Violence and jihād in Islam: from the war of words to the clashes of definitions
Résumé
This article explores the phenomena of violence and jihād in three parts: their emergence and trajectory in the Qur'anic text, their meanings, and their entanglement with the religious cause. The objective is to examine the interactions between violence and jihād, highlighting the variations in their usage and interpretation. On the basis of intensive, literal interpretations of the jihād verses, radical Islamist movements have distorted their historical memory by sanctifying and reducing them to an argument of war (hārb, qitāl) and combat, thus seeking a military solution to their political agendas. This study is an attempt to understand the issue of jihād in Islamic theological thought by defining its connotations, its meanings and its causes and by sketching its broad outlines in connection with the notion of violence. This article also aims to address the issue of the transition of Islam from a meta-narrative of emancipation and rationality to one of violence by examining the question of war in Islam, as well as its definition and legitimisation. In this rather complex transition, we draw on Ibn Khaldūn's modelling to highlight the political component related to violence. The aim is to attempt to disentangle the threads of violence, politics and power within the Islamic tradition. This last study will allow assessment of the tension-in the context of the Qur'an-between order (iṣlāḥ) and disorder/injustice (fāsād). The transition from one to the other implies a legitimisation of violence; its appropriateness must, therefore, be studied.
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