where jihad was concerned, but on other subjects not dealt with in this dissertation. After Taymiyya, the concept of qital fi-si-bi-Allah (fighting in the way of God) turned mainly to Central Asia where the Ottoman and Mughal Empires, respectively, used it to justify their actions in the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Indian sub-continent. The Ottomans dominated the Islamic World militarily from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries, while the Mughals ruled the majority of South Asia from 1526 to 1859 when the Sepoy Mutiny occurred. It is not the intent of the author to focus on these empires since their doctrines of jihad were derived from prior sources, mainly the Qur’an and Sunnah. While these two empires, respectively, have their share of fighting, no major theologian emerges regarding jihad or qital. The emphasis of this dissertation will now shift from the early years and Middle Ages of Islamic History to the twentieth century and Egypt where another influential group and its most important ideologue emerge. Although Sayyid Qutb, al-Jihad, and al-Qaeda do not explicitly attribute their actions to the words and deeds of the Kharijites, the Assassins, and Ibn Taymiyya, there are obvious themes that were used. Like Muslims before them, Qutb, al- Jihad, and al-Qaeda justify their actions with the Qur’an and Sunnah. However, Qutb’s ideology of seceding from a society not practicing the Shari’ah only to return and conquer it, as the Kharijites and Assassins did, or to fight fellow Muslims who were not adhering to Islam, as al-Jihad and al-Qaeda have both done, can be deduced from what the Kharijites, the Assassins, and Ibn Taymiyya both said and did. Thus, the Kharijites,

83 the Assassins, and Ibn Taymiyya constructed a firm foundation on which Qutb, and those who followed, would later build.

84 CHAPTER FOUR: THE BACKGROUND TO 20th CENTURY EGYPT

Ever since the Arab general Amr ibn-As conquered Egypt in 644, it has maintained an Islamic identity. Throughout the past thirteen centuries, it has been run by Muslim dynasties and empires. Egypt has long held an important role in Islamic and world history. It connects two continents, Africa and Africa. Egypt has also maintained a lasting relationship with Europe. While Egypt was both conquered by Greece and Rome, both European powers borrowed much from the African nation in terms of religious influence, as can be found in the Bible, as well as, art, architecture, and laws. The Greeks also hold a special status in Egyptian history, as one of the latter’s cities, Alexandria, was named after the great general, Alexander the Great. After the Romans were replaced by the Byzantines, Muslims storming out of the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh century took Egypt. It has been a country where Islam has maintained a special status. One of its greatest , al-Azhar, was established in Cairo in 970. From the eleventh through the thirteenth centuries, Crusaders from Europe repeatedly tried and failed to take Egypt. The concept of jihad was a major reason why Muslims such as the Mamluks were able to stave off their invaders. The Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet have held a major influence in Egypt’s identity over the past thirteen centuries, and Ibn Taymiyya’s writings have only helped to solidify them as he both fought and wrote against one of Egypt’s nemesis, the Mongols. The thesis of this chapter is to examine some of the major Muslim personalities who helped develop Egypt in the twentieth century and their impact on other figures. While the first three chapters of this dissertation dealt in general with issues of jihad and qital, or struggling and fighting respectively, the next four deal with Egyptian history, Sayyid Qutb, and al-Jihad. This chapter will include a brief overview of the military, political, and religious conditions of twentieth century Egypt that helped to shape the worlds of Sayyid Qutb and al-Jihad respectively. Certain men who helped form Egypt throughout the twentieth century such as King Faruq (1920-1965), Said Zaghlul Pasha (1860?-1927), Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970), Anwar Sadat (1918-

85 1981), and Hosni Mubarak (1928-present) will be explained in some depth.243 As European powers set out across the globe in the search for God, Glory, and Gold, the colonized territories were forced to adopt a new way of thinking, one that incorporated new ideologies that were foreign to their cultures, including their religious ways of life. The Dar al-salaam was hit especially hard since the occupants of these lands believed that they lived according to God’s commandments, the Qur’an and Hadith, yet foreigners were overpowering them. Egypt was used to being invaded and occupied, but the European advance was something new and much more dangerous than previous invasions. This danger was in the form of a cultural war that was being waged. Sayyid Qutb and others criticized the advance of western culture that was being introduced and he wrote about how to counteract it; this will be dealt with in chapters five and six respectively. This chapter will lay down the background of Egyptian history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which are basic to understanding Sayyid Qutb and al- Jihad. It also examines Egypt’s political events in more detail than it religious events since the rest of the dissertation will focus on religion and theology.

Egypt from Napoleon to King Faruq

From ancient times, Egypt has seen itself the object of conquests going back thousands of years. It has been overwhelmed by such groups as the Hyksos, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines have all left their mark on the land of the Pharaohs. In the seventh century however, a new invasion arose storming out from the east. Islam first came to Egypt in 644 when it was conquered by the brilliant Arab general Amr ibn-As. Since then, it has been a country where Islam has been the dominant religion, either by rule, population, or both. It then fell to a number of Muslim invaders such as the Fatimids, Ayyubids, Mamluks, and Ottomans. Egypt has largely been ruled by men of military prowess. The Mamluks were essentially slave soldiers who ruled large portions

243 The spelling of Faruq is taken from Arthur Goldschmidt Jr., Historical Dictionary of Egypt (Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1994) while another rendering from King Faruq’s name can be spelled Farouk. Gamal is Egyptian for Jamal, while Abdel is a modification for the Arabic Abdul or “Slave of God.” For Nasser, Abdel Nasser is used much more frequently than Abdul, and thus I have chosen the former. Other sources for the history of Egypt during this time are Christopher Herold’s Bonaparte in Egypt, Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid-Marsot’s Egypt in the Reign of Mohammed Ali, Barrie St. Clair McBride’s Faruq of Egypt: A Biography, and Jamal Mohammed Ahmed’s The Intellectual Origins of Egyptian Nationalism.

86 of the Middle East. Egypt was a difficult country to conquer and no European country had done so until France under Napoleon invaded in 1798 and defeated the Ottoman Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids. Napoleon himself stayed in Egypt until 1799 when he had to return to his empire in Europe. With this defeat, Egypt found itself being colonized along with most of the world, as European world powers dictated policies to its colonized populations. Indigenous peoples were treated harshly at times. This brutality helped mold Sayyid Qutb’s notion of the jahiliyyah, as jahiliyyah meant not only ignorant, but also being a barbarian. For the Islamic World, this barbarism was something new as Muslims now had foreigners dictating policies to them, including policies in total opposition to the Shari’ah. Europeans fought each other for control of territories all over the world including, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The French struck the first blow, as they wanted to disrupt British trade routes between Britain and India, and also establish a protectorate in Djibouti. The French occupied Egypt from 1798-1801 beginning with Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion. In 1799, he returned to France, leaving his troops susceptible to being counter-attacked. Through resistance, disease, and British assistance, Egypt was once again “independent.” By 1805, Mohammed Ali (1769-1849) consolidated his rule of Egypt and after killing Mamluk rivals in 1811, he found himself in sole control, while helping to lead the country on its way to modernity. His rule was filled military victories, especially over the . However, on July 27, 1839, five European powers (Austria, Britain, France, Prussia, and ), forced Mohammed Ali to submit to their political terms telling him to hand back to the Ottomans lands he had acquired by force.244 The 1840 London Convention in detail stated Egypt had to withdraw from Syria and return the Ottoman Fleet back to its Sultan. Egypt maintained self-rule until September 13, 1882, when Britain defeated the Egyptian army at the Battle of Tel al- Kabir. Britain’s concern over economic interests in the Suez Canal prompted the occupation of Egypt.245 In Egypt, the Khedive held power, not the Ottoman sultan, until

244 Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid-Marsot, Egypt in the Reign of Mohammed Ali (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 173. Marsot’s biography is well detailed and easy to read.

245 Goldschmidt, 291. Goldschmidt’s book is an invaluable source for understanding Egypt’s history from the eighteenth century to the present day.

87 1914. However, after the Ottomans joined forces with the Germans during World War I, Britain went ahead and declared Egypt a protectorate. Before this chapter continues with a summary of the major figures of Egypt in the twentieth century, it is important to write about the position of the Shari’ah at this time. Under the Ottomans up to the late eighteenth century, courts were set up for Muslims based on the Shari’ah, as well as, separate courts that handled cased for Dhimmis or “People of the Book,” Jews and Christians.246 As the nineteenth century emerged and colonial influence increased, the judicial system inside Egypt became increasingly secular. Under Mohammed Ali and begun by the Ottoman Nizam-i-jadid or “New Order,” also known as the Ottoman military and political reform program,

A rudimentary secular court system was established under Mohammed Ali and Isma’il, leading to comprehensive National Courts in 1883, but the Shari’ah Courts continued to hear cases involving marriage, divorce, child custody, administration of family awqaf or or religious endowment of land or other property, and other matters most likely to affect the daily lives of most Egyptian Muslims.247

Reforms continued under British occupation as reforms in and the legal system restricted opportunities for religiously trained men to obtain jobs they once monopolized. In addition, “lawyers, judges, codes, documents, and scribes replaced the old Shari’ah system, and the introduction to the new schools of teachers who were not ‘Ulema’ threatened the previous order.”248 As the centuries old system of Shari’ah Courts disappeared, so too did careers for those that sought a religious education. These changes took place under such leaders as King Faruq and Gamal Abdel Nasser causing Muslims like Sayyid Qutb to react that Egypt was becoming just another western country while losing its Islamic identity at the same time. At the outbreak of World War I, Britain declared war on the Ottoman Empire and deposed Khedive Abbas Hilmi II, while installing his uncle Husayn Kamil as the new Sultan of Egypt. When the war came to an end, Sir Reginald Wingate, Egypt’s high

246 Marsot, 220.

247 C.C. , Islam and Modernism in Egypt (New York: Russell and Russell, 1968), 260.

248 Adams, 279.

88 commissioner, met with three Egyptian politicians headed by Said Zaghlul Pasha. Zaghlul demanded autonomy for Egypt and announced that he would attend the Paris Peace Conference and state his case. The British government refused to accept this request and arrested Zaghlul in March of 1919 incarcerating Zaghlul and three of his friends in Malta. The detention of Zaghlul led to widespread revolts in Egypt. Lord Edmund Allenby was named as a special high commissioner and he asked that concessions be made to the nationalists. After Zaghlul was released, his delegation, the Wafd, or nationalist party dominated Egyptian politics.249 The had become a countrywide organization by 1918. A commission, called the Milner commission, in 1919-1920, was sent by the British to report on the establishment of a constitutional government under the protectorate. This commission was boycotted by the Egyptians, but Milner had private talks with Zaghlul in London. On February 28, 1922, Egypt was unilaterally declared independent from England, but not without Allenby wanting to build a group of pro-British politicians in Egypt. In April of 1923, a constitutional monarchy was implemented with a constitution enacted resembling Belgium’s. In 1936, a treaty was signed, the Anglo-Egyptian treaty, which among other provisions, “limited the British army of occupation to ten thousand troops during peacetime, but in 1939 fifty-five thousand British troops remained in Egypt and the Sudan.”250 However, the British, due to pressure, did decide to abandon bases in Cairo, Alexandria, and other towns, but once more refused to withdraw totally from the Suez Zone.251 By the events of 1922/1923 and 1936, Egypt gained increased autonomy, although not its independence. This continued foreign dominance influenced Sayyid Qutb and his successors greatly.

249 Goldschmidt, 307.

250 M.W. Daly ed. Cambridge History of Egypt, vol. 2, Modern Egypt, from 1517 to the end of the twentieth century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 285. This two-volume work is thorough as part two, most relevant for this chapter, begins with the Ottomans and ends with today’s affairs. It also has separate chapters on both, French and British occupations.

251 Goldschmidt, 63.

89 King Faruq

King Faruq ruled Egypt during a very critical time. Between 1936 to 1952, both World War II and the birth of state of Israel occurred. He was a charismatic man who gave the first formal speech to the Egyptian people in Arabic.252 Faruq even led Friday prayers; something that he was not obligated to do. One Egyptian, Mustafa al-Maraghi, wanted Faruq to be named the new Caliph after repeated attempts were made to revive the abolished position. This was significant because after Kamal Mustafa Ataturk abolished the Caliphate in 1926, there was no one direct leader of the Ummah. Many in the Islamic world wanted a leader who could unite Muslims, particularly against the West. Faruq was forced to compete with the Wafd party for power and he dismissed the party for instigating what he labeled “a popular demonstration near Abdin in December of 1937.”253 During World War II, the British asked Faruq for troops to help secure the Suez Canal, but he refused to do this, preferring to remain neutral and hoping that the Germans would one day help liberate Egypt from Britain.254 Britain’s ambassador to Egypt, Sir Miles Lampson, considered deposing Faruq, while calling for a new cabinet headed by Mustafa al-Nahhas, hoping that Nahhas would uphold the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty.255 On February 4, 1942, Lampson demanded that Faruq appoint Nahhas to head a Wafdist cabinet or abdicate his throne. From this point forward, Faruq’s rule was seen as weak since the British demonstrated that they still could dictate policies to Egypt at the point of a gun. Other highlights of Faruq’s reign included his ill- advised attempt to help Arab armies in the first war against the new state of Israel in 1948 against the advice of his ministers and generals. His troops were badly beaten and Egypt was forced to be the first Arab state to accept an armistice from Israel. These events and others ended Faruq’s rule and led to his forced removal by the Free Officers on July 22- 23 1952. According to historian Arthur Goldschmidt Jr., referring to Faruq, “When he

252 Goldschmidt, 108.

253 Goldschmidt, 108.

254 Barrie St. Clair McBride, Faruq of Egypt: A Biography (London: Robert Hale, 1967), 237.

255 Rupe Simms, “’Islam is our politics’: A Gramscian Analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood (1928-1953),” Social Compass 49, no. 4 (2002): 563.

90 returned from England to succeed his father as king, he had no enemies; when he left Egypt, a failure, he had no friends.”256 In July 1952, the Free Officers, led by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser and General Mohammed Naguib, toppled the monarchy in a coup. Naguib held a series of titles including commander-in-chief of the army, governor-general, premier, and war and naval minister.257 He was the president of Egypt from 1952 to 1954, but with Nasser’s rise to power, Naguib was placed under house arrest from 1954 to 1971 by Nasser. In June of 1953, Naguib declared Egypt a republic. Nasser was made premier on April 18, 1954 and on November 14th, he went on to become its head of state. Finally in a referendum, Nasser was elected President of Egypt on June 23rd 1956. The emphasis will now turn to Gamal Abdel Nasser himself, who may be Egypt’s most important twentieth century political figure.

Gamal Abdel Nasser

Nasser was seen as the champion of Arab Nationalism. Resenting the Western influence in Egypt, he nationalized the Suez Canal on July 26, 1956. The move made Britain and France nervous that their economic interests would be jeopardized. This caused the combined forces of Britain, Israel, and France to invade Egypt on October 29, 1956, destroying much of its armed forces, the capture of Port Said, and the bombing of Cairo. Nasser however stood strong as he sunk ships in the canal preventing its use. The United Nations ordered a cease-fire and the invading forces were forced to withdraw by April of 1957.258 The Suez War was a military defeat for Nasser, but a political victory since British and French influence were severely weakened thereafter.259 Gamal Abdel Nasser as stated earlier strongly supported Arab Nationalism. On February 1, 1958, he along with Syria’s president Shukri al-Kwatly joined together in Cairo to proclaim the United Arab Republic “under one Head of State with a common

256 Goldschmidt, 110.

257 Goldschmidt, 200.

258 S.F. Mahmud, A Short History of Islam (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1988), 344-345.

259 Goldschmidt, 274.

91 legislature, one flag, and a unified army.”260 Just one month later on March 8th, the Kingdom of joined the Untied Arab Republic. However, only three years later, on August 19, 1961, Syria left the organization.261 The movement was seen as an attempt “to unify all or some of the Arab-speaking countries and that strives to ensure their independence from non-Arab control.”262 Though this move to unite all or almost all Arab countries failed, it was a strong ideology that was meant to unite all people regardless of religion. The topic of nationalism is one that will be touched on briefly, as it played a role in the Muslim Brotherhood’s attempt to unite Egypt’s Muslims. The ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood was one where there were no nationalities and the Qur’an was the constitution of the state. After Syria broke away from the United Arab Republic, Nasser decided to dissolve its partnership with Yemen as well. Nasser believed that conservative Arab countries and Israeli and Western intelligence were behind the breakup.263 In one last attempt to unite the Arab people, Egypt, along with Iraq, , Kuwait, and Syria, decided to join together in another organization, one where economic cooperation was the main issue. This alliance formed in August of 1964 did not work, but the idea of Pan-Arabism remained.264 If there was one major reason why the Arab World came together and united for a common cause, it was the state of Israel. The following pages will turn to the military events of the region, primarily the Six-Day War of 1967, also known as the June War, since its outcome was so disastrous for the Arab World and soon after cries of Arab Nationalism were slowly replaced with shouts for Islam. Before focus of this dissertations turns to Nasser and war, attention should be focused on the tension between nationalism, secularization, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

260 Mahmud, 376.

261 Mahmud, 376.

262 Goldschmidt, 41.

263 Goldschmidt, 289.

264 Mahmud, 376.

92 Nationalism, secularization, and the Muslim Brotherhood

Nationalism is the call to unite all people living under a political entity, regardless of ethnicity, race, or religion. What Nasser was trying to do was not only unite all people living in Egypt to be “Egyptian”, but also to unite all Arabs, thus many, including Sayyid Qutb, called Nasser’s proposal “Arab Nationalism.”265 Not only was Egypt resorting to nationalism in order to unite its people, but it was secularizing at the same time. Secularization, the separation between church and state, in Egypt deemphasized the role of religion, mainly Islam, and kept religion out of government, as well as, a private matter. According to historian Albert Hourani in his classic book, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939,

The communal consciousness of the Arabs had passed through three stages in modern times: from pan-Islam through pan-Arabism to the new nationalism (qawmiyya). This last differed from the others in that it was based on language and not religion; while concerned for social justice, it rejected or ignored the doctrine of man which lay at the basis of Islam.266

According to the Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan Muslimun), Islam was to play a major role in lives of all Muslims, regardless of race or nationality. Under Nasser, secularism was vital for uniting Egyptians, while religion was a private matter. He, like his successor Sadat, used the Muslim Brotherhood in times of political need, but after social order was restored, both men persecuted the religious organization, whom both feared, was too powerful. Nationalism and secularization were inventions of the West and were seen as a way to diminish the role of Islam. These concepts were wrong for the Ikhwan since people were united not under God’s sovereignty (hakimiyya), but through their ethnicity and language. For the Muslim Brotherhood, God’s sovereignty cannot be

265 Sayed Khatab, “Arabism and in Sayyid Qutb’s though on nationalism,” The Muslim World 94, 2 (April 2004): 221.

266 Albert Hourani, Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939 (London: Oxford University Press, 1962), 373. This classic written in 1962 follows the fall of the Ottoman empire and the role of Islam towards the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. It elaborates on the ideologies of such men as Afghani, Abduh, Rida, and includes a chapter on Egyptian nationalism.

93 replaced by humans implementing secular law in substitution of the Shari’ah. Hourani continues speaking of the Ikhwan,

For them nationalism was not enough, not simply in the sense that they looked beyond the nation to the larger community of Islam, but because they believed that the community, national or religious, should seek its welfare within the limits laid down by religious law.267

During this period Hasan al-Banna (1906-1949) played a key role. Al-Banna was born in Mahmudiyya, a village near Alexandria. After being interested in early in his life, Banna founded the Muslim Brotherhood in 1928 at the young age of twenty-two. While al-Banna was himself a teacher of Islam, the organization has always followed his example, dedicating itself to “promoting a revival of Islam and a return to the study of its primary texts.”268 Al-Banna, while preaching in the 1930’s and 1940’s, achieved a great deal of success, gaining support among urban workers and young intellectuals. His charisma also won him support among Muslims around the Arab World. As some members of the Brotherhood became prone to resorting to armed violence, it was suppressed by the government. After the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mahmud Fahmi al- Nuqrashi, was assassinated by a student attached to the Ikhwan in December 1948, al- Bann himself was assassinated by government officials just two months later.269 For Hasan al-Banna, political parties were to be banned, laws should be reformed reflecting the Shari’ah, and administrative posts should be given to those with a religious education. He also believed that the should maintain strict control over morality and education: primary schools should be attached to mosques, while religion should be the focal point of education with Arabic the main language.270 While nationalism and secularization were points of contention between the Muslim Brotherhood and Nasser, the latter had other issues to contend with as Egypt found itself

267 Hourani, 360.

268 David Cook, Understanding Jihad (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005), 97-98. Cook’s book is helpful as it looks at the role of jihad historically. It also examines the lives of the early theologians who helped format the use of jihad.

269 Cook, 99.

270 Hassan al-Banna, Al-Rasa’il al-thalath, quoted from Hourani.

94 in almost constant warfare beginning in 1948 with the modern state of Israel and the trauma of its birth.

Nasser’s wars with Israel

Nasser’s popularity was due partly to his opposition to Israel. Egypt found itself in four wars with Israel in 1948, 1956, 1967, and 1973. The 1967 Six Day War was in many ways the most important. The causes of the Six Day War were various and range from

the rise of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and especially of its fidaiyin raids, which caused Israeli retaliation against their bases in Jordan; the mounting conflict over the utilization of the waters of the and its tributaries; and the Egyptian- Syrian Joint Defense Agreement.271

Other reasons involve incidents not related to Egypt directly as Israeli and Syrian aircraft fought each other in April of that fateful year. Soviet intelligence also reported that Israel was massing troops on the Syrian border. Pressured by other Arab governments to stop “hiding behind the UN’s skirts”, Nasser demanded that the United Nations withdraw its Emergency Force from along the and the Gaza Strip that had been there since the Suez War.272 When the UN Secretary General U Thant complied, Nasser decided to move troops through Cairo and into the Sinai. He then decided on May 21st to close the Straits of Tiran and blockaded Israeli shipping in the Gulf of .273 Egypt seized control of Sharm al-, and a government newspaper, Al-Ahram, wrote that Israel would have to fight if it wanted access to the Red Sea.274 On May 30th Egypt and Jordan set aside differences as they formed a military

271 Goldschmidt, 155.

272 Goldschmidt, 155.

273 Roy Fullick and Geoffrey Powell, Suez: The Double War (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1979), 65. This book looks at the Suez War from a military view, as well as, economic and political.

274 Cutter, 256.

95 pact putting Jordan’s army under Egyptian command. The stage for war was set as Israel saw itself as getting insufficient backing from Western countries. On June 5th, Israel launched a preemptive strike against the air bases of Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria effectively destroying their air force before they could be activated, causing the ground war to be short. Within three days, Egypt was driven from the Sinai while its state run media was telling the public that it was winning the war. Nasser on national television took responsibility for the loss and resigned on June 9th, one day later after mass demonstrations he reneged.275 Egypt’s military losses were tremendous as it suffered the loss of “356 of its 431 fighter aircraft, about 700 of its 1,300 tanks, and some 3,000 men killed, 5,000 wounded, and 4,980 prisoners or missing.”276 After the war, Egypt’s military was increasingly influenced by the Soviet Union. Then the oil-exporting countries put pressure on Nasser to withdraw from Yemen and to modify Egypt’s economic policies. Lastly, Egypt accepted UN Security Council Resolution 242 as a basis to end the 1967 conflict.277 Nasser then tried to wage a war of attrition against Israel beginning in September of 1968 by sporadically bombarding Israeli targets only to have Israel retaliate by bombing civilian targets through the air and going deep into Egyptian territory.278 This caused Israel to build its Bar Lev Line forcing Nasser to evacuate civilians from cities along the Suez Canal. He also tried to build an air defense network with the help of the Soviets against Israel. In March of 1969, Egyptian and Israeli troops fought once more. Fighting mostly in Egyptian territory, Egypt lost radar installations, artillery, and surface-to-air missile systems, with Israeli troops going deep into its territory.279 While Nasser asked for more Soviet help in the forms of personnel to train Egyptians with the new air defense system, the conflict ended in August of 1970 with the Rogers Peace Plan calling for a ninety-day cease-fire.280

275 Goldschmidt, 155.

276 Goldschmidt, 155.

277 Daly, 357-358.

278 Michael Youssef, Revolt against modernity; Muslim zealots and the West (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1985), 146.

279 Goldschmidt, 49.

280 Goldschmidt, 245.

96 Mohammed Anwar Sadat281

When Nasser died in 1970, he was replaced by Colonel Mohammed Anwar Sadat, who was elected by a seventy percent majority in October. One of the first things Sadat did was to amend the Provisional Constitution of March 25, 1964 on September 11, 1971, which now guaranteed free public education, and the freedom of the press and religion.282 He went and made further amendments in May of 1980 as well. Under Sadat, general elections took place on June 7th and 14th of 1979. The National Democratic Party won eighty-four percent of the seats in that election.283 Nothing that Sadat did, however took away from the fact that after Nasser’s death, Israel still held the Sinai Peninsula after the Six-Day War of 1967. Egypt fell out of favor with the Soviet Union when they felt that the USSR did not supply them with enough modern weaponry.284 In the years following the Six-Day War, Egypt found itself under pressure from its civilian population to avenge its defeat. Egypt and Syria had secret meetings to discuss a planned invasion of Israel on its holiest day. Planning for the war began as early as 1971 following the breakdown of the full implementation of the Rogers Peace Plan which called for Israel to pullback from the Suez Canal as well as acknowledging Security Council Resolution 242. With the failure of Israel to comply with the Rogers Peace Plan, Sadat was convinced that only through war could it meet his objectives of regaining the Sinai. Sadat and Syrian President al-Asad decided that a two-front attack was its best chance to defeat Israel. When in 1972, Sadat asked Soviet advisors to leave in July of 1972, this seemed to weaken Egypt’s military capabilities, but it only accelerated arms shipments from the USSR to Egypt. Actually not all advisors left and in November of 1972 Egypt was still in an ongoing process of rearming and training itself making Israel and the United States skeptical about another war.285 On October 6, 1973, on Yom Kippur and the 10th of

281 Sadat’s first name is often ignored and has generally been noted as Anwar Sadat.

282 Mahmud, 376.

283 Mahmud, 376.

284 Cutter, 256.

97 Ramadan, Egypt invaded Israel from the west and Syria from the east, with both making much more progress than in 1967. With Operation Badr commencing, Egypt went through the Sinai with very little difficulty with its “rubber dinghies, ferries, and hastily erected bridges.”286 Egypt made tremendous progress as it managed to get thousands of men across the Suez within a day and half. However, no matter how well it performed, Egypt did not take a stronger initiative to “capture the Gidi and Mitla Passes and cross the Sinai Peninsula, enabling Israel to shift most of its men and materiel to its northern front against Syria.”287 At Syria’s request, Sadat decided to make his move to capture those above-mentioned passes leading to a tank battle that Israel slowly turned to its advantage using its military superiority. Israel proceeded to cross the Suez Canal and threaten Suez City and possibly even Cairo itself.288 When the Egyptian Third Army was cut off from re-supply and Suez City surrounded, Sadat quickly accepted UN Resolution 338 to Syria’s dismay. Syria hoped to regain land she had lost and Israel had hoped to secure a better position for itself. UN Resolution 338, written by the US and the USSR, called for a cease-fire and an implementation to UN Resolution 242. In addition, UN Resolutions 339 and 340 called for UN observers to monitor the cease-fire and for all parties to go back to the positions they occupied on October 22, 1973, “implying Israel’s withdrawal from its position surrounding Suez.”289 Egyptian “losses included 1,100 tanks and 450 armored personnel carriers, 44 jet fighters and 223 helicopters, 42 warships, and about 5,000 men killed, 12,000 injured, and 8,031 prisoners or missing.”290 The end of the war proved that Israel was not invincible, and thus helped in paving the way for Egyptian and Israeli peace negotiations. By the end of the decade however, Sadat was seen as a traitor to the Arab cause in the eyes of most Egyptians for flying to Jerusalem and making peace with

285 Goldschmidt, 216-217.

286 Goldschmidt, 217.

287 Goldschmidt, 217.

288 Youssef, 175.

289 Goldschmidt, 256-257.

290 Goldschmidt, 217.

98 its long time enemy at the Camp David Accords. These two events angered many inside, as well as outside of Egypt, to the point of not only calling for his removal from office, but some even called for his death. Other important aspects of Sadat’s rule included his flight to Jerusalem in November of 1977, addressing the Israeli Knesset and asking for peaceful co-existence between Arabs and Israelis. He made this request with the hopes that Israel would withdraw from the lands it had occupied since the Six-Day War. Despite massive pressure from fellow Arab countries not to sign the Camp David Accords, Sadat decided to make peace with Israel and forge closer ties with the US. Egypt was then promptly expelled from the Arab League causing Arab countries to break diplomatic ties and cut financial aid.291 Sadat gradually backed away from Arab Socialism and tried to open Egypt up to capitalism in a policy called intifah to foster foreign investment in manufacturing.292 Investment was steady from Arab countries in the form of the Gulf Organization for the Development of Egypt from 1974 to 1978, but western investment fell below Sadat’s expectations.293 Egypt’s economy was doing well due to the re- opening of the Suez Canal, tourism, and remittances, but investment in manufacturing had not been as strong as Sadat had hoped. State-owned industries such as education, health care, transport, and welfare suffered due to this lack of investing and the abandonment of Nasser’s Socialism, as well as, causing a wider gap between rich and poor. A food riot broke out in 1977 and as attacks on his policies intensified in 1981, “he censored the press, passed the Law of Shame, and in September of 1981 jailed many of his suspected opponents.”294 Another unpopular law put into affect by Sadat were the “Jihan’s Laws,” promulgated in 1979. These laws, named after Sadat’s wife, Jihan, sought to allow a wife the right to seek a divorce if her husband took a second wife without her consent. Other components of “Jihan’s Laws,” allowed the wife asking for a

291 Goldschmidt, 249-250.

292 Fauzi M. Najjar, “The debate on in Egypt,” Arab Studies Quarterly 18, no. 2 (Spring 1996): 11.

293 Goldschmidt, 250.

294 Goldschmidt, 250. The Law of Shame was authorized by Sadat in 1980 and approved by ninety eight percent of all voters. Still in existence today, it restricts the criticism of the president amongst other things. Offenders could be barred from public life or may be forced to leave Egypt.

99 divorce the right to stay at her husband’s home until their children came of age, lengthened the period a wife could retain her children, and a larger claim to alimony and child support. With opposition coming from conservative Muslims, portions of “Jihan’s Laws” were changed in 1985.295 When Sadat was assassinated by members of the Egyptian army, nobody in the Arab World was especially surprised as Sadat had angered and outraged many in the Arab and Muslim Worlds by visiting Israel in November 1977 and making peace with the Jewish State the next year. Under American pressure, Sadat in September of 1978 at the Camp David accords accepted Israel as a sovereign country in return for the Sinai, which Israel promptly gave back. The Camp David Accords were signed on March 26, 1979 and later ratified on April 20, 1979.296 These moves isolated Sadat and Egypt from the rest of the Arab World as he was seen as stabbing the Arab cause in the back. When one reflects on Sadat making plans for war, not peace, against Israel in 1972-1973, leading to the October Yom Kippur War in 1973, it is hard to see this same man making history as the first Arab head of state to visit Israel, not to mention, making peace with Israel. According to Sadat’s official biographer, Egyptian historian and journalist Mousa Sabry, Egyptian

security agents revealed that 14 different groups wanted Sadat killed, including Palestinian factions; Marxist organizations, inside and outside Egypt; and the rejectionist governments of Libya, South Yemen, Iran, and Syria, who abhorred Sadat’s decision to have peace talks with Israel. Between 1977 and 1981, security forces foiled 38 attempts to kill Sadat or his ministers and thwarted a coup attempt in Egypt.297

With Sadat’s security forces being so well mobilized and efficient, it is hard to understand why they were not able to detect the hatched by al-Jihad and its ultimate assassination of Sadat on October 6, 1981. According to eyewitness accounts, Sadat’s assassination took less than thirty five seconds to execute and was carried out by

295 Wedad Zenie-Ziegler, In Search of Shadows: Conversations with Egyptian Women (London: Zed Books, 1988), 35.

296 Mahmud, 377.

297 Youssef H. Aboul-Enein, “Islamic militant cells and Sadat’s assassination,” Military Review 84, no. 4 (July-August 2004): 91. Enein’s article is an excellent review of the assassination. It is full of details covering the actual shooting, as well as, aftermath of Sadat’s assassination.

100 bullets traveling seven hundred thirty five meters per second at a distance of less than fifteen meters. Sadat regularly had layers of security including personal bodyguards, who were within fifteen meters of Sadat; the Republican (Presidential) Guard, a military unit of commandos selected to guard the president, was stationed outside the fifteen meters. Despite all this security, the assassins were able to get within fifteen meters of Sadat.298 Chapter seven will elaborate more on al-Jihad and their assassination of Sadat. Members of this organization, as well as other Islamists, were used by Sadat at one time to fight communists and proponents of Nasser, but they were ultimately responsible for his death. He was seen as being ostentatious and abandoning Islam. After the death of Sadat, Egypt was once more ruled by a military man, Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak’s role in Egypt and how his rule has led Egypt to its current state will be dealt with briefly. Then the role of Islam in Egyptian Society to date will be explained.

Hosni Mubarak (1928-present)

Hosni Mubarak spent much of his early life in the military as a fighter pilot after graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1950. Mubarak’s life began as a military man as he was an instructor at the Air Force Academy from 1954 to 1961, commandant of the same institution from 1967 to 1969, chief of staff of the air force from 1969 to 1971, and finally commander-in-chief of the air force during the October War.299 When the Egyptian Air Force performed above expectations during the war, he was promoted to air marshal in 1974 and one year later vice president by Sadat himself, a post he held until Sadat’s death. After Sadat’s assassination, Mubarak was nominated by the National Democratic Party within a week and confirmed in a referendum without opposition.300 During his rule, Egypt has maintained close ties to the US and has had to endure attempts by Islamists to destabilize the nation. Under Mubarak, there have been no major changes in the role of Islam in Egypt. After Sadat’s death, Mubarak made a bold move in 1987

298 Enein, 95. Chapter seven, titled “Al-Jihad,” will discuss more in depth the assassination of Sadat, as well as, the organization responsible for it.

299 Goldschmidt, 189.

300 Goldschmidt, 189.

101 allowing the Muslim Brotherhood the opportunity to run as candidates for . It essentially put the Ikhwan on par with all other political parties and even some Muslims in Egypt have since seen the Muslim Brotherhood as selling out to the government. Although Ikhwan members are allowed to run for parliament, they must do so in conjunction with other political parties, since the government officially bans the group from collective political involvement. Lastly, members of the Muslim Brotherhood and other religious groups cannot run for president since Egypt does not allow for a theocratic state. A further look at Islam in Egypt during the twentieth century concludes this chapter.

Islam in Egypt in the 20th Century

The history of Islam and Egypt in the twentieth century is full of important personalities on the religious side as much as the political. The focus of this chapter now turns to such names as Mohammed Abduh (1849-1905), Jamal Al-Afghani (1838-1897), (1865-1935), Hasan al-Banna (1906-1949), and Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966). Men such as al-Banna and Qutb, the Muslim Brotherhood’s most important ideologues, were not only affected by the , and its politicians, but also by theologians such as Abduh, al-Afghani, and Rida. Al-Afghani, Rida, and Abduh were three reformers who wrote specifically on trying to reinterpret the role of Islam in the twentieth century. In the early part of the twentieth century, the Arab World was combating the colonial powers that had exploited them, and continued to do so until after the Second World War, and, at the same time, dealing with the issue of Islam and its role in a world where it seemed that religion was taking a back seat to nationalism. Before writing about the al-Banna and Qutb, the influence of Abduh, al-Afghani, and Rida must be examined. In keeping with al-Afghani’s thinking, the idea of Pan-Islamism was an ideology meant to confront the Pan-Arabism that was prominent at the time.

102 Jamal al-Afghani (1838-1897)

First comes Jamal al-Afghani, because although he was not born in Egypt, he was an essential person in formulating Islamic Ideology in the twentieth century, especially as regarding the ideology of Pan-Islamism. After receiving a traditional Iranian Islamic education in and Tehran, he began traveling at the age of eighteen or nineteen to such countries as India, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, England, France, Russia, and Germany.301 Al-Afghani only remained in these countries for a few years. He also taught at al-Azhar University while attracting students such as Mohammed Abduh based upon his views for religious reform. To many, the Muslim Brotherhood saw themselves following a line of thought in the modern Islamic reform movement that was being promulgated by al-Afghani, Abduh, and Rida. As Richard P. Mitchell comments on al- Afghani and Rida,

The Brothers saw themselves clearly in the line of the modern reform movement identified with the names of Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Mohammed ‘Abduh, and Rashid Rida. Their view of the particular relationship of the reformers to each other and to ‘the renaissance of thought in modern Egypt’ is an instructive image of the earlier reformers and also a fairly accurate assessment of their role and that of the Society in modernist developments: Afghani was seen as the ‘caller’ or ‘announcer’ (mu’adhdhin, sarkha); and Rida as the ‘archivist’ or ‘historian’ (sijal, mu’arrikh). Banna, however, was seen as the ‘builder (bani) of a renaissance, the leader of a generation and the founder of a nation’. The Society of the Brothers, according to this view, was the ‘practical’ (‘amali) extension of the previous movements. Among other things, this description implies the Society’s belief that, for all the greatness of these men, their reforms were inadequate because of their failure to view Islam in the totality which the Brothers insisted was consistent with the truth of the revelation and the history of the community. Afghani sees the problems and warns; ‘Abduh teaches and thinks (‘a well-meaning sheik who inspired reforms in the Azhar’); and Rida writes and records. As Banna puts it, all are merely ‘religious and moral reformers’, lacking the comprehensive view of Islam which characterized the Brothers.302

301 Nikki R. Keddie, An Islamic Response to Imperialism (Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1983), 1-3. Keddie’s survey of al-Afghani is comprehensive. It covers al-Afghani’s opinions on such subjects ranging from Islam to philosophy, to materialism.

302 Richard P. Mitchell, The Society of the Muslim Brothers (London: Oxford University Press, 1969), 321. Although, Mitchell’s book on the banned organization is still considered the standard, other books have come out shedding light on the group. They are Christina Phelps Harris’ Nationalism and Revolution in Egypt: The Role of the Muslim Brotherhood (The Hague: Mouton, 1964), Quintan Wiktorowicz’s The Management of Islamic Activism: Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and state power in Jordan (Albany:

103 In the above-mentioned accolade, al-Afghani, as well as, Abduh and Rida, are praised as men who helped Islam, but were narrow in their focus on what Islam should be according to the Brotherhood. Banna and the Muslim Brotherhood, however, do accord them respect. In fact, Banna was most often compared to al-Afghani who was seen as the ‘spiritual father’ of the modern Islamic reform movement. The Muslim Brotherhood identified itself with al-Afghani’s activism. Though al-Afghani was born and died prior to the twentieth century, his influence on others was evident as Abduh “had already become influenced by al-Afghani when in 1871, as a student, he had heard him lecturing privately on Islam, imperialism and the modern world.”303 Al-Afghani was exiled from Egypt by prince Tawfiq (khedive from 1879-1892) in 1879 due to pressure from Europeans who wanted the new ruler to reform the government.304 According to historian Nikki R. Keddie in her biography of al-Afghani, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din “al- Afghani”: a Political Biography, speaking of al-Afghani, “He has become a virtual “mythic hero” in much of the Middle East where his influence has proved to be significant and lasting.305

Mohammed Abduh (1849-1905)

Mohammed Abduh was also born prior to the twentieth century, but died in 1905. He was a student of al-Afghani’s in Egypt, where he worked as a judge and counselor in

State University of New York Press, 2001), Marion Boulby’s The Muslim Brotherhood and Kings of Jordan, 1945-1993 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999), Ziyad Abu-Amr’s Islamic Fundamentalism in the West Bank and Gaza; the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999), Brynjar Lia’s The Society of the Muslim Brothers in Egypt: the rise of an Islamic mass movement, 1928-1942 (Reading: Ithaca Press, 1998), Hisham Awai’s In pursuit of legitimacy: the Muslim Brothers and Mubarak, 1982-2000 (London: Tauris, 2004), Abd al-Fatta Mohammed Uways’ The Muslim Brothers and the Palestine question 1928-1947 (London: Tauris Academic Studies, 1998), and Ishaq Musa al- Husayni’s The Muslim Brothers; the greatest of modern Islamic movements (Beirut: Khayat’s College Book Cooperative, 1956).

303 Jakob Petersen-Skovgaard, Defining Islam for the Egyptian State (Leiden: Brill, 1997), 119.

304 Cutter, 234.

305 Nikki R. Keddie, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din “al-Afghani”: a Political Biography, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972), 422. This book of four hundred and seventy nine pages is massive as it examines al-Afghani’s life from his beginnings in Iran to his death in under house arrest. Keddie uses much archival work to support her book as well.

104 the court of appeals. He was appointed of Egypt in 1899, a post he held until his death in 1905.306 He was seen as a reformer and a staple of the which literally translates as those Muslims who lived with the Prophet. Abduh, as a judge, was also responsible for delving into death penalty cases by looking deeply at evidence, whereas prior to his appointment, it was rare for judges to do so.307 Abduh was himself a Hanafi but had been trained as a Maliki as well. It has been reported that Abduh delivered more than one thousand fatwas exemplifying his willingness to give religious edicts.308 Abduh’s reforms covered a variety of topics ranging from inheritance and mortgage to marriage and divorce, as well as, retaliation and killing. When it came to the subject of jihad, Abduh and Rida (discussed below) both took the stance that it was a defensive mechanism. Abduh and Rida, respectively, were not intellectuals who specialized in jihad, but in order to justify the Muslim world’s reaction to colonialism, the response, whether violent or not, was defensive. According to David Cook, speaking about Abduh and Rida, “For them, jihad is to be understood almost entirely as a proclamation of the truth (which is a classical doctrine as well) and as warfare only in the most limited, defensive manner possible.”309 In one last note, it interesting to cite that Hasan al-Banna’s father was a student of Mohammed Abduh’s father.

Rashid Rida (1865-1935)

Rashid Rida was born in 1865 and died in 1935. After his death, Hasan al-Banna referred to Rida “one of ‘the greatest influences in the service of Islam for this age in Egypt and in other areas.”310 Rida was a writer who wrote a three-volume biography of Mohammed Abduh, as well as, a commentary on the Qur’an. He trained Muslims who

306 Skovgaard, 119.

307 Skovgaard, 120-121.

308 Munson, 487. The term fatwa is Arabic for religious edict is used to decide a religious case. Often times they are issued by religious scholars, but also laymen such as Osama bin Laden have proclaimed them.

309 Cook, 97.

310 Mitchell, 322.

105 sought to be imams and was himself influenced by Mohammed ibn Abd al-Wahhab, thus causing Rida to help promulgate a return to the early years of Islam in a movement better known as salafiyah or “way of the righteous ancestors.”311 He was active in trying to gain Egypt’s independence during World War I and even in trying to revive the caliphate. As influential as Rida’s words were, they did not have the same impact as Hasan al-Banna or Sayyid Qutb’s did on Egyptian and ultimately Islamic society. In concluding this chapter, focus turns to the Muslim Brotherhood and their influence on not only Egypt, but also the entire Islamic world.

The Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood, also known as the Society of Muslim Brothers or Ikhwan Muslimun, was founded in Egypt in 1928 by schoolteacher Hasan al-Banna.312 This movement was both political and religious as it called on Muslims to return to the Qur’an and Hadith. After being founded in Isma’ilyah, it spread to other parts of the Middle East including Lebanon, Palestine, the Sudan, Syria, as well as, throughout North Africa. After ten years of working on religious issues, in 1938, the Muslim Brotherhood started to organize itself politically. They called on fellow Muslims to return to the fold of Islam and reject the modernization, secularization, and westernization that were encroaching on Egypt. As the Egyptian government was losing control and weakening in the 1940’s, the Brotherhood organized a terrorist arm and threatened the monarchy and the Wafd Party. When the regime of Gamal Abdel-Nasser took power in 1952, the Brotherhood was persecuted and forced to go underground. After a failed assassination attempt on Nasser on October 26, 1954, the Brotherhood found many of its members arrested or assassinated. Six members were tried for treason, found guilty, and executed, while others were imprisoned. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, the Brotherhood’s activities remained largely underground. As the religious extremism of the 1980’s emerged, the Brotherhood experienced a renewal. The Ikhwan in Syria became so powerful that “on

311 Goldschmidt, 241.

312 Ikhwan Muslimun is Arabic for “Muslim Brothers.” Ikhwan being plural for Ak or “brother.” Muslimun is plural for Muslim.

106 July 7, 1980 parliament passed a bill which made membership of, or even association with, the Muslim Brotherhood a capital offense.”313 The renewal was so strong that in February 1982, Hafiz al-Assad was forced to confront the Brotherhood in the city of Hamah.314 The confrontation in Hamah cost the lives of a reportedly five to ten thousand people, including one thousand soldiers, as the Brotherhood was accused of trying to overthrow the government.315 The Brotherhood is currently trying to get involved in Egyptian politics without turning to armed struggling. When schoolteacher Hasan al-Banna founded the Ikhwan Muslimun in 1928, he established it with the intension of using education to help Muslims learn more about Islam. With Muslims studying Islam more, al-Banna hoped to establish Shari’ah as the basis of law in Egypt. According to Abd al-Fattah M. el-Awaisi, “Education means more than just teaching (though teaching remains the most important means of education) and is not an end in itself but a means to an end.”316 For Hasan al-Banna, education was just as important to the establishment of Shari’ah as the use of militant tactics. For the Ikhwan, an organization that not only has branches in the Arab World, but also in the US and Europe, two key requirements are needed for each member; knowledge and purification of oneself. For el-Awaisi, “Knowledge and character building are considered two sides of the same coin.”317 For the Ikhwan, education was a long process that needed educated people to perpetuate the proper teachings of Islam. The term jihadia is concerned with such things as “faith, morals, spirit, devotion, together with discipline and training as well”, while jihad is concerned with “discipline and training.”318 For the Ikhwan, jihadia preceded jihad, because for one not to have the moral and spiritual training, the military aspect of fighting would be for naught. For Banna this would be accomplished by,

313 Dilip Hiro, Holy Wars (New York: Routledge, 1989), 98.

314 Hiro, 102.

315 Tamra Orr, Egyptian Islamic Jihad (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003), 16.

316 Abd al-Fattah M. El-Awaisi, “Jihadia Education and the Society of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers: 1928-49,” Journal of beliefs & values 21, no. 2 (2000): 221.

317 El-Awaisi, 213.

318 El-Awaisi, 214.

107 The Society set[ting] up support systems with the aim of helping its paramilitary units to attain their goal. In 1937 al-Banna first instituted the spiritual education of the Muslim Brothers, which was known as the Battalions system, al-Kata’ib, and which in 1943 was transformed into the Families system, al-Usar.319

The socio-economic background is also relevant to the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood as widespread poverty and corruption dominated Egyptian society in the early twentieth century. During World War I, cotton, a major Egyptian export, was selling at twelve times its prewar price.320 After the war, inflation was a problem and as the price of cotton was subject to fluctuations, the Egyptian lower class were subject to economic depression. As Egypt’s population grew in subsequent years, al-Banna was concerned with increasing the productivity level of farmers and factory workers. He was also interested in ridding Egypt of its foreign nurses and teachers while setting up “more hospitals, mobile clinics, and the training of more doctors.”321 This is still evident today as the Ikhwan is seen as providers of social services. With the majority of Egypt’s population living in poverty and the Muslim Brotherhood lending help where the government was too late or unable to, many people turned to the group for help while joining its ranks. After al-Banna’s assassination, Sayyid Qutb grabbed the torch and had an impact on Egyptian, as well as Islamic, society that is still felt today. After seventy-seven years, the Muslim Brotherhood is still one of the most influential political and religious parties today in the Middle East. The group initially was non-violent and was founded by a schoolteacher. In 1948, the group was implicated in the assassination of Deputy Interior Minister Mahmud Nuqrashi, who had tried to ban the movement.322 Since then, the Muslim Brotherhood was used by both Nasser and Sadat to combat political foes such as communists and persecuted by both men when the Brotherhood started to gain popularity.

319 Youssef, 200.

320 Christina Phelps Harris, Nationalism and Revolution in Egypt (The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1964), 103. Harris’ is an in depth look at Egypt from the end of the nineteenth century, while examining the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in the early part of the twentieth. It is thorough as it looks at the socio-economic impact of Europe and its effect on Islam, mainly its ability to unite Muslims.

321 Harris, 172.

322 Goldschmidt, 216.

108 The Muslim Brotherhood, though accepted by the Mubarak regime, is still banned as a political organization. However, members of the Brotherhood can run independently for seats in the People’s Assembly. In 1987, the Brotherhood won thirty-eight seats out of four-hundred and forty-eight in the People’s Assembly.323 By allowing Islamists to participate in the political process, they are seen as being accountable to the electorate and are not only seen as people who represent the protest vote.324 In the 2005 parliament elections, the Muslim Brotherhood faired much better than previous elections. They even encouraged people to vote on September 7, the first time Egypt held multi-candidate elections for president, even though the Ikhwan did not endorse any of the ten presidential candidates.325 At the time of this writing, in elections marred by violence, including deaths, the Muslim Brotherhood “controls eighty-eight out of four hundred and fifty four seats in Parliament.”326 In the 2000 elections, they only won seventeen seats. Even though the Ikhwan won approximately twenty percent of eligible seats, they still do not have enough to “enact laws or even override the governing National Democratic Party.”327 Although most election analysts believe that only twenty-five percent or lower of the population voted, the official turnout was thirty-four percent.328 In analyzing the last two , it seems that the Muslim Brotherhood will be a force to be reckoned with, especially if calls for democratic reform grow louder, especially from the US. The objectives of the Ikhwan Muslimun are both long and short term. Short-term objectives are to provide social services such as medical and financial services to citizens after an earthquake that struck Cairo in 1992. Long-term objectives are to implement Shari’ah for all of Egypt. Over the past twenty-five years, the Ikhwan has renounced

323 Paul A. Winters Islam (San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1995), 266.

324 Winters, 232.

325 Mona El-Naggar, “Banned group urges Egyptians to vote on September 7,” The New York Times, 22 August 2005, p. A.7.

326 Michael Slackman, “Egypt pushes two year delay in local vote,” The New York Times, 14 February 2006, p. 5A, p. 1.

327 Neil MacFarquhar, “Will politics and success at the polls tame Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood?; Stirrings in the desert: Islamists as players,” The New York Times, 8 December 2005, p. A18.

328 MacFarquhar.

109 violence, but other groups that are considered splinter groups have not done so such as al- Jama’a al-Islamiyya and al-Jihad.329 The Ikhwan tried to obtain their objectives using a three-fold method. First, it sought to join the political process by merging with other parties in order to gain proper representation in the Egyptian parliament. Second, it has taken control of professional and student associations through the electoral process, and finally, it has established a network of social services.330 When Hosni Mubarak allowed the Ikhwan to participate in elections, it had an adverse effect as many Egyptians currently see it as being part of the political process, leaving aside other Islamist groups, and thus isolating themselves. Isolating militant Islamist groups, has allowed Mubarak to go after them with little opposition from the majority of the Egyptian population. Another advance made by the Ikhwan was their dominance of professional and student organizations around the country. After Mubarak opened professional and student associations to participatory elections in 1984, within three years, the Ikhwan won control of the Engineer’s Syndicate, an organization encompassing two hundred thousand members and having assets of five million US dollars. Many of these professional and student organizations were once the stronghold of liberal-secular nationalism. It was actually the third part of the Ikhwan’s plan to slowly take over the country that helped to achieve their second goal. By helping young educated professionals get full health care, the Ikhwan garnered even more support.331 The dimension of Islam in Egyptian society has played a multi-faceted role. First, Muslim groups such the Ikhwan Muslimun were persecuted by Nasser during the 1940’s and 1950’s, while in the 1980’s, there was an attempt to acculturate the Ikhwan into the political arena. Since the assassination of Sadat in 1981, Egypt has tried to walk a fine line between conforming to the Shari’ah while not kowtowing to the demands of such Islamic groups like the Ikhwan, al-Jihad, and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya. The latter two

329 Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya is one of the Islamist groups that emerged in Egypt during the 1970’s. It was formed, like other Islamist groups, on college campuses. Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya occasionally adheres to armed conflict as was shown in 1997 when the group was responsible for the death of seventy tourists at Luxor.

330 John Walsh, “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood,” Harvard’s International Review 24, no. 4 (Winter 2003): 32.

331 Walsh, 33.

110 groups have been labeled by the government as being ”radical”, while the Ikhwan has been labeled as “moderate”, at least since the 1970’s. This atmosphere of religious give and take has made for the “moderate” and “radical” differences. For example, while many members of the Ikhwan sympathize with al-Jihad and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, many in the latter groups disagree with the non-violent tactics of the Ikhwan as conforming to the current regime’s status quo. Though the Ikhwan has been more politically involved with Egyptian society since the mid-1980’s, it and three other groups, the Wafd, the Liberal Party, and the Socialist Labour Part (SLP), boycotted the elections on November 29, 1990 due to allegations that the elections were not free nor fair .332 In 1987, the Ikhwan decided to join the SLP and the Liberal Party to form a coalition known as the Islamic Alliance (al-Tahluf al-Islami). The Ikhwan saw that it was more important to form the alliance than not to do anything.333 As far as al-Jihad and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya are concerned, there cannot be any compromise or participation with a government that does not utilize the Shari’ah fully. Furthermore, for al-Jihad and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, Egypt is interested in making peace with Jews, while exhibiting economic corruption and moral decadence. For al-Jihad and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, jihad is a missing pillar and sovereignty lies with Allah alone. Some of the highlights of Egyptian society in the twentieth century were its struggle with the roles of nationalism, secularism, terrorism, and Islam most of all. At the time of this dissertation, the country had experienced two bombings of resorts. While Egypt has to deal with these issues, the country was going to encounter a man who has been called “The father of modern terrorism,” amongst other names. The next two chapters are dedicated to this man and his influence on not only Egyptian society, but also the entire Islamic world.

332 Maha Azzam, “Egypt: The Islamists and the state under Mubarak”, In Islamic Fundamentalism, Abdel Salam Sidahmed and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, 109-122, (Boulder, Westview Press, 1996), 112.

333 Azzam, 111.

111 CHAPTER FIVE: SAYYID QUTB POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC IDEOLOGIES

While the past two chapters have focused on fighting and war through the eyes of certain key Muslim groups such as the Kharijites and Assassins, and one theologian, Ibn Taymiyya, as well as, a brief history of twentieth century Egypt, the two next chapters deal with one of the leading Muslim ideologues of the twentieth century, Sayyid Qutb. The scope of chapter five is to examine his life and the historical background that made him such an effective writer and proponent of Islam. The current chapter will also look at his opinions on topics ranging from the West to the state of Islam. The intention of chapter six is to delineate his views on the subjects of fighting and war or harb, jihad, and qital. For Qutb, the latter three expressions were one and the same. He like many before him saw the world around him as being contaminated by forces that were contrary to Islam and that these apparatuses were controlled by oppressive regimes. What made him unique is that he did not believe that there were “real” Muslims living in the twentieth century because of the current condition of the Ummah. If there had been “real” Muslims, the Ummah would not be in the position that it was currently in. After a visit to the United States (US), Qutb made it a priority to write against not only the current government in Egypt, but also all governments that ruled Muslim lands. What he said was that any government, Muslim or otherwise, not using the Shari’ah was illegitimate and subject to be overthrown. However, the question of whether or not the overthrowing of governments not using Shari’ah by force has been a point of contention. This mentality distinguished him from other Muslims such as Maulana Abul Al’a Mawdudi (1903-1979) who believed that only non-Muslim governments were jahilliyah or ignorant.334 According to John Calvert, “He was, in fact, executed by the Egyptian government in 1966 for these activities, and today he is usually referred to in Muslim circles as shahid, or martyr.”335 In the tradition of the Kharijites, the Assassins, and Ibn

334 Maulana Abul Al’a Maududi was born in the Indian Subcontinent, but in what is today . A Muslim who wrote prolifically on many subjects ranging from jihad to imperialism, Maududi’s influence on Muslims today has been tremendous. Maududi, like Qutb, was not a religious scholar per se, but a journalist by training.

112 Taymiyya, according to Qutb, the purpose of implementing the Shari’ah was to end oppression and establish justice. Over the past five to six years, much literature on Sayyid Qutb has emerged. There tends to be two schools of thought where he is concerned; one as an angry man who wanted the Shari’ah to be implemented at all costs and the other describing him as a man who just wanted justice. While the material written on Qutb varies, this dissertation follows the latter view. Those who have written quite critically on Qutb as a man who hated the West and called for armed force are Sylvia Haim, Barry Rubin, and Charles Tripp. This endeavor on the other hand looks at the Egyptian ideologue along the lines of a man who wanted justice for those who had little or no voice. Those that have written on Qutb along these lines are Sayed Khatab, Ahmed al-Din Moussalli, and Adnan Ayyuh Mussallam.336 Shortly after the attacks on America on September 11, 2001, journalist Robert Irwin wrote an article titled, “Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden?” The article, written seven weeks after the terrorist attacks, was referring to Sayyid Qutb, who has been called all of the following; “the brains behind Bin Laden”, “the philosopher of Islamic terror” and the “father of modern fundamentalism.”337 He has also been labeled “the most famous personality of the Muslim World in the second half of the 20th century.”338 In the introduction to his translation of Sayyid Qutb’s Al-‘ al- Ijtima’iyyah fi al-Islam (Social Justice in Islam), Hamid Algar stated, “Sayyid Qutb, who

335 Sayyid Qutb, A Child from the Village, edited, translated, and with an introduction by John Calvert and William Shepard, (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2004.), xiii. A Child from the Village is Qutb’s autobiography about his childhood in Egypt. It is significant that there is no mention of Islam in it. Published in 1945 or 1946, it was written before Qutb’s life changing visit to the US. The term shahid is Arabic for “witness”, but when referring to someone who died fi-si-bi-Allah (in the way of Allah), it is translated as “one dying witnessing for the faith” or a martyr.

336 A tremendous amount of material written on this chapter and the next has been due to the following scholars either being referenced or read. They are respectively Sylvia Haim, “Sayyid Qutb,” Asian and African Studies 65, no. 16 (March 1982): 147-156, Barry Rubin, Islamic Fundamentalism in Egyptian Politics (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990), Charles Tripp, “Sayyid Qutb: The political vision,” In Pioneers of Islamic Revival, ed. Ali Rahnema, 154-183. London: Zed Books Ltd. 1994, Sayed Khatab, The Power of Sovereignty (London: Routledge, 2006), Ahmed Salah al-Din Moussali, Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb (Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1992), and Adnan Ayyuh Mussallam, From Secularism to Jihad (Westport: Praeger, 2005).

337 Robert Irwin, “Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden?,” (The Guardian, November 1, 2001).

338 Irwin.

113 some twenty-eight years after his death is still the most influential ideologue of the Islamic movement in the contemporary Arab world.”339 After September 11th, many people determined that Qutb was the man who influenced Bin Laden more than anyone else. Qutb’s influence is not only apparent in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia, but throughout the entire Islamic World, stretching from to the Philippines. His writings have been translated into most of the languages of the Islamic. Though Qutb has influenced many people, there have been Muslims who have written against Qutb’s version of Islam for being too radical.340 However, no matter what people write about Qutb, there can be no mistaking the influence of his written works today. Some of the points outlined in this chapter are Qutb’s childhood and professional life prior to 1948 when he visited the US, his visit to the US and his conviction of Islam as a system for all times and all peoples, and finally, his subsequent execution under then Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970). Attention will also be paid to Qutb’s ideologies concerning economics and politics as these two facets of government were part in parcel to an Islamic way of life for him.

Qutb: A short biography up to 1948

Sayyid Qutb was born in either the village of Musha or Qaha, which are located in Asyut Province, in Upper Egypt two hundred miles south of Cairo in September 1906. Qutb was the eldest of five children and his brother Mohammed Qutb, as well as two of his sisters Amina and Hamida, all gained prominence in the ranks of the Muslim Brotherhood.341 His parents came from well-established and respected families, but his father, who was of Indian ancestry, was forced through times of difficulty to sell acres of his farm in order to pay off his debts. His father “subscribed to a daily newspaper and

339 Sayyid Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, translated by John B. Hardie, translation revised and introduction by Hamid Algar, (Oneonta: Islamic Publications International, 2000), 1. Social Justice in Islam was written in 1949 following his visit to US. In it, Qutb writes about the US being a neo-crusading force and the condition of the Muslim community. Some have called it his most influential work.

340 Irwin

341 Qutb, Social Justice, 1.

114 had joined the Nationalist Party and was a member of its local committee.”342 His parents offered their eldest child the choice of either attending an Islamic school where the main consisted of studying the Qur’an and Hadith, often called a kuttab, or a new type of school, a state school that had been developed through the influence of the West. Qutb chose the latter in 1912 when he was six years old not too long after the first state school had been opened in Musha.343 “His mother saw the state school as the beginning of an education that would make him an Effendi and able to restore the family fortunes, and her will prevailed.”344 The term Effendi denotes someone from the modernizing middle class in not only Egypt, but also other Arab countries. Effendis were typically employed as civil servants and teachers while wearing “the tarbush and European-style trousers and jackets.”345 Qutb actually did attend the kuttab for one day, but preferred the state school actually calling it the “sacred school.”346 While memorizing the Qur’an, he encouraged his classmates to do the same, setting up competitions in order to prove that state schools were not deficient in teaching the Qur’an. At the age of fifteen, he was sent to Helwan near Cairo to attend . Thus, Qutb started a lifetime in education as a firm believer in western-style education and life. A position he would later strongly reject. In 1929, he joined the teachers college, Dar ul-‘ulum, and graduated four years later with a Bachelor’s degree in education while living with his uncle. After graduation, he worked for the Ministry of Education as either a teacher or an official from 1933 to 1952. In 1948, at the request of the Egyptian government, Qutb went to the US to study modern systems of education and training. He even visited England, Switzerland, and Italy after his sojourn in the US.347 He earned a Masters Degree in Education from Teachers College at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. After returning

342 Qutb, Child from Village, xvi.

343 Qutb, xv.

344 Qutb, xvi.

345 Qutb, 147.

346 Qutb, xvi.

347 Olivier Carre, Mysticism and Politics (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 2.

115 from the US in 1951, he resigned his position as advisor to the Ministry of Education and joined the Muslim Brotherhood in 1953, to become its foremost ideologue. After his resignation, his days of writing poetry were effectively over. In 1954, he was arrested twice for being a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. After being sentenced to fifteen years, he was imprisoned for only ten years until 1964. In 1964, he was released at the intercession of then Iraqi president, Abd al-Salam ‘Arif, but was rearrested shortly after. On August 29th, 1966, he was executed by the Egyptian regime while Nasser was president. Sayyid Qutb’s childhood and education forced him to read such diverse topics as poetry, religion, and politics. He enjoyed literature and poetry, but throughout his entire life, religion played a major role. He memorized the Qur’an by the age of ten. Even during periods of his life when he was more of a secularist than Islamist, he still believed that Islam should play a major part in everyday Egyptian life. He was a multi-faceted man who was not only a scholar of Islam, but also a writer and an activist. Qutb held to a strict interpretation of the Qur’an and believed that Shari’ah was meant to be the law for all people for all times. After his return from the US, he did not accept the legitimacy of governments that operated outside the scope of Islam. This included all Muslim countries. For many years Qutb wrote poetry while working for the Wafd party.348 While living in Cairo with his uncle, he became a disciple of ‘Abbas Mahmud al-‘Aqqad. Aqqad was considered a man of letters and a journalist, as well as one of the leading secular intellectuals of the time. Qutb’s first article was printed in a literary journal in 1924 and over the next thirty years, he wrote one hundred and thirty more totaling nearly five hundred articles dealing with such topics as “literary, political, and social criticisms.”349 His first book, Muhimmat al-Sha’ir fi ‘l-Hayah (The Task of the Poet in Life) was published in 1933 while his novel, Ashwak (Thorns) contains “traces of and existentialism.”350 By the age of forty-one, he had written nine books,

348 The Wafd Party was formed on November 13, 1918 by Sa’d Zaghlul in the hopes of uniting all Egyptians regardless of religion. It has typically been called the Egyptian Nationalist Party.

349 Qutb, xvii.

116 mostly dealing with poetry, but two were literary studies of the Qur’an. At this time, Qutb was critical of other writers in Egypt including Taha Hussein who wrote a book considered to be “the best-known defense of Westernization during that period”, Mustaqbal al-Thaqafah fi Misr (The Future of Culture in Egypt).”351 He criticized Hussein because he believed that Egypt’s mentality historically was closer to Europe, particularly the Greco-Roman Worlds. Qutb could not yet be considered revolutionary, but at this time, he started to look at Egypt’s moral and social problems, including the large disparity between the haves and have-nots. He later turned to the Saadist Party from 1937 to 1942, as well as to the al-Hizb al-Watani (The Patriotic Party) and Hizb Misr al-Fatah (The Young Egypt Party). After searching for a to join, Qutb was unable to find one that satisfied him, prompting him to become disgusted with the politics of the time. Thus from 1945 onward he belonged to no party.352 In 1947, Qutb became the editor-in-chief of two journals, Al-‘Alam al-‘Arabi (The Arab World) and al-Fikr al-Jadid (New Thought).353

The Islamization of Sayyid Qutb: 1948-1966

Sayyid Qutb started becoming more critical of the Egyptian government in the mid to late 1940’s and because of his critical eye, he was “exiled” to the US from November 1948 to August 1950 in order to observe the educational system. According to John Calvert, “This last goal was definitely not realized, Qutb was impressed by American technology but appalled at what he considered the low moral and cultural state of its people.”354 Hamid Algar adds,

350 Qutb, Social Justice, 1-2. Taha Hussein, The Future of Culture in Egypt, 2 vols. Cairo: Matba’at al- Ma’arif wa-Maktabatuha, 1938. Citation is taken from Adnan A. Musallam’s book on Sayyid Qutb, From Secularism to Jihad, (Westport: Praeger, 2005), 243. Musallam’s book is a thorough look at not only Qutb’s life, but also his influence on Islamists today.

351 Qutb, Child from Village, xviii.

352 Qutb, xvii.

353 Qutb, Social Justice, 2.

354 Qutb, Child from Village, xix.

117 Sayyid Qutb’s impressions of America were, however, largely negative, and may even have been decisive in turning him fully to Islam as a total civilizational alternative. While noting American achievements in production and social organization, Sayyid Qutb laid heavy emphasis on materialism, racism, and sexual permissiveness as dominant features of American life. His sojourn in the United States coincided, moreover, with the first Palestine war, and he noted with dismay the uncritical acceptance of Zionist theses by American public opinion and the ubiquity of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim prejudice.355

Qutb changed from the time he went to the US in 1948 and returned to Egypt in 1951. This evolution was so dramatic that it transformed his outlook on life and made him an ideologue for change in terms of implementing Islam. His visit to the US is something that shook him to his core and angered him. Not only was 1948 the year that he went to the US, it was the year Israel was recognized by the United Nations. The US recognition of Israel and the seemingly anti-Arab sentiment that went along with it not only upset Qutb, but also, convinced him that Islam was the only objective way to govern humankind. Others have said that Qutb’s dark skin led him to experience racial prejudice. Either way, Qutb did not think much of the US. For example, he said of America and Americans,

Their enjoyment is nervous excitement, animal merriment. One gets the image that they are constantly running from ghosts that are pursuing them. They are as machines that move with madness, speed, and convulsion that does not cease. They have no faith in themselves or in life around them.356

Some of Qutb’s most compelling work was a series of articles he wrote to the Egyptian newspaper Al-Risala. Ultimately, these articles were collected into a book called The America I Have Seen.357 This work showed Qutb’s attitude toward the US and how he had once thought highly of the US for its industry and diversity. Later this admiration was transformed to hatred. In this series of articles, Qutb criticized the US for many reasons ranging from the treatment of women to the eating habits of Americans. In

355 Qutb, Social Justice, 2-3.

356 Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, quoted in Rippin, 92

357 Series of articles written by Qutb and collected and published by various presses. The version, which this author is using, comes from “The American I have Seen: In the Scale of Human Values (1951).” Translated by Tarek Masoud and Ammar Fakeeh. In America in an Arab Mirror, ed. Kamal Abdel-Malek, 9-27. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.

118 an entry titled Sayyid Qutb Makes Fun of the Americans, by translators Tarek Masoud and Ammar Fakeeh, Qutb was amazed by the fact that Americans were eating watermelons with salt. In order to play a joke on his fellow students, he told them that in Egypt, people eat watermelon with pepper. The scenario went like this;

We were at the table in one of the cafeterias of the University, when I saw some Americans putting salt on their watermelon. And I was prepared to see these strange fads innocence, “I see you sprinkling salt on the watermelon.” One of them said, “Yes! Don’t you do the same in Egypt?” I said, “No! We sprinkle pepper!” A surprised and curious girl said, “How would that taste?” I said, “You can try for yourself!” She tasted it and said approvingly, “It’s tasty!” and so did all the others. On another day in which watermelon was served, and some of the same people were at the table, I said, “Some of us in Egypt use sugar at times instead of pepper.” One of them tried it and said, “How tasty!” and so did all the others.358

Why exactly Qutb wrote on the food habits of Americans is unknown except perhaps that he had a somewhat unusual sense of humor. In another episode of Qutb’s life in Greeley, Colorado at the University of Northern Colorado, while having a conversation with a young woman, he was shocked when he heard her say, “Sexuality was not a matter of ethics, but of a physical nature.” These two episodes in Qutb’s life only brought anger to the man who inspired men and women to give up their lives of secularism in order to eradicate the jahilliyah amongst their society. For Qutb, “animal permissiveness, that slave market dubbed ‘woman’s liberation’” was just the example he needed to call for an overthrow of societies that did not submit to Shari’ah.359 Qutb also said that those Muslims and non-Muslims who did not adhere to Shari’ah were just lackeys of people who were a “massive army of Jewish agents in the form of professors, philosophers, doctors, and researchers—sometimes also writers, poets, scientists and journalists.”360 While studying and traveling in the US, Qutb read about the death of Muslim Brotherhood founder and leader Hasan al-Banna, which further antagonized him. Banna

358 Sayyid Qutb, ““The America I Have Seen”: In the Scale of Human Values (1951),” Translated by Tarek Masoud and Ammar Fakeeh, quoted in America in an Arab Mirror, ed. Kamal Abdel-Malek, 9-27, (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.), 20.

359 David Pryce-Jones, “Treason of the Cleric,” National Review 53, no. 22 (November 19, 2001), 22.

360 Jones, 24.

119 was assassinated by the Egyptian government on February 12, 1949, and according to Algar, Qutb “witnessed the ecstatic reception given in America to the news of the assassination.”361 He saw the Muslim Brotherhood as defenders of Islam and upon returning from the US, he had the displeasure of meeting a British official, James Heyworth-Dunne, who told him the Muslim Brotherhood was “the only barrier to the establishment of “Western civilization” in the Middle East.”362 Up to 1948, Qutb had not written anything that could be considered outright Islamist, i.e. something that harshly demanded the imposition of the Shari’ah. After his visit to the US, his views slowly changed beginning with his first Islamist book, Social Justice in Islam, and several articles propagating an Islamist agenda in a journal titled New Thought “until it was closed down under martial law at the beginning of the Palestine war.”363 Sometime between his return to Egypt in 1951 to 1953, Qutb joined the Muslim Brotherhood, and in 1954 he became the editor-in-chief of the Ikhwan’s official journal al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun (The Muslim Brethren).364 The Muslim Brotherhood also published other periodicals for which Qutb wrote including, Al-Risala (The Message), Al-Da’wa (The Summons), and Al-Liwa’ al-Jadid (The New Banner).365 He and fellow members of the Brotherhood supported the Free Officer Coup. Qutb even attended some inner councils of the Free Officers for a few months until he realized that they were not going to institute the Shari’ah.366 In the months before and after the July 23, 1952 Revolution, Qutb and Gamal Abdel Nasser met regularly. “According to reliable testimony, leaders of the coup including Gamal Abdel Nasser, visited Sayyid Qutb in his home a mere four days before the coup. About one month after the coup, Sayyid Qutb delivered a lecture on “Intellectual and Spiritual Liberation in Islam” at the Officers’ Club in Cairo, and Abdel Nasser was in attendance. More significantly, Sayyid

361 Qutb, 3.

362 Qutb, 3.

363 Qutb, Child from Village, xix.

364 Ikhwan is Arabic for “Brothers” pertaining to the Ikhwan Muslimun or “Muslim Brothers”, also known as the “Muslim Brotherhood.”

365 Qutb, Social Justice, 4.

366 Qutb, xx.

120 Qutb was appointed cultural advisor to the Revolutionary Council, established by the Free Officers, and was the only civilian to attend its meetings.”367 The Free Officers needed the help of the Muslim Brotherhood since they were not as organized as the Ikhwan. As differences arose, Nasser tried to absorb the Brotherhood by offering some members cabinet posts. They rejected all offers. Other opportunities for Qutb arose as, “It was thus initiated to Sayyid Qutb that the Ministry of Education was his for the asking.”368 Lastly, he was invited to be the director of the Hay’at al- Tahrir (Liberation Rally) which was a newly established party.369 The years between 1952 and 1954 are important because both sides, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) knew that they would not be ruling together. On January 12, 1954, members of the Ikhwan “attacked government negotiations with Britain over the Sudan and the Canal Zone, describing the negotiations as a betrayal of national aspirations and calling for jihad against the British.”370 According to Adnan A. Musallam,

The final showdown between Nasser and the Muslim Brothers began to gather momentum following the RCC’s acceptance of “heads of agreement” with Britain in late July 1954 for the complete British evacuation of the Canal Zone. This agreement was to signal the escalation of the Brothers’ criticism of the regime through their weekly newspaper al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun and through secret pamphlets. The government countered with the same, accusing al-Hudaybi of negotiating a secret treaty with the British and reminding the people of al-Hudaybi’s relations with the deposed Egyptian king and the discredited ruling classes.371

Nasser started to crack down on the Muslim Brotherhood, especially after a failed assassination attempt on his life on October 26, 1954. The Muslim Brotherhood was banned due to this incident. While Qutb and the Ikhwan did have contact with each

367 Qutb, Social Justice, 5.

368 Qutb, 5.

369 Qutb, 5.

370 Musallam, 143.

371 Musallam, 144. Hassan Isma’il al-Hudaybi, a lawyer, was selected to replace Hasan al-Banna, as the General Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood after the latter’s death in February 1949 at the hands of the Egyptian political police.

121 other, there is controversy as to whether the contact was significant or whether Qutb and Nasser were close. The contact made between these two organizations, the Free Officers and Muslim Brotherhood, may have been platonic and political until they both sides determined they were not after the same goals. There was a further split between the Free Officers and Ikhwan Muslimoon in 1957 when prison guards killed more than twenty members of the Muslim Brotherhood and injured many more. “Qutb’s most radical works appear to date from after this event.”372 In prison Qutb wrote Milestones, the book that is generally labeled as the blueprint for the fundamentalist revolution going on currently. Qutb’s writings are very diverse as they cover such topics as economics, politics, and social organization. Two aspects that concerned him most were religion (deen) and civil society (dawla). Qutb focused on the Shari’ah and wrote about its renewal (tajdid) as a force that would help energize the state of Islam. In the end, Qutb was a man who believed that the Shari’ah was not something that was relegated to a certain century, but for all times. Qutb preached a jihad or struggle against what he considered enemies of Islam. Many scholars of Islam regard his ideas of Shari’ah as extreme and not representative of mainstream Muslim thought, yet his ideas have been very influential among Muslims throughout the world. What makes Qutb so unusual is his way of contradicting traditional Sunni thought in the past by stating that rebellion is justified, whereas most Sunni rulers in the past have stated that peaceful means are better. For Muqtedar Khan, Qutb was stating the same things that John Locke said one-hundred and fifty years earlier. “Both Locke and Qutb imagined freedom in the same absolutist terms. The human individual was by virtue of his divine creation, subordinate to God and God alone and therefore was a free agent.”373 Qutb was for a free state because for him Islam meant freedom. Qutb writes, “This Din (faith) is a universal declaration of the freedom of man from slavery to other men and his desires, which is also a form of human servitude.”374 Below is a brief account from Qutb’s most influential book, Milestones. It gives us an insight into his mind-set as his views start to turn from the secular to the Islamic.

372 Qutb, Child from Village, xx.

373 Muqtedar Khan, “Syed Qutb – John Locke of the Islamic World,” The Globalist, (July 28, 2003).

374 Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, (Syria: Dar al-Ilm), 47.

122 The one who writes these words is a man who has spent a full forty years of his life with books. His main effort was to read and learn in most of the fields of human knowledge, both in his field of specialization and in areas or personal interest. Then he returned to the sources of his faith and his world-view and he found that everything he had read was utterly trivial in comparison to that immense store of wisdom. It could not have been otherwise. He does not regret the way he spent those forty years, for he came to know the true nature of jahilliyah, its distortion, its triviality and paltriness, its bluster and pretentiousness, and its conceit and presumption. He came to know with that a Muslim cannot seek instruction from both of these sources. Of the few of us who held to Islam in America in the years when I was there some adopted a defensive and apologetic position. I, on the contrary, took the offensive against the Western jahilliyah, whether in its flimsy religious beliefs or in its harmful social, economic, and moral conditions. These conceptions of persons of the Trinity, of sin and sacrifice, which cannot stand in the light of reason or conscience. And this capitalism with its monopolies, its usury and its scowling injustice. And this selfish individualism that eliminates social responsibility except where compelled by law. And this dry, trivial and materialistic view of life. The animalistic freedom they call free mixing of the sexes. And the slave market they call women’s freedom. The absurdities and constraints in their systems of marriage and divorce that are contrary to practical life. The racial discrimination that is so strong and so repulsive. Then compare this to the logic, the high-mindedness, the humanity, the joy, the aspiration to reach the unreachable that one finds in Islam.375

Here one can see some of the issues that deeply concern Qutb. In this brief passage, he writes about capitalism, racism, and women’s liberation, to name three. It is impossible for this author to state that Qutb’s biggest problem with the US was economic even though one can detect much agony that plagues him concerning capitalism. For Qutb, man’s basic nature was religion; therefore looking in a man’s heart would supersede looking in his wallet. The same analysis applied to communism since religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are void in that system of life. Many people argue that Qutb was a product of Nasser. After his execution, Qutb was a martyr made by Nasser. According to many, this increased his popularity. While growing up, Qutb was partly sympathetic to the nationalist and secularist Wafd party because of their defiance of British rule. What turned Sayyid Qutb’s allegiance away from the Wafd party to the Muslim Brotherhood was the imprisonment of thousands of fellow members in 1954. It was in prison that Qutb wrote two of his books, Fi Zilal al- Qur’an (In the Shade of the Qur’an) and Ma’alim fi al-Tariq (Signposts on the Road).

375 Qutb, Milestones, quoted in Carre, 2-3.

123 Qutb wrote mainly about two concepts; one is the concept of salafi, which can be translated as “original” and the other, jahilliyah, which is used to describe the Arabian Peninsula’s culture during Mohammed’s lifetime.376 The term salafi not only means “original”, but also is interpreted to mean “the first three generations following Mohammed’s death.” It is a word that connotates a state of purity at a time when Muslims ruled much of the known world. It can be used to describe the first one hundred years of Islam’s history when the Ummah expanded from Southern France to Northern India. Qutb was so angry at the world around him that he not only declared everything outside of the Islamic World as jahilliyah, but even those elements inside the Islamic World, such as clerics that did not hold up Islamic principles. Qutb’s In the Shade of the Qur’an was written during ten years of incarceration and has been hailed by Paul Berman as “one of the most remarkable works of prison literature ever produced.”377 During the tumultuous times of the early twentieth century, Qutb believed that there was a split between Allah and man. Qutb believed that technology had been a major reason why man had left his true nature. For Qutb, the secularization of Europe was nothing more than purposeless living; religious ideas were more lasting than secular ones. In other words, religion and Allah outlive secularism. For Qutb, Islam was more than a religion, but a way of life, and if society was not complicit with Islam, Islam then could be used for a revolution. In the religious discourse of Sayyid Qutb, there was the conflict between two worlds, hakimiyyah and jahilliyah. The term hakimiyyah meant for Qutb Allah’s governorship or rule. It can also mean one who exercises supreme authority, which would only pertain to Allah. A is also one who exercises judicial authority. By judicial authority, hakimiyyah, and hence Islam, pertains to a political movement. For Qutb, Allah is the ultimate Hakim as espoused in the following verse of the Qur’an,

Say, Lord, Sovereign (malik) of all sovereignty (al-mulk). You bestow sovereignty on whom You will, and take it away from whom You please; You exalt

376 Justin Wintle, The Rough Guide History of Islam (London: Rough Guides, Ltd., 2003), 391.

377 Paul Berman, Terror and Islamism (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003), 1.

124 whomever You will and abase whomever You please. In Your hand lay all that is good; You have power over all things.378

For Qutb, “any quarrel or wrangle about his point means nothing but an attempt to run away from the truth.” According to him, all things pertain to Allah, thus God’s laws, mainly the Qur’an and Sunnah should rule all manifestation of humankind. In other words, the relationship between God and man is the basis for all law. While there are many who do not agree with him, Qutb believed that the Qur’an should rule Egypt. This follows the famous line extolled by the Brotherhood, “The Qur’an is our constitution.” Qutb went on to state that Islam dealt with the “relationship between the universe, life and man and between man and his self, as well as between the individual and the state, among human groups generally and between one generation and another. Islam relates this to an overall comprehensive conception whose outline can be seen in all Islamic spheres.”379 For Qutb, worship was first and foremost part of everyday human conduct. Islam is a “system in which all spheres aimed firstly and finally to fulfill the meaning of worship in the system of government, economic, criminal law, civil law, personal status law, and all laws and codes aimed to fulfill the meaning of worship.”380 According to Qutb, the defense of Islam was an issue that could be traced throughout Islamic history. Islam is an all-encompassing worldview that “assumes the sole responsibility for the definition of what is divinely ordained for all aspects of life.”381 Islam encountered other systems of thought and dealt with them all. Some of these ideologies have been Greek philosophy, Byzantine theology, and Hindu mysticism.382

378 Sayed Khatab, “Hakimiyyah and Jahilliyah in the Thought of Sayyid Qutb,” Middle Eastern Studies 38, no. 3 (July 2002): 146. The above Qur’anic verse (3:26) was translated in Khatab’s article where mention of the translator was not made. The term malik has a two-fold meaning. Here it is used as “sovereign”, but it also means “king.” The term al-mulk here is translated as sovereignty. The essence of the verse is that sovereignty belongs to God alone who is king or sovereign over all.

379 Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, 24.

380 Sayyid Qutb, In the Shade of the Qur’an, Vol. 4, Translated M. Adil Salahi and Ahaur A. Shamis, (New Delhi: Islamic Book Service, 2001), 1937.

381 Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “The Qur’anic Justification for an Islamic Revolution: The View of Sayyid Qutb,” Middle East Journal 37, no. 1 (1983): 15.

125 For many Muslims, the threats of the past have been dealt with when Muslims were living with non-Muslims as the minority or with Muslims controlling the government, such as the case in India. Beginning in the nineteen and twentieth centuries, Muslims were confronted with such ideas as secularism and nationalism; ideas that were imported from Europe. It is impossible to determine exactly how many Muslims were influenced by Qutb following his death, but below are a few details of two, Hasan Hanafi (1935- present) and Shukri Mustafa (d.1978), who were moved by the Ikhwan’s leading ideologue, but in different ways.

Sayyid Qutb’s influence on Hasan Hanafi and Shukri Mustafa383

Hasan Hanafi, an Egyptian intellectual, was inspired to write on Islam because of Qutb and the latter’s prolific writing. Hanafi wrote of Qutb,

I did not go to prison nor was I tortured. If I had been imprisoned and tortured, I might have written ‘Signposts on the Road.’ Instead, I continue to follow the path of the early Sayyid Qutb, who wrote Social Justice in Islam, The Struggle between Islam and Capitalism, and Islam and World Peace.384

While writing Milestones in prison, Qutb’s writings were smuggled out of prison by women associated with the Muslim Brotherhood such as Zaynab al-Ghazali.385 Some Muslims, both from the Ikhwan and otherwise, advocated the stance taken by older Brotherhood members that the Islamization of Egypt would occur only through education and the political process, while rejecting the militant language used by Qutb at the same time. Sayyid Qutb speculated that,

382 Haddad, 15.

383 Mustafa’s birth is unknown, however, he “was arrested while attending an agricultural college in Asyut in 1965 and executed in March of 1978. Information provided by Musallam.

384 Hassan Hanafi, “Athar al-Imam al-Shahid Sayyid Qutb ‘ala al-harakat al-diniyya al-mu’asirah,” quoted in John Esposito ed., Political Islam (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1997), 68.

385 Esposito, 70.

126 There is a historic phenomenon that is appropriate for Islamic advocates in every time and place to consider…The Islamic call brought forth a generation of people, the generation of the Companions of the Prophet, God be pleased with them, which is a unique generation in all of the history of Islam and even in the whole history of humanity. This special type was never brought forth in another time. Some special individuals of this type appeared in the arenas of history, but never again was there the likes of such a large number of people in one place as occurred in the first era of the life of this call to Islam.386

He also said that existing states (and societies) are un-Islamic and opposing them is obligatory on Muslims. Many in the Muslim Brotherhood believe that getting involved in the political process can ultimately lead to the Islamization of both state and society.387 Another person who was influenced by Sayyid Qutb’s writings was Shukri Mustafa. Mustafa established a group in Egypt named Taqfir va’l hejra or Jama’at al Muslimin, Society of Muslims, in the neighborhood of Assyut.388 This group was active from 1971 to 1977. It followed the writings of Qutb by leaving mainstream Egyptian society, the same way Mohammed left Makkah on his Hijra. He hoped, like Mohammed, to return and conquer the city of his birth. For Mustafa, this excursion did not work. The Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat targeted his group after it killed a government worker, leading to the execution of Mustafa and a few of his followers. Mustafa’s theology was based on Qutb’s Milestones which purported to state that for Muslims to be victorious they would have to follow a four part plan of 1) accepting Islam 2) being persecuted 3) leaving the society where they resided and lastly, to return and 4) conquer the city of their birth.

Qutb’s influence is significant because it is an all-encompassing ideology that cuts through all times and ages. For Qutb, Shari’ah is to be the law of the land and should be the determining factor in such fields as public life and welfare. According to Qutb, Islam runs on three principles; the justice of the ruler, the obedience of the ruled, and the notion of consultation (shura) by which the ruler is elected, controlled and, if need be, deposed. It seems that Qutb’s ideology of Shari’ah law runs parallel with Hasan al-Banna’s; that all political parties not having to do with Islam would be banned. 389

386 Esposito, 127.

387 Esposito, 138.

388 Walter Laqueur, No end to war (New York: Continuum, 2003), 31.

389 Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, quoted in Andrew Rippin, Muslims (London: Routledge, 1993), 91.

127 For Qutb, there had to be a reason for preaching a jihad against the enemy. Islam has always had two forms of jihad, the smaller and bigger jihads, respectively. The smaller jihad is the jihad al-saghir, which is the outer struggle that all Muslims are to conduct against those that persecute Muslims or stop them from practicing or spreading their religion. The greater jihad, or jihad al-akbar, is the inner struggle that the believer has within himself or his nuffs.390 Jihad also has another component called qital or the actual physical fighting that takes place. It is qital that most interested Qutb.391 The justification of using armed violence for Qutb comes straight from the Qur’an itself as the following verses demonstrate; “Make war on them until persecution is no more and Allah’s religion reigns supreme;”392 Also, “Fight against such of those, to whom the Book was given, as believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day.”393 For Qutb, these verses showed that qital was permitted in order to establish hakimiyyah or God’s sovereignty over the world. For non-violent reasons for justifying armed struggling in order to establish Shari’ah, Qutb looked toward these two verses, “This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favour to you. I have chosen Islam to be your faith.”394 As well as, “You are the best nation that has ever been raised up for mankind. You enjoin justice and forbid evil. You believe in Allah.”395 Qutb wrote on many aspects of Islam because he believed that the religion played a very important role in everyday life including topics such as economics and politics. It is important to remember that Qutb wrote about Islam for twenty-two years beginning with Social Justice in Islam in 1948 and ending in 1966 with Milestones. According to Ibrahim Abu-Rabi, “Qutb’s work can be classified under the following categories: (1) poetry and literature; (2) Qur’anic aesthetics; (3) philosophy of social justice; (4)

390 Nuffs is Arabic for “self” and is often referred to as “one’s own psychology or mentality.” The fight one’s own nuffs is to fight with one’s self and their respective weaknesses.

391 Harfiyah Abdel Haleem, Oliver Ramsbotham, Saba Risa Luddin, and Brian Wicker, The Crescent and the Cross, (New York: Palgrave, 1998), 98.

392 Qur’an (8:37-39), quoted in Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, 36. Translation provided by Qutb.

393 Qur’an (9:26-30), quoted in Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, 36. Translation provided by Qutb.

394 Qur’an (5:3), quoted in Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, 54. Translation provided by Qutb.

395 Qur’an (3:10), quoted in Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, 54. Translation provided by Qutb.

128 sociology of religion; (5) Qur’anic exegesis; and (6) Islam and the West.”396 His importance to Islamic thought is due to his having spent time in the US, as well as having lived a secular lifestyle prior to his visit to the US in 1948. His visit allowed him to better shape his ideologies and write on the problems he saw affecting not only Arab societies, but all societies Muslim and non-Muslim. His writings have made an impact throughout the world, but especially in such countries as Malaysia, Pakistan, and . His beliefs have also allowed many radical Muslim groups to evolve not only in Egypt, but also throughout the world as the issues delineated by Qutb are used by these groups to espouse disapproval towards their respective governments.397 His life and especially his death exemplified what many Islamists aspire to, preaching Islam, and perhaps even dying for it. There is no doubt that Qutb was affected by the many ideologies influencing Egypt at the time. It was a time of transition not only for Egypt, but also the entire world, especially the developing world. Qutb did not limit his ideologies strictly to theology. He was a learned man who was educated about the world surrounding him and the origins of those conditions. Below is a look at the roles of both economics and politics in both Islamic theology and the in world Qutb grew up in. The economic condition of the majority of Egyptians, Muslims, and even non-Muslims was something that appalled Qutb. For him, no one, Muslim or otherwise, should be homeless or hungry. Those economic conditions were the result of political apparatuses that controlled the economies of the world. For Qutb, and many Muslims, there is no separation between church and state, nor economics and politics.

Economics and politics according to Qutb

One major impact brought on by colonialism was economic transformation. Most of the world’s economies were involved in agriculture in the eighteenth century, but with the Industrial Revolution, many countries sought to advance their countries respective economies through mass production and technology. This period of history caused

396 Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in the Modern Arab World (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996), 93.

397 Qutb, The Battle Between Islam and Capitalism, quoted in Rabi, 94.

129 Europe to industrialize which required natural resources, many of which were located outside of its borders. For Qutb, twentieth century Egyptian society was,

Classified as both indigenous and foreign. The indigenous include capitalists, journalists, dark-skinned Britishers-or Egyptians with white mentalities-politicians, and a good number of who sold out their religious allegiance for wretched worldly interests. The foreign enemies include imperialists, capitalists, crusaders, and , and they are tireless in their efforts to preserve social conditions in the country.398

In Qutb’s view, the above represented an obstacle to social justice for the poor who were the majority of Egyptians. His views on economics, capitalism, and their interaction in twentieth century Egypt were formed before he became a member of the Muslim Brotherhood in 1952. In Ma’arakat al-Islam wa’l Ra’smaliyah or The Battle Between Islam and Capitalism, a book written in 1950 and only translated into Farsi, Qutb is quick to diagnose the plight of the poor as a mixture of cruelty brought on “by a ruthless alliance of traditionalist ulama and heartless capitalists.”399 He was positive in his belief that the current social conditions in Egypt would not last forever and indeed two years after he wrote this book, the Free Officers Revolution took place. “The deterioration in social conditions from which the masses of Egypt suffer cannot continue indefinitely…This is fact that should be known by all.”400 For Qutb, the above-mentioned conditions were due to corruption, exploitation, laziness, and wastefulness. The economic and social conditions where Qutb grew up caused him to turn to Islam. Qutb, in his writings delineates the social injustices that were done to the majority of people (al-jamahir) who happened to be poor. He was quick to point out that “Those who participated in corrupting Egypt and the Arab world” included the media, the religious leadership, politicians, and even the arts.401 Sayyid Qutb believed that the masses represented the backbone of society and that their plight

398 Qutb, The Battle Between Islam and Capitalism, Rabi, 121.

399 Rabi, 121.

400 Rabi, 121.

401 Ahmad S. Moussalli, Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb (Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1992), 47.

130 was a result of such people as “the following forces: (1) oppressors-exploiters (tughat wa mustaghilin); (2) professional men of religion (rijal al-din al-muhtarifin); (3) mercenary writers (kuttab murtaziqin); and (4) hired journalists (sahafiyin ma’jurin).”402 These men were the powers that controlled the ruling class of Egyptian society according to Qutb. Sayyid Qutb, writing from the late 1940’s to the mid 1960’s, was witness to many global changes, especially after the Second World War. In retrospect, the US and the USSR were fighting a Cold War for the hearts and minds of people all over the world, not just in the developing world. As far as capitalism was concerned, Qutb saw it as exploiting the masses. It was especially illegitimate because it allowed usury. This led to a lack of social justice, and the setting up of monopolies.403 In addition, Qutb saw capitalism as having a tie with nationalism and the nationalistic fervor of countries such as England, France, Germany, and Italy that allowed them to colonize and exploit the rest of the world. Capitalism was something that spoke primarily to those in charge of governments and those that exploited others.404 Ultimately, for Qutb, capitalism was the culmination of the ambitions of the ruling exploiters. However, Qutb believed capitalism would fall to communism when the earth’s resources were depleted and the fate of millions of people was in the hands of few. The opposite of capitalism was the ideology of communism, which had spread to many parts of the world and had even influenced some parts of the Middle East. According to Qutb, after capitalism fell to communism due to the above reasons, Islam would have to confront communism, and these two ideologies would be the two main competing ideologies. In Qutb’s heart, Islam would triumph over communism because it was more in tune with human nature whereas communism was not.405 The danger behind communism was that it dealt with the plight of the masses on an economic level, but it did not emphasize religion. Qutb disagreed with communism on several points. First, was the statement of “religion is the opiate of the masses” because he saw religion as being natural to man and not just a few elites who used it to gain economic prosperity.

402 Rabi, 121.

403 Qutb, The Battle Between Islam and Capitalism, quoted in Moussali, 172.

404 Qutb, The Battle Between Islam and Capitalism, quoted in Moussali, 173.

405 Qutb, Towards an Islamic Society, quoted in Moussali, 53.

131 Second, he disagreed with the Hegelian and Marxist use of dialectics, especially where the argument of the thesis, antithesis, and synthesis were involved. He saw this as a contradiction because he did not believe that the synthesis would cause people to realize that a classless society would produce utopia.406 Lastly, Qutb believed that “nothing is left to Marxism except the state and its dictatorial, police regimes. The state has not withered away, but people have; and there is nothing left except the state. “Marxism- as a doctrine- is nothing,” Qutb stated, “but the unprecedented scientific ignorance.”407 Another reason why Qutb disagreed with communism was its treatment of the family. The family for Qutb was not just biological, but more importantly, a social and political unit. Communism, according to Qutb, was an ideology that attempted to destroy the family. One reason included that families are a pretext for stimulating selfishness and love of possession and as a prevention of communalizing the wealth and property of individuals.408 Man was not just a biological creature left to animal urges. Each person under the Shari’ah was a biological creature whose responsibility was to the family because the family is the building block of Muslim society. Qutb also did not adhere to the tenets of communism and its stand on private ownership. Under communism, the state owned and controlled the means of production, but Qutb believed that the individual could also own the means of production, for instance a farm. Private ownership was something that man was entitled to by the grace of Allah. Man was responsible as the vicegerent of what Allah had allowed him to possess. As long as he lived according to Allah’s laws, he could keep what was divinely bestowed on him.409 The impact of Qutb’s ideas was tremendous. The world in which he lived developed his ideologies where he changed from being a nationalistic secular Muslim to someone that rejected the West vehemently and called for the Shari’ah. Qutb’s view of life beginning in 1948, and definitely after his return from the US in 1950, complied with the Muslim Brotherhood and its founder Hasan al-Banna. In 1935, al-Banna gave the following as the founding statement of the Muslim Brotherhood,

406 Qutb, The Characteristics and Components of the Islamic Concept, quoted in Moussali, 99.

407 Qutb, The Characteristics and Components of the Islamic Concept, quoted in Moussali, 100.

408 Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, quoted in Moussali, 193.

409 Moussali, 193-194.

132 The action is ours, the success is God’s! Let us pledge our obedience to God, through which we will be the soldiers of the mission of Islam a message that embraces the life of our country and the strength of the Muslim nation. Our organization will be primarily and fundamentally an idea, with all its implications and all the acts that come from it. We are brothers in the service of Islam, we are the Muslim Brothers.410

Qutb followed this view, as he never wavered from writing about the need for social justice, not only in Arab and Muslim lands, but also throughout the world. This past chapter dealt with the life of Sayyid Qutb and some of his views on such topics as life in the US, economics, politics, and ultimately, the need for religious reformation. Qutb’s life went from being a Muslim who was tolerant of the secularism that encompassed Egypt only to become its biggest threat, a threat was executed by the gallows. The focus of the next chapter deals with Qutb and some of his writings on harb, jihad, and qital.

410 Hasan al-Banna, Majmu’at rasa’il al-imam al-shahid Hasan al-Banna, quoted in Carre, 3.

133 CHAPTER SIX: ARMED FORCE IN THE WRITINGS OF SAYYID QUTB

What makes Sayyid Qutb such an influential writer is the fact that he wrote a great deal on Islam and its intricacies. Chapter six covers some of the writings of Qutb, while quoting his interpretation of verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith of the Prophet concerning the subjects of harb, jihad, and qital or war, struggling, and fighting respectively. As Qutb returned from his trip to the US, he became radicalized in his views uttering such statements as “Those who believe fight for the sake of God and those who disbelieve fight for the sake of idols. Fight, then, the followers of Satan.”411 It is also important to reiterate that the works of Qutb have been interpreted differently. An example of this is that the Ikhwan Muslimoon or Muslim Brotherhood interpret Qutb’s use of qital or fight as figurative and non-violent. On the other hand, Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag, the founder and leader of al-Jihad, interpreted it as literal and violent. Three works of his are examined in this chapter: In the Shade of the Qur’an, Milestones, and Social Justice in Islam. This is because these three are his most influential books. In the Shade of the Qur’an (consisting of thirty volumes) sums up Qutb’s explanation or tafsir of the Qur’an. Milestones is possibly his most influential work of his since it has been considered the blueprint of many modern Islamist movements.412 Speaking of In the Shade of the Qur’an, Middle East editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Robert Irwin sites,

Apart from its length, two things are striking about the commentary: first, Qutb’s unfailing sensitivity to the Qur’an’s literary qualities; second, Qutb’s relentless insistence on the unconditional demands made upon those believers. From his readings of the Qur’an, he deduced that the Christians are all destined for hell and in other, shorter, later works he polemicised against Christians, Jews, and the western way of life.

Orientalism was another part of a Jewish conspiracy. In the same article, Irwin quotes Qutb as saying,

411 George Rosie, The Directory of International Terrorism (New York: Paragon, 1986), 12.

412 Paul Berman, “To speak sanely of equally deep things,” Catholic New Times 27, no. 8 (4 May 2003): 4.

134 It would be extremely shortsighted of us to fall into the illusion that when the Jews and Christians discuss Islamic beliefs or Islamic history or when they make proposals concerning Muslim society or Muslim politics or economics, they will be doing it with good intentions.413

Social Justice in Islam is also a beneficial piece of work because it was written before his trip to the US in 1948, giving readers a glimpse of his religious ideologies before he returned to Egypt in 1951. Qutb’s works are full of negativity and antagonistic views towards Muslims, as well as, non-Muslims; however, the thesis of this chapter is to examine what he says about jihad. The majority of this chapter will discuss Milestones because it is the focal point of Qutb’s Islamic literary career. However, before Milestones, two other works will be briefly surveyed since they can give a person a sense of what Qutb was writing about in Milestones. The first book discussed is Social Justice in Islam because Qutb finished writing it in 1948 only to have it published while he was in the US in 1949.

Social Justice in Islam

Even though Milestones is considered his most influential work, Al-‘Adalah al- Ijtima’iyyah fi al-Islam or Social Justice in Islam was published in 1948 or 1949, meaning that Qutb was interested in writing about Islam before his imprisonment.414 In Social Justice in Islam, Qutb mentions jihad once throughout the entire book in a chapter titled Economic Theory in Islam. In the chapter, he extols those who are more interested in their luxurious lifestyles rather than fighting fi-i-bi-Allah or in the way of Allah. He gives the following verse from the Qur’an as evidence, “When a Sura is revealed which contains the command, ‘Believe in Allah, and fight along with His Messenger,’ those who have long purses call on you; they say, ‘Let us be among those who stay at home.”415 In this case, Qutb is convinced that those who are more interested in making

413 Robert Irwin, “Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden?”, The Guardian (November 1, 2001), 1.

414 Ahmad S. Moussali, Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb (Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1992), 52. Moussali’s work is an extension of his 1985 dissertation under the same title. It is along with Adnan Musallam’s From Secularism to Jihad one of only two biographies written on Sayyid Qutb.

135 money are not only dooming themselves to perdition, but also others, as their actions would exemplify. This passage by him directly follows the above verse.

When we remember how Islam insists on jihad and urges men to share in it and honors those who volunteer for it, we see how much it must despise, by contrast, those who have the long purses for turning away and refusing to join the ranks of those who fight. This is not in the least strange; for the lover of luxury is flabby and weak-willed, soft, and with little virility; he cannot rely on his strength, his ambition has failed, and his generosity has vanished. To take part in a jihad would hinder the gratification of his petty desires ad forbid him his animal pleasures for a time; he recognizes no value in life except these corrupt and disgraceful things.416

There does seem to be an active and physical component to Qutb’s above phrase. He mentioned, “how Islam insists on jihad and urges men to share in it and honors those who volunteer for it.” By this, Qutb meant that men would volunteer physically since one could just as easily struggle from his own home. One reason why Qutb himself never actively fought the Nasser regime may have been due to his poor health or the conviction that for him, writing about the need for jihad was just as important as participating in it physically. The focus of the chapter now turns to the concept of jihad in his thirty-volume work, In the Shade of the Qur’an. Though the intent of this chapter is not to examine the use of jihad in all of In the Shade of the Qur’an, only eleven out of thirty volumes have been translated into English as of 2004, the next section adds to Qutb’s view of it.

In the Shade of the Qur’an

In the Shade of the Qur’an was written predominately in prison and published after Qutb’s death. This very long volume work explains the essence of the Qur’an, but the following section is intended to look at Qutb’s use of jihad against the west and what circumstances brought him to his stance. For Qutb, the nineteenth century was the beginning of a new era for the Islamic world. In the nineteenth century, colonialism was

415 Sayyid Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, translated by John B. Hardie, Translation Revised and Introduction by Hamid Algar, (Oneonta, Islamic Publications International, 2000), 156.

416 Qutb, Social Justice in Islam, quoted from Hardie, 156.

136 beginning to take hold throughout the world. European countries set out to claim territory for themselves in the name is “Glory, God, and Gold.” In the process, the colonizers would change the lands they conquered culturally, economically, and religiously by introducing nationalism and secularism. By the end of the nineteenth century, 1897 in particular with the publication of Der Judenstaat, under Theodore Herzl (1860-1904) was beginning to be noticed throughout Jewry. These two movements were just two more reasons why Qutb, and many other Muslims, were upset with the current conditions under which the Islamic world lived. In the Islamic world, there had been many forms of imperialism. Russian imperialism, for example, “was seen in a historical and purely Muslim perspective: ‘Tsarist Russia was one of the most violent in its enmity to Islam and Muslims’, a fact intimately connected with ‘Christian Crusading fanaticism’. Under the auspices of the Bolsheviks, Russian imperialism continued unabated with even greater venom and more terrible bloodshed. For Muslims, the Russian empire became ‘a slaughterhouse of religion’.”417 American imperialism, however, was seen as being closely linked with Zionism and the establishment of Israel. The United States was looked upon as helping to advocate the white man’s cause and this view was justified since one could easily see the racism in America in the early twentieth century. For many Muslims, Israel was the United States’ way to establish capitalistic dominance over the Middle East. In due to time, for the Muslim Brotherhood, the west, especially, America and its hypocrisy (a view that has not changed at all to this very day), was seen as the real enemy. According to many Muslims, like Qutb, the United States was “seeking through the technical and economic aid programmes to pervert the political independence of the countries aided, and to establish this ‘commercial dominance’ by ‘glutting the local markets’.”418 Imperialism and Zionism were very much part of another ideology that Qutb and others believed in, and that was the image of the Crusades. All three of these movements, the Crusades, nineteenth and twentieth century Imperialism, and Zionism,

417 Richard P. Mitchell, The Society of the Muslim Brothers (London: Oxford University Press, 1969), 227. Mitchell’s work on the Muslim Brotherhood is still considered the standard by which all other books on the group are measured. More information on Mitchell’s and other authors work on the Muslim Brotherhood can be found in chapter four.

418 Mitchell, 228.

137 were all justifications for Qutb to call for a change in Muslim societies. The establishment of Israel “was seen as ‘a new declaration of a Zionist-Crusading war against the Arab and Islamic peoples’.” In the Arabic tongue, terms such as ‘European crusading’ (al-salibiyya al-urabbiyya) and ‘Jewish crusading’ (al-salibiyya al- yahudiyya)419 prompted a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporter of Hasan al- Banna, Mohammed al-Ghazali, to write,

The West surely seeks to humiliate us, to occupy our lands and begin destroying Islam by annulling its laws and abolishing its traditions. In doing this, the West acts under the guidance of the Church. The power of the Church is operative in orienting the internal and foreign policies of the Western bloc, led by England and America. A hundred years ago the situation was one of enmity between the State and Christianity. Today, however, the relationship is obviously a cordial alliance.420

In his In the Shade of the Qur’an, Qutb added,

Crusading was not confined to the clangor of arms, but was, before and above all else, an intellectual enmity. European imperial interest can never forget that the spirit of Islam is firmly opposed to the spirit of Imperialism. There are those who hold that it is the financial influence of the Jews of the United States and elsewhere which has governed the policy of the West. There are those who say that it is English ambition and Anglo-Saxon guile which are responsible. And there are those who believe that it is the antipathy between East and West. All these opinions overlook one vital element in the question, the Crusader spirit which runs in the blood of all Westerners.421

For Qutb, the crusading mentality of the nineteenth century disguised itself in imperialism and Zionism, led by missionaries and orientalist “social scientists who were probing the most sensitive parts of our country.”422 In concluding this paragraph, Sayyid Qutb believed that the imperialism Egypt and the Islamic world suffered was due to Muslims being weak morally and religiously. In order to push back the Western

419 Mitchell, 229.

420 Mohammed al-Ghazali, Our Beginning is Wisdom, translated by Isma’il R. al-Faruqi (Washington, D.C.: American Council of Learned Societies, 1953) quoted in Mitchell, 229.

421 Qutb, In the Shade of the Qur’an, quoted in Mitchell, 230. In the Shade of the Qur’an is Qutb’s tafsir or explanation of Islam’s holy book. It is divided into the same thirty parts as the Qur’an.

422 Mitchell, 231.

138 onslaught of cultural imperialism, Qutb believed that the only way to turn the tide was through jihad or struggling. Being skeptical of the westernization that was taking place, Qutb warns the Brothers that ‘spiritual and mental imperialism is the true danger’ for unlike military or political imperialism which inspires opposition, this type dulls, calms, and deceives its victims. ‘Holy War’ must be declared against ‘the apparatus which directs the operation of ’: the ‘modern’ techniques of the imperialism of the ‘free world’-foundations, technical aid, UNESCO, and the ‘pens and tongues’ of the ‘people’s democracies.423

According to John L. Esposito speaking of Qutb,

Given the authoritarian and repressive nature of the Egyptian government and many other governments in the Muslim world, Qutb concluded that change from within the system was futile and that Islam was on the brink of disaster. jihad was the only way to implement the new Islamic Order. For Qutb, jihad, as armed struggle in the defense of Islam against the injustice and oppression of anti-Islamic governments and the of the West and the East (Soviet Union), was incumbent upon all Muslims. There could be no middle ground. Mirroring the Kharijites, Qutb taught that those Muslims who refused to participate were to be counted among the enemies of God, apostates who were excommunicated (takfir) and who should be fought and killed along with other enemies of God. Many radical extremist groups formed decades after Qutb’s death have kept his vision alive in their ideologies and tactics. Like Hasan al-Banna and Mawlana Mawdudi, Qutb regarded the West as the historic enemy of Islam and Muslims as demonstrated by the Crusades, European colonialism, and the Cold War. The Western threat was political, economic, and religiocultural. Equally insidious were the elites of the Muslim world who rule and govern according to foreign Western secular principles and values that threaten the faith, identity, and values of their own Islamic societies. Going, beyond al-Banna and Mawdudi, Qutb denounced governments and Western secular-oriented elites as atheists against whom all true believers must wage holy war.424

There are those, such as Harfiyah Abdel Haleem, and others who believe that Qutb’s and other Muslims use of jihad is extreme and is justified only by a minority. Others have believed that his writings have proven disastrous for Egypt and other countries by providing justification for violent groups who have interpreted Qutb and the Qur’an literally. While some people look at Indonesia and Malaysia as being Islamized non-violently, they also see Qutb’s more extreme views as countering the true message of Islam which is the establishment of “peace, justice, and tranquility on earth through co-

423 Mitchell, 232.

424 John L. Esposito, Unholy War (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 60-61.

139 operation, mutual understanding, and toleration.”425 In concluding this portion of chapter six, it must be reiterated that religion, including Islam, is based on interpretation. We must remember that Qutb was also for the establishment of justice and peace as well. Which interpretation of Qutb’s, regarding the establishing of justice and peace, is probably THE question that Muslims must come to terms with today. Is it the figurative and peaceful or the radical and literal interpretations of Qutb and the Qur’an that will prevail? For many Muslims, including Qutb, Islam was in and of itself, a revolution for change. This change was to bring about justice for those who were oppressed, as well as, bringing to justice the oppressors. Qutb was certain that a battle would ensue between the forces of good and evil. Qutb wrote, In the Shade of the Qur’an,

Herewith is the arena of the eternal battle between the creation of evil in Satan and [man] the vicegerent of God on earth.” [It is the struggle] “between the covenant of God and the seduction of Satan, between faith and infidelity, between righteousness and falsehood, between guidance and going astray. Man himself is the arena of the battle.426

The verses from the Qur’an that back up Qutb’s above quote are, “We said, descend, you are enemies one to another” and “Had not God propelled people against each other, the world would be corrupted”.427 For Qutb, this struggle or jihad, between good and evil would end with victory for those who believe in God. “The small believing community that (trusts) in God will win in the end and be victorious. This is because it [the community] represents the exalted will of God to expel evil and to firmly establish righteousness in the world.”428 This struggle between good and evil would happen since God tests Muslims to see who are truly believers, while not changing the conditions of believers until those believers help themselves. “God will not alter what is

425 Harfiyah Abdel Haleem, Oliver Ramsbotham, Saba Risaluddin, and Brian Wicker, The Crescent and the Cross (New York: Palgrave, 1998), 90-91.

426 Qutb, In the Shade of the Qur’an, quoted from Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, “The Qur’anic Justification for an Islamic Revolution: The view of Sayyid Qutb,” Middle East Journal 37, no. 1 (1983): 18.

427 The former verse is Qur’an 2:36, while the latter is Qur’an 2:251, quoted from Haddad, 18.

428 Haddad, 18-19.

140 in a people until they alter what is in themselves.”429 Thus, Islam is a pro-active religion. If believers want Shari’ah, which they are obligated to fight for, then they must be active and strive for it, while proving they are deserving of it. The last book examined is Milestones since it is his most influential. The majority of this chapter focuses on Milestones in order to better understand what Qutb meant by jihad, harb, and qital.

Milestones

Milestones is probably the best known of Sayyid Qutb’s works. It is a rather short book of one-hundred and sixty pages written in 1964, it also goes by the titles of Signposts: Milestones along the way and Signposts on the Road. Paul Bedmad of the New York Times labeled it “a classic manifesto of the terrorist wing of Islamic fundamentalism.”430 Academics also speak highly of the book in terms of being a short, but well-written piece of work. In Milestones, Qutb distinguished himself from Maulana Abul A’la Maududi by claiming that Islam, as a complete system of life, did not need any additions from the West including nationalism.431 Headlines that Qutb read in the New York Times while he was studying for a Masters Degree in Education in Greeley, Colorado probably added to his anger. On February 13, 1949, the New York Times reported the death of Muslim Brotherhood founder and leader Hasan al-Banna in the following headline,

In Cairo the leader of the outlawed terrorist Muslim Brotherhood Hasan al-Banna, was killed by an assassin”, further stating, “Sheikh Hasan al-Banna, thirty-nine year old head of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood extremist Egyptian Nationalist movement that was banned after authorities had declared it responsible for a series of bombing outrages and killings last year, was shot five times by a group of young men in a car and died tonight in hospital.432

429 Qur’an 13:11.

430 Paul Bedmad, “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror”, The New York Times, 23 March 2003, sec. 1A, p. 3.

431 Adam Parfrey ed., Extreme Islam (Los Angeles: Feral House, 2001), 61.

432 New York Times, 13 February 1949, quoted in Parfrey, 62.

141 Qutb, an admirer of the Muslim Brotherhood and an Islamist in his own right, was outraged by the use of the labels “extremist” and “terrorist” in describing al-Banna since he believed that the Egyptian government was the real “extremist” and “terrorist.” This anger no doubt fueled his writings and his call for an Islamist revolution. Was this revolution to be non-violent or otherwise? That was up to the individual to decide. In Milestones, Qutb was quick to pronounce that the current state of the ummah (community of believers) did not possess Islam. What this meant was that Muslims were not utilizing what Allah had revealed which was cause for their present condition and by Europe. He did not see Islam being practiced correctly anywhere and he wrote that, “Those who look for causes of a defensive nature in the history of the expansion of Islam are caught by the aggressive attacks of the orientalists at a time when Muslims possess neither glory nor do they possess Islam.”433 As stated in earlier chapters, Qutb, like those before and after him, used the Qur’an to justify his stance that the Shari’ah was for all times and in all places. In Milestones, he quotes the following three verses from the Qur’an:

They ought to fight in the way of God who have sold the life of this world for the life of the Hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of God and is killed or becomes victorious, to him shall We give a great reward. Why should not you fight in the way of God for those men, women, and children who have been oppressed because they are weak and who call: ‘Our Lord! Take us out of this place whose people are oppressors, and raise for us an ally, and send for us a helper’. Those who believe, fight in the cause of God, while those who do not believe, fight in the cause of tyranny. Then fight against the friends of Satan. Indeed, the strategy of Satan is weak.434

Say to the unbelievers that if they refrain, then whatever they have done before will be forgiven them; but if they turn back, then they know what happened to earlier nations. And fight against them until there is no oppression and the religion is wholly for God. But if they refrain, then God is watching over their actions. But if they do not, then know that God is your Ally and He is your Helper.435

433 Qutb, Milestones, quoted in Parfrey, 64.

434 Qur’an 3:74-76, quoted in Qutb, Milestones. Verses from the Qur’an translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali unless otherwise noted.

435 Qur’an 8:38-40.

142 Fight against those among the People of the Book who do not believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His messenger have forbidden, and who do not consider the true religion as their way of life, until they are subdued and pay Jizyah. The Jews say: ‘ is the Son of God’, and the Christians say: ‘The Messiah is the Son of God’. These are mere sayings from their mouths, following those who preceded them and disbelieved. God will assail them; how they are perverted! They have taken their rabbis and as lords other than God, and the Messiah, son of Mary; and they were commanded to worship none but One God. There is no deity but He, glory be to Him above what they associate with Him! They desire to extinguish God’s light with their mouths, and God intends to perfect His light, although the unbelievers may be averse.436

The above three verses above are significant in understanding Qutb because of the use of the term “fight.” It is important to remember that the Arabic word for fight is qital and this has a physical connotation to it. The terms jihad and qital are also closely linked. While jihad means to strive or struggle, there are two components to it. One is the non-violent or non-physical struggle, jihad al-akbar. The struggle within each individual that one must overcome in his or her respective life. This struggle can be categorized as the fighting of one’s desires or weaknesses. The second use of jihad does carry a physical sense to it. The smaller jihad or jihad al-saghir means to fight those who oppress you or turn you out of your homes. One of the points of this dissertation is to show that the three terms of harb, jihad, and qital can be used interchangeably. The above verses all allude to fighting. In the first set of verses mentioned, 3:74- 76, evidence points to one who dies a martyr, “and whoever fights in the way of God and is killed or becomes victorious, to him shall We give a great reward.” There was little doubt for Qutb that those who being oppressed, as shown in verses 3:74-76, could only be liberated through a physical struggle, qital. Verses 8:38-40 are interesting because they state that one should fight unbelievers and if those unbelievers did not desist in their ways, they would be destroyed. This is deduced by the phrase, “Say to the unbelievers that if they refrain, then whatever they have done before will be forgiven them; but if they turn back, then they know what happened to earlier nations.” This reminder is a one that is repeated in the Qur’an of nations, the nations of or for example, that

436 Qur’an 9:29-32. The term jizyah means poll tax for the People of the Book (more below), Jews, and Christians. Jews and Christians both had to pay a tax of roughly two and half percent of their yearly wealth for protection and civil services. The jizyah was meant for Jews and Christians only.

143 were destroyed for not following those respective prophets. Though Qutb is not a prophet, he is just uttering a notion that if God’s way is not followed, then a similar fate will befall those that oppress Muslims. The last set of verses, 9:29-32, allude to the Jews and Christians and Muslims.437 These sets of verses have the quote, “Fight against those among the People of the Book who do not believe in God and the Last Day, who do not forbid what God and His messenger have forbidden, and who do not consider the true religion as their way of life, until they are subdued and pay Jizyah.” The part “until they are subdued” has the connotation of fighting in the physical sense. It was not likely for Qutb to subdue a people non-violently only to have them pay taxes. This was only going to be attained through a physical struggle, qital. The issue of jihad is apparent in Milestones as Qutb delineates certain reasons for its use. He continues that there are reasons for using jihad to establish God’s authority on earth, a concept known as hakimiyyah. Hakimiyyah, a term that derives from hakim, or one who knows, can also mean one who has authority or sovereignty, and for Qutb, only God has authority or sovereignty over humans, therefore, all human laws are obsolete.438 Other reasons for the use of jihad in Milestones are

to arrange human affairs according to the true guidance provided by God; to abolish all the Satanic forces and Satanic systems of life; to end the lordship of one man over others, since all men are creatures of God and no one has the authority to make them his servants or to make arbitrary laws for them. There reasons are sufficient for proclaiming jihad.439

Qutb adds that as long as God’s laws, Shari’ah, were implemented, no one would be forced to accept Islam and drop their own belief. There seems to be legitimacy for the use of jihad in Milestones since Qutb is making it evident that jihad is used “to secure complete freedom for every man throughout the world by releasing him from servitude to other human beings so that he may serve his God, Who is One and Who has no

437 In the Qur’an, the term People of the Book (Ahl al-Khatab) is used for the Jews and Christians respectively. This is because Muslims believe that Jews and Christians both received holy books the Torah and Gospels, only to misinterpret or change them, leading to the Qur’an. There are Muslims who believe that , a religious sect in Persia, may also be considered People of the Book.

438 Parfrey, 65.

439 Qutb, Milestones quoted from Parfrey, 65-66.

144 associates.”440 For Qutb, jihad is not for self-defense or to claim spoils from war, but to spread Islam. He cites, not a Hadith, but a story about three of the Sahaba, or Companions of the Prophet, preceding the battle of Qadisiyyah, Raba’i bin ‘Amer, Huzaifa bin Muhsin, and Mughir abin Sh’ba, when they were being questioned by the Persian General Rustum.441 The story is related in the following manner;

For what purpose have you come? Their answer was the same: God has sent us to bring anyone who wishes to abandon servitude to men and go into the service of God alone, to leave the narrowness of this world and enter the vastness of this world plus the Hereafter, and to leave the tyranny of religious idolatry into the justice of Islam. God raised a Messenger for this purpose to teach His creatures His way. If anyone accepts this way of life, we turn back and give his country back to him, and we fight with those who rebel until we are martyred or become victorious.442

There are a couple of interesting notes that need to be divulged. For example, Qutb is not using a verse from the Qur’an or a Hadith in this instance, but a story related after the death of the Prophet as the battle of Qadisiyyah was fought after the year 632. The use of sources to justify anything religious outside of the Qur’an and Ahadith is something that is rare and many Muslims would not endorse. If this is the case, then the arguments for many issues could have justifications from sources outside of either the Qur’an or Hadith. The authenticity of this story would have to first be verified and then supported by some religious body. Second, it seems by looking at this example, that Jihad can be used as an offensive means to an end in order to proselytize and end oppression. A major question that arises is “When does jihad end?” It seems that if oppression exists, and many people would claim that it always has, does, and will, then jihad and qital (fighting) is permissible, if not obligatory, on Muslims until it is eradicated no matter how long it takes. Actually, Qutb seems to have answered this question in Milestones by stating,

440 Qutb, Milestones, quoted in Parfrey, 66.

441 Qutb, Milestones, quoted in Parfrey, 66. The difference between a Hadith and a story about the Prophet’s companions is that one, the Hadith comes from the Prophet himself. A story about the Prophet’s companions can be and were often from Muslims who lived after the Prophet’s death in 632.

442 Parfrey, 66.

145 The reason for jihad exists in the nature of its message and in the actual conditions it finds in human societies, and not merely in the necessity for defense, which may be temporary and of limited extent. A Muslim fights with his wealth and his person in the way of God for the sake of these values in which neither personal gain nor greed is a motive for him.443

Qutb was convinced that jihad was not only for self-defense by saying, “in the way of God.” One gets the notion that jihad is an offensive means whenever and wherever there is oppression. The rhetoric here does seem to connotate something of an offensive against a government that is oppressive, such as Egypt during Qutb’s lifetime, and its overthrow as something that is legitimate. Nasser saw Qutb as a threat to his rule and that he would have been better off with Qutb dead. Qutb continued his views in Milestones with such statements as,

Before a Muslim steps into the battlefield, he has already fought a great battle within himself against Satan- against his own desires and ambitions, his personal interests and inclinations, the interests of his family and of his nation; against anything which is not from Islam: against every obstacle which comes into the way of worshipping God and the implementation of the Divine authority on earth, returning this authority to God and taking it away from the rebellious usurpers.444

By reading the above statement, more questions can be asked, “Is Qutb’s use of battlefield here figurative or literal?” Was Nasser one of “the rebellious usurpers?” Once again, it seems that Nasser was not going to take any chances. If Qutb and his writings was a snake, by chopping off the head of this snake, that is Qutb, Nasser was hoping to stave off what he saw as an impending disaster. As far as the issue of jihad being just a self-defense mechanism was concerned, Qutb’s opinion was that by defending one’s “homeland”, Islam was only allowed to survive and not thrive, allowing for future attacks. For him, the first century of Islam proved that Muslims had to be pro-active in order for the Ummah to spread, ending opportunities for oppressive regimes to exist. The issue of whether or not jihad is an offensive tool brings up certain questions. If the Persians or Byzantines were not

443 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Parfrey, 66.

444 Qutb, Milestones, Parfrey, 66-67.

146 attacking Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula, then why did Muslim armies conquer their land extending the Ummah from Southern France to Northern India over the next one-hundred years? It seems that the answer is two-fold, proselytizing and ending oppression. Another question is, “Are nations automatically oppressive if they are not using Shari’ah? If so, then every single nation, including Iran and Saudi Arabia according to many Muslims, can be subject to being overthrown today. What could possibly be the biggest question at hand is something that requires much more time and thought, “Whose interpretation of Islam decides the use of harb, jihad, and qital?” For Qutb, establishing God’s Sovereignty, could only be established by Muslims using the jihad offensively. Christianity and Islam are both faiths that take the position that it is required of believers to proselytize to non-believers. In Islam, there is the term . Dawah is Arabic for “call.” This “call” is for Muslims to essentially do what the Prophet did and that was to both preach and spread Islam. Qutb stated, pertaining to Islam and jihad, “Those who say that Islamic jihad was merely for the defense of the “homeland of Islam” diminish the greatness of the Islamic way of life and consider it less important than their ‘homeland’. This is not the Islamic point of view, and their view is a creation of the modern age and is completely alien to Islamic consciousness.”445 The above quote showed that Qutb believed that jihad was more important than one’s “homeland” and that it is not just for defensive purposes. One message that will be delivered in this dissertation is that by using “self-defense,” the Ummah was on the offensive, that is, it was also at the same time spreading Islam. Qutb saw the defense of Islam as a means of establishing an offensive. He justified it when he continued,

Of course, in that case the defense of the “homeland of Islam” is the defense of the Islamic beliefs, the Islamic way of life, and the Islamic community. However, its defense is not the ultimate objective of the Islamic movement of jihad but is a means of establishing the Divine authority within it so that it becomes the headquarters for the movement of Islam, which is then to be carried throughout the earth to the whole of mankind, as the object of this religion is all humanity and its sphere of action is the whole earth.446

445 Parfrey, 67.

446 Qutb, Milestones, quoted in Parfrey, 66.

147 The ideology of proselytizing is apparent here as Qutb was convinced that Islam was meant for all people and for all times. Self-defense was legitimate for Qutb, however, as he stated, it is not the ultimate objective of jihad, but that jihad was meant to establish God’s hakimiyyah or sovereignty. Of all of Qutb’s writings, Milestones sets the strongest tone for overthrowing the existing governments of his time. Qutb kept writing about the need for jihad and force to establish Shari’ah to end oppressive governments. Themes of spreading Islam, Shari’ah, and ending oppression are not only plentiful in Qutb’s writings, but throughout all of Islam’s history. Qutb added to these themes when speaking of the West;

Since this movement comes into conflict with the jahiliyyah which…has a practical system of life and a political and material authority behind it, the Islamic movement had to produce parallel resources….This movement uses the methods of preaching and persuasion for reforming ideas and beliefs; and it uses physical power and Jihad for abolishing the organizations and authorities of the jahili system.447

The word “abolish”, as used above, can also be translated as “destroy”, giving it a physical and violent connotation. In the above quote, Qutb speaks of using both the “sword” and “word” to establish Islam. As can be seen in the above quote, he wrote about using force to overthrow regimes. The dilemma of whether Qutb spoke figuratively or literally is difficult to imagine when he uses a term such as “physical power and jihad for abolishing the organizations and authorities of the jahili system.” I believe Gamal Abdel Nasser interpreted these quotes of Qutb’s literally. Qutb wrote more about the use of jihad in Milestones, especially where its use as a defensive mechanism is concerned. Qutb writes,

If we insist on calling Islamic jihad a defensive movement, then we must change the meaning of the word ‘defense’ and mean by it ‘the defense of man’ against all those elements which limit his freedom. These elements take the form of beliefs and concepts, as well as of political systems, based on economic, racial, or class distinctions…When we take this broad meaning of the word “defense”, we understand the true character of Islam, and that it is a universal proclamation of the freedom of man from servitude to other men,

447 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from R. Scott Appleby, “History in the Fundamentalist Imagination,” In History and September 11th, Joanne Meyerowitz, 165-172, (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2003), 169.

148 the establishment of God and His Lordship throughout the world, the end of man’s arrogance and selfishness, and the implementation of the rule of the Divine Shari’ah in human affairs.448

To say that Qutb was getting his justification for his ideas from a source outside of the Qur’an and Hadith would be hard to believe. As someone who memorized the Qur’an by the age of ten and wrote extensively about the importance of Shari’ah, in and out of prisons, Qutb was convinced that fighting, fi-si-bi-Allah, in the way of God, was the only way of ending oppression. When it comes to Qur’anic evidence to back up Qutb’s claims, the following verses are used to exemplify Islam’s and Muslim’s place in history.

This day I have perfected your religion for you and completed My favour to you. I have chosen Islam to be your faith.449 You are the best nation that has ever been raised up for mankind. You enjoin justice and forbid evil. You believe in Allah.450 We wrote in the scripture after the Message had been given: The righteous among My servants shall inherit the earth. Verily in this is a message to those who serve us.451

The rhetoric of Milestones can be interpreted quite literally and Nasser’s fear may have been at a high level. In this next passage, Qutb may have actually been referring to the Egyptian government when he iterated,

As we have described earlier, there are many practical obstacles in establishing God’s rule (hakimiyyah) on earth, such as the power of the state, the social system and traditions and, in general, the whole human environment. Islam uses force only to remove these obstacles so that there may not remain any wall between Islam and individual human beings, and so that it may address their hearts and minds after releasing them from these material obstacles, and then leave them free to choose to accept or reject it.452

448 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Appleby, 169.

449 Qur’an 5:3.

450 Qur’an 3:110.

451 Qur’an 21:104.

452 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Haleem, 89.

149 From this quote, the most direct quote where the use of force is explicit, it is apparent that Qutb stated that obstacles to establishing Islam included the state (Egypt?) and the social system (capitalism and communism?), while force could be used to implement Shari’ah. According to this quote, force is to be used so that Shari’ah can be established leaving people to choose or reject Islam. It seems that the Qur’anic verse, “There is no compulsion in religion,” seems to apply AFTER Shari’ah was established according to Qutb.453 Qutb continued that the Islamic world should not have to apologize for the use of jihad and try to disguise it as a defensive measure used in history. Jihad is not only something that is for all-time, but also misunderstood by non-Muslims and uneducated Muslims. Qutb stated,

We ought not to be deceived or embarrassed by the attacks of the orientalists on the origin of jihad, nor lose self-confidence under the pressure of present conditions and the weight of the great powers of the world to such an extent that we try to find reasons for Islamic Jihad outside the nature of this religion, and try to show that it was a defensive measure under temporary conditions. The need for Jihad remains, and will continue to remain, whether these conditions exist or not!454

What may be the most eye-opening section of the above quote is that whether or not the present conditions of capitalism, communism, or the Nasser regime exist, there will always be a need for jihad. According to Harfiyah Abdel Haleem, speaking on Qutb,

The nature of Islam is that it emphasizes establishing the rule of God on earth and bringing back humanity from the worship of lords to the worship of God alone. It is within this context that Islam, according to Qutb, has a divine imperative and natural duty to establish its system on earth so that all people – Muslims and non-Muslims – may benefit from its just and humane laws as well as enjoy freedom of expression and belief.455

453 Qur’an 2:256.

454 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Parfrey, 67.

455 Haleem, 88.

150 Serious questions arise when one reads the rhetoric of Qutb. One question is, if any group forbids the preaching of Islam in their respective land, does that mean that war is to be waged on that group? What if that particular group was content with their respective religion? Qutb stated that if a group impeded the and the opportunity for people to choose it, “then it becomes obligatory on Islam to challenge him until he is killed or announces his submission (which implies that the doors for preaching Islam would be opened without any obstacles).”456

About the point of establishing Islam by force so that others can accept or reject it, Qutb said,

[Islam] is a universal declaration of the freedom of man from servitude to other men…it is a declaration that the sovereignty belongs to God alone and that He is the Lord of all worlds. It means a challenge to all kinds and forms of systems which are based on the concept of sovereignty of man…to proclaim the authority and sovereignty of God means to eliminate all human kingship. [However] those who have usurped the authority of God and are oppressing God’s creatures are not going to give up (their power easily). (Hence) it becomes incumbent upon Islam to strike hard against them in order to establish its own system. Once it achieves its goal Islam would then allow people to choose freely between accepting or rejecting it.457

Over the past thirty-nine years, there have been many Muslims who have interpreted Qutb’s words both figuratively and literally. Some of the language Qutb used was considered provocative, by Nasser in particular, causing the Egyptian president to fear both a revolution and his overthrow, leading the way for the former’s execution in August 1966. The nature of jihad for Qutb is that the Dar al-salaam should be secure and that religion is for God alone. Jihad is to be an instrument used against jahili or ignorant systems that have always existed, in not only the seventh century Arabian Peninsula, but also even to modern day America. Qutb also noted something of a pragmatic nature when it came to jihad. There were some stages in the early history of Islam where Muslims were not in a position to fight or were restrained from fighting by the Prophet,

456 Haleem, 88.

457 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Haleem, 90.

151 for example in Makkah when the odds were not in their favor.458 However, once those conditions changed, jihad went from a defensive mechanism to an offensive one. Verses from the Qur’an Qutb used are, “Make war on them until persecution is no more and Allah’s religion reigns supreme” and “Fight against such of those, to whom the Book was given, as believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day.”459 There was no pragmaticism for Qutb where () abrogation was concerned. An example of this is found in the latter verse above. The latter verse was revealed to the Prophet concerning Arab “pagans” and Jews thirteen hundred years earlier when those Arabs and Jews were seen as obstructing the proselytizing of Islam. For Qutb, whether it was seventh century Arabia or twentieth century America, jihad, like Islam, was for all times and could be used against all peoples, including Jews and Christians, People of the Book.460 There are verses, as is well known, in the Qur’an that allude to cooperation and peace between Muslims and non-Muslims. Qutb and other Muslims acknowledge these verses, but only when and where Shari’ah was the law of the land. Some of these verses are;

Believers (the Muslims), Jews, Christians, and Sabaeans – whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right – shall be rewarded by their Lord; they have nothing to fear or regret.461 Help one another in what is good and pious, not in what is wicked and sinful.462 Had your Lord pleased, all the people of the earth would have believed in Him.463 You cannot guide whom you please: it is Allah who guides whom He will. He best knows those who yield to guidance.464 It is not for you (O Mohammed) to guide them. Allah gives guidance to whom he will.465

458 Haleem, 89.

459 The former verse in derived from Qur’an 8:37-39, while the latter verse is from Qur’an 9:26-30.

460 Haleem, 90.

461 Qur’an 2:62.

462 Qur’an 5:1.

463 Qur’an 10:96.

464 Qur’an 28:54.

465 Qur’an 2:272.

152 Call men to the path of your Lord with wisdom and mild exhortations. Reason with them in the most courteous manner.466 There shall be no compulsion in religion. True guidance is now distinct from error.467 Let him who will, believe in it, and him who will, deny it.468

While the previous chapter discussed Sayyid Qutb and his life, this chapter deals with the topics of harb (war), jihad (struggle), and qital (fighting) in his writings. In the last eighteen years of his life, Qutb focused his efforts in writing on Islam and trying to establish Shari’ah (Islamic Law) in Egypt and elsewhere only to be executed under the Nasser regime in 1966. The amount of writing produced by Qutb made him an essential ideologue for many Islamist movements after his death. This work is considered his most important work and a blueprint for many Islamist groups today such as al-Jihad and al-Qaeda, but it was not his only work focusing on Islam. It was written in prison and published in 1964 one year before his death. It was even used against him in court while he was on trial for sedition against the state in 1966. The idea and implementation of jihad for Qutb has nothing to do with the composition of a society’s peoples. It did not matter for him, even if less than half of the population were Muslim, that particular land could be considered an Islamic state if the Shari’ah were applied.469 Those lands not adhering to the Shari’ah were considered to be in the realm of the Dar al-harb or land of war, even if the majority of people were Muslims. It was clear for Qutb, the population does not make a land Muslim; the law of that land does. An Islamic state was not defined by boundaries or a specific ethnicity, nationality, or race, but by the law governing each respective territory. Those Muslim societies that fought against using the Shari’ah were considered jahili or ignorant and part of the Dar al-harb.470

466 Qur’an 16:123.

467 Qur’an 2:256.

468 Qur’an 18:29.

469 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 204.

470 Moussali, 205.

153 Jihad for Qutb had four characteristics. The first was “serious realism.” This meant that Islam faces with “da’wah and explanation those incorrect concepts and beliefs. And faces with power and jihad those regimes and authorities based on those incorrect concepts in order to abolish them.”471 Whereas Rashid Rida (1865-1935) believed that Islam was peaceful until attacked, Qutb maintained that jihad was not a self-defense mechanism, but a mechanism that established God’s authority (hakimiyyah) on earth.472 While jihad could be used as an offensive tool, it would not be considered as anything but a mechanism in and of itself to Qutb. Below are verses from the Qur’an that Qutb cited to strengthen his belief that jihad was not strictly a defensive apparatus.

And fight in the way of God with those who fight with you, but aggress not; God loves not the aggressors. And slay them wherever you come upon them, and expel them from where they expelled you; persecution is more grievous than slaying. But fight them not by the Holy Mosque until they should fight you there; then, if they fight you, slay them-such is the recompense of unbelievers but if they give over, surely God is All- forgiving, All-compassionate. Fight them, till there is no more persecution and the religion is God’s; then if they give over, there shall be no enmity save for evildoers. The holy month for the holy month; the holy thing demand retaliation. Whoso commits aggression against you, do you commit aggression against him like as he has committed against you; and fear you God, and know that God is with the godfearing.473

Prescribed for you is fighting, though it be hateful to you. Yet it may happen that you will hate a thing which is better for you; and it may happen that you will love a thing which is worse for you; God knows, and you know not. They will question thee concerning the holy month and fighting in it. Say: ‘Fighting in it is a heinous thing, bid to bar from God’s way, and disbelief in Him, and the Holy Mosque, and to expel its people from it that is more heinous in God’s sight; and persecution is more heinous than slaying;’ they will not cease to fight with you, till they turn you from your religion,…But the believers, and those who emigrate and struggle in God’s way-those have hope of God’s compassion; and God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.474

So let them fight in the way of God who sell the present life for the world to come; and whosoever fights in the way of God and is slain, or conquers, We shall bring him a mighty wage. How is it with you, that you do not fight in the way of God, and for

471 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 205.

472 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 206.

473 Qur’an 2:187-190, Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 206.

474 Qur’an 2:212-216, Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 207.

154 the men, women, and children who, being abased, Say, ‘our Lord, bring us forth from this city whose people are evildoers, and appoint to us a protector from thee, and appoint to us from thee a helper’? The believers fight in the way of God, and the unbelievers fight in the idols’ way. Fight you therefore against the friends of Satan; surely the guile of Satan is ever feeble.475

The number of the months, with God, is twelve in the Book of God, the day that He created the heavens and the earth; four of them are sacred. That is the right religion. And fight the unbelievers totally even as they fight you totally; and know that God is with the godfearing.476

The last verse Qutb used to justify that jihad is not just a defensive mechanism is, “Leave is given to those who fight because they were wronged surely God is able to help them. Who were expelled from their habitations without right, except that they say ‘Our Lord is God…’.”477 The second characteristic is “active realism.” This meant that jihad could not be fought with words alone, but also with action. For Qutb, theory alone cannot defeat a military presence.478 The third characteristic is that jihad can take the many forms from physically fighting to “writing, assisting others, teaching, self-discipline, and many others.”479

The fourth characteristic is that the regulation of the relations between Muslim societies and non-Muslim ones can only be one of two things: first, that Islam is the basis of international relations; or, secondly, that Islam is permitted peacefully to propagate its call without a barrier from any political regime or material force. Societies should give their peoples the freedom to accept or reject Islam.480

In order for a Muslim to wage a qital or physical fight against another person or government, there has to be a reason behind it. Notice that all three terms, harb, jihad,

475 Qur’an 4:77-79, Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 207.

476 Qur’an 9:36, Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 207-208.

477 Qur’an 22:40, Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 208.

478 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 208.

479 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 208.

480 Qutb, Milestones, quoted from Moussali, 208.

155 and qital are all closely related because for one to wage a physical war, harb, they are at the same time struggling, jihad, and fighting a physical battle, qital. Therefore, it is important to remember that these terms are all very closely linked. For Qutb, jihad was also closely related to the concept of jahiliyyah. Jahiliyyah can be translated as ignorance, but in terms of the history of Islam, it has a more specific meaning. It refers to the time in Arabia before the birth of the Prophet and sometimes up to his death in 632, because up to his death there were still Arabs not adhering to Islam. Jahiliyyah was a time when people, specifically Arabs, did not worship one God, but a myriad of gods, three-hundred and sixty, all housed in the Ka’aba Many Muslims when referring to jahiliyyah relegate its existence to the seventh century and before, but not Sayyid Qutb. According to him, it was a state of mind that was persistent through all places and times, including lands where Muslims were the dominant peoples such as twentieth century Egypt. For Qutb, “The world is living today in jahiliyyah. In every order other than the Islamic order people worship one another. It is within the Muslim scheme alone that all the people will be liberated from worshiping one another by worshiping God alone, to be inspired by Him and to obey Him alone.”481 The concept of shirk, though generally defined as denial in Western terms, has a different definition in Islamic theology. Shirk in the Islamic sense pertains to an individual associating partners with God. Examples of this could be a Muslim seeking help from a saint or worshipping anything other than God. The quintessential example of shirk however, in Islam is the raising of someone, Jesus as the example, to be on par with God. For Muslims, to state that God has a son is blasphemous. There is a sense of equating God to a human in terms of having children. Shirk is Islam’s gravest sin and seems to be alluded to in the above quotation. Jahiliyyah could only be fought against by following the steps set by the Prophet who left his respective jahiliyyah society only to return and conquer it. Qutb wrote, “How must this Islamic resurrection begin? A vanguard must resolve to set it in motion in the midst of the jahiliyyah that now reigns over the entire earth. That vanguard must be able to decide when to withdraw from and

481 Qutb, Milestones, quoted in Barry Rubin, Islamic Fundamentalism in Egyptian Politics, 2nd ed. (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002), 50.

156 when to seek contact with the jahiliyyah that surrounds it.”482 According to Barry Rubin, Qutb was following a historical precedent that goes back to Ibn Taymiyah and the Prophet himself. Rubin quotes Taymiyah as saying, “Any group that departs from the clear and established Islamic canon laws such as prayers, fasting, and the prohibition of usury and corruption must-according to the consensus of the Muslim Ulama be fought even if they proclaim that ‘There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet’.” He goes on to cite the Qur’anic verse, “God does not forgive polytheism, less than that He forgives to whomsoever he will.” Lastly, the Hadith, “I have been ordered to fight people until they believe there is no god but God and I am His prophet. If they do so their lives and property are safe, and God will judge them.”483 As one can clearly see, Sayyid Qutb is just going into the past, primarily to Mohammed, in order to justify his call for a change in all societies, especially those that have a Muslim majority. In concluding this chapter, it is important to remember that Sayyid Qutb wrote on jihad and the need to struggle for the implementation of God’s sovereignty, Shari’ah. Whether this struggle is of a physical nature or not is been up to the individual. There is undoubtedly rhetoric in Qutb’s writings that can easily be seen as justifying using force to establish their goals, but Qutb does not go into details. When one reads material written by Qutb himself, they are not going to encounter any specific call to assassinate government officials and tourists, or calls to hurt the economy which may bring a revolution ushering in the Shari’ah. It is also important to remember that he did not ever kill anybody. Qutb was hanged for verbally calling for the overthrow of all regimes, starting in Egypt and all Muslim lands that did not use Shari’ah. Had Qutb lived, he could have elaborated his views and possibly helped us understand more clearly what he meant by jihad, harb, and qital. Due to his death some men such as, Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag and Osama bin Laden, have interpreted his writings literally where establishing God’s Sovereignty should be established by force once peaceful means were exhausted. Most western writers such as John Esposito and Paul Berman have also noticed this mentality. It is important to keep in mind that Qutb wrote much of his Islamic works in prison where he was subject to censorship regularly, not to mention

482 Qutb, Milestones, quoted in Rubin, 50.

483 Ibn Taymiyya, Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence, quoted in Rubin, 50-51.

157 torture. After careful consideration of the thousands of pages read both by and on Qutb, it is the opinion of this particular author that his works applied the use of force in order to establish the Shari’ah, only after Muslims had prepared themselves mentally to obey God’s commands. Once obstacles were set up obstructing Muslims to practice Islam, a call for followers of the faith to use the lesser jihad against the ruling government was not only legitimate, but also seen as an obligation.

158 CHAPTER SEVEN: AL-JIHAD

Education did not stop Bonaparte from trampling Al-Azhar University with his horses and troops. Had the Muslims been strong militarily, they would have fought and killed this infidel and kept him from humiliating Islam.484

The above quote was from Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag (1954-1982), an electrical engineer, or maybe just an electrician, in his book of fifty-four pages, Al- Faridah al-Gha’ibah, or The Neglected Duty also known as, The Absent Obligation, The Missing Obligation, or The Missing Religious Precept.485 This missing precept or forgotten obligation was jihad. It is important to remember that many Muslims have always believed that jihad was and still is unofficially the sixth pillar of Islam. According to Sayyid Qutb, establishing and calling people to Islam are two different things. Once Islam was established, by force (qital) if necessary, people would then have a choice of accepting or rejecting it. Farag’s use of the concepts of jihad and qital are something most people in the western world would have difficulty understanding. There will be more discussion later in the chapter about Farag’s use of jihad and qital, but one can begin to get some idea about them by reading about the events that took place on October 6, 1981. While celebrating the eighth year anniversary of the October, Ramadan, or Yom Kippur War and Egypt’s successful participation in it, Mohammed Anwar Sadat (1918-1981) found himself the victim of one of the few of a head of state in modern Egyptian history.486 One fascinating detail about the assassination was that it was carried out by soldiers swearing loyalty to Sadat, only to participate in his death.

484 Mohammed Abdel-Salam Farag, The Neglected Duty, quoted from Michael Youssef, Revolt Against Modernity (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1985), 49.

485 The translation, “The Neglected Duty,” for Farag’s book, Al-Faridah al-Gha’ibah has been used since it best matches the Arabic. This is also the translation used by author Johannes J.G. Jansen, who wrote a book by the same title in 1986. Farag’s occupation is not definitively known, but is has been generally reduced to either an electrician or electrical engineer.

486 Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar and is considered the holiest month of the year as well. It was the month when Mohammed first received the revelations that are the basis for the Qur’an according to Muslims. The month is also considered sacred because other significant events took place during it such as the Muslim victory at Badr and the Mamluk victory over the Mongols at Ayn Jalut in 1261. Yom Kippur is Hebrew for the “Day of Atonement” and it is considered the holiest day in Judaism. Egypt’s success was brought about by its ability to regain the Sinai Peninsula.

159 The goal of this chapter is to discuss Farag and the group al-Jihad, it will also examine the use of harb, jihad, and qital or war, struggling, and fighting respectively. Qital means to fight another person and corresponds with physicality. Some people believe that Farag was one of those who followed Qutb’s writings literally, as well as the Qur’an and Sunnah (tradition) of the Prophet. In examining Farag’s writings, it is important to remember that he was free to express his ideologies, while Sayyid Qutb, who wrote most of his works in prison, could have been subject to censorship or had his writings stopped altogether by the authorities. Therefore, Farag’s writings are more explicit, as his actions showed later, while Qutb’s Islamic literary work, possibly in order to avoid being tortured by prison guards, are more ambiguous and open to interpretation. In the previous chapters, this dissertation has shown how certain Muslims such as the Kharijites, the Assassins, Ibn Taymiyya and Sayyid Qutb, have all justified using armed force. Al-Jihad is continuing a tradition in Islam of Muslims fighting in order to “abolish oppression and establish justice,” just as the Prophet did himself in the seventh century. The linkage between al-Jihad and Ibn Taymiyya for instance is that both called on their respective rulers to abandon any law that was contrary to Islam and implement Shari’ah (Islamic law). Both Ibn Taymiyya and al-Jihad, being Muslims, fought fellow Muslims and justified it with verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith. As this chapter will show, Ibn Taymiyya and al-Jihad referred to their respective rulers as infidels even though they were Muslims. Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag even quoted Ibn Taymiyya in his work, The Neglected Duty. Since al-Jihad came into prominence in 1981, the group has kept a low profile on its members and policies for fear of being cracked down upon by the Egyptian government. Due to this, information has been limited to a few scholars. They are Johannes Jansen, Michael Youssef, and Sonia Alianak. These respective academics look at the group historically and attempt to link the group to events in the past, especially Egyptian politics in the twentieth century. It is to these scholars that this work is indebted. Other scholars such as Robin Wright, Dilip Hiro, and Emmanuel Sivan

160 examine the group’s effect on Egyptian society, but do not make any serious attempts to link the group to past groups especially ones going back to the seventh century.487 As far as the link between Sayyid Qutb and Farag are concerned, like Ibn Taymiyya before him, the former referred to the Muslim rulers of his time as infidels for not applying the Shari’ah (Islamic Law). Qutb and Farag also have other similarities since they were both educated and wrote texts that hoped to fuel movements that would lead to the implementation of Islamic law. The last commonality shared by both men however was that they were hanged by the state. As far as the differences between Qutb and Farag are concerned, the latter joined the Islamist cause as a college student while the former, Qutb, joined it in his forties after being a secularist for some time. Other discrepancies between the two men was that Qutb wrote much more than Farag and the former visited western countries while the latter did not. The similarities and differences between al-Jihad and those mentioned earlier in this work are inter-woven throughout this chapter. The influence of Sayyid Qutb and his death at the hands of the Egyptian government left room for someone like Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag to interpret Qutb’s work in any fashion he desired, in this case, violently.

Al-Jihad’s Origins

After Qutb’s execution in 1966, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918- 1970) still had to deal with the role of Islam and the many Islamist groups that called for the imposition of the Shari’ah. If the execution was supposed to end this dilemma, time proved that it had adverse affects. By executing Qutb, Nasser in effect did three things; first, he did not allow Qutb to clarify his opinions on the role of Islam and the use of armed struggle, secondly, Nasser allowed room for people to interpret Qutb’s writings anyway they wanted to, and lastly, he made Qutb into a martyr. With the incarceration

487 The works of the following scholars are a few that have been either referenced or researched for this chapter. They are Johannes J.G. Jansen, The Neglected Duty (New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1986), Michael Youssef, Revolt against Modernity (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1985), Sonia L. Alianak, “The mentality of messianic assassins.” Orbis 44, no. 2(Spring 2000) 283 (5468 words), Robin Wright, Sacred Rage (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1985), Dilip Hiro, War Without End (London: Routledge, 2002), and Emmanuel Sivan, Radical Islam (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985).

161 and torture of Muslims, such as Qutb, many Egyptians were convinced that the regime was corrupt, a toy of the West, and that it needed to be replaced. With Nasser’s death in 1970, another military officer, Mohammed Anwar Sadat came to power. In order to deal with communists, pro-Nasserists, and others who were posing threats to his reign, Sadat released many members of the Ikhwan Muslimoon, Muslim Brotherhood, from prison to help him in his fight for power. As time passed and Egypt needed economic help from the United States (US) (after Egypt abandoned the Soviet Union), Sadat found himself isolating Egypt from other countries in the Middle East. Once Egypt made peace with Israel in 1978, it was widely believed throughout the Muslim and non-Muslims world that Sadat signed his death warrant when he traveled to Jerusalem to meet with Prime Minister Menachem Begin. This visit to Israel and the Muslim Brotherhood’s changed views, including the denouncing of armed force in order to establish its goals, created an opening for other Islamist groups to exercise a more militant voice in fighting the government with eventual hopes of establishing the Shari’ah. It is important to note that the Muslim Brotherhood has maintained their non- violent stance to this day. Many people believed erroneously (including this author at one time) that the Ikhwan Muslimoon assassinated Sadat. Others still believe this to be true. As the Muslim Brotherhood became less violent and more involved in the political process, other groups emerged that challenged their legitimacy in the fight to become God’s vicegerent on earth. According to author, Johannes J.G. Jansen,

These groups had fascinating names like al-Nagun min al-Nar, ‘those who are to be saved from hell fire’, or al-Shawqiyyun-after their founder Shawqi al-Shaykh and not from Arabic shawq, ‘love’.”488 Jansen continues, “In the second division of organizations, usually referred to as Tanzim al-Jihad, a few subgroups with names such as al-Wathiqun min al-Nasr, ‘Those who are certain of victory’, and al-Qisas al-Islami, ‘Islamic Revenge’, became notorious. It was from among these that Sadat’s assassins were recruited in the second half of September 1981.489

488 Johannes J.G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997), 56. Jansen, the author of The Neglected Duty and The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism, is an expert in Islam. His book, The Neglected Duty, is one of only three books, along with Michael Youssef’s Revolt Against Modernity and Mohammed Heikal’s Autumn of Fury, which covers al-Jihad in any kind of detail.

489 Jansen, 56.

162 This last sentence sums up the space made by the Muslim Brotherhood and the attempt of other organizations trying to fill it. In recent years, the Mubarak regime has politicized the Muslim Brotherhood, causing other groups to see the Muslim Brotherhood as abandoning earlier goals of establishing Shari’ah. In the 1970’s, many university students were looking for Islamic groups to join. Al-Jihad’s roots can be found in the Asyut province of Upper Egypt and one of its head ideologues was Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (1938-present), the blind cleric charged in the first attacks on the World Trade Center in 1993.490 In 1979-1980, students from Asyut united with students from Cairo, led by Farag who was born in Dolongat, a province of Beheira located in Lower Egypt.491 Al-Jihad was made up of students who participated in organizations disbanded by the government due to their radicalism, such as the Islamic Liberation Party in 1974 and the Society of Muslims in 1977. Shortly before his assassination, Sadat cracked down on many Islamists for the same reason while angering others. These arrests caused Farag to condemn the government as illegitimate and convinced him that it should be overthrown. Al-Jihad was not founded by one man, but a conglomeration of groups inspired by many people. In time, some members of al-Jihad renounced violence after the government’s crackdown following the assassination of Sadat, while other members helped form al-Jama’at or the Islamic Group, which was situated on the fringes of Cairo. Many in this organization decided to follow Ayman al-Zawahiri and fight the Soviets in Afghanistan.492 It is clear that many Islamist groups in Egypt contain individuals who were members of other organizations which they sometimes left for a variety of reasons. In Egypt, many Islamists believed that the country’s success in the Ramadan War was a sign that God supported Sadat. However, after Sadat made peace with Israel, these same Islamists suffered a psychological shock because in their own words, “this abrupt reversal destabilized his regime and confused his people, causing anger, fears and

490 Joel Beinin, “Political Islam and the New Global Economy,” CR 5, no. 1 (2005): 119.

491 Nemat Guenena, “The ‘Jihad’: An ‘Islamic Alternative in Egypt,” Cairo Papers in Social Science 9, no. 2 (Summer 1986): 64.

492 Beinin, 119.

163 ultimately his death.”493 For Farag, the jihad against Israel was stopped by the accords. According to him, after ridding Muslims of their unbelieving rulers, they could have liberated Jerusalem.494 Farag and other members of al-Jihad were exposed to Ulema that differed from those that supported Sadat. Those that favored Sadat were Imams from older mosques, including Al-Azhar University, and the of Egypt who stressed that according to Sunni tradition, the unity of the Ummah was more important than outright violence.495 It is also important to note that these men were also appointed to their positions by the government, therefore, those religious leaders who disagreed would not be tolerated. Supporters of Sadat claimed that the Camp David Accords were negotiated from a position of strength due to Egypt’s success in the Ramadan War. Islamic history also played a part in supporting Sadat since many stated that the Prophet himself made peace with the Quraish in 628 with the Treaty of Hudaibiya. Lastly, the Grand Mufti “refused to declare Sadat an apostate, arguing that even if Sadat had neglected some part of the Qur’an and Sunnah, he was not an apostate as long as he believed in the prophecy of Mohammed and the existence of God, and prayed regularly.”496 These arguments did not persuade Farag and his co-assassins, since they believed that they were living in an atmosphere of confusion and heresy that the leaders of Egypt helped to foster. Beginning in 1978, word spread by the Ulema of ahli mosques and Farag himself that Sadat must die for his actions taken against Muslims in Egypt and his making peace with Israel. Nothing that Sadat’s supporters could have said would have changed the events of October 6 of that year. After the Camp David Accords in 1978, ahli (popular and private) mosques denounced Sadat violently for making peace with Israel, while at the same time Ulema at older mosques found religious justifications for his making peace with the Jewish state.497

493 Sonia L. Alianak, “The Mentality of Messianic Assassins,” Orbis 44, no. 2 (Spring 2000): 290.

494 Alianak, 290-291.

495 Alianak 292.

496 Fouad Ajami, The Arab Predicament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 233. The title Mufti is another word for religious leader or scholar.

497 Alianak, 283. In Egypt and other countries with an Islamic majority, many mosques and imams or preachers, are run by the government. Al-Azhar University in Cairo, which was established in 970 and is

164 The debate of whether Sadat was correct in his judgment went back and forth as the future assassins of the Egyptian head of state possessed audio cassettes of sermons from Imams who expressed anger at the government for threatening their hopes of one day destroying Israel in the future.498 It was in one of these mosques that Khaled Ahmed el Islambouli met Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag. The link between al-Jihad, Farag, and Ibn Taymiyya and others on the nature of apostasy are evident when Farag concluded, “it is the view of the majority [of the jurists] that an apostate has to be killed.” He further believed it was a believer’s obligation to do so in hopes of establishing an Islamic State so that “God will bring disgrace upon unbelief.”499 Some of the earliest traces of al-Jihad were discovered in 1978 during Coptic- Muslim riots.500 Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman was one of the group’s leaders. His fatwas, or religious decrees, were seen as being essential for its actions and policies. Abdel Rahman, whose development of diabetes as a child contributed to his future blindness, went on to study Islamic theology allowing him to become an Imam and deliver religious edicts. One of these decrees was the justification of “killing Christians and stealing gold from Christian jewelry stores to finance Jihad.”501 Though he never wrote an extensive text on jihad, like Farag, Rahman did issue a Fatwa in 1980 calling Sadat an infidel and legitimating his assassination. Rahman was arrested for allegedly inspiring Sadat’s assassins, but all charges were dropped and he was set free in 1984.502 Farag, who was one of the group’s theoreticians, outlined two premises that postulated that all Muslim groups and leaders that turned away from the Shari’ah were apostates and that Muslims were to struggle (jihad) for the revival of Islam.503 Under these two

considered one of the highest centers of learning, has often been accused of being run by the government. The term Ulema is used to designate the religious body of scholars or leaders of the Ummah or community of believers.

498 Alianak, 284.

499 Farag, quoted from Johannes J.G. Jansen, The Neglected Duty (New York: Macmillan, 1986), 169.

500 Dilip Hiro, Holy Wars (New York: Routledge, 1989), 79.

501 Tamra Orr, Egyptian Islamic Jihad (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003), 25.

502 Orr, 25.

503 Hiro, 79.

165 conditions, it was incompatible for a true Muslim to cooperate with the current government. For Farag, the only way to overthrow the current regime was through armed struggle, qital, since previous forms of calling for Shari’ah failed and any reason to continue would be seen as foolish. Also according to Farag’s ideology, Muslims had to realize that there were two enemies at hand, the internal, Egypt, and the external, the non- Muslim world. Since Muslims had neglected the unofficial sixth pillar of Islam, jihad, the Islamic World fell into its current state of jahili (ignorance) and it would only end when Muslims applied God’s laws. According to Farag, history was to follow a pattern that included rule by the Prophet, the caliphate, kings, and dictators, with the last two being replaced by strong willed God-fearing believers.504 As Egypt was going through a political and religious turmoil of its own, events in Iran helped to fuel the powder keg that was al-Jihad. In the late 1970’s, al-Jihad was a supporter of the Islamic revolution in Iran. There were many reasons why the group was enamored with the events taking place including speeches from Imams of non-governmental mosques, “the position of Saudi Arabia toward the Iranian revolution, the Shi’ite nature of the revolution, Iran’s alliance with the Ba’th Party, and the developments in the Iran-Iraq war.”505 The political and religious climate in Iran gave direction to al-Jihad who supported the movement despite different views on doctrine, mainly the differences between Sunni and Shi’ite Islam. The group believed that what was going on in Iran should be studied and emulated in Egypt. Although it refused to discuss doctrinal issues between Sunni and Shi’ite Islam, al-Jihad believed that the Ummayyad caliphate (661-750) introduced nationalism into the Ummah by awarding government posts to Arabs over Persians and other non-Arab Muslims furthering the rift between the majority Arab Sunnis and minority Shi’ite Persians.506 Al- Jihad, whose members included some in the Egyptian military, praised those segments of the Iranian Armed Forces that joined the Iranian Islamic revolution.

504 Hiro, 80.

505 Walid M. Abdelnasser, “Islamic Organizations in Egypt and the Iranian Revolution of 1979: The Experience of the first few years,” Arab Studies Quarterly 19, no. 2 (Spring 1997): 33.

506 Abdelnasser, 31.

166 The organization supported the Khomeini’s goal of exporting “his” revolution to the rest of the Muslim World. While distributing leaflets and cassettes, al- Jihad asked “Islamic organizations in Egypt to support the Islamic revolution in Iran.”507 Some people inside al-Jihad “even hoped Iran would defeat Iraq in the 1980 war and would thereafter move to seize Jordan and proceed to liberate Palestine.”508 For al-Jihad, the differences between what was taking place in Iran and Egypt was minor, since both believed they had common enemies. “It considered the Iranian revolution to be the first Shi’ite revolution based on righteous Islamic beliefs.”509 Al-Jihad was so enamored of the revolution that it may have tried to get closer to some revolutionaries in Iran through living in the Gaza Strip.510 Although some members of al-Jihad were willing to consider the developments taking place in Iran as a model of an Islamic revolution, not all did. Some believed in the centuries old belief that Shi’ism was a heresy of Islam. Although some disagreements did exist, the majority of al-Jihad looked favorably upon the Iranian Revolution. One of those who was moved by the events in Iran was Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag whose writings breathed new life into al-Jihad.

Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag and “The Neglected Duty”

If there was one person who could be accredited with being the head of al-Jihad, it would have to be Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag. Though not much is known about him, Farag did write the group’s most influential literary work. Farag did not believe in elections or strength in numbers. He rejected democracy in favor of a theocracy in hopes of re-establishing the caliphate. Farag wrote, “The truth is that an [Islamic] State can only be founded by a believing minority because the true believers of Islam are always a minority.”511 This is something that Sayyid Qutb and others before him also believed.

507 Abdelnasser, 31.

508 Ajami, 13.

509 Abdelnasser, 31.

510 Abdelnasser, 31.

511 Farag, quoted from Jansen, The Neglected Duty, 185-186.

167 Although Mohammed and his closest companions only represented the minority of inhabitants in the Arabian Peninsula between the years 610 and 632, some believed that they only needed a few strong believers to win the hearts and minds of the others. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, Farag’s book, Al Faridah al Gha’ibah or The Neglected Duty, was partly responsible for the ideology of al-Jihad. Besides being influenced by clerics such as Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and the current conditions in Egypt, the group, like others, was moved by the word before it resorted to using the sword. While some dispute the assassination of Sadat as nothing more than an attempt to gain power, others believe there was a religious reason behind it. The text was published by Al-Ahram on December 14, 1981 when the Mufti of Egypt at the time, Sheikh Jadd al- Haqq ‘Ali Jadd al-Haqq wrote a Radd or refutation to The Neglected Duty on December 8, 1981.512 Farag’s text was disturbing. Not only were impious leaders considered targets for assassination, but even those who did not follow one of the five pillars of Islam, such as prayer or paying alms or Zakat, could fall victim to corporal punishments (hudud). During the trial of the assassins, Farag’s text was used to indict the men as a justification to kill Sadat. He and four other men accused of the crime did not dispute its contents. What may be interesting to note is that many of those the newspaper was trying to warn about al-Jihad were also from the same economic, political, and religious population as the group itself, thus, the group may have had much support from those Al- Ahram was trying to warn.513 The text of The Neglected Duty referenced Ibn Taymiyya, but as a weekly periodical named Al-Liwa’ al-Islami delineated, “great care is taken to show that the writings of Ibn Taymiyya have their own historical context and that Ibn Taymiyya’s teachings cannot be mechanically transposed to twentieth-century circumstances.”514 Obviously, for Farag they could and were. One comparison, noted earlier, was between the Mongols of the days of Ibn Taymiyya and Muslims of the modern world. Another comparison made was equating Sadat to Genghis Khan. The Neglected Duty begins with this verse from the Qur’an;

512 Jansen, 1-2.

513 Jansen, 2.

514 Jansen, 4.

168 Is it not high time for those who have believed to humble their hearts to the Reminder of God and to the truth which He hath sent down; and that they should not be like those to whom the Book was formerly given and for whom the time was long, so that their hearts became hard, and many of them are reprobates?515

Johannes J.G Jansen argues regarding Farag and al-Jihad,

[V]iolent attacks in the in the name of Islam are something relatively new, while, on the other hand, the perpetrators of such acts of violence claim to personify true Islam. This implies a contradiction: why have Muslims of earlier generations not understood the need for organized violence?516

This is a statement with which this author disagrees since the history of Islam has shown much armed confrontation in the form of assassinations and general attacks from the early years of Islam. There is a difference between the acts perpetrated by the Muslims of early Islam and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries respectively. It is because the majority of Muslims “of earlier generations” were living in lands where Shari’ah law was implemented, if even a little, while for Farag, Muslims for the past two centuries had their lives dictated to by non-Muslims obviously using non-Islamic laws. The above Qur’anic verse, used by Farag, tried to convince Muslims today that they should not renege on God and His laws like others before. He was trying to gather popular support for his idea that Egypt was in a state of jahili (ignorance) and Sadat was at the head of this land of ignorance. By implementing new laws and ways of life in Egypt, Sadat was guilty of committing bid’ah or innovation.517 For Farag, committing bid’ah was something that condemned its innovator and those that practiced it to perdition. In a forceful voice, Farag continued in his tract, that the Prophet only removed “the tawaghit, the idols of this world”, with the sword, and that at the same time, he “never flattered the heathen Makkan idols” the same way that Muslims of today are

515 Farag, quoted from Jansen, 5. Jansen here and throughout his translation of Farag’s text uses Richard Bells’ translation of the Qur’an. Richard Bell, The Qur’an Translated with a Critical Re-arrangement of the Surahs (Edinburgh) 1937, 2 vols., Repr. 1960

516 Jansen, 5.

517 The term bid’ah meaning innovation is a serious sin in Islam. It is considered compromising God’s laws with human laws, thus trespassing on God’s sovereignty or hakimiyyah.

169 bowing to their respective governments.518 Farag insisted an Islamic State and the caliphate should be re-established. In the fashion of whether or not something is explicit or implicit, Farag wrote about the following Hadith. The Prophet reportedly said that both Constantinople and Rome would eventually fall to Islam. Was this conquest the result of proselytizing or through the sword? Farag himself did not explicitly state his opinion, but instead alluded to a Hadith by stating, “The conquest of Constantinople came about more than eight hundred years after the Prophet’s prediction. And also the conquest of Rome will be realized.”519 With Constantinople falling in 1453 through the use of the sword, it is possible that Farag meant that Rome would also fall through military might judging by his and al-Jihad’s actions on October 6, 1981. The idea of establishing an Islamic State is something that many Muslims reject totally, while those who accept the premise do not do enough to help change society according to Farag. He quoted the famous Qur’anic verse, “Whosoever does not rule by what God hath sent down they are the unbelievers.”520 Farag skillfully adds to surah five verse forty-eight, by stating,

If the religious obligations of Islam cannot be carried out in their entirety without the support of an Islamic State, then the establishment of such a state is a religious obligation too. If such a state cannot be established without war, then this war is a Muslim religious obligation as well.521

Farag was making the use of harb (war) and qital (fighting) here explicitly. For him, physically fighting (qital) to establish an Islamic State was, is, and will always be an obligation upon all Muslims. Farag’s ideology does not differ much from Sayyid Qutb’s since the latter also believed that jihad was an offensive mechanism used to establish God’s sovereignty or hakimiyyah and not just a defensive tool. Farag also used history to prove his points. He explained,

518 Jansen, 6.

519 Farag, quoted from Jansen, 6.

520 Farag, quoted from Jansen, 7. Translation of Qur’an provided by Richard Bell, (5:48).

521 Farag, quoted from Jansen, 7.

170 [T]he rulers who are in control of Muslims today are rulers of infidels yet Muslims follow them and God says in Surah al-Ma’idah, ‘And he who does not rule by that which God has revealed is an infidel (5:44).’ After the end of the caliphate in 1924 and the uprooting of Islamic laws from the land, the infidels put the infidels’ own laws in their place…and the situation has become like that of the Tatar.522

A few key points here are that Farag compared the twentieth century to that of the Middle Ages when Tatar Hordes ruled large tracts of Muslim land. He called Muslims both “Muslims and infidels” as can be seen in the first sentence of the above quote. Farag did not make up his mind on who exactly is a Muslim. Were Muslims believers or infidels? Though Farag did not mention Sadat by name in his book, he did allude to him when he said; [he] “…has increased the ways of infidelity which have caused the society to digress from the Islamic faith to the point that there is no relation between what they say they are and the way they rule.”523 Farag did not care that for almost two centuries, Egypt had been influenced by Western Europe. Instead, he took his anger out on Sadat as the one who “has increased the ways of infidelity.” If Sadat was to be killed, it was not just for increasing unbelief, but continuing it. Other reasons included making peace with Israel while at the same time accepting economic and military aid from the United States. Farag’s ideologies are detailed as he denied that a change could occur through negotiations with the government. He was skeptical of political maneuvering involving verbal diplomacy and saw anyone carrying out a discourse with the government as being “misguided and naïve.”524 Farag did not believe that the Egyptian government had anything positive to offer people and even its charity is seen as nothing but empty fodder. Farag spoke of governmental charitable organizations below,

Prayer and ‘zakat’ and good works are things of God and we must not minimize the importance of these, but if we ask, ‘Will all these good works establish an Islamic nation?’ the answer has to be an unequivocal, ‘No.’ Moreover, these associations belong to the present government and they are registered in its records and they follow its rules.525

522 Farag, quoted from Youssef, 82.

523 Farag, quoted from Youssef, 82.

524 Youssef, 85.

525 Farag, quoted from Youssef, 85.

171 The tone of Farag was ferocious, he, like Sayyid Qutb, rejected anything that took a Muslim away from the duty of jihad. He was not impressed with those that used spirituality and discipline as a substitute to qital (fighting). Farag referred to a Hadith, where the Prophet was reported to have described jihad as the “highest glory of Islam”, as well as, “He who does not invade is dead as if he died in jahiliyyah (pre-Islamic times).”526 The use of interpretation here is baffling. Did the Prophet here mean jihad as fighting others or fighting the within oneself? Let us not forget that the Prophet said the bigger jihad (jihad al-akbar) was the one within him or herself. Though this questioning does little in breaking down interpretation, one can only assume that jihad for Farag meant qital or armed struggle, at least as long as the current government was installed. As a leader of al-Jihad, Farag wrote a great deal on the state of Egypt and the rest of the world. For him, it was only through jihad that change could take place. For those who ignored or neglected jihad, they were also neglecting a Hadith of the Prophet that said, “Jihad is preferable to living under the rule of a sycophantic ruler.”527 Farag did not acknowledge Islamic parties because forming a party equated it with other political parties, legitimizing democracy. This is one reason why jihad was introduced according to Farag, to replace all other systems of government.528 One would have to compromise their religious views, even temporarily, in order to strive for an Islamic State through government appointed careers. Farag spoke of this mentality when he stated,

When one first hears these things, one thinks it to be a mere imagination or a joke, but the truth of the matter is that there are many in the Islamic field whose philosophy is to go along with this kind of thinking despite the fact that it has no support in the Book (the Qur’an) and the Sunnah.529

526 Youssef, 85.

527 Youssef, 85.

528 Youssef, 86.

529 Farag, quoted from Youssef, 86.

172 It is quite possible that Farag’s remarks concerning the political process and Islam were an attack on the Muslim Brotherhood which had, beginning in the early 1970’s, become more politically involved. The political process was not an option for Farag who stated, “This does not establish the Ummah (the Muslim nation) despite the fact that some made this point to be the basis for their refusal of jihad.”530 The political process meant nothing to him since, according to Farag (paraphrasing a Qur’anic verse), “Few are those who worship me with thankfulness.” The establishment of Shari’ah had nothing to do with how many people one side had. According to Farag’s ideology, God did not place a high priority on large numbers. Farag was quoted as having said, “How many times a small group of people defeated large groups of people by the will of God” and “How few of us are followers of God, but God’s riches make up for our smallness.”531 He possibly could have been relating his beliefs about small armies defeating larger ones by drawing a parallel to the Battle of Badr where the Prophet’s army was outnumbered three to one by the Quraish, but was still victorious. There is also Qur’anic verification for Farag’s thoughts as he quotes the holy book of Islam, “When the victory of God comes, you will see people enter the religion of God in large numbers.”532 Islam is a system of thought that extends to all places and times. For those who said that religion was obsolete, Islam or otherwise, Farag said, “This good and wholesome religion is relevant and can be applied at any time and in any place and it is capable of handling anyone…If people are happy to live under the rules of infidels, how much happier they will be when they find themselves under the rule of Islam which is all justice.”533 The political process is something that is un-Islamic for Farag who saw jihad as the only way to establishing Shari’ah in the land. Jihad for Farag was the tool that Muslims needed to establish justice. In The Neglected Duty, Farag wrote about the current state of Egypt in very similar terms to those of Ibn Kathir (1300-1373) seven centuries earlier when he wrote about the state of Islam. In justifying the assassination of Sadat, Farag wrote,

530 Youssef, 86.

531 Farag, quoted from Youssef, 86.

532 Youssef, 87.

533 Youssef, 87.

173 God rejects all that lies outside His law; He is the Universal Arbiter of all good, and He who prohibits all evil. He has done away with all private opinions, with whim, with arbitrariness, with all that is characteristic of men who base themselves not on the Shari’ah but, like the people of jahiliyyah, govern according to their pleasure, in ignorance, or rather, in the manner of the Tartars, according to the policy of the prince (al-siyasa al-malikiyya). This expression refers to their prince, Genghis Khan, for he gave them the yasa, which is a code assembling laws borrowed from the Jews, Christians, Muslims, and others, apart from many other laws issued directly of his own concepts and his own whim. It is impiety to allege that such a system of law is the basis of a government founded on the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet; it is imperative to combat the infidel until he is brought to govern in accordance with the injunctions of God and His Prophet, from which one must not depart, even in the slightest.534

In the above quote, a few things stand out. Farag, in quoting Ibn Kathir, was also following Ibn Taymiyya and his attitude towards Muslims who integrated Mongol Law with Islamic law. Taymiyya not only wrote about Mongols that adopted Islam while still adhering to their ancient laws called the Yasa, but he also fought against them physically (qital). Kathir was Taymiyya’s most noted student. In addition, what stands out is Farag is identifying Sadat with the Mongols and pre-Islamic Arabs. He did not distinguish between non-Muslims and Muslims who use both Shari’ah and non-Shari’ah law. Farag borrowed the use of calling Muslims that did not use Shari’ah, as infidels, from Sayyid Qutb, who believed that they were worse than non-Muslims were since they had the Qur’an and Sunnah. Lastly, while Farag was quoted as having said, “it is imperative to combat the infidel until he is brought to govern in accordance with the injunctions of God and His Prophet, from which one must not depart, even in the slightest.” The use of the word “combat” by Farag was literal, meaning that he was referring to qital, the physical component of jihad, since his actions and the actions of al-Jihad proved such. The focus of this chapter now turns to the assassination of Anwar Sadat since it is his death that reveals the group and its ideology more explicitly. Before the assassination, al-Jihad did not distinguish itself from other Islamist groups, but afterward, the group was well known throughout the Islamic world. The death of Sadat was only the first attempt by the group to use armed force in order to establish Shari’ah. The parallel with Ibn Taymiyya is

534 Farag, quoted from Malika Zeghal, “Religion and Politics in Egypt: The Ulema of Al-Azhar, Radical Islam, and the State (1952-94),” International Journal of Middle East Studies 31, no. 3 (August 1999): 389- 390.

174 apparent as the thirteenth century theologian and warrior himself validated the use of qital against fellow Muslims who did not submit to God’s sovereignty (hakimiyyah).

The assassination of Anwar Sadat

The justification of Sadat’s assassination was based on precedents that were centuries old. Whether it was the Kharijites or the Assassins of twelfth century Iran and Syria, according to these groups, religious assassination has its justifications ultimately from the Qur’an and Hadith. The expression “religious assassination” is used because in terms of establishing an Islamic State or doing things fi-si-bi-Allah, in the way of God, there is no difference between the political and religious, it is all religious. Just as members of the Assassins and the Kharijites were executed for their respective assassinations on fellow Muslims, members of al-Jihad centuries later were prepared to die for their beliefs and deeds. Farag believed that a Muslim could kill a Muslim ruler if that ruler were not acting according to Shari’ah and that if the would be assassin were killed in the process, he would become a shahid (witness) or martyr in the cause. After being told by Farag that all those involved in the assassination of Sadat, Islambouli, Abdel Salam, Abbas Mohammed, and Reheil, would face certain execution for the act, all four understood that they would become martyrs in the cause. Islambouli even quoted Farag when he said, “the greatest prize for a believer is salvation, and to kill and be killed in the cause of God.”535 The influence of such men as Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag was so great that the determination of Sadat’s assassins was unchangeable. An example of this determination could be found in the case of Khalid Ahmed al Islambouli, who was in the military and is considered to be the main trigger man, shouted at his trial, “I killed Pharaoh!.” There was no remorse in Islambouli’s voice for what he had done. He even left a note for his sister stating; “I have not committed any crime.

535 Khalid Ahmed al Islambouli, quoted from Mohammed Heikal, Autumn of Fury (London: Andre Deutsch, 1983), 247. Heikal’s book, Autumn of Fury, is an excellent account of Egypt under the presidency of Sadat. It covers Sadat’s reign from 1970 to his assassination, as well as, the history of al- Jihad and the trial of the assassins. Heikal also writes about other Islamist groups in Egypt during the 1970’s.

175 What I have done I have done for the sake of God, the Merciful, the Powerful.”536 Here was someone who believed that God himself was involved in an assassination that brought an end to the rule of an unbeliever. Islambouli was upset years before when his own brother was imprisoned for preaching a brand of Islam that the government found extreme. Islambouli told his mother, “Be patient mother, it is the will of God…every tyrant has his end.”537 Islambouli was a reluctant participant at first when Farag had talked about assassinating Sadat. However, after being ordered to attend the military parade on October 6, Islambouli believed it was the will of God stating, “Very well, I accept. Let God’s will be done.”538 At his trial, Islambouli testified: “I was reluctant to take part in the parade, but then I agreed to do so because it suddenly flashed into my mind that it was the will of God that I should take part, not for the sake of the parade but for the sake of the sacred mission.”539 As stated earlier, his determination was so apparent that when his aunt asked him of the effects of his deed on his parents, his reply was, “No, I thought only of God.”540 Finally, Islambouli’s last will and testament read, “God has guided us to this deed…We decided that the Pharaoh of Egypt had to be killed so that God may rescue Egypt from its confusion, its friendship with Zionists, the ruin of morals caused by Sadat and his wife.”541 According to Sadat’s official biographer, Mousa Sabry, the Egyptian president lived in great fear of being assassinated. Sabry found, “Sadat’s security agents revealed that fourteen different groups wanted Sadat killed, including Palestinian factions; Marxist organizations, inside and outside Egypt; and the rejectionist governments of Libya, South Yemen, Iran, and Syria, who abhorred Sadat’s decision to have peace talks with Israel. Between 1977 and 1981, security forces foiled thirty-eight attempts to kill Sadat or his

536 Islambouli, quoted from Heikal, 253.

537 Islambouli, quoted from Gilles Kepel, Muslim Extremism in Egypt, translated by Jon Rothschild (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984), 205. Kepel is an expert on Islam and has written numerous articles and books on the subject. Muslim Extremism in Egypt is also a thorough book on Islamist groups in Egypt, but al-Jihad is not covered as extensively as in Heikal, Jansen, or Youssef.

538 Islambouli, quoted from Kepel, 205.

539 Islambouli, quoted from Heikal, 242.

540 Islambouli, quoted from Heikal, 246.

541 Islambouli, quoted from Ajami, 155-156.

176 ministers and thwarted a coup attempt in Egypt.”542 Sadat’s biographer even uncovered attempts on Sadat’s life that were going to be carried out by assassins “immersing plastic and cotton explosive chemicals to mold bombs to place inside shoes and radios.”543 Another failed assassination attempt on Sadat included, “On May 1, 1981, a Palestinian carrying a cassette radio device packed with five kilograms of explosives attempted to detonate the device after entering the Egyptian radio and television headquarters where Sadat was giving a speech.544 All attempts on Sadat’s life failed, including an Egyptian who was trained by Libyan intelligence in sharp shooting in 1981 and apprehended by “the Egyptian General Intelligence Service (EGIS) and Ministry of Interior”, until members of his own army were involved.545 On October 6, four soldiers attacked the review stand where Egyptian President Anwar Sadat sat commemorating Egypt’s participation in the Ramadan War in a military parade in a Cairo suburb with automatic weapons and hand grenades. Sadat and seven others were killed. Sabry went on to state, “Sadat’s assassination, in front of his entire Army, took less than thirty-five seconds. Egyptian forensic experts have timed the bullets that killed Sadat at seven hundred and thirty five meters per second at a distance of less than fifteen meters.”546 As eyes were fixed on the Egyptian air force, five soldiers ran toward the reviewing stand where Sadat stood, and threw grenades and fired automatic weapons. For some reason, Sadat believed that those soldiers running toward him were giving him a military salute, but as he stood up, he gave his assassins clear shots. They then successfully shot him. “The first shot was fatal, severing a main artery when it entered Sadat’s chest. Other bullets penetrated his neck and ribs. His last words were “Mish Maaqool, Mish Maaqool” (impossible, impossible).”547 The coronary report of Sabry differed from Maadi hospital where Sadat was taken. The hospital “reported

542 Youssef H. Aboul-Enein, “Islamic Militant Cells and Sadat’s Assassination,” Military Review 84, no. 4 (2004): 1.

543 Enein, 1.

544 Enein, 1.

545 Jansen, 38.

546 Enein, 2.

547 Enein, 2.

177 that Sadat was hit by five bullets and died from severe nervous shock, internal bleeding, and damage to his left lung.”548 Either way, a peaceful political transition was made when Hosni Mubarak was shielded by Mahmud Salim, a member of Mubarak and Sadat’s political party.549 A study of three hundred and three al-Jihad members who were jailed before Sadat’s assassination found that twelve had been “military, police or intelligence officers.”550 This is not surprising given the extended family system in Egypt. Many Islamists are bound to have a family member in the armed services and try to recruit them. This was also evident in December 1986 when “thirty of its members, including two majors, one captain and one lieutenant, were arrested for setting up combat training centres with a view to overthrowing the government.”551 Besides being university students, these statistics showed that the military was a source for recruiting members and that these recruits included not only privates, but also some senior officers. Those involved in the assassination included twenty four year old Lieutenant Khalid Ahmad Shawki Islambouli, whose older brother Mohammed, was one of four hundred and sixty nine members of al-Takfir wa al-Hijra arrested just one month earlier.552 Al-Takfir wa al-Hijra was one of many Islamist groups that emerged in the early to mid 1970’s in Egypt. Their leader, Shukri Mustapha, believed that in order for Muslims to be triumphant in today’s world, they had to leave or make a hijra (migration) from their non-Islamic environment only to return and conquer it as the Prophet Mohammed had done thirteen centuries earlier. Islambouli and his three colleagues belonged to al-Jihad whose members included Omar Abdel Rahman, Farag, and another member of the armed forces, Abbud Abdul Latif Zumur who was a lieutenant colonel in military intelligence.553

548 Enein, 2.

549 Youssef, 62.

550 Hiro, 84.

551 Hiro, 84.

552 Hiro, 78.

553 Jansen, 97.

178 After the assassination, senior members of al-Jihad hoped that an Islamic revolution would take place, but nothing other than mourning occurred. Though the Islamic Revolution never happened, armed confrontations took place between al-Jihad members and Egyptian security forces in Upper Egypt and the town of Asyut. There al- Jihad stormed the local broadcasting station, several police stations, and the security forces’ headquarters. After two days of fighting, one hundred and eighty-eight people lay dead, including fifty-four security personnel.554 On October 25, the Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram, reported twelve days earlier on October 13 that a “Khomeini-style regime” was to be installed. However, nothing happened except the imprisonment of over three thousand Islamists primarily belonging to al-Jihad and al-Takfir wa al-Hijra.555 For Islambouli, there were three major reasons why Sadat was killed; making peace with Israel, persecuting Islamists, and the current laws of Egypt being incompatible with Shari’ah.556 The ideologies of the al-Jihad movement are complicated since they have had internal debates about the role of an Amir or political leader. An example of this concerned Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman and another Islamic Group, Jama’at Islamiyya. An Amir was considered a political leader, while an Alim was one “who had the legitimacy to interpret the Qur’an and the traditions.”557 The controversy that emerged was the question of imarat al-darir or the issue “around the political status of a blind theologian who is unable and unprepared to fight among a group of armed Islamist militants.”558 Al-Jihad, which was more political and militant than Jama’at Islamiyya, at least until the 1990’s, considered Abdel Rahman just an Alim because an Amir’s status included military service. Since Abdel Rahman’s blindness was seen as a handicap, he was not an Amir for the group and just an Alim. Jama’at Islamiyya on the other hand chose Abdel Rahman as their spiritual leader. Al-Jihad has since been involved in violent

554 Hiro, 79.

555 Hiro, 79.

556 Hiro, 79.

557 Zeghal, 392.

558 Zeghal, 392.

179 activities off and on and has “preferred to prepare secretly its strategy to overthrow the regime and seize power, trying to recruit its militants from the Egyptian army and the state apparatus.”559 In an April 1983 interview, a senior member of al-Jihad stated,

[W]e found that the government is lagging in its intention to bring the Shari’ah back to govern the nation. Why don’t they want to bring us back to the rule of God, the perfect rule? God’s rule is better, much better, than this rule of Satan which they brought to us from the West. We really don’t believe that they want it (the Shari’ah) nor will they do it.560

This member, whose name was withheld, reiterated what many Muslims before and since have stated that any rule other than Shari’ah is illegitimate and must be removed. Farag, in his book, stated three conditions that defined an un-Islamic government. These were; 1. Its laws are the laws of the infidels. 2. The safety of the Muslims is dubious. 3. There is a dangerous proximity between Muslims and infidels.561 The above criteria were based upon his interpretation of Shari’ah and the safety of Muslims. His second condition was based upon the persecution of Islamist groups by Sadat in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. As far as the proximity of non-Muslims and Muslims was concerned, one can only assume that Farag was afraid that if both sides intermingled with each other, there could be a chance that Islamic laws would be compromised. Farag did not take all of his justifications from the Qur’an and Sunnah, but here he also borrowed from Ibn Taymiyya. In The Neglected Duty, Farag quotes the following dialogue involving Taymiyya.

A man asked Ibn Taymiyya, “When a town called Mar Dien was ruled by Islamic rulers, then taken over by people who ruled it by the rules of infidels, is it Dar al-harb (abode of war) or Dar al-salaam (abode of Islam)?” Ibn Taymiyya responded, “It is

559 Zeghal, 393.

560 Youssef, 81.

561 Farag, quoted from Youssef, 81.

180 neither Dar al-salaam nor Dar al-harb. It is a third division in which Muslims are treated as they deserve and outsiders are treated as they deserve.562

This is a sentiment that is often heard, “Muslims deserve what they get when they abandon God’s laws.” Al-Jihad is critical of the more moderate Muslim Brotherhood and its policy of non-confrontation with the government, as well as, its denunciation of violence, since their views are now seen as accepting “the existing status quo.”563 Al-Jihad has consistently viewed the current government and the idea of compromise as illegitimate. Here they agree with Sayyid Qutb and his concept of hakimiyyah l’Allah (sovereignty lying with God alone). They also believed in Farag’s idea of jihad as the al-farida al- gha’iba (neglected duty) when it came to replacing a ruler not implementing the Shari’ah, falling into moral decadence, fasad (economic corruption), and making peace with Jews.564 Since these concepts have legitimized the justification to use armed force, they have also made for interpretive disorder among groups like al-Jihad and al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (the group responsible for the killing of sixty-seven tourists outside of Luxor on November 17, 1997).565 Al-Jihad itself has changed many of the views that they held in the 1970’s. The group after targeting political figures started in the 1990’s to attack “tourists, senior government figures, and security personnel as well as civilians believed to be government informants.”566 There have been limited cases of institutional targets where small bombs were placed outside banks charging interest. The threat of attacks on resident foreigners (as distinct from tourists) and investors, announced in faxed messages in February 1994, were never carried out.567 In many cases, those targeted by al-Jihad

562 Farag, quoted from Youssef, 81.

563 Maha Azzam, “Egypt: The Islamists and the State under Mubarak,” In Islamic Fundamentalism, Abdelsalam Sidahmed and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, 109-122, (Boulder: Westview Press, 1996), 110.

564 Azzam, 111.

565 On November 17, 1997, members of Islamist group, Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, first commandeered a bus, then later in the day opened fire on tourists visiting temples in the city of Luxor. Sixty-seven tourists were killed while another twenty-six were injured. The dead included thirty-four tourists from Switzerland, eight Japanese, five Germans, four British, and individuals from other countries.

566 Azzam, 113.

181 were either “security personnel or as heads of military courts that have sentenced Islamists to death.”568 Violence committed in the name of Islam by al-Jihad “is intertwined with the common practice of vendetta (tar).”569 Tar is based on the ancient Pre-Islamic practice of seeking vengeance or justice for the victim. In the case of al-Jihad, and other Islamists, if one member is killed, then the family of that victim will seek justice. It is important to note, however, that this argument also can be reversed since families of victims killed by Islamists have also demanded justice or vengeance. The idea of tar or vendetta has even been used in clashes between Christians and Muslims in Egypt during the 1990’s, though many of these clashes have usually been “over land or building rights” and not deaths one side suffered at the hands of the other.570 Al-Jihad has targeted Egypt’s Coptic Community in order to show that the government was unable to provide security for the minority group. The government has retaliated by using those same attacks “in its propaganda to warn of the danger of sectarian conflict as an aspect of Islamist activity.”571 Al-Jihad believes that its escalation of armed confrontation is due to the use of force by the government. With the government clamping down on university student organizations, appointing Imams from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, mayors to Upper Egypt’s four thousand villages, and its restricting the political involvement of Islamists, al-Jihad believed that the only way to change society was through qital or armed resistance.572 Since al-Jihad is a banned group, keeping track of it is difficult and evidence can be contradictory. In recent years, rumors have emerged that al-Jihad has broken up into smaller cells. According to one report, al-Jihad’s military wing is headed by Yasser Tewfik Al Serri and is under the name Talaeh al-Fatah which means “Vanguard of the

567 Orr, 39.

568 Azzam, 113.

569 Author n.a. “4 Accused Muslim Extremists get death for Egypt killings,” Los Angeles Times, 22 August 1993, sec. part-A, p. 4.

570 Azzam, 113.

571 Youssef, 11.

572 Azzam, 114.

182 Conquest.”573 There are indications that Talaeh al-Fatah is more militant than the main branch of al-Jihad which is loyal to Abbud Al Zammur, one of the original founders who is currently imprisoned. Other rumors persist that Ayman al-Zawahiri is leading the Talaeh al-Fatah branch.574 Al-Jihad has also been accused of assassination attempts on current president Hosni Mubarak back in 1993. Three men were found guilty of the plot and hanged for trying to topple the government.575 The latest developments on al-Jihad shows possible links with al-Qaeda.576 This would be possible with al-Zawahiri allegedly being the head of one faction of al-Jihad, Talaeh al-Fatah. In conclusion, the main reason why al-Jihad was chosen for this dissertation was due primarily to the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Many people can recall watching the news and witnessing the mayhem that followed the fallout from men leaving a parade line and shooting into a stand. One of those ghastly images was a man holding what seemed to be a stump connected to his shoulder or what was left of one of his arms. Political assassinations do not succeed often and for this one to occur and be successful was the result of careful planning and men who were willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause. The fact that members of al-Jihad, masquerading as soldiers while keeping their intentions a secret, is somewhat amazing. Ultimately, these men, who instead of protecting the president, successfully participated in his assassination shows the reach of the group. Al-Jihad is a group that sees current Muslim countries as jahili (ignorant) and oppressive, in the tradition of the Kharijites, Ibn Taymiyya, and Sayyid Qutb. The calls for justice (Shari’ah) and the end of oppression (anything other than Shari’ah) has been a common call by most Islamists. For al-Jihad however, the regime of Anwar Sadat was closely linked to Muslims who apostatized from the straight path of Islam, and since there was no convincing evidence of the Egyptian government returning to Islam, change

573 Author n.a., “Al-Jihad,” APS Diplomat Redrawing the Islamic Map 39, no. 4 (April 3, 2000): p. n.a.

574 “Al-Jihad,”, p. n.a.

575 Author n.a. “Egypt executes 3 in a plot to kill Mubarak,” The New York Times, 17 December 1993, sec. A, p. A19.

576 Judith Miller and Neil MacFarquhar, “U.S. says it was warned on Egyptian Islamic Group,” The New York Times, 20 October 2000, p. A14.

183 could only occur through armed force. The events that took place on October 6, 1981 were closely watched in Afghanistan as the mujahideen fought the Soviet Union.577 The justification for using armed force is being used by al-Qaeda and al-Jihad’s influence on the group is apparent as the former is using this belief as a way to combat forces it sees as jahili. It is to al-Qaeda and its two most famous personalities, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian physician who reportedly has ties to al-Jihad, that this dissertation now turns. Their use of armed struggle and justification develops from al- Jihad in terms of waging a battle against political entities it sees as evil and illegitimate. It is only fitting that this endeavor concludes with the world’s most dangerous organization.

577 The term mujahideen is Arabic for “soldiers (mujahid) of the religion (deen).” It first received a good deal of press during the war in Afghanistan, which lasted ten years from 1979-1989. Mujahideen can be used to designate any Muslim fighter, but the term almost entirely is used to describe foreign fighters.

184 CHAPTER EIGHT: AL-QAEDA

Sayyid Qutb’s call for loyalty to God’s oneness and to acknowledge God’s sole authority and sovereignty was the spark that ignited the Islamic revolution against the enemies of Islam at home and abroad. The bloody chapters of this revolution continue to unfold day after day.578

The acme of this religion is jihad.579

Al-Qaeda, Arabic for The Base or Foundation, concludes this dissertation as it is currently the world’s most notorious terrorist group. From the first attack on New York’s World Trade Center in 1993 to their destruction on September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden have both been at the forefront of America’s . Currently the US’ war on terror has caused it to place thousands of troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States has troops on the Afghan-Pakistan border in order to capture or kill bin Laden. The focus of this last chapter is to examine a group that has claimed responsibility for the deaths of thousands, American, as well as, non-American, in hopes of “abolishing oppression and establishing justice.” The ability to strike in various countries simultaneously is just one reason why al-Qaeda is the subject of this chapter. It has struck targets from New York to Bali, Indonesia. Like many groups before it over the previous thirteen centuries, al-Qaeda has and continues to use an Islamic imperative to justify its means and ends. It is the intention of this final chapter to show that in its war against the US and other countries, Osama bin Laden and his followers are justifying its actions in the name of Islam. The amount of literature on al-Qaeda is staggering with books and articles coming out weekly. There does seem, however, to be two schools of thought where the group is concerned. The first school includes scholars that see al-Qaeda as just a terrorist group with no motive behind their intentions and actions other than power. These are represented by such authors as Raymond Baker, Stewart Bell, and Leonard Binder. The other school of thought recognizes what al-Qaeda is doing as an extension of past events

578 Ayman al-Zawahiri, quoted from Adnan Ayyuh Musallam, From Secularism to Jihad (Westport: Praeger, 2005), 167.

579 Osama bin Laden, quoted from Peter L. Bergen, Holy War Inc. (New York: The Free Press, 2002), 41.

185 dating back to the Prophet. In his fascinating book, The Looming Tower, Lawrence Wright begins his book with a chapter on Sayyid Qutb automatically linking the Egyptian ideologue with al-Qaeda. Wright, along with, Paul Berman and Peter Bergen conclude that what al-Qaeda is doing has historical precedence and it is to these writers that this chapter follows.580 Al-Qaeda is not doing anything original in its ideology of waging war against an enemy it is sees as oppressive and unjust. It has been the intention of this dissertation to link such Islamic personalities as the Kharijites, the Assassins, Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb, and al-Jihad together, and all of these entities have a commonality; they all believed that establishing God’s laws was imperative to humanity. Qutb defined hakimiyya as meaning God’s sovereignty and al-Qaeda is also interested in instituting the same system and at any cost. It is not shying away from directing its anger towards Muslims who it sees as being non-Islamic in more than one way. First, al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in particular has expressed outrage towards the Saudi regime for allowing US troops to a) be on sacred soil and b) participate in a war where non-Muslims are killing Muslims. For bin Laden, the Saudi Royal family is wrong for doing that and must be overthrown. Second, and in a tradition that can be traced back to al-Jihad, any country containing a Muslim majority and not adhering to Shari’ah is illegitimate and subject to be overthrown. Osama bin Laden has made comments towards Saddam Hussein and his secular Ba’ath party as being un-Islamic. Both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri (1951-present), two of the more prominent members of al-Qaeda, also follow in the footsteps of Ibn Taymiyya as they not only are preaching a war against who they perceive are un-believers, but also fighting against them physically (qital) as well. The connection with the Assassins also follows in the same tradition as those mentioned before, the promise of a better world to come for those who die fighting fi-si- bi-Allah or in the way of God. With the financial backing of bin Laden and the US waging an unpopular war in Iraq, al-Qaeda will remain an organization to be reckoned

580 Some of the scholars used for this chapter include, but are not limited to, Raymond William Baker, Islam Without Fear (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003), Stewart Bell, Cold Terror (Canada: Wiley, 2004), Leonard Binder, Islamic Liberalism (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1988), Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower (New York: Kholf, 2006), Paul Berman, Terror and Liberalism (W.W. Norton & Company, 2003), and Paul Bergen, Holy War, Inc. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003).

186 with. It is to al-Qaeda and its respective reasons for using armed force that this chapter now turns.

Al-Qaeda: Origins and personalities

The foundations for al-Qaeda can be traced to Afghanistan. When the Soviet Union invaded the Central Asian country on December 25, 1979, a fight ensued involving one of the world’s only two super powers for control of what can considered a strategic buffer state west of , east of Iran, south of the USSR, and north of the sub- continent. While the USSR tried to bolster the communist government in Afghanistan, many Muslims both inside and outside of Afghanistan rallied to fight a common enemy. Meanwhile, the US supported the mujahideen (soldiers for the religion) both financially and militarily. This brutal war lasted ten years to 1989 when the Soviets began withdrawing its troops. Afghanistan attracted Muslims from all around the world for several reasons ranging from fighting a superpower whose official religious ideology was atheism to an attempt to establish Shari’ah in the country and use it as a launching pad to fight other un-Islamic regimes, mainly the US. After the deaths of some fifteen thousand Soviet troops and one million Afghans, Afghanistan was a country in ruin, economically, politically from the point of view of infrastructure, and financially. It was susceptible to being taken over by more than one group. Almost as soon as the Soviets began withdrawing, the Muslims who once fought their atheist adversaries now found themselves fighting each other. As time passed, however, and the Taliban (students) took control of the majority of Afghanistan, those mujahideen who fought against the Soviets left to fight elsewhere, such as Bosnia and Chechnya just to name two countries. Most of those mujahideen, considered by many Muslims as “Freedom-Fighters,” would return to haunt the West in general and the United States in particular. One of those included Osama bin Laden.

187 Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh in 1957 (Time magazine says 1956 or 1958).581 His father, Mohammed Awad bin Laden, left the city of Hadramawt, Yemen in 1930 to work as a porter in Jeddah. He entered the construction business becoming successful during Saudi’s early oil years. He won a contract that expanded the kingdom’s Holy Mosques, and built palaces for the royal family. Other works of religious importance completed by the bin Laden family was the al-Aqsa Mosque.582 Osama bin Laden was one of Mohammed’s reportedly “over fifty children from several wives.”583 While studying at the University of Jeddah, rumors spread that he traveled to Beirut and earned “a reputation as a womanizer and barroom brawler.”584 Lebanon later played a role in bin Laden’s life when the country plunged into civil war in 1975. Many “Saudi Islamists declared that it was a punishment by Allah for the Lebanese sins and destructive influence on Muslim youth: by bringing in Western culture, music, and interests.”585 The events in the Middle East in the 1970’s were significant as bin Laden slowly developed from being a semi-playboy to an Islamist. Influences on Osama bin Laden’s life did not begin in the 1970’s as Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi brand of Islam, which had been a mainstay of the kingdom since the eighteenth century, affected him as well. The emergence of Osama bin Laden as an Islamist may truly have begun in November 1979, not in Afghanistan, but in Makkah when the Grand Mosque and the Ka’aba were seized for three weeks by Juhaiman al-Utaibi and several hundred supporters.586 After Saudi forces stormed the sanctuary and a gunfight broke out, Juhaiman and his supporters were either killed or executed by the Saudi regime. Bullet

581 As’ad Abukhalil, Bin Laden, Islam, and America’s New “War on Terrorism,” (New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002), 69.

582 Abukhalil, 70.

583 Arthur Frederick Ide & Ronald Auliff, Jihad, Mujahideen, Taliban, George W. Bush, & Oil: A Study in the Evolution of Terrorism & Islam (Garland: Tangelwuld Press, 2002), 101.

584 Ide, 102.

585 Ide, 102.

586 Ann M. Lesch, “Osama bin Laden: Embedded in the Middle East Crises,” Middle East Policy 9, no. 2 (June 2002): 89.

188 holes in the Ka’aba from the incident can still be seen today. Many people believe that bin Laden was inspired by the event because he saw al-Utaibi and his followers as true Muslims. After reportedly graduating from the University of Jeddah at the age of twenty- two with a civil engineering degree in 1979, bin Laden soon found himself financing the mujahideen in Afghanistan using his family’s construction money “to build roads, tunnels, cave-bunkers, and hospitals.”587 The link between the seizure of the Grand Mosque and the war in Afghanistan is one of attitude. After these two events occurred one month after the other, Osama began to develop a newfound interest in Islam. Bin Laden gave up a privileged life not only to help recruit thousands of mujahideen, many from the Middle East, but also providing their respective families with financial assistance back home. Like Ibn Taymiyya seven centuries before him, Osama bin Laden fought (qital) physically against an opponent while also waging a verbal war against it.588 If there were such a thing as a just war, it was in Afghanistan that many Muslims saw a larger political entity, with atheism as its “official religion”, invading and attacking a smaller poverty-stricken country. In fact, the Soviet invasion gave undue justification for Muslims from different countries to help defend (end oppression and establish justice) a country that was being attacked by a regime that had been, according to them, repressing fellow Muslims for centuries. For bin Laden jihad was “the acme of [the Islamic] religion.”589 With the Soviet withdrawal in February 1989, bin Laden and his deputy, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, saw it as a triumph for Islam over a larger enemy. As al- Zawahiri argued:

The jihad battles in Afghanistan destroyed the myth of a [superpower] in the minds of the Muslim mujahideen young men. These young men revived a religious duty of which the Ummah [Muslim community] had long been deprived….In the training camps and on the battlefronts against the Russians, the Muslim youths developed…an understanding based on Shari’ah [Islamic law] of the enemies of Islam, the renegades, and their collaborators….[And the struggle served as] a great opportunity to get

587 Christopher Henzel, “The origins of al Qaeda’s ideology: implications for US strategy,” Journal of the US Army War College 35, no. 1 (Spring 2005): 69.

588 The fact that both Ibn Taymiyya and Osama bin Laden fought physically against others while also preaching a verbal war differentiates them from Hasan al-Saba, Hasan al-Banna, and Sayyid Qutb, who were all literary ideologues.

589 Bergen, 41.

189 acquainted with each other…through their comradeship-in-arms against the enemies of Islam.590

With the defeat in Afghanistan of one superpower, which was considered an enemy of Islam, al-Qaeda now turned its attention to ending the influence of another superpower and enemy of Islam. After the defeat of the Soviet Union, Pakistan took the opportunity to expel many of its foreign fighters, while Egypt and Saudi Arabi stopped aiding the mujahideen for fear that these same fighters would eventually return to their respective countries. Al- Zawahiri was angered by the expulsion of “the very persons who had defended its borders.”591 Those same fighters, after going back to their home countries, tried to establish Shari’ah there, but found themselves alienated from the majority of Muslims. For al-Zawahiri, any Muslim ruler who did not apply the Shari’ah could be considered an infidel. In a verbal admonishing reminiscent of the Prophet, al-Zawahiri stated, “the apostasy of the rulers who do not rule according to God’s words [Islamic law] and [asserted] the necessity of going against rulers who are affiliated with the enemies of Islam.”592 In January 2004, Osama bin Laden argued that, “The Zionist-Crusader campaign on the nation today is the most dangerous and rabid ever, since it threatens the entire nation, its religion, and presence.”593 It is not clear what bin Laden means when he said “nation.”. Does nation here refer to the Ummah or Muslim nation, or Saudi Arabia, or Palestine? It is the conclusion of this author that “nation” means the entire Muslims world or the Ummah. In a 1999 Time magazine interview, Bin Laden argued that the Muslim world had been trying for years to secure its sovereignty from the West through “peaceful bargaining” only to be exploited more economically and politically later on. Ultimately, for bin Laden, “when it becomes apparent that it would be impossible to repel

590 Al-Zawahiri, interview in al-Sharq al-Awsat, 2 and 3 December 2001, quoted from Lesch, 83.

591 Lesch, 83.

592 Lesch, 83.

593 Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars (New York: Basic Books, 1997), 255.

190 these Americans without assaulting them”, it was permissible to kill under Islam.594 According to him, the murder of innocents was a response to a threat, the west, that jeopardized his and other Muslims respective faith. Bin Laden was convinced that if Muslims did not do something, they would gravitate towards “a deep abyss and terrible calamity the extent of which only God knows.”595 Like Sayyid Qutb, bin Laden was equating the US and the rest of the west with the crusaders of the twelfth century. He was also quick to include Zionism in his call for Muslims to fight (qital). Bin Laden was certain that “the Zionist-Crusader alliance” participates in promoting a “chain of evil”596 that involves some of the “worst catastrophes to befall Muslims since the death of the Prophet.”597 In his call to fellow Muslims, bin Laden appeals to them for help and to “examine these pitch-black misfortunes, and…consider how we can find a way out of these adversities and calamities.”598 For bin Laden, if Muslims do not do something, “they will lose everything.”599 The justification for Osama bin Laden to turn to armed struggling comes in the form of a supreme emergency. For him, the attacks by the Zionist-Crusader entity are practically a threat to the physical survival of the Ummah. He cites attacks in Assam, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma, Chechnya, Eritrea, , Lebanon, Ogaden, the Philippines, , and Tajikistan as examples of massacres carried out by Americans in an attempt to rid the world of Muslims.600 Americans are even described as wolves

594 Bin Laden, quoted from Time Interview, Time, January 11, 1999.

595 Bin Laden, “Message to his Muslim Brothers in the Whole World and especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Mosques; Expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula,” quoted from fax received as a supplement to Al-Islah, September 2, 1996.

596 Bin Laden, quoted from statement posted Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel, January 4, 2004. Henceforth referred to as Bin Laden, quoted from statement posted Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel, January 4, 2004.

597 Bin Laden, “Message to his Muslim Brothers in the Whole World and especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Mosques; Expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula.”

598 Bin Laden, quoted from statement posted Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel, January 4, 2004.

599 Bin Laden, interview by Jamal Isma’il at an unspecified location in Afghanistan in December 1998. Shown on Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel, September 20, 2001.

191 whose “fangs drip blood from the corpses of children in Afghanistan and Iraq.”601 Bin Laden also believes that the Crusader-Zionist threat is a threat to the Islamic political community. For this, he points to nationalism as he states the enemy has already “thrust the nation into whirlpools and labyrinths for decades since dividing it into states and statelets.”602 Importantly, this division of the greater Islamic nation delivered a fatal blow to the Islamic political community, leaving Muslims under the domination of western regimes throughout the Middle East. Thus, the attacks carried out against Americans and their allies were simply attempts to pursue their “rights to have them evicted from the Muslim world and to prevent them from dominating us.”603 Moreover, removing American domination in the region was particularly important if they were to reinstate their specifically Islamic political community. Bin Laden, who has been paying attention to the situation in Iraq, has argued, “I think rightly that Americans seek to destroy any hope of establishing an Islamic regime.”604 He then interprets America’s Iraq policy as reflective of a wider conspiracy to destroy the “Islamic nation” wherever it attempts to assert itself politically. The attack on the “Islamic nation” is also interpreted as a threat to the communal identity of the Islamic world. According to bin Laden, the attacks perpetuated by Americans show “that the struggle is an ideological and religious struggle and that the clash is a clash of civilizations. They are keen to destroy the Islamic identity in the entire Islamic world.”605 Bin Laden was worried about the threat posed by what he perceives to

600 Bin Laden, “Message to his Muslim Brothers in the Whole World and especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Mosques; Expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula.”

601 Bin Laden, “Audio message to the Iraqis and Americans,” Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television, Shown in Arabic, October 18, 2003. Henceforth referred to as “Audio message to the Iraqis and Americans,” Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television, Shown in Arabic, October 18, 2003.

602 Bin Laden, “Message to his Muslim Brothers in the Whole World and especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Mosques; Expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula.”

603 Bin Laden, “ Osama bin Laden: The Destruction of the Base,” interview by Jamal Isma’il in an unspecified location in Afghanistan, shown in Arabic, June 10, 1999.

604 Bin Laden, statement posted to the Jihadist website Al-Qa’lah at http://www.qal3ah.net on May 6, 2004. Henceforth referred to as statement posted to the Jihadist website Al-Qa’lah at http://www.qal3ah.net on May 6, 2004.

192 be American attacks on Islamic values. This threat imposes itself on the Islamic community in two ways. First, bin Laden argues, the very presence of western occupying forced leads to the spread of western “ideology…polluting the hearts of our people.”606 Second, and more malevolently, bin Laden believes the crusader-Zionist alliance is fundamentally an attempt to “corrupt the people, draw them away from their religion, and spread sin among the believers.”607 In Iraq, he argues, “The American’s intentions have…become clear in statements about the need to change the beliefs, curricula, and morals of the Muslim.”608 “The objective is to break what strength we have…Then bring about the false ways of the infidel and firmly establish their values.”609 Yet, in so doing, they actually deliver “strong and consecutive blows” to the “basis of morality…until they professionally render it dead before the world.”610 Bin Laden justifies his tactics when he states, “the deliberate killing of innocent people, at random, in order to spread fear through a whole population and force the hand of…political leaders.”611 Moreover, he argues, “Islamic terrorists do not call themselves freedom fighters; they have a different mission: to restore the dominance of Islam in the lands of Islam.”612 In 2001, bin Laden argued that Muslims were fighting because they wanted their land to be “freed of the enemies-aright given to all living creatures.”613 In 2004, he noted, “We fight because we

605 Bin Laden, statement posted to the Jihadist website Al-Qa’lah at http://www.qal3ah.net on May 6, 2004.

606 Bin Laden, statement posted to the Jihadist website Al-Qa’lah at http://www.qal3ah.net on May 6, 2004.

607 Bin Laden, “Message to his Muslim Brothers in the Whole World and especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Mosques; Expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula.”

608 Bin Laden, “Audio message to the Iraqis and Americans,” Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television, Shown in Arabic, October 18, 2003.

609 Bin Laden, “Abdullah’s initiative…and the great treason,” posted at http://www.cybcity.com/mnzmas.htm in Arabic on March 1, 2003.

610 Bin Laden, “Audio message to the Iraqis and Americans,” Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television, shown in Arabic, October 18, 2003.

611 Bin Laden, “Audio message to the Iraqis and Americans,” Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television, shown in Arabic, October 18, 2003.

612 Bin Laden, “Audio message to the Iraqis and Americans,” Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television, shown in Arabic, October 18, 2003.

613 Bin Laden, “Osama bin Laden: The Destruction of the Base.”

193 are free men who do not sleep under oppression. We want to restore our freedom to our nation.”614 Perhaps more importantly, bin Laden and his associates do not draw a sharp distinction between fighting to avoid disaster and fighting to restore Islam in the traditionally Islamic lands. Indeed, as noted above, the disaster to which they believe they are responding is in its very nature a political disaster. Thus, the ends of Islamic terrorism are necessarily political. It is clear that Osama bin Laden at least perceives these attacks to be something like a last resort. He argued that it is has become apparent that it is “impossible to repel these Americans without assaulting them.”615 He often notes the numerous years of oppression the Islamic world has already endured and cites the peace process in Israel as an example of a peaceful attempt to achieve freedom that only produced further oppression.616 Moreover, the attempts made by Islamists to work through the political process in their own countries have failed precisely because are supported by western puppet . As a result, bin Laden believes attacks upon the Americans are in fact the last resort. One aspect that many people do not know is that bin Laden often affirms the value of innocent American lives. He recognizes the validity of Islamic prohibitions against killing the innocent and says on numerous occasions that he is “not against the American people-only their government.”617 What is more, he finds it particularly important to note that “the youths [who bombed the World Trade Center]…did not intend to kill children.”618 This concern about good intentions is consistent with bin Laden’s broader understanding of Islamic teaching on war. In 2003, he instructed his listeners that “showing good intentions” is a fundamental value in Islamic warfare and by this he means “fighting for the sake of the one God….[not for the sake of] ethnic groups, or…non-Islamic regimes in Arab countries.”619 To fight for the

614 Bin Laden, speech posted on http://www.aljazeerah.net, October 30, 2004.

615 Bin Laden, quoted from Time interview.

616 Bin Laden, quoted from Time interview.

617 Bin Laden, “ Osama bin Laden: The Destruction of the Base.”

618 Bin Laden, interview posted on Jihad Online News Network, January 21, 2003.

194 sake of God, for bin Laden, is always an attempt to secure “peace and security.”620 Thus, any intentional dehumanizing of the enemy was against the teachings of his philosophy. Although Osama bin Laden is not an imam or religious scholar, he does quote verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith. His reasons for waging a war (harb) against the west are divinely backed and justified. Bin Laden has issued fatwas in the past, but is it possible that because he is not an imam or a religious scholar that more Muslims have not accepted his edicts? In other words, like Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb before him, his position as a layman may have hampered his religious authority. Nonetheless, below is the declaration of jihad against the US issued on September 2, 1996,

The people of Islam have suffered from aggression, iniquity, and injustice imposed by the Zionist-Crusader alliance and their collaborators…It is the duty now on every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula to fight jihad and cleanse the land from these Crusader occupiers. Their wealth is booty to those who kill them. My Muslim brothers: your brothers in Palestine and in the land of the two Holy Places (i.e. Saudi Arabia) are calling upon your help and asking you to take part in fighting against the enemy the Americans and the Israelis. They are asking you to do whatever you can to expel the enemies out of the sanctities of Islam.621

Later in 1996, he said, “terrorizing the American occupiers (of Islamic Holy Places) is a religious and logical obligation.”622 Bin Laden went on to urge Muslim scholars and the youth to “launch an attack on the American soldiers of Satan.”623 His rhetoric continued in February 1998 as he issued and signed a fatwa stating;

The killing of Americans and their civilian and military allies is a religious duty for each and every Muslim to be carried out in whichever country they are until al-Aqsa Mosque has been liberated from their grasp and until their armies have left Muslim lands.

619 Bin Laden, “Message to our brothers in Iraq,” played on Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel in Arabic on February 11, 2003. Henceforth referred to as Bin Laden, “Message to our brothers in Iraq,” played on Al- Jazirah Satellite Channel in Arabic on February 11, 2003.

620 Bin Laden, quoted from Time Interview.

621 Bin Laden, “Message from Osama bin Mohammed bin Laden to his Muslim Brothers in the whole world and especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad against the Americans occupying the land of the two Holy Mosques; Expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula.”

622 Bin Laden, quoted from Time interview.

623 Bin Laden, “ Osama bin Laden: The Destruction of the Base.”

195 We with God’s help call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God’s order to kill Americans and plunder their money whenever and wherever they find it. We also call on Muslims…to launch the raid on Satan’s US troops and the devil’s supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them.624

When he was asked in 1998 about obtaining chemical or nuclear weapons, he said, “acquiring such weapons for the defense of Muslims (was) a religious duty.”625 For most people, including many Muslims, the thought of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda possessing a nuclear device is terrifying. In analyzing al-Qaeda and its tactics, one is prone to suggest that the organization is not interested in spreading Islam to non- Muslims, but defending the Ummah first. The concept of “ending oppression and establishing justice” is playing a role in al-Qaeda’s ideology for fighting regimes it sees as oppressing Muslims. Just who is a legitimate target for bin Laden is not difficult to discern since he stated it in an Al-Jazirah interview, “Our enemy is every American male, whether he is directly fighting us or paying taxes.”626 The last part of this statement reiterates what many Muslims believe; anyone who pays taxes to the US, including Muslims, is guilty of aiding and abetting the enemy, and can therefore be killed. Lastly, bin Laden gave an interview to Time Magazine on December 22, 1998, when he was asked whether he was responsible for the August 7, 1998 attacks against the US Embassies in Dar al-Salaam and Nairobi. He replied;

The international Islamic Jihad Front for the jihad against the US and Israel has, by the grace of God, issued a crystal clear fatwa calling on the Islamic nation to carry on jihad aimed at liberating the holy sites. The nation of Mohammed has responded to this appeal. If instigation for jihad against the Jews and the Americans…is considered to be a crime, then let history be a witness that I am a criminal. Our job is to instigate and, by the grace of God, we did that, and certain people responded to this instigation. Those who risked their lives to earn the pleasure of God are real men. They managed to rid the Islamic nation of disgrace. We hold them in the highest esteem. Any thief or criminal

624 Bin Laden, quoted from Time interview.

625 Bin Laden, “Osama bin Laden: The Destruction of the Base,” interview by Jamal Isma’il in an unspecified location in Afghanistan.”

626 Bin Laden, “Message to our brothers in Iraq,” played on Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel in Arabic on February 11, 2003.

196 who enters another country to steal should expect to be exposed to murder at any time…The US knows that I have attacked it, by the grace of God, for more than ten years now…God knows that we have been pleased by the killing of American soldiers (in Somalia in 1993). This was achieved by the grace of God and the efforts of the mujahideen…Hostility toward America is a religious duty and we hope to be rewarded for it by God. I am confident that Muslims will be able to end the legend of the so-called superpower that is America.”627

According to Rohan Gunaratna, Ibn Taymiyya influenced bin Laden more than anyone else (other than the Prophet). Gunaratna says,

Ironically, the religious scholar most quoted by Osama, Ibn Taymiyya, also states, “As for those who cannot offer resistance or cannot fight, such as women, children monks, old people, the blind, handicapped, and their like, they shall not be killed, unless they actually fight with words and acts. Some [jurists] are of the opinion that all of them may be killed on the mere ground that they are unbelievers, but they make an exception for women and children since for Muslims they constitute property. However, the first opinion is the correct on, because we may only fight those who fight us when we want to make Allah’s religion victorious.628

Bin Laden was also quoted as saying, “Scholars have long agreed that fighting the infidel enemy is an obligation to every Muslim…Sheik Ibn Taymiyya said…After faith, nothing is more obligating than defending against the enemy who spoils the religion and the world.”629 Other than Ibn Taymiyya, bin Laden was also taught at the University of Jeddah by Mohammed Qutb, the brother of Sayyid Qutb and also by Abdullah Azzam.

Abdullah Azzam (1941-1989)

Many have called Azzam “the real founder of al-Qaeda.” Azzam was born in 1941 in the village of Selat al-Harithis in northern Palestine. He then joined the Muslim Brotherhood and studied in Syria, earning a bachelor’s degree in Islamic Law from

627 Bin Laden, quoted from Time interview.

628 Ibn Taymiyya, quoted from Rohan Gunaratna, Inside Al Qaeda (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), 85.

629 Bin Laden, quoted from Bergen, 100.

197 Shari’ah College at Damascus University. After Israel captured his village in the 1967 Six Day War, Azzam fled to Jordan and joined the resistance against the new state. In 1968, Azzam left for Egypt and studied at Al-Azhar University earning a doctorate in Islamic jurisprudence. In 1979, Azzam was expelled from Saudi Arabia (after teaching at King Abdul-Aziz University in 1979) for “Islamic Activism.” He then went to Pakistan only for a brief stop his final destination: Afghanistan to fight the Soviets.630 Azzam was assassinated in 1989. Other influences on Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda organization came from intellectuals that preceded them, not necessarily centuries before like Ibn Tamiyya, but also from Abdul Ala Mawdudi (1903-1979), the Indian-born Pakistani ideologue, who helped to develop the concept of jihad in a political context. According Gunaratna, al- Qaeda, as well as other groups such as ’s Armed Front of the Islamic Jihadists (FIDA), Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Palestinian Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad are “revolutionary Islamist groups seeking to legitimate violence by advocating and practicing collective decision-making, drawing selectively on the ideologue of Sayyid Qutb.”631 It is important to reiterate what has been reiterated in past chapters about Qutb. It is not difficult to realize that al-Qaeda, as well as the above-mentioned groups, have taken the literal hard-line approach to Qutb’s writings. Al-Qaeda is convinced that the only way to dispose of the Western influence around the world is through struggling (jihad), armed struggle (qital), and war (harb).

Ayman al-Zawahiri (1951-present)

The quote that began this chapter was taken from Osama bin Laden’s “right hand man” Ayman al-Zawahiri. It is safe to say that the arguments for Islamists and jihadists, one and the same, are not only bringing justification for their deeds from men who lived during the first three centuries, Salafis, or a few centuries later like Ibn Taymiyya, but also men who lived and died during the lifetimes of men still struggling fi-si-bi-Allah today. Al-Zawahiri was very familiar with the works of Qutb since al-Zawahiri himself

630 Gunaratna, 17-18.

631 Gunaratna, 92.

198 was born and raised in Egypt and had contact with Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag, the leader of al-Jihad.632 Although not very much is known about al-Zawahiri’s childhood, most experts are certain he was born on June 19, 1951 and that he attended secondary school in Cairo’s suburb of Maadi. Like others before and since, the execution of Qutb left a mark on al-Zawahiri leaving the soon-to-be physician resolved to believe that Muslims had to organize themselves in order to defend Islam. In 1966 or 1967, al- Zawahiri joined a student of Qutb’s, Nabil al-Bur’i to form an underground group that planned to set up an Islamic government in Egypt through a military coup.633 According to Adnan Ayyuh Musallam, “This apparatus continued in the 1970s. Al-Zawahiri eventually became its leader and was joined by Nabil al-Bur’i, Isma’il al-Tantawi, ‘Isam al-Qamari, and others who would play a role in the preparations that led to the assassination of President Sadat.”634 There is an heir of irony as al-Zawahiri, a physician, (not to mention other Muslim physicians) believes that saving and killing people is a sacred duty. Al-Zawahiri started studying medicine at the University of Cairo’s medical school in 1974 and graduated in 1978. Upon graduation, he was a surgeon in the Egyptian army for the next three years. His education as a physician coincided with the political events taking place in Egypt during the 1970’s such Sadat’s use of Islamists, the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, to counter-attack proponents of Nasser, leftists, and communists. Islamist groups such as Gama’at al-Islamiyyah (the Islamic Group) was in control of many Egyptian college campuses where much political debate took place. The honeymoon between Sadat and the Islamists ended when he visited Israel in 1977 and “by 1980, all student groups were outlawed.”635 This did not stop al-Zawahiri from traveling to Peshawar, Pakistan in the summer of 1980 and March 1981, “to tend to the medical needs of Afghan who were fleeing their country in the wake of the

632 Musallam, 186.

633 Musallam, 188.

634 Musallam, 188.

635 Michael Doran, “The pragmatic fanaticism of al Qaeda: An anatomy of extremism in Middle Eastern politics,” Political Science Quarterly 117, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 177.

199 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.”636 In a chilling voice that set the tone for today’s confrontation between al-Qaeda and the US, al-Zawahiri after being impressed by Muslim victories over the Soviets, was quoted as saying that the Afghan jihad had been a “training course of the utmost importance to prepare the Muslim mujahideen to wage their awaited battle against the superpower that now has sole dominance over the globe, namely, the United States.”637 After the assassination of Sadat, al-Zawahiri was rounded up along with hundreds of other Muslims and spent three years in prison for being involved with the radical Islamists groups that ruled Egypt’s college campuses. In 1984, he went to Saudi Arabia to work in a medical clinic in Jeddah where he met Osama bin Laden. They soon became friends and soon departed to Pakistan to help the Afghan mujahideen. While in Egypt, al-Zawahiri wrote works titled Al-Rasa’il al-safra’ (The Yellow Letters), as well as, “his biographical work under the Prophet’s Banner, which was serialized in London’s Al-sharq al-Awsat newspaper in 2001-2002. Al-Zawahiri traces various stages of his life including his experiences in Afghanistan and confrontation with the United States.”638 The book was smuggled from Afghanistan to Pakistan and finally to London. According to Musallam, the book, not yet translated, “stresses the impact of Sayyid Qutb’s life and thought on the jihadists and the Islamic revolution.”639 For al-Zawahiri, Qutb’s call for Muslims to recognize God’s sovereignty (hakimiyyah),

helped the Islamic movement to know and define its enemies. It also helped it to realize that the internal enemy was not less dangerous than the external enemy and that the internal enemy was a tool used by the external enemy as a screen behind which it had to launch its war on Islam.640

Finally, for al-Zawahiri, Qutb’s writings about Islam helped influence al-Qaeda because “the meaning of the plans was more important than their material strength. The

636 Al-Zawahiri, quoted from Musallam, 189.

637 Al-Zawahiri, quoted from Musallam, 189.

638 Musallam, 189.

639 Musallam, 189-190.

640 Al-Zawahiri, quoted from Musallam, 190.

200 meaning was that the Islamic movement had begun a war against the regime in its capacity as an enemy of Islam.”641 It is not difficult to see where Ayman al-Zawahiri received much of his influence concerning his views of Islam, war, and ending oppression and establishing justice. For al-Zawahiri, Sayyid Qutb, a fellow Egyptian, would help to define the main goal for al-Zawahiri, to end the West’s stronghold on the Middle East and the rest of the Islamic world and to establish Shari’ah throughout those lands and ultimately the rest of the world. The discussion now should return to the ideology of al-Qaeda’s most noted personality, Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden may not have been the founder of al-Qaeda (some claim it was Dr. Abdullah Azzam) or even the brains behind the organization. It is more likely that Ayman al-Zawahiri is. However, he is the most recognized personality of the group and has been for the past sixteen years. One statement delivered on February 23, 1998 by Osama bin Laden is Jihad against Jews and Crusaders, crusaders meaning the US. The statement does not end with al-Qaeda’s signature, but instead with an organization calling itself the World Islamic Front Statement.642 In this statement, the names of five men, beginning with bin Laden and followed by al-Zawahiri, who is credited as the Amir of the Jihad group in Egypt. The other three men are stated with their respective countries, which is somewhat surprising since one would think that nationalism would be left out. Those three included Abu-Yasir Rifa’i Ahmad Taha is listed as representing the Egyptian Islamic Group, Sheik Mir Hamzah, the secretary of the Jama’at-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan, and lastly, Fazlul Rahman, the amir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh.643 As one can see, South Asia is playing a significant role as a supplier of al-Qaeda personnel. As the statement continues, bin Laden quotes from the Qur’an to justify his stance against the US and its allies. He opens his statement Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders with,

641 Musallam, 190.

642 Yonah Alexander and Michael S. Swetnam, Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda: Profile of a Terrorist Network (Ardsley: Transnational Publishers, Inc., 2001), 1.

643 Alexander, 1.

201 Praise be to God, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book: But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war).644

The last sentence is a verse from the Qur’an taken when the Prophet was commanded to halt his aggressions against the Quraish just before, during, and after Ramadan. The Kharijites, the Assassins, Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb, al-Jihad, and al- Qaeda are all taking their justifications from the Qur’an without possibly studying the historical and social context of the Prophet’s actions. If they had done so, then there could have be a chance that the assassinations and murders committed in their name or due to their influence may never have occurred. However, to analyze every action and reason the Prophet did something would be an enormous task and finding consensus on the issue could be confusing to say the least, if not destructive in terms of splitting the Ummah. Because of this dilemma, “If the Prophet did it, we can and should do it as well because it is our religious duty,” is the justification needed for these respective men and groups to be committed to their causes. To live according to the Prophet’s example, Sunnah, is obligatory for these men, even if it means killing others. Further into bin Laden’s statement, justification for using jihad by scholars not mentioned in this dissertation is made. When speaking of the crimes committed by the US, bin Laden states,

All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims. And Ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in “Al-Mughni,” Imam al-Kisa’i in “Al-Bada’i,” al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the sheik of al-Islam in his books, where he said: As for the fighting to repulse [an enemy], it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed [by the Ulema]. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life.645

644 Alexander, 1.

645 Alexander, 2. Clearly, there have been more Muslims throughout history than those covered in this dissertation who have justified the use of armed insurrection in order to establish God’s laws, Shari’ah. They are ripe for further research.

202 By the above quote, it is evident that bin Laden is justifying his stance not only with the Qur’an, but also from Islamic scholars throughout history. As far as using the Qur’an is concerned, bin Laden also manages to put the following verses from the Qur’an in his fatwa (religious edict);

“and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together”646 “fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God”647 “And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill- treated (and oppressed)?—women and children, whose cry is: ‘Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; are raise for us from thee one who will help!”648 “O ye who believe, give your response to God and His Apostle, when He calleth you to that which will give you life. And know that God cometh between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall all be gathered.”649 “O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of God, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For God hath power over all things.”650 “So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith.”651

These are just some of the verses from the Qur’an that bin Laden uses in his statement Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders. The first three verses above do use the term qital (fight), so there is the heir of fighting physically and not just struggling verbally. There is no doubt that he is trying to persuade Muslims to his cause with the ultimate justification, divine. Bin Laden knows that by quoting verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith, he is expecting that Muslims will feel compelled to join his cause. In his war against the US, he went on to commit two acts of violence outside of the Middle East.

646 Syed Kamran Mirza, Four articles on roots of terror in Islam, (Glendale: New Horizons, 2002), 14. Qur’an 47:4, translations by Yusuf Ali. This verse and the following five were all quoted by Osama bin Laden.

647 Bin Laden, quoted from Mirza, 29, Qur’an 2:193, translation by Yusuf Ali.

648 Bin Laden, quoted from Mirza, 20, Qur’an 9:73, translation by Yusuf Ali.

649 Bin Laden, quoted from Mirza, 92, Qur’an 3:110, translation by Yusuf Ali.

650 Bin Laden, quoted from Mirza, 92, Qur’an 21:105, translation by Yusuf Ali.

651 Bin Laden, quoted from Mirza, 92, Qur’an 24:55, translation by Yusuf Ali.

203 In 1998, al-Qaeda bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These two countries are susceptible to terrorist attacks due to their “porous borders, pervasive corruption, and the lack of police capacity allow terrorists to move about freely, find safe haven, and establish logistical hubs.”652 Indeed, al-Qaeda was able to exploit a four hundred and twenty mile border with an unstable Somalia, allowing for American and European “expatriate communities, tourist attractions, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)” to be “soft targets” for al-Qaeda.653 Kenya had seen its share of international terrorism linked with the Middle East in 1980 “when a Palestinian Liberation Organization sympathizer bombed a tourist hotel, killing sixteen people.”654 African nations, with domestic problems such as economic and political instabilities, have been liable to much terrorist activity. It was in Dar al-Salam and Nairobi that on August 7, 1998, near-simultaneous bombs detonated in each capital killing three hundred and three people, including Muslims, while injuring more than five thousand.655 More than four years later in November 2002 in the coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya, terrorists linked to al-Qaeda fired surface-to-air missiles narrowly missing an Israeli jet packed with passengers.656 Though al-Qaeda missed in that particular attempt, it did not when a suicide bomber killed fifteen tourists at a popular Israeli hotel near Mombasa.657 Clearly, al-Qaeda’s reach has shown that it is willing to go to any length or country to exact terror on the US and its allies. With poverty levels of more than fifty percent in Kenya and thirty-six percent in Tanzania, al-Qaeda operative, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed of the Comoros Islands, was able to recruit men who were willing to carry out the terrorist attacks above. Mohammed himself, was trained in Afghanistan and lived in the coastal town of Lamu near the

652 William Rosenau, “Al-Qaeda Recruitment Trends in Kenya and Tanzania,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 28, no. 1 (January-February 2005): 1.

653 Rosenau, 1.

654 Rosenau, 1-2.

655 Quintan Wiktorowicz, “Framing Jihad: Intramovement framing contests and Al-Qaeda’s struggle for sacred authority,” International reviews of social history 49, (2004): 159.

656 Rosenau, 2.

657 Rosenau, 2.

204 Somali border, and went into hiding, marrying a local woman, and teaching at a madrassa. While doing this, Mohammed, living under the alias “Abdul Karim”, he was able to recruit people and establish a small-scale lobster business. As this was occurring, the small cell was receiving ideological and weapons training, and prepared to split into four smaller groups. One of these groups stayed in Mogadishu, while another carried out attacks on the hotel in Mombasa, a third stayed in Lamu preparing for an escape to Somalia, and the last group failing in its attempt to take down the Israeli airliner. The recruiting and attacks in Africa are a prime reason for why al-Qaeda is such a dangerous group. They were willing to go to countries where there was poverty and strife and were able to persuade men to kill and injure hundreds of their fellow citizens. The attacks in Africa showed that al-Qaeda was not restricted to the Middle East. Since the US invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, there have not been any attacks attributed to al-Qaeda in sub- Saharan Africa; however, al-Qaeda has been responsible for attacks in both Egypt and Morocco, as well as, in Spain. The purpose of this dissertation was to show how certain Muslims and Islamist groups justify their acts. There is no doubt that the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet is a good starting place, but which verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith were being used was a more significant question. Osama bin Laden uses certain verses from the Qur’an to justify his position such as, “Permission to take up arms is hereby given to those who are attacked, because they have been wronged.”658 This verse implies that qital (fighting) and harb (war) can be used, but only in a defensive manner. This may be a temporary position that he is taking since it is possible that bin Laden one day may use the concepts of harb, jihad, and qital as excuses to spread Islam offensively. His reason for using jihad and qital as defensive mechanisms may stem from the struggle against the Soviets. A glimpse of using jihad and qital as offensive weapons may be shed when Islam spread from Southern France to Northern India, according to journalist Peter L. Bergen. Those years were a “golden age of Islam that bin Laden harks back [to].”659 Another of Osama bin Laden’s objectives has been to expel the US from Saudi Arabia. Where did the justification for calling for the expulsion come from? The debate

658 Bin Laden, quoted from Bergen, 96.

659 Bergen, 97.

205 rages whether it was the Prophet or one of the Rashidun Caliphs (Rightly Guided). The answer is both. The Caliph Umar (r. 632-644) issued a final and irreversible decree that Jews and Christians be evicted from the Hijaz. Evidence of the Prophet saying something to that affect has been mentioned in the following Hadith, “Let there be no two religions in Arabia.”660 If one were to look at an almanac of Saudi Arabia and the percentage of Muslims, they may or may not be surprised that it is listed as one hundred percent. At the end of World War One, the British and French were wise enough to stay just outside of Jeddah, but then again, maybe it was because oil had not yet been found in Arabia in 1918. Osama bin Laden does not cite theologians often. In fact, other than the Prophet, he only cited Ibn Taymiyya directly. There is a sense that he and many in the al-Qaeda organization have been influenced by such men as ibn Hanbal, Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahhab (1703-1792), and the salafi movement.661 The salafi movement, which translates into “the first three generations” is a movement founded in the past forty years in Saudi Arabia to confront the secularism and communism that was spreading around the globe. According to As’ad Abukhalil, the name salafiyyah to refers “to the modern fundamentalists who want to bring back the glory of the early days of Islam.”662 Bin Laden, having been brought up in and educated in the Saudi Kingdom was influenced by these men and movements. is the founder of the school of thought named after him, the Hanbalite. It is so strict that only a small percentage of Muslims follow it. The Hanbalite school of Islam joined with the Wahhabi school of thought to give Saudi Arabia the religious identity it now has. Much has been written on the Wahhabi sect of Islam, including that it “is the most extreme form of theoretical or practiced Islam; it is an Islam that fears progress, change, and cross-cultural influences. It is the school of Islamic fundamentalist theology that equates excess with piety, and

660 The Prophet Mohammed, quoted from Bergen, 98.

661 Ibn Hanbal is the founder of the Hanbalite School of law in Islam. Islam has four major schools of thought, the , , Malakis, and Shafais. The schools of law are all named after their respective founders, Imam Hanafi, Imam Malaki, and Imam Shafai. Wahhabi is a term used to describe the teachings of Mohammed ibn Abdel Wahhab, an eighteenth century Islamic reformer from the Arabian Peninsula. His teachings, considered strict by most Muslims and non-Muslims, help shape modern Saudi Arabia.

662 Abukhalil, 60.

206 extremism with virtue.”663 Saudi Arabia’s most powerful religious figure was ‘Abdul- ‘Aziz bin Baz who died in 1999. He was willing to support the politics of the royal family as long as he had control of educational and religious matters. “Until shortly before his death, bin Baz was convinced that the earth was flat, disbelieved the news of the landing of the moon, and even suspected conspiracies behind the propagation of such falsehoods. He even banned shaving and cologne, and prohibited music and singing.”664 Bin Baz also believed that intermarrying with Shi’ites was wrong since Shi’ites were heretics, pictures should be destroyed and that photographers should be cursed, and they will suffer the most after resurrection, and that women should not be able to drive cars. Finally, he claimed that angels did not step into a house that contained pictures and he called for the ban of foosball since the game is played with little statues that act as real life soccer players.665 With this type of strictness, it cannot be much of a surprise that had the impact on bin Laden that it did. This dissertation is about the justification of using armed force to accomplish one’s goals and some of the ideologues that have influenced Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. The ideologies used by al-Qaeda had a precedent pre-dating their own time. According to As’ad Abukhalil,

the Wahhabi branch of Islam convinced bin Laden that “the killing of American civilians is justified,” and in the interview with Time magazine and al-Quds al-‘Arabi he accepts the inevitable death of fellow Muslims that results from acts of Islamic violence. He openly advocates violence against civilians, and his listing of the Arab civilian deaths from Israeli and American acts is clearly intended to justify and incite retaliation against the same.666

The events of the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993 and September 11, 2001 have caused the US to enter a new world, the world of terrorism on its own soil. These events are not independent of one another, but are part of a chain of events that

663 Abukhalil, 62.

664 Abukhalil, 64.

665 Russ Marion and Mary Uhl-Bien, “Complexity theory and Al-Qaeda: Examining complex leadership,” Emergence 5, no. 1 (2003): 54.

666 Abukhalil, 76.

207 have their justifications in religious doctrine. Al-Qaeda is not doing anything new. When it comes to Islam, one must admit that the actions of the Prophet were the origins for what Muslims have said and done since his death. Osama bin Laden and Ayman al- Zawahiri will continue to use Islam as the basis of their cause since it is the faith they believe in. It also helps to bring new recruits to the al-Qaeda organization. The verses from the Qur’an and the Ahadith used by bin Laden and al-Zawahiri all call Muslims to fight an enemy that it sees as oppressive. Whether bin Laden and al-Zawahiri are correct is up to each individual to decide, for that question, like religion, is personal and ultimately up for interpretation.

208 CONCLUSION

Throughout this dissertation, efforts have been made to delineate reasons why certain Muslims resort to using armed force. Although the answers vary, one thing is certain; they are being accomplished with the intention that what is being done is good and not evil. What many in the West consider to be abhorrent acts of terrorism, are for those mentioned in this dissertation, religious obligations. In concluding this dissertation, attention will be made in explaining the reasons why certain Muslims murder with the mindset that what they are doing will lead them to jahana (paradise). The belief that those who die while struggling, jihad, to establish justice, will enter paradise, is a centerpiece for the ideologies covered over the past eight chapters. While many books have been written on the subject of religion and violence, this dissertation has hopefully added to overall scholarship by examining several individuals and groups in their historical setting to see if the reasons why they have chosen to commit murder has changed. Questions of why people commit murder is one thing, but why someone would murder in the name of God is another. These are just two questions that have been interwoven throughout this dissertation. For example, some saw the incidents of September 11, 2001 comparable to events found in the Torah. Leviticus 1:4-5 reads; “And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. And he shall slaughter the bullock before the Lord.”667 If looked upon closely, one can equate the events on 9/11 as a sacrifice made in the name of Allah. What occurred that eventful day took place with the following terms in mind, harb, jihad, and qital fi-si-bi-Allah (fighting in the way of God). According to a sympathizer of the terrorists’ actions on 9/11, a retired accountant, writing in the largest English-language newspaper in Pakistan, stated,

Literally speaking, jihad means struggle and/or striving in the cause of Allah and includes killing and being killed in his way. It encompasses the whole of the life of a believer and can be divided into three major segments: 1) against the enemies of Allah

667 Judith Seligson, “Fire/Men,” Judaism 51, no. 1 (Winter 2002): 32.

209 and his religion-Islam, 2) against Satan; 3) against the evil inclinations of one’s inner self.668

While many Muslim apologists living in the West would define the term jihad as “struggling or striving,” in any generic sense, for example, “struggling or striving to cross the street or pass a math test,” the Muslims covered in this endeavor would disagree. Jihad for the Kharijites, the Assassins, Ibn Taymiyya, Sayyid Qutb, Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag, and Osama bin Laden is about struggling and striving to both defend the borders of Islam from aggressors, while spreading them at the same time. The purpose of this dissertation has not been to only explore the term jihad (since it seems a book a week comes out doing that), but to also look at certain Muslim’s interpretations of verses from the Qur’an and Ahadith dealing with the subjects of fighting and war. The actions of those covered in this endeavor showed how they were struggling and striving in the God’s cause. Muslims have been fighting others, as well as themselves, since the seventh century. However, up until the nineteenth century, Muslims were the dominant rulers in much of the Middle East, Northern Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. As Europeans set about to colonize much of the above-mentioned territories, they exported concepts that were familiar to them, such as nationalism and secularism, but foreign to others. For Muslims, nationalism and secularism were ideas that had not been touched upon for the previous thirteen centuries. Although terms like harb, jihad, and qital, were used by Muslims against their colonizers, the origins of armed conflicts in Islam go back to the seventh century. The first two chapters set up the remaining six so that the justification for using armed force can be traced to his actions and sayings. Armed confrontations in Islam has its roots beginning with Mohammed beginning in the seventh century Muslims who commit murder fi-si-bi-Allah, in the way of God, are doing so because there were instances in Mohammed’s life, his sayings, and the Qur’an where qital occurs. The Qur’an and Sunnah are not going anywhere. They have been and will be used to justify violence towards others. It is a sad fact that just twenty-four years after the death of Mohammed, Muslims began murdering each other in the name of Allah.

668 Seligson, 33.

210 Although the reasons why Uthman and Ali were murdered are only known by those who committed the crimes, their justification was to be found in the Qur’an and Ahadith. Another point made was that interpretation of the terms harb, jihad, and qital in the Qur’an and Sunnah, practices of Mohammed, has allowed these events to occur. Although this work only covers certain Muslims and Islamist groups throughout Islam’s history, the number of those using the Qur’an and Sunnah as a way to murder continues. The ringleader of the September 11, 2001 hijackers, Mohammed Atta, was found with the following letter in his luggage;

Tame your soul, purify it, convince it, make it understand, and incite it…bless your body with some verses of the Qur’an – this is done by reading verses into one’s hands and then rubbing the hands over whatever is to be blessed – the luggage, clothes, the knife, your personal effects, your ID, your passport…the rest is left to God, the best one to depend on…we will all meet in the highest heaven, God willing.669

It is quite chilling that someone could tell another to read verses from a holy book, only to have those verses bless a knife that will murder others. Atta did not have a problem using the Qur’an to help him in his actions that day. Besides advocating his co- hijackers to commit murder, he also recommended them to read “traditional war texts in the Qur’an.”670 For al-Qaeda, the events that day were to put the US into disarray, rally other Muslims to fight the United States, and to usher in God’s vengeance against nations that have committed crimes against the Islamic world. While some Muslims applauded the events that day, the majority of Muslims in the United States and around the world, denounced it. Religion is about interpretation. If the Muslims living in the United States at that time suddenly saw themselves living outside of the country or being treated as second-class citizens, would they have denounced the attacks in the same voice? Questions such as these will continue to persist as long as religion and violence go together. Reference has been made to the importance of sacred writings in Islam and their respective roles in harb, jihad, and qital. Islam, like Judaism and Christianity, places the

669 McTernan, 22.

670 McTernan, 22.

211 highest of authorities on its holy book, the Qur’an in this case. The Qur’an for Muslims is the actual words of God revealed to Mohammed via the archangel Gabriel. As Gabriel revealed them to Mohammed, according to Muslim law, Mohammed had the words imbedded in his heart. The Sunnah, practices, of Mohammed however is a very different manner as the role of Ahadith, sayings, has been a point of contention since Islam’s inception in the seventh century. Some Muslims accept some Ahadith while others only accept a few authoritative transmitters like Imams Bukhari and Muslim, respectively. There are also forty additional Ahadith that Muslims accept as Qudsi or holy since they believe these were revealed by God in the same manner as the Qur’an was. Finally, there are some Muslims who reject Ahadith altogether. Because of the debate on the authority of Ahadith, many Muslims such as Osama bin Laden and Sayyid Qutb quote mainly from the Qur’an. On the topic of exegesis, interpretation has played a role where sacred texts are involved. However, there are economic, historical, and social factors that play a role in when issues of jihad and qital are concerned. An example of interpretation where jihad is concerned can be summed up in this Hadith, “Mohammed and his community would never agree upon a mistake.”671 Obviously, this Hadith poses a problem since not all Muslims agree on what committing a mistake entails. If killing innocent people is a mistake, and most Muslims would consider murdering innocent people a mistake, the question of who is innocent becomes problematic. While this dissertation is partly about jihad, emphasis has been made that harb, jihad, and qital are all interconnected. When the Assassins murdered people, they were in the midst of qital, fighting, jihad, struggling, and those two components add up to harb or war. John Esposito stresses in his book, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam that, “Muslims are enjoined to act, to struggle (jihad) to implement their belief, to lead a good life, to defend religion, to contribute to the development of a just Islamic society throughout the world.”672 There is a Hadith that states, “If one sees something wrong, he should correct it with his hands, if that is not possible, then his mouth, and if that is not

671 Charles T. Davis, III, “The Qur’an, Mohammed, and Jihad in Context,” in The Destructive Power of Religion, vol. 1, Sacred Scriptures, Ideology, and Violence, by ed. J. Harold Ellens (Westport: Praeger, 2004), 242.

672 John Esposito, Unholy War: Terror in the name of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 78.

212 possible, then he should denounce it in his heart for that is the weakest of faith.”673 The men and groups written about in this work are staunch supporters of the first rule of this particular Hadith. In chapter one, the life of Mohammed was examined. He has been called “The walking Qur’an” in one Hadith and “A mercy to mankind” in the Qur’an. It is his actions that have been mimicked by Muslims waging war since he himself did so. Mohammed fought many battles “to establish the first Muslim state in Makkah.”674 One author, S.H. Nasr in his book, Ideals and Realities of Islam, states that Mohammed was the prototypical Muslim who,

had a quality of combativeness, of always being actively engaged in combat against all that negated the Truth and disrupted harmony. Externally it meant fighting wars, either military, political, or social ones, the war which Mohammed named the “little holy war”….Inwardly, this combativeness meant a continues war against the carnal soul…against all that in man tends towards the negation of God and His will, the “great holy war.675

According to Nasr, jihad was used by Mohammed, “to establish equilibrium between all the existing forces that surround man and to overcome all the existing forces that tend to destroy this equilibrium.”676 For many Muslims, jihad is a way of establishing harmony or justice in the world, and it “is an acceptable means to achieving a social harmony. It is a medicine for treating social ills.”677 Another reason why groups like al-Qaeda decide to fight is that they see its holy places, Jerusalem, Madinah, and Makkah all being occupied by non-believers. There is a sense that “holy space” is being taken by people who do not belong there in the first place. In addition, those same non-believers are oppressive in their treatment of others. In February 1998, Osama bin Laden issued a fatwa against the US and its allies declaring,

673 Imam Muslim, quoted from Esposito, 89.

674 Davis, 243.

675 S.H. Nasr, quoted from Esposito, 91.

676 Nasr, quoted from Esposito, 31.

677 Seligson, 31.

213 In compliance with God’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 (Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (Makkah) from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of the lands of Islam…, this is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, “and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,” and “fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God.678

As one can see in the above quote, bin Laden is convinced that non-believers, i.e. America and its allies, are occupying space that belongs to Muslims alone. The notion of what is “sacred space” is also troublesome. This seems to be going back to the concepts of the Dar al-harb, Land of War, and the Dar al-salaam, Land of Peace. Are all lands where the majority of people are Muslim “sacred space?” In addition, if non-Muslims occupy these lands, is that a pretext for war? The fact that Osama bin Laden called upon other Muslims to help his cause is not new. Mohammed Abdel Salam Farag hoped that other Muslims in Egypt, and around the world, would support his cause after the assassination of President Anwar Sadat, with his call mostly being ignored. In the case of Farag and bin Laden, as well as, the Assassins and Kharijites, the number of followers is small. The call for Muslims to end oppression and establish justice is exactly what Mohammed did. As was true in the case of Mohammed, both Farag and bin Laden are using the Qur’an’s approximately one hundred and fifty verses pertaining to jihad as a reason to execute their respective plans. This is, according to J. Harold Ellens, “The notion of love appears only ten notable times in the Qur’an, six regarding God’s love and just four regarding human behavior.”679 Even though few would dispute that the number of times a concept is mentioned in a particular piece of writing accounts for its significance, the concept of jihad is mentioned considerably. The interpretation of the Qur’an is not the entire scope of this dissertation. Below are more verses from Islam’s holy book and the subject of jihad. Though some verses

678 Osama bin Laden, quoted from J. Harold Ellens, “Jihad in the Qur’an, Then, and Now,” In The Destructive Power of Religion, vol. 3, Models and Cases of Violence in Religion, ed. J. Harold Ellens (Westport: Praeger, 2004), 40.

679 Ellens, 43.

214 are not as vivid as others, it seems that many Muslims are applying a conservative interpretation to all verses that deal with jihad. One example is “Certainly believers who…labor with great vigor and diligence in God’s way hope for God’s mercy, and God is forgiving and merciful.”680 This verse does not explicitly call for taking up arms, but if the conditions are ripe to do so, then someone the like of Sayyid Qutb could point to this verse and use it for proclaiming war. The dilemma for Muslims in the future is to decide who makes the decision to go to war and when it is appropriate as well. Unfortunately, interpretation is in the eye of the beholder. Throughout this dissertation, attempts have been made trying to demonstrate why Muslims commit the violent acts in the past and most likely in the future. While many authors have written about modern Islamic fundamentalism beginning roughly with the Iranian Revolution in 1979, this endeavor has emphasized that Muslims killing others and their own is not a twentieth century phenomena. When there has been a breach in the continuity of Shari’ah ruling the respective land, certain Muslims have responded not only in words, like Sayyid Qutb, but with action, like the Kharijites, or both like Ibn Taymiyya. It is also important to state that the term “Islamic Fundamentalism” has been largely ignored since its use in recent times has had disastrously negative connotations. If fundamentalism means going back to one’s basic teachings, that is one thing; however, if it means killing people indiscriminately, there is an obvious problem since no religion in its origins calls for genocide. The writing of this dissertation has been easy to write at times, but for the most part, difficult. Islam, like all other religions, is just one interpretation of what an ultimate truth can be. In the case of Islam, for Muslims, that ultimate truth is Allah and his holy book, the Qur’an, as well as, recognition of his final messenger, Mohammed, and his teachings, the Sunnah. Before this dissertation ends, it is important to keep in mind two important points. The first is that Mohammed never spoke out of his own person. Everything he did, for Muslims, was sanctioned by God. Second, those covered in this dissertation represent a small minority of Muslims. All of the men and groups written on have heard that murdering people is wrong and Mohammed forbade the killing innocent

680 Qur’an (2:218), translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, The Holy Qur’an (Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Complex for the printing of The Holy Qur’an, 1994).

215 men, women, and children, as well as, destroying nature, burning trees and diverting rivers, in the process of war. In Islam, there are rules of war and how to treat your fellow man, the only dilemma is who gets to determine who is guilty and innocent. Whereas the phrase, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” pertains to interpretation, so does religion.

216 GLOSSARY

Ahadith: Plural for Hadith or sayings of Mohammed. Ahl al-Kitab: People of the Book. Jews and Christians in particular. Ahli: Popular and private mosques. Alim: One who knows the Qur’an and Ahadith by heart. Amir: Political leader. Bida’a: Innovation. Caliph: Successor to the Prophet Mohammed. Dar al-harb: Abode of War. This term originated in the first century of Islam and designated the areas of the world where Islamic Law was not used. Dar al-salaam: Abode of Peace. This term originated in the first century of Islam and designated the areas of the world where Islam Law was in place. Dawla: Civic Society. Deen: Religion Dhimmis: Protected ones, most notably Jews and Christians or “People of the Book.” Effendi: Someone from the Arab middle class. Fasad: Economic corruption. Fatwa: Religious edict. Ghazis: Warrior. Harb: General term for war. Hijra: Migration. Hudud: Corporeal punishments utilized under the Shari’ah. Imam: Religious leader. Imarat al-darir: The issue around the political status of a blind theologian who is unable and unprepared to fight among a group of armed Islamist militants. Jahana: Paradise Jahilliyah: Ignorance or barbarism. This term refers to the age in the Arabian Peninsula prior to Mohammed and Islam in the seventh century. Jihad: To strive or struggle. Jihad al-qital: Arabic for struggling through fighting.

217 Jizyah: Poll tax for non-Muslim, i.e. Jews and Christians in particular. Ka’aba: Cube like structure in Makkah towards which Muslims pray. Kuttab: State school where religious and secular education are emphasized. Mufti: One of the many Arabic terms for religious leaders. Mujahideen: Soldiers for the Religion. Naskh: Abrogation. Nuffs: Self. Refers to one’s personal being. Qisas: Requital. Qital: Fighting in the sense physical sense. It can also mean assassinate, kill, or murder. Qiyas: Reason. Qur’an: The holy book of Islam. Radd: Refutation Rashidun: Rightly guided. Pertains to the first four Caliphs. Ridda: Apostasy. Salafi: Original. Also referring to the first three generations of Muslims after Mohammed. Shahada: Statement uttered by Muslims testifying, “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his Messenger.” Shari’ah: Islamic Law. Shahid: Martyr. Shi’ite: Party. Muslims who follow Ali, i.e. “party of Ali,” Shirk: Associating partners with Allah Sirah: Biography of the Prophet Mohammed. Sunni: Orthodoxy. Muslims who follow community consensus. Tajdid: Renewal. Takfir: Apostasy. Tar: Vendetta. Tawaghit: Idols of this world. Ulema: Body of religious scholars. Ummah: Muslim community. Zakat: Alms. Fifth pillar of Islam.

218 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary Sources

Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Holy Qur’an. Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah: The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Complex for the printing of The Holy Qur’an, 1994.

Ali’s translation is excellent as it contains the scholar’s tafsir or explanation of certain verses and an index. Yusuf Ali’s translation is nearing one-hundred years at this point.

Banna, Hasan al-. Al-Rasa’il al-thalath.

Farag, Mohammed Abdel Salam. The Neglected Duty. Translated by Johannes J.G. Jansen. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986.

The Neglected Duty is a fifty-four page pamphlet written in the early 1980’s and it is more explicit in its call to arms for establishing an Islamic State in Egypt first, and everywhere else later. The “neglected duty” for Farag was jihad. Though valuable to both laymen and academics, it is by far the lesser-known treatise when compared to Sayyid Qutb’s Milestones.

Laden, Osama bin. “Abdullah’s initiative…and the great treason.” http://www.cybcity.com/mnzmas.htm. March 1, 2003.

______. “Audio message to the Iraqis and Americans,” Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television. October 18, 2003.

______. Interview by Jamal Isma’il at an unspecified location in Afghanistan in December 1998. Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel. September 20, 2001.

______. Interview posted on Jihad Online News Network. January 21, 2003.

______. Message to his Muslim Brothers in the Whole World and especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Mosques; Expel the heretics from the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Islah. September 2, 1996.

______. Message to our brothers in Iraq. Played on Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel. February 11, 2003.

______. “Osama bin Laden: The Destruction of the Base,” interview by Jamal Isma’il in an unspecified location in Afghanistan, shown in Arabic, June 10, 1999.

______. Statement posted Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel. January 4, 2004.

219 ______. Statement posted to the Jihadist website Al-Qa’lah. http://www.qal3ah.net. May 6, 2004.

Qutb, Sayyid. A Child from the Village. Edited, Translated, and with an Introduction by John Calvert and William Shepard. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2004.

A Child from the Village is an autobiographical look at Qutb’s childhood. It is a good introduction to Qutb before he became an Islamist ideologue.

Qutb, Sayyid. ““The America I Have Seen”: In the Scale of Human Values (1951).” Translated by Tarek Masoud and Ammar Fakeeh. In America in an Arab Mirror, ed. Kamal Abdel-Malek, 9-27. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000.

“The America I have Seen” is an excellent account of Qutb’s observations of the United States and Americans in particular. One can see where his line of thought pertaining to Islam started to take a turn for a more conservative interpretation of the Shari’ah.

Qutb, Sayyid. “Fundamentalism (1949).” In From the Outer World, eds. Oscar Handlin and Lilian Handlin, 209-232. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1997.

This article delineates Qutb’s views on religion saying one should go back to its fundamentals to find its true meaning. It is a short but concise work on Islam in today’s world.

Qutb, Sayyid. In the Shade of the Qur’an, vols. 1-10 and 30. Translated by M. Adil Salahi and Ahaur A. Shamis. New Delhi: Islamic Book Service, 2001.

This thirty-volume set, deals with Qutb’s interpretation of the Qur’an. Qutb delineates many of his theories about Islam and the modern world in this tome.

Qutb, Sayyid. Islam and Universal Peace. Plainfield: American Trust Publications, 1993.

This book deals with Muslims and their responsibilities with fellow Muslims. Qutb delves into why Islam is man’s natural religion.

Qutb, Sayyid. Islam: The Religion of the Future. Kuwait: Al Faisal Press, 1992.

Islam: The Religion of the Future is Qutb’s look at religion in the twentieth century. It is a good source of his understanding of religion in the modern world. He deals with Christianity and the role of imperialism in detail.

220 Qutb, Sayyid. Milestones. Syria: Dar Al-Ilm.

This book, also known as, Milestones: Signposts along the way, is considered Qutb’s major work. It deals with topics of religion such as Jahiliyyah or ignorance and how Muslims must resort to the Qur’an for true guidance.

Qutb, Sayyid. Social Justice in Islam. Translated by John B. Hardie. Translation Revised and Introduction by Hamid Algar. Oneonta: Islamic Publications International, 2000.

Social Justice in Islam is considered Qutb’s most influential work before he went to the US. In this work, he writes about the West as a neo-Crusading force and the exploitation of the poor by the rich. Qutb writes on such subjects as fighting and jihad.

Qutb, Sayyid. The Islamic Concept and Its Characteristics. Translated by Mohammed Moinuddin Siddiqui. Plainfield: American Trust Publications, 1991.

Qutb in such chapters titled, Balance and Dynamism, writes abut Islam’s role in society. A multi-faceted book, it deals with topics ranging from the secular to the religious.

Qutb, Sayyid. This Religion of Islam. Delhi: Markazi Maktaba Islami, 1974.

This Religion of Islam deals with Islam’s role in the twentieth century. It also deals with Qutb’s interpretation of God and mankind’s duty to follow God’s laws. Qutb uses history to build his case for an Islamic state in this short book.

Taymiyya, Ibn. Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence. Translated from Arabic by Dr. Omar A. Farrukh. Beirut: Khayats, 1966.

Taymiyya’s writings are vast and cover an array of topics. Public Policy in Islamic Jurisprudence highlights Taymiyya’s opinions on Jihad and other facets of war.

Zawahiri, Ayman al-. Interview in Al-Sharq al-Awsat. December 2 and 3, 2001.

221 Secondary Sources

Abdelnasser, Walid M. “Islamic Organizations in Egypt and the Iranian Revolution of 1979: The experience of the first few years.” Arab Studies Quarterly 19, no. 2 (Spring 1997): 25-39.

Abukhalil, As’ad. Bin Laden, Islam, and America’s New “War on Terrorism.” New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002.

Adams, C.C. Islam and Modernism in Egypt. New York: Russell and Russell, 1968.

Ahmed, Jamal Mohammed. The Intellectual Origins of Egyptian Nationalism. London: Oxford University Press, 1960.

Ajami, Fouad. The Arab Predicament. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Alexander, Yonah and Michael S. Swetnam. Osama bin Laden’s al Qaida: Profile of a Terrorist Network. Ardsley: Transnational Publishers, Inc., 2001.

Alianak, Sonia L. “The Mentality of Messianic Assassins.” Orbis 44, no. 2 (Spring 2000): 283 (5468 words).

Appleby, R. Scott. “History in the Fundamentalist Imagination.” In History and September 11th, Joanne Meyerowitz, 165-172. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2003.

Armstrong, Karen. Holy War. New York: Anchor Books, 2001.

______. Mohammed. San Francisco: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992. Author n.a. “4 Accused Muslim Extremists get death for Egypt killings.” Los Angeles Times, 22 August 1993. Sec. Part-A, p. 4.

______. “Al-Jihad.” APS Diplomat Redrawing the Islamic Map 39, no. 4 (April 3, 2000): p. n.a.

______. “Egypt executes 3 in a plot to kill Mubarak.” The New York Times, 17 December 1993, sec. A, p. A19.

Awaisi, Abd al-Fattah M. El-. “Jihadia Education and the Society of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers: 1928-49.” Journal of beliefs & values 21, no. 2 (2000): 213-225.

Azzam, Maha. “Egypt: The Islamists and the State Under Mubarak.” In Islamic Fundamentalism, Abdelsalam Sidahmed and Anoushiravan Ehteshami, 109-122. Boulder: Westview Press, 1996.

222 Baker, Raymond William. Islam Without Fear. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003.

Bedmad, Paul. “The Philosopher of Islamic Terror.” The New York Times, 23 March 2003, sec 1A, p. 3.

Beinin, Joel. “Political Islam and the New Global Economy.” CR 5, no. 1 (2005): 111- 139.

Bell, Richard. The Qur’an Translated with a Critical Re-arrangement of the Surahs (Edinburgh) 1937, 2 vols., Repr. 1960.

Bell, Stewart. Cold Terror. Canada: Wiley, 2004.

Benjamin, Daniel and Steven Simon. The age of sacred terror. New York: Random House, 2002.

Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.

Berman, Paul. Terror and Liberalism. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.

______. “To speak sanely of equally deep things.” Catholic New Times 27, no. 8 (4 May 2003): 4-5.

Bonner, Michael. Jihad in Islamic History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.

Carre, Olivier. Mysticism and Politics. Leiden: Brill, 2003.

Chasdi, Richard J. Tapestry of Terror. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2002.

Choueiri, Youssef M. Islamic Fundamentalism. Boston: Twayne, 1990.

Cook, David. Understanding Jihad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005.

Crone, Patricia. God’s Rule: Government and Islam. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.

Cutter, Charles H. Africa 1999. Harpers Ferry: Stryker-Post Publications, 1999.

Daly, M.W., ed. The Cambridge History of Egypt. Vol. 2, Modern Egypt, from 1517 to the end of the twentieth century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Dashti, F.R.C. Twenty Three Years: A Study of the Prophetic Career of Mohammed. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1985.

223 Davis, Charles T., III. “The Qur’an, Mohammed, and Jihad in Context.” In The Destructive Power of Religion, vol. 1, Sacred Scriptures, Ideology, and Violence, ed. by J. Harold Ellens, 233-254. Westport: Praeger, 2004.

Doran, Michael Scott. “The Pragmatic Fanaticism of Al Qaeda: An Anatomy of Extremism in Middle Eastern Politics.” Political Science Quarterly 117, no. 2 (Summer 2002): 177-190.

Edwards, Beverley Milton. “The Concept of Jihad and the Palestinian Islamic Movement: A Comparison of Ideas and Techniques.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 19, no. 1 (1992): 48-53.

Elias, Elias A. & ED. E. Elias. Elias’ Pocket Dictionary. Cairo: Edward Elias Elias, 1980.

Ellens, J. Harold. “Jihad in the Qur’an, Then, and Now.” In The Destructive Power of Religion, vol. 3, Models and Cases of Violence in Religion, ed. J. Harold Ellens, 39-52. Westport: Praeger, 2004.

______. The Destructive Power of Religion, vol. 4, Contemporary views on Spirituality and Violence. Westport: Praeger, 2004.

Enein, Youssef H. Aboul-. “Islamic militant cells and Sadat’s assassination.” Military Review 84, no. 4 (July-August 2004): 91(5).

Esposito, John L., ed. Political Islam. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1997.

______. Unholy War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Forty Hadith Qudsi. Translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies. Cambridge: The Holy Koran Publishing House, 1997.

Forty Hadith Qudsi. Translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies. Cambridge: The Holy Koran Publishing House, 1997.

Ghazali, Mohammed al-. Our Beginning is Wisdom. Translated by Isma’il R. al-Faruqi. Washington D.C.: American Council of Learned Societies, 1953.

Gibb, H.A.R. and J.H. Kramers. Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1965.

Goldschmidt, Arthur Jr. Historical Dictionary of Egypt. Metuchen: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 1994.

Guenena, Nemat. “The ‘Jihad’: An ‘Islamic Alternative’ in Egypt.” Cairo Papers in Social Science 9, no. 2 (Summer 1986).

224 Gunaratna, Rohan. Inside Al-Qaeda. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.

Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck. “The Qur’anic Justification for an Islamic Revolution: The View of Sayyid Qutb.” Middle East Journal 37, no. 1 (1983): 14-29.

Haim, Sylvia G. “Sayyid Qutb”. Asian and African Studies 65, no. 16 (March 1982): 147-156.

Haleem, Harfiyah Abdel and Oliver Ramsbotham, Saba Risaluddin, and Brian Wicker. The Crescent and the Cross. New York: Palgrave, 1998.

Harris, Christina Phelps. Nationalism and Revolution in Egypt. The Hague: Mouton & Co., 1964.

Harrison, Matthew. “What makes al-Qaeda a global learning network?” Foresight 7, no. 1 (2005): 4-10.

Heikal, Mohammed. Autumn of Fury. London: Andre Deutsch Limited, 1983.

Henzel, Christopher. “The Origins of al Qaeda’s Ideology: Implications for US Strategy.” Parameters: journal of the US Army War College 35, no. 1 (Spring 2005): 69- 80.

Hiro, Dilip. Holy Wars. New York: Routledge, 1989.

Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age 1798-1939. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.

Hughes, Patrick Thomas. Dictionary of Islam. Clifton: Reference Book Publishers, Inc., 1965.

Ide, Arthur Frederick & Jacob Ronald Auliff. Jihad, Mujahideen, Taliban, Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush, & Oil: A Study in the Evolution of Terrorism & Islam. Garland: Tangelwuld, 2002.

Irwin, Robert. “Is this the man who inspired Bin Laden?” The Guardian, 1 November 2001, 1-3.

Ishaq, Ibn. Sirat Rasul Allah. Eighth century. Quoted from Martin Lings.

Jansen, Johannes J.G. The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997.

______. The Neglected Duty. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986. Jones, David Pryce-. “Treason of the Cleric.” National Review 53, no. 22 (November 19, 2001): 22-25.

225 Juvaini, Ala’ud-Din Ata Malik-i. Jahan-kusha. Quoted from Bernard Lewis.

Kassis, Hanna E. A Concordance of the Qur’an. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983.

Keddie, Nikki R. An Islamic Response to Imperialism. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1983.

______. Sayyid Jamal ad-Din “al-Afghani”: A Political Biography. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972.

Kelsay, John. Islam and War. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993.

Kennedy, Hugh. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates. London: Longman, 1986.

Kepel, Gilles. Jihad. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2002.

______. Muslim Extremism in Egypt. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.

Khan, Muqtedar. “Syed Qutb-John Locke of the Islamic World.” The Globalist, 28 July 2003.

Khatab, Sayed. “Arabism and Islamism in Sayyid Qutb’s Thought on Nationalism.” The Muslim World 94, no. 2 (April 2004): 217-244.

______. “Hakimiyyah and Jahiliyyah in the thought of Sayyid Qutb.” Middle Eastern Studies 38, no. 3 (July 2002): 145-171.

______. The Power of Sovereignty. London: Routledge, 2006.

Laqueur, Walter. No end to war. New York: Continuum, 2003.

Lesch, Ann M. “Osama Bin Laden: Embedded in the Middle East Crises.” Middle East Policy 9, no. 2 (June 2002): 82-91.

Lewis, Bernard. The Assassins. New York: Basic Books, Inc., Publishers, 1968.

Lings, Martin. Muhammad. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1983.

Lockhart, Laurence. “Hasan-i-Sabah and the Assassins.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies 5, no. 4 (1930): 675-696.

Mababaya, Dindang Norlain. Great Words of Wisdom: Guides to Successful Life. Marawi City: Wisdom Enrichment Foundation, 1988.

226 ______. Teachings of the World’s Great Prophet: Comprehensive Guidance to Success. Marawi City: Wisdom Enrichment Foundation, 1988.

MacFarquhar, Neil. “Will politics and success at the polls tame Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood?; Stirrings in the desert: Islamists as players.” The New York Times, 8 December 2005, p. A.18.

Mahmud, S.F. A Short History of Islam. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Marion, Russ and Mary Uhl-Bien. “Complexity Theory and Al-Qaeda: Examining Complex Leadership.” Emergence 5, no. 1 (2003): 54-76.

Marsot, Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid. Egypt in the Reign of Mohammed Ali. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984.

McBride, Barrie St. Clair. Faruq of Egypt: A Biography. London: Robert Hale, 1967.

McTernan, Oliver. Violence in God’s Name. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2003.

Miller, Judith and Neil MacFarquhar. “U.S. says it was warned on Egyptian Islamic Group.” The New York Times, 20 October 2000, p. A14.

Mirza, Syed Kamran. Four articles on roots of terror in Islam. Glendale: New Horizons, 2002.

Mitchell, Richard P. The Society of the Muslim Brothers. London: Oxford University Press, 1969.

Moussalli, Ahmed Salah al-Din. Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb. Beirut: American University of Beirut, 1992.

Munson, Ziad. “Islamic Mobilization: Social Movement Theory and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.” The Sociological Quarterly 42, no. 4 (Fall 2001): 487(25).

Musallam, Adnan Ayyuh. From Secularism to Jihad. Westport: Praeger, 2005.

Muslim, Imam. Sahih Muslim. Translated by ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi. Lahore: Ashraf Printing Press, 1976.

Mutahhari, Morteza. Jihad. Translated by Mohammad Salman Tawheedi. Tehran: Islamic Republic of Iran, 1980.

Naggar, Mona El-. “Banned group urges Egyptians to vote on September 7.” The New York Times. 22 August 2005, p. A.7.

227 Najjar, Fauzi M. “The Debate on Islam and Secularism in Egypt.” Arab Studies Quarterly 18, no. 2 (Spring 1996): 1-21.

Noor, Farish A. Terrorizing the Truth. Penang: Just World Trust, 1997.

Orr, Tamra. Egyptian Islamic Jihad. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc., 2003.

Parfrey, Adam, ed. Extreme Islam. Los Angeles: Feral House, 2001.

Pellicani, Luciano. “Islamic Terrorism.” Telos vol. n.a., no. 129 (Fall-Winter year n.a.): 41(13).

Peters, F.E. Mohammed and the Origins of Islam. New York: State University of New York, 1994.

Peters, Rudolph. Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam. Princeton: Markus Wiener, 1996.

Polo, Marco. The book of Ser Marco Polo. Translated and edited by Sir Henry Yule, 3rd edition revised by Henri Cordier, i, London 1903, chapters 23 and 24, 139-143.

Rabi, Ibrahim M. Abu-. Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in the Modern Arab World. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1996.

Rahman, H.U. A Chronology of Islamic History 570-1000 CE. London: Mansell Publishing Limited, 1989.

Rippin, Andrew. Muslims. London: Routledge, 1993.

Rizvi, Allama Syed Saeed Akhter. The Life of the Holy Prophet. Middlesex: Dar-ul Tabligh, 1999.

Rosenau, William. “Al Qaida Recruitment Trends in Kenya and Tanzania.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 28, no. 1 (January-February 2005): 1-10.

Rosie, George. The Directory of International Terrorism. New York: Paragon House, 1986.

Rubin, Barry. Islamic Fundamentalism in Egyptian Politics, 2nd ed. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002.

Rubin, Uri. The eye of the beholder. Princeton: The Darwin Press, Inc., 1995.

Salem, Elie Adib. Political theory and institutions of the Khawarij. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1956.

228 Seligson, Judith. “Fire/Men.” Judaism 51, no. 1 (Winter 2002): 32-41.

Simms, Rupe. ““Islam is our politics”: A Gramscian Analysis of the Muslim Brotherhood (1928-1953).” Social Compass 49, no. 4 (2002): 563-582.

Sivan, Emmanuel. Radical Islam. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985.

Skovgaard, Jakob Petersen-. Defining Islam for the Egyptian State. Leiden: Brill, 1997.

Slackman, Michael. “Egypt pushes two year delay in local vote.” The New York Times, 14 February 2006, A5, p. 1.

Stern, Jessica. Terror in the name of God. New York: Harpers Collins, 2003.

Tabari, al-. The History of al-Tabari (Ta’rikh al-rusul wa’l-muluk). Vol. 17, The First Civil War translated and annotated by G.R. Hawting. New York: State University of New York Press, 1996.

Tabbarah, Afif A. The Spirit of Islam: Doctrine & Teachings. http://www.submission.org/war.html

Tripp, Charles. “Sayyid Qutb: The Political Vision.” In Pioneers of Islamic Revival, ed. Ali Rahnema, 154-183. London: Zed Books Ltd., 1994.

Walsh, John. “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.” Harvard International Review 24, no. 4 (Winter 2003): 32(5).

Walzer, Michael. Just and Unjust Wars, 3rd edition. New York: Basic Books, 1977.

Waqidi, Mohammed ibn ‘Umar al-. Kitab al-Maghazi.

Wiktorowicz, Quintan. “Framing Jihad: Intramovement Framing Contests and al- Qaeda’s Struggle for Sacred Authority.” International review of social history 49, Supplement (2004): 159-177.

Winters, Paul A. Islam. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc., 1995.

Wintle, Justin. The Rough Guide History of Islam. London: Rough Guides Ltd., 2003.

Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Tower. New York: Kholf Publishing Company, 2006.

Youssef, Michael. Revolt Against Modernity. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1985.

Zeghal, Malika. “Religion and Politics in Egypt: The Ulema of al-Azhar, Radical Islam, and the State (1952-1994).” International Journal of Middle East Studies 31, no. 3 (August 1999): 371-399.

229 Zenie, Wedad Ziegler. In Search of Shadows: Conversations with Egyptian Women. London: Zed Books, 1988.

230 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Place of Birth Born in Bangalore, India August 1, 1972 Educational Institutions Attended 1991-1994 Broward Community College 1994-1996 Florida Atlantic University 1996-1998 Florida State University 2002-2006 Florida State University Degrees Awarded Associates of Arts in Sociology – 1994 Bachelors of Arts in Sociology – 1996 Masters of Arts in Asian Studies – 1998 Doctor of Philosophy in Humanities – 2006 Courses and institutions where courses were taught Multi-Cultural Film – Florida State University – Fall 2002 and Spring 2003 Humanities of the World Part I – Tallahassee Community College Spring 2003 World History I – Tallahassee Community College – Fall 2003 and Fall 2005 World History II – Tallahassee Community College – Spring 2004 and Spring 2006

231