Keywords in 2017, the Italian Editor Zikkaron Published a Study Of

Jawdat Said, (2017) Vie islamiche alla non-violenza. Marzabotto-Bologna: Zikkaron. 152 pages, ISBN-10: 8899720150; ISBN-13: 978-8899720155 Keywords dialogue – Jawdat Said – jihād – Islam – non-violence – Syria In 2017, the Italian editor Zikkaron published a study of Jawdat Said titled Vie islamiche alla non-violenza (Islamic Paths to Non-Violence), which was the first item on the subject for the Italian public, edited by Naser Dumarieh and translated from Arabic by Paola Pizzi. Said is a Syrian Islamic scholar who has developed through his entire life the concept of non-violence, basing his perspective on the interpretation of the Quranic message. Of Circassian origin, Said was born in 1931 at Beer Ajam, a village in the province of Quneitra, on the Golan Heights, a crucial region in the context of the dramatic relations between the states of Syria and Israel. He went to Egypt to study at the Islamic university of Al-Azhar and then returned to Syria and started teaching Arabic language. Beer Ajam returned to the Syrian state after the war of 1973. Hence, Said decided to come back to his birth village, dedicating himself to intellec- tual activities but abandoning the teaching profession, after a period in which he experienced difficult relations with the Syrian authorities because of his ideas. From the Golan Heights he continued to spread his message of peace and dialogue between religions until 2013, when he was forced to leave due to the war, and then he reached Istanbul where he currently lives. As Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan1 (1890–1988) in Afghanistan, Said, called “the Muslim Ghandi,” thanks to his engagement in non-violence, brings a message of unity between religions, especially the three monotheistic religions. The non-violence concept has been developed by Said since his first book “The Doctrine of the First Son of Adam”2 (1966), in which he starts his argu- ment from the way the episode of Cain and Abel is reported by the Qurʾan (5: 27–31). By affirming the strong refusal to violence displayed within the Quran, 1 See Eknath Easwaran, A Man to Match His Mountains. Nonviolent Soldier of Islam: Badshah Khan (Tomales Calif.: Nilgiri Press, California, 1984). 2 This book can be found in English at www.jawdatsaid.net, accessed July 3, 2019. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2020 | doi:10.1163/9789004425958_011 Book Reviews 213 Said underlines that the Quranic text, in addition to what is said in the Bible (Gen 4:1–15), adds the non-violent perspective of Abel (Qurʾan 5:28): “If you should raise your hand against me to kill me—I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you. Indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds.”3 The choice of the Italian editors was not to translate one of the books of the author (he has written fifteen books and several articles), but to select various extracts from different texts in order to represent his general view in a more complete way. This choice can be questionable given that the criteria used to divide the book do not permit to follow a clear path inside the perspective of the author, neither to identify clearly from which works the texts are taken. A large part of the book is dedicated to Said’s explanation of the concept of jihād and the conditions in which the use of violence is allowed, as this is established by the Islamic law. Starting with a distinction between the Meccan period, in which the Prophet totally forbids the use of violence, even in the case of self- defence, and the Medinan period, in which a political organization is created and the use of violence is permitted in particular cases, Said describes the concept of jihād as strictly tied to the creation of a political entity and to the necessity of safeguarding public security (29/67). In this sense, Said’s perspective is compared, in the book’s introduction, to the concept of the “social contract” as it was elaborated by Rousseau: a contract in which the State has an unique monopoly in relation to the use of violence, while the individual delegates it to the legitimate authority (31/67). Indeed, according to Said’s view, the use of violence is not an individual responsibility but it must be delegated to the State (23/74). However, the jihād, which means an effort (on God’s path), in the Qurʾan is not exclusively tied to violence. On the contrary, the Islamic law distinguishes between a major jihād which is spiritual, and a minor jihād which is material. The second one should be framed within particular conditions, depending on the countless interpretations of this concept given throughout history. The book translates some texts of Said in which he explains his interpretation of the jihād and the conditions in which the jihād is legitimated. The starting point for Said is that there is no compulsion in religion (Qurʾan 2: 256) and that the freedom of creed is one fundamental issue established by the Islamic religion. Referring to Qurʾan 60: 8–9, Said ties the concept of jihād to the necessity to fight against tyranny, a tyranny which denies the freedom of creed and expression. In Qurʾan 60: 8–9 it is written that: “Allah does not forbid you from 3 The translation in English is taken from https://quran.com/5/28?translations=17,18,19,84, 85,20,95,101, accessed July 3, 2019..

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