ZERO SUM GAMES - ISLAM AGAINST EVERYBODY ELSE. CONTENT ANALYSIS AND NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN ISLAMIC PRIMARY SOURCES

Abstract

The current paper analyses narratives used within the Quran regarding Islam and its relationship/opposition to other religions – focusing on how Islam portrays its mission against other religions as a zero-sum-game. Born in times of war, conquer and geographical expansion, Islam understands its da’wah mission (the act of calling people to embrace Islam) and calculates its gains in terms of losses for its adversaries. As Jihad sums up to be an obligation of any orthodox Muslim, and since many Ayyat (Quranic verses) describe conflict, revenge, war-waging and punishment for the kufr (disbelievers), Islam seems to understand its rapport to other religions in a zero-sum-game logic; briefly put, in order for the one true religion to win, all others must lose.

Keywords

• islam
• narratives
• zero-sum-game
• game theory
• politics