The Journal of Human Rights

The Journal of Human Rights

Violence, Islam and Human Rights: Islam, a Religion of Peace or a Religion of War?

Document Type : Research Article

Author
Aniseeh Van-Engeland
Senior Lecturer in International Security, Cranfield Forensic Institute, UK.
10.22096/hr.2020.121453.1196
Abstract
At a time of terrorist actions, the civil wars in Afghanistan and in Iraq as well as the caricatures of the Prophet and Pope XVI’s speech about violence in Islam, it is urgent for the Islamic academic community to speak about a major issue: the notions of peace and war in Islam.
This paper will explore and analyze these notions, putting an emphasize on Islam as a religion of peace promoting human rights and humanitarian values; the author will of course approaches and presents the explanations as to why Islam is a religion of violence, only to dismiss these arguments. There are indeed authors presenting Islam as a religion of violence that carries deep inside the seeds of hatred, racism and many other values that are against human rights. These authors are usually Orientalists. This paper will explain who and why these theories are wrong. Then there are extremist groups presenting distorted interpretations of Islam as to justify massive killings (terrorism, WMD, suicide attacks); the author of the paper will take few examples as to explain how these movements rely on distorted and nihilist views of Islam.
The author will then define the different movements in favor of seeing Islam as religion of peace promoting concord, peace, human rights and humanitarian values. There are the apologists, apologizing for the aggressively of the notion of Jihad (the author disagrees with this stance); There are hardline authors such as al Mawdudi who have a more aggressive stance regarding the role of Islam in war; despite this position, it is important to know that such authors always keep minimum human and humanitarian standards. Eventually the authors will present the viewpoint of Muslim scholars who perceive Islam to be a religion of peace (the author of the paper associates herself with this viewpoint).
It is necessary to underline the importance and the power of advancing the argument that Islam is a religion of peace promoting concord, human rights and humanitarian values. This argument comes at a time of terrorist acts carried out in the name of Islam and it is essential to have scholars reminding that Islam carries a deep peace legacy and that in that sense jihad is perceived as a deterring weapon or a defensive notion.
Keywords
Violence
Islam
Human Rights
War

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B) Websites

- Al Banna Hassan, The Way of Jihad, available http://islamic-world.net/book/ jihad_preface.htm.
- Bush, Georges W. (2004). “Transcript: Bush Casts War on Terrorism in Historic Terms”, Transcript of the commencement address at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, June 2, 2004,available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9946-2004Jun2.html (Last visited February 16, 2006).
- India Times, editorial, Islam the religion of Peace, http://spirituality. indiatimes.com/articleshow/995419914.cms.
- Khan Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, The Man islam Builds, available at: www.alrisala.org/Articles/mailing_list/man_islam_builds.htm.
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The Journal of Human Rights
Volume 14, Issue 2 - Serial Number 28
Issue 28
October 2019
Pages 183-205