The available statistics point out that Islam is the first growing religion in the whole world. Muslim population is expected to grow by 70% in the next compared to the world population growth rate of 32%. The total number of Muslims in the world was 1.8 billion in 2015 and it is expected to reach 3 billion in 2060. In addition, according Pew Research Center, Muslims will account for about 31.1% of the total world’s population in 2060 compared to the current percentage that stands at 24.1%. Therefore, there is no doubt that Islam is the fasted growing religion in the world. The rapid growth is mainly linked to the high number of children among Muslim families. Despite being ranked as the fasted growing relation in the world, Islam is mainly associated with violence or the use of force. This is explained by the rising number of terrorist attacks that are associated with Islam and the emergence of extremist groups that are led by Muslims such as Al-Qaida and Isis. However, there is a divided debate among Muslims about the use of force, as some of them believe that believe war is unjust for political expansion while others maintain that the use war for political expansion is God’s will (Abdullah & Nadvi, 2011). The primary purpose of this paper, therefore, is to explore the debate on the use of force among Muslims, considering the two sides of the debate.
Fundamental and Major Concepts of Islam
Major Fundamentals of Islam
Tawheed or oneness of God is one of the most important fundamental of Islam. It is based on the total or absolute acceptance of God as the only creator of the universe. It explains that God is merciful, everliving and beneficent (Abdullah & Nadvi, 2011). Therefore, Muslims believe that there is only one God whom they should worship. Justice is another fundamental of Islam. Muslims believe that God is just and He only punishes and rewards people according to their deeds or action. They believe that God is just. The third most important fundamental of Islam is prophethood. Muslims believe that all prophets of Allah are perfect and sinless. They believe that Prophet Mohammad was the last prophet, especially in Islamic religion. The three fundamentals of Islam guide behaviors and actions of Muslims, including their relationship with Allah.
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Other fundamentals of Islam include guidance and resurrection. Muslims believe that there are divinely appointed leaders after the death of Mohammed who guide mankind with the revelation of the truth and messages from God (Abdullah & Nadvi, 2011). In addition, they believe in the resurrection of the dead in the Day of Judgment when all human beings will be raised from death and pass through judgment. The fundamentals guide Muslims on how they operate and worship their God.
Major Concepts of Islam
Righteousness is the major concept of Islam. The concept is based on five main elements. First, Muslims are expected to have true and sincere faith in God. Secondly, Muslims are expected to show some deeds of charity and kindness to fellow men. Thirdly, they are required to be good citizen who support charitable organizations as well as social organizations. Finally, to be righteous, Muslims should be steadfast and unshaken regardless of the circumstances. Another major concept is piety (taqwa). In order to show some level of piety, Muslims should have some knowledge on God and life, including proper use of wealth (Abdullah & Nadvi, 2011). The concept of piety also requires high level of self-control, especially with regard to anger, emotions, and morals. According to Quran, a man can only be pious when he embraces truth and fine convictions.
In addition, the concept of life is important among Muslims. According to Islam religion, nothing comes to existence by chance and God is the giver of life. It is God who gives life to man and He has the full authority to take it back. Muslims believe that life is dear and charitable assets that are given to man by God. As a result, human beings should live a righteous life and fulfill God’s purpose on earth.
Major Misconceptions of Islam
The major misconception of Islam is the perception among many people that Islam is terrorism. Many people across the globe think that Islam religion is majorly about terrorism (Abdullah & Nadvi, 2011). At the same time, they associate Islam with violent behaviors such as killing of innocent people through shooting and bombing. The misconception has been created by western media that engage in biased reporting of Islam activities and culture (Schønemann, 2013). Islam is not terrorism because only a few of Muslims engage in terrorism. There is also the misconception that Prophet Mohammed was the founder of Islam. However, this is not true because he was only one of the prophets who were sent by Allah to pass His message to people. Mohammad never came up with the idea of Islam, as he was only the messenger of Allah.
Thirdly, there is the misconception that Islam encourages the oppression of women. A number of people across the globe believe that Muslim women are oppressed and they have to fully submit to their women. Nevertheless, women in Islam enjoy many rights and freedoms just like many women across the globe. There are a lot of status and reverence offered to women in Islam. Another Misconception among people is that Islam was spread by sword. Even though this may be true, force was only use during the early eras of Islam, especially during Mohammad’s reign. In addition, many people believe that Isis members are all Muslims. Not all Isis and Al-Qaida members are Muslims (Schønemann, 2013). The misconceptions have led to stereotyping and discrimination of Muslims, especially in Western societies.
The Use of Force within Islam
There are two main camps within Muslims when it comes to the debate on the use of force among people following Islam. One group is supporting the use of force by Muslims to enhance political expansion. The group is encouraging Muslims across the globe to take up combative struggle in order to achieve Muslim victory over others such as Christians and Jews. In the contrary, there is a group of Muslims who do not support the use of force to facilitate political expansions. They maintain that the word Islam mean peace and Muslims as peaceful people who do not support the use of force of armed conflict (Tibi, 2002). The group is against hate mongering and violent act being committed by some Muslims in the name of Islam religion. Nevertheless, it is still difficult to decide which side of the group tells the group because they both base their arguments on Quran, which is the holy book used by Muslims.
Argument that War is Unjust for Political Expansion
Main proponents of the argument that war is unjust for political expansion argue that Islamic law does not allow the use of unnecessary force or violence against innocent people. They maintain that Islam law opposes the use of for or armed conflict except in the cases of war or punishing criminals who violate Sharia law (Tibi, 2002). Even in the case of war, Islamic law does not permit the use of force against children, women, and civilians. Supporters of the school of thought opine that only combats in the battlefield should be confronted with force. Therefore, Islamic law is one of the tools that Muslims who oppose the use of Islamic law uses to argue their points.
Jihad is the concept that has been used by Muslim extremists to support their violent acts. However, according to Muslim who do not believe in the use of ware for political expansion, the concept has been misinterpreted to suit personal interests of some Muslims. Jihad means holy war in Arabic while in linguistic language it means struggling of striving (Ali & Rehman, 2005). Muslims who do not support the use of armed conflict argues that Jihad does not mean armed conflict to protect Islam faith against others, but it can involve legal and diplomatic means to avoid war (Shah, 2013). Even though the Jihad concept allows the use of the use of force in some circumstances, it clearly states the rules of engagement during the armed conflict (Tibi, 2002). For instance, the concept of Jihad, according to the supporters of peaceful Islam, no child or women should be harmed during the use of force. At the same time, Muslims using force have obligation accept peaceful overtures from enemies.
Therefore, the use of force is one means of Jihad, but it should be used as the last resort. Supporters of the school of thought refute the claim that Prophet Mohammed used forced for political expansion. Instead, they argue that Mohammed encouraged his followers to turn a ways from minor jihad to major jihad (Shah, 2013). Mohammed used minor jihad to refer to armed battle and major jihad to mean the peaceful battle for self-control and betterment. In addition, according to Muslim scholars, not every Muslim is allowed to declared jihad (Tibi, 2002). Jihad should be declared by authorized persons or proper authority. Hence, the concept of jihad has been hijacked by various groups to justify their unwarranted violence against innocent people and groups.
There are also a lot of verses in the Quran that Muslims who do not support the use of war for political expansion rely on to argue their points. Quran does not allow illegitimate violence and terrorism, even it gives Muslims the right to respond to violent aggressions from themselves and people from other religions like Christians (Shah, 2013). Quran encourages Muslims to fight with a lot of commitment in order to win the war. However, the victory should end future armed conflict. At the same time, Quran encouraged Muslims to cease war if the enemies propose peace. However, in the case where the enemy inclined to peace, Muslims are expected to make peaces with the enemy. Verse 2:190 of the Quran explains that Muslims should only fight for the cause of God with the people who fight them (Shah, 2013). The same verse also advises Muslims not be aggressive because God does not like aggressors.
Islamic scholars argue that the “sword-verses” are not based on the prophetic traditions of Islam. They argue that the verses represent the later interpretation of Quran by the 9th-century religious leaders (ulema) who enjoyed royal patronage (Shah, 2013). Ulema avoided Meccan Quranic verses and replaced them with militant verses in order to justify their military jihads of political expansion. They used this in the name of expanding and spreading Islam. One of the major sword-verse is Q.9:5, which has been used by both critics of Islam religion and extremists to achieve their personal interests.
Therefore, according to Muslims who believe that war is unjust for political expansion, both the Quran and Islamic laws do not support the use unnecessary force or war against people. Islamic laws only allow authorized war between combats in which no civilian should be harmed. Quran also allows Muslims to go to war with emphasis of making peace with enemies. Quran and Islamic law do not justify unjust war for political expansion. At the same time, they maintain that jihad concept does not mean holy armed war (Shah, 2013).
Argument that War for Political Expansion is God’s Will
Supporters of war for political expansion mainly rely on various verses of Quran to justify their arguments. One of the main verses that supporters of this school of thought depend on is Q. 1:191-193 that encourages Muslims to kill other people who have displaced from their land. Parts of the verse state that “And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [disbelief or unrest] is worse than killing…” Some people argue that the verse allows Muslims to kill other for political expansion, especially when their territories are invaded. At the same time, the verse allows Muslims to use force to defend their families and homes. Muslims scholars who support the interpretation of the verse argue that it allows Muslims to initiate offensive wars against other people in order to enhance their political expansion objectives (Shah, 2013). The verse is encouraging Muslim extremists to use force against other people.
Another controversial verse is Q. 8:39 that encourage Muslims to fight until there is no more disorder and all people worship Allah. The verse is translated by Muslims to mean that Allah is the only God that should be worship by people any person who does not follow the Islamic religion should be punished or killed. It also subjects Muslims to perpetual fight against non-Muslims in various parts of the world. Therefore, in order to ensure that Allah is the only God being worshiped by all people, Muslims are justified to use war for political expansion (Ali & Rehman, 2005). In addition, verse 5:33 is used by people who support the use of war for political expansion. According to the verse, people who wage war against Allah and his messengers should be killed or crucified. That are many other verse in Quran that Muslims are using to validate the use of ware for political expansion. However, according to Muslim scholars, these verses are often being misinterpreted by some Muslims to achieve their personal interests.
Apart from Quran verses, Muslims who support the use of war for political expansion use Prophet Mohammed’s military action to justify their violent action and thoughts about other religions in the world. It was Mohammed who initiated the Arab conquests that are now used by Muslims to expand their political territory. He was the first Islam revolutionary that launched the initial insurgency to facilitate political expansion of Islam religion. The decision by Mohammed to use military to launch an attack against Mecca is largely used as a justification for using ware during political expansion and spreading of Islam religion. Consequently, some Muslims believe that they can only conquer the world through the use of force (Shah, 2013).
The ideology of using ware for political expansion became apparent immediately after the death of Mohammed. For instance, immediately after Mohammed died, his immediate successor Abu Bakr launched a jihadist attack against communities and people who did not want to follow Islam (Ali & Rehman, 2005). The famous Ridda Ward forced tens of thousands of Arabs to convert to Islam against their wish. At the same time, many Muslims leaders launched war against many Arab countries such as Syria, Egypt, and Mesopotamia in order to achieve political expansion. The use of war for political expansion made Islam to be the dominant religion in many Arab countries, especially in North America, Asia, and India.
Therefore, the Quran and practices by Mohammed are used by Muslims who believe in the use of war for political expansion to justify their arguments and actions. Quran has a lot of verses that encourage Muslim to engage in war to protect and expand their religion to various parts of the world. Besides, Mohammed was involved in a lot of military or armed conflict when he was trying to establish and expand Islam. Even though many religious and Islamic scholars believe that the verses and actions by Mohammed have been misinterpreted by some Muslims, they influence the behaviors and actions of many Islamic followers (Shah, 2013).
Arab Spring and the Use of Force in Islam
Overview of Arab Spring
Many Arab countries experienced series of demonstration and protests, as citizens were complaining dictatorial leadership of various Arab leaders. Urban Spring started in Tunisia on January 2011 when a 26-year-old man by the name Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of government building when he was harassed by police officers for not having permit to sell his merchandise (Idris, 2016). Police allegedly slapped him after he refused to hand over his wooden cart. Consequently, people started protesting the same day and video of protesters were shared in various social media. The protest turned into a revolution, which forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to go to exile (Howard & Hussain, 2013). The successful revolution in Tunisia led to demonstration and protests in other Arab countries such as Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Algeria, and Kuwait. The unbearable living condition of many Arab citizens was the major cause of the revolution (Idris, 2016). The Arab Spring forced many dictators in out of power. It also brought some level of democracy in the affected countries.
Arab Spring in Syria
Syria was one of the countries that were affected by the wave of Arab Spring. Massive demonstration and protests started in Syria in mid-March when a group of people living in southern town of Dara went to the street to demonstrate against the torture of students who had developed anti-government graffiti (Lynch, Freelon & Aday, 2014). The protests and demonstrations escalated to other parts of the country as people started demanding for political reforms, removal of President Bashar al-Assad, allowing multi-party democracy, and freedom of speech and assembly. Consequently, Syrian government launched crackdown of protesters and police officers used excessive force on people who were demonstrating. By October 2011, the death toll had reached 2,900 and more than 10,000 had been arrested.
The Arab Spring in Syria took longer than before because some experts argue that it has taken religious inclination (Davidson, 2013). The war took religious angle when Shiite Muslims and Sunni Muslims turned against each. Shiite Muslims from countries such as Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran came together defend sacred sites while at the same time protecting Bashar al-Assad's embattled regime. This was because Bashar al-Assad is a Shiite Muslims. Sunni Muslims, on the other hand, joined hands with rebels (Bradley, 2012). The Sunnis make up the largest Syria population and they felt that they had been sidelined by the Bashar al-Assad's administration (Lynch, Freelon & Aday, 2014). At the same time, Sunni leaders have called in their followers to fight against Shiite. The hostility between Shiite and Sunni started when the latter attacked the former’s shrines. Therefore, Shiite retaliated to protect their religious beliefs. As a result, war in Syria has been used to explain the use of force in Islam.
US Role in the Debate
The role of the US in the debate is to maintain a middles ground. USA has no role to influence religious belief of various people in different parts of the world (Binnendijk & Kugler, 2006). UN laws make it mandatory for countries to respect fundamental rights of all human beings, including the right to worship and belong to a religion. Hence, the US will be violating fundamental human rights if it starts to directly influence Islamic beliefs. However, the country has mandate of ensuring that Islamic extremists do not use their religious beliefs to harm other innocent people. At the same time, US can influence the debate by encouraging Muslims to desist from violent behaviors such as terrorism. US can also play a role in the debate by creating awareness among Muslims on the dangers of getting involved in violent activities that can lead to mass destruction. It should introduce some educative and awareness programs aimed at teaching young Muslims about the dangers of using war to achieve one’s objective (Idris, 2016).
Importantly, the US should have comprehensively understanding of Islam as a religion and its followers. It should know the core beliefs, concepts, and fundamentals of Islam. Besides, it should not collectively judge the action done by individual Muslims. The country will be able to deal with extremism and terrorism when it clearly understands Islam and Muslims, especially in terms of their values, beliefs, and norms (Binnendijk & Kugler, 2006). Collective condemnation will not help US bring peace in the world, especially in Arab countries.
Conclusion
Islam is one of the main religions in the world because it has about 2 billion followers in various parts of the globe. At the same time, it is the fastest growing religion globally. However, it is one of the most controversial religions, especially due to violence that it is associated with. People equate Islam with terrorism and violence against innocent people. The debate on the use of war in political expansion shows that there is a sharp division between Muslim, particularly with regard to the use of force. Both sections of the debate rely heavily on verses in Quran and actions taken by Prophet Mohammad to justify their arguments. However, it is relatively clear that Muslims who believe in the use of war for political expansion misinterpret the Quran and actions by Mohammed to achieve their personal interests. The selective interpretation of Quran is fueling the controversial debate.
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