Understanding Jihad
by David Cook
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Book Summary Information
Author: David CookEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-05-23
ISBN: 0520244486
Number of pages: 269
Publisher: University of California Press
Book Reviews of Understanding Jihad
Book Review: A rare piece of intellectually honest scholarship on a crucial concept and reality for the 21st Century
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an excellent book on the subject of jihad and the books it cites include all the key canonical texts of Islam, including the Qur'an, which is rife with incitements against non-Muslims, and the ahadith (the 'traditions' of Muhammad's words and deeds, compiled by pious Muslims). It will certainly get some people's backs up since it reveals the doctrinal and historical basis of militant, offensive (as opposed to merely defensive) jihad. Cook maps the origins of jihad from the time of Muhammad, who conducted numerous raids and unprovoked attacks upon local tribes (attested by his authoritative Muslim biographer Ibn Ishaq), through to its crystallization within Islamic law. He utterly refutes the Islamic apologist nonsense of John Esposito et al in showing that jihad as a struggle within one's 'soul' - called the 'greater' jihad - never appeared in any authentic hadith, and never superseded the prevailing notion of jihad as 'warfare to spread Islam'. The fact that offensive jihad to spread Islam is an obligation for the Muslim community in all four schools of Sunni jurisprudence is never tackled by such Islamic apologists. The meaningless charge of Cook being 'right' wing may be expected but is a typical and empty accusation made by people who don't like the truth be told. It does nothing to address the facts and arguments presented by Cook, who is an Arabic scholar with direct access to all of the primary source materials. Considering that most Islamic studies departments in Western universities are dominated by 'scholars' of the Edward Said school - i.e. 'intellectual terrorists' as Ibn Warraq would call them - or are funded by Saudi money with a vested interest in sanitising Islamic studies, it comes as no surprise that many academics would shun this work. However, this is lucid, dispassionate, insightful and brilliantly articulated. If I could recommend one book on jihad, in addition to Andrew Bostom's Legacy of Jihad, Bat Ye'or's Islam and Dhimmitude or Walid Phares's Future Jihad - OK, that's four in total - then I would strongly recommend this. Militant jihad for the sake of rendering Islam dominant did not start with Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia, nor with the Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyed Qutb, as some "moderate" Muslims claim (take Ed Husain's autobiographical The Islamist as an example of a work that pretends to be authoritative on this but fails miserably to be so). Cook's book puts the entire lineage of jihad theory and practice into historical context, and despite its permutations he concludes that it has always been pushing at the horizon.
Summary of Understanding Jihad
Jihad is one of the most loaded and misunderstood terms in the news today. Contrary to popular understanding, the term does not mean "holy war." Nor does it simply refer to the inner spiritual struggle. This book, judiciously balanced, accessibly written, and highly relevant to today's events, unravels the tangled historical, intellectual, and political meanings of jihad. Looking closely at a range of sources from sacred Islamic texts to modern interpretations, Understanding Jihad opens a critically important perspective on the role of Islam in the contemporary world.As David Cook traces the practical and theoretical meanings of jihad, he cites from scriptural, legal, and newly translated texts to give readers a taste of the often ambiguous information that is used to construct Islamic doctrine. He looks closely at the life and teaching of the Prophet Muhammad and at the ramifications of the great Islamic conquests in 634 to 732 A.D. He sheds light on legal developments relevant to fighting and warfare, and places the internal, spiritual jihad within the larger context of Islamic religion. He describes some of the conflicts that occur in radical groups and shows how the more mainstream supporters of these groups have come to understand and justify violence. He has also included a special appendix of relevant documents including materials related to the September 11 attacks and published manifestoes issued by Osama bin Laden and Palestinian suicide-martyrs.
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