War, Peace & International Relations in Islam - 9781845194710

This book examines fatwas (rulings of Islamic law) issued by religious sages and clerics on issues of war and peace, with regard to the actual or future possibility of conducting a peace agreement between Muslim States and Israel. The analysis highlights Islamic law's adaptation to changing political realities in the modern model of international relations, as well as the changing concept of jihad and the current role of political fatwas. The book's contents include discussion of: the shari'a interpretations regarding war and peace in theory and practice * the Hudaybiyya Pact of 628 between the prophet Muhammad and the Quraysh infidels * Egyptian fatwas from 1947 to 1979 regarding peace with Israel * the 1995 debate between the late mufti of Saudi Arabia 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz and the popular Islamist scholar Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi over the Oslo Accords * the Hamas hudna concept * the debate between Saudi Arabian muftis and Hezbollah sages over Israel's second war in Lebanon (2006) * a comparative study of the agreements that were signed between the Algerian leader 'Abd al-Qadir and the French in the 1830s. The book looks at Muslim religious scholars and leaders who present pragmatic interpretations and envision the natural relations between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds as a state of peace, shedding light on the built-in pluralism in Islam. It exposes the need for moderate Arab-Muslim leaders in order to contend with radical Muslim factions, so as to soften and limit Arab public opposition to signing a peace agreement with Israel and to enable normal relations with Israel after signing the agreement. The rulings of Islamic law cited in this book are likely to serve as a textual and intellectual basis for the public discourse on peace between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab States.