Jihad, Jihadi Organizations and Liberation Struggle

Abstract

Islamic law does not envisage war against non-Muslims qua non-Muslims. The legal cause triggering the obligatory duty of jihad is aggression against Islam or Muslims. The law of jihad becomes operative when this cause of obligation exists, all the conditions are fulfilled and there is no legal obstacle; so that jihad becomes obligatory only in extreme conditions, when a threat to Islam or Muslims cannot be neutralized except by the use of force. The general rule of Islamic law is that jihad is to be fought under the authority and control of the government. Simultaneously, however, Islamic law gives the individuals the right to private defense. When many individuals face a common threat, Islamic law encourages them to develop a mechanism for collectively defending each other against oppression. This becomes the raison d'etre for jihadi organizations working against occupation and alien domination. If armed groups provide support to liberation struggles in foreign territories, Islamic law holds the home government of such groups responsible for their activities even if such groups are operating without its express permission. However, the attribution of this responsibility rests on the crucial condition that the group operates from a territory under the effective control of such government.