There are two types of armed religious warfare in Islam, namely the defensive Jihad and the offensive Jihad. Some Muslims consider armed struggle against foreign occupation or oppression by domestic government to be worthy of defensive Jihad. Indeed, the Qur'an appears to require military defense of the besieged Islamic community. Jihad (ǧihād جهاد) is an Islamic term, from the Arabic root ǧhd (to exert utmost effort, to strive, struggle), which connotes a wide range of meanings: anything from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to a struggle a political or military struggle to further the Islamic cause. ... The Quran (Arabic: al-qurān literally the recitation; also called Al Qurān Al Karīm or The Noble Quran; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ...

In colonial times, Muslim populations often rose up against the colonial authorities under the banner of jihad (examples include Dagestan, Chechnya, the Indian Mutiny against Britain, and the Algerian War of Independence against France). In this sense, defensive jihad is no different from the right of armed resistance against occupation that is sanctioned under the UN and International Law. The Republic of Dagestan (Russian: ), also spelled Daghestan, is a federal subject of the Russian Federation (a republic). ... The Chechen Republic (Chechen: Нохчийн Республика/Noxçiyn (Nokhchiyn) Respublika), (Russian: Чеченская Республика) also known as Chechnya (Chechen: Нохчичьо/Noxçiyçö/Nokhchiyno), (Russian: Чечня), Ichkeria, Chechnia or Chechenia, is currently a constituent republic of the Russian Federation. ... An engraving titled Sepoy Indian troops dividing the spoils after their mutiny against British rule gives a contemporary view of events from the British perspective. ... The Algerian War of Independence (1954–62) was a period of guerrilla strikes, maquis fighting, terrorism against civilians on both sides, and riots between the French army and colonists, or the colons as they were called, in Algeria and the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale) and other pro-independence... This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic Secretary-General Kofi Annan (since 1997) Established October 24, 1945 Member states 191 Headquarters New York City, NY, USA Official site http://www. ... International law deals with the relationships between states, or between persons or entities in different states. ...

Islamic tradition holds that when Muslims are attacked, then it becomes obligatory for all Muslims to defend against the attack; to participate in jihad. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the prominent militant Islamist, Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, issued a fatwa, Defense of the Muslim Lands, the First Obligation after Faith [1], declaring that both the Afghan and Palestinian struggles were jihads in which military action against kuffar (unbelievers) was fard ayn (a personal obligation) for all Muslims. The edict was supported by Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti (highest religious scholar), Abd al-Aziz Bin Bazz. In his fatwa, Dr. Azzam explained: It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. ... Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam (1941-1989) also known as Shaikh Azzam or the “Godfather of Jihad”, was a central figure in the global development of the militant Islamist movement. ... A fatwa (Arabic: ) plural fatāwa (Arabic: ) , is a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist on a specific issue. ... see Kaphir for more information, kaffir lime for the condiment, kafir for the Muslim equivalent of infidel, kephir for the fermented drink. ... The title Grand Mufti refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni Muslim country. ...

... the Ulama [pious scholars] of the four Mathhabs (Maliki, Hanafi, Shaffie and Hanbali), the Muhadditheen, and the Tafseer commentators [classical Muslim commentators of the Qur'an], are agreed that in all Islamic ages, Jihad under this condition becomes Fard Ayn [personal religious obligation] upon the Muslims of the land which the Kuffar [infidels] have attacked and upon the Muslims close by, where the children will march forth without the permission of the parents, the wife without the permission of her husband and the debtor without the permission of the creditor. And, if the Muslims of this land cannot expel the Kuffar because of lack of forces, because they slacken, are indolent or simply do not act, then the Fard Ayn obligation spreads in the shape of a circle from the nearest to the next nearest. If they too slacken or there is again a shortage of manpower, then it is upon the people behind them, and on the people behind them, to march forward. This process continues until it becomes Fard Ayn [a personal religious obligation] upon the whole world. [2]

Despite such contemporary edicts, in practical reality it is impossible to gain anything resembling global unanimity on questions of relating to defensive jihad (though some militant Islamist groups would suggest otherwise). The question of whether, when, and how to implement a military defense of a Muslim community under foreign invasion or oppression remains an emotional and divisive one among Muslims. Madhhab(مذهب) (Madhahib, pl) is an Islamic term that refers to a school of thought or religious jurisprudence (fiqh) within Sunni Islam. ... A tafsir (tafsīr تفسير , also transliterated tafseer, Arabic explanation) is Quranic exegisis or commentary. ... Islamism is a neologism of Western etymological origins referring to a set of political ideologies derived from conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism which hold that Islam is not only a religion, but also a political system that governs the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. ...

Conetemporary Defensive Jihad in Muslim countries

In certain Muslim countries, secular governments oppose or ban Islam as a political movement. Such governments are usually despotic, and militant Muslims often see it as their duty to oppose infidel oppressor governments. Though such anti-statist activity may be considered as acts of aggression, it is considered in the ideology of Jihad to be a defensive act since it is warfare in a Muslim land. This a phenemonon that occured after the independence of a large number of Muslim countries during the 20th century, and is discussed in more detail in the Wikipedia article on Islamism. Islam as a political movement has a diverse character that has at different times incorporated elements of many other political movements, while simultaneously adapting the religious views of Islamic fundamentalism, particularly the view of Islam as a political religion. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... Islamism is a neologism of Western etymological origins referring to a set of political ideologies derived from conservative religious views of Muslim fundamentalism which hold that Islam is not only a religion, but also a political system that governs the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. ...

Who can authorize defensive Jihad?

Jihad can sustain the breakdown of leadership. If a group of Muslims come under attack by non-Muslims, then no formal decleration of war is required and the Muslims are to defend themselves against such attack. Thus defensive Jihad can occur in the absense of a Caliph. Indeed, fundamentalist Muslims believe that the absense of a Caliph is grave violation of Islamic law and that the fall of the Caliphate (brought to an end on March 3, 1924, by Kemal Atatürk) is an indication that Muslim lands and Islam are under attack by non-Muslims and in need of defensive Jihad. Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Caliph is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... An Anglicized/Latinized version of the Arabic word خليفة or Khalīfah, Caliph (  listen?) is the term or title for the Islamic leader of the Ummah, or community of Islam. ... Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–November 10, 1938), Turkish army officer, revolutionary, and anti-imperialist statesman, was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. ...

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See also

• Jihad
• Offensive Jihad
• Rules of war in Islam