Известия Уральского федерального университета. Серия 2: Гуманитарные науки (Mar 2021)
Jihad in the Circassian Sultanate (1382–1517): The Phenomenon of Volunteering in the Context of the Mamluk-Ottoman Confrontation
Abstract
This article examines the development of the theory and practice of jihad under the Circassian Sultanate in Egypt and Syria (1382–1517). The article aims to trace the development of the key aspects of the concept of jihad and reveal the peculiarities of its perception in the Mamluk state. The article highlights an essential characteristic of the theory of jihad in the Mamluk period, i.e. the interpretation of jihad as farḍ al-‘ayn (the personal duty of every Muslim). A fertile ground for this paper was given by studies of M. Bonner and D. Cook, who supplemented a balanced approach to the interpretation of jihad from a historical perspective with a critical consideration of its religious and political meanings. The authors emphasise the importance of the difference between the understanding of jihad as a collective and individual obligation using the concept of minimalism and maximalism developed by Y. Waghid. The paper is based on works by Ibn al-Nahhas (d. 1411), an outstanding thinker of the Mamluk era. The interpretation of jihad as a personal responsibility of every Muslim substantiated by Ibn al-Nahhas was the basis of the volunteer movement that unfolded in Egypt and Syria in the fifteenth century. The doctrine of jihad concentrated around the most important Islamic values embodied in the concepts of “justice” (al-‘adl) and “truth” (al-ḥaqq) and was initially used by the Mamluks and subsequently by the Ottomans as a powerful ideological tool for manipulating the Muslims’ consciousness. This paper is relevant because the conclusions of the study are valid not only for the Middle Ages but are directly related to the present. The authors of the article emphasise this by drawing parallels with modern events in countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.
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