Here is a detailed Islamic theological treatise explaining what jihad is and calling upon Muslims to wage jihad in Chechnya. It was prepared by the Shariah Council of State Defense Council of Chechnya, and published as “Jihad and Its Solution Today.”
Its use of Islamic sources exactly parallels many other similar instances that I detail in Onward Muslim Soldiers. This is the great challenge for moderate Muslims: to stop denying that Islamic theology and jurisprudence is being used by terrorists for their own purposes, but to acknowledge this use forthrightly and renounce what justifies and fosters violence. For it is with dry texts like this one that Muslim radicals recruit warriors for modern-day jihad — by appealing to their loyalty to Islam and their sense of duty as a Muslim.
Political correctness has obscured this fact in the United States. If we continue to ignore it and thus take no steps to protect ourselves from its effects, we will suffer the inevitable consequences.
A few highlights:
Even though the issue of Hukma (the Decision) of Jihad today seems to be clear, we often happen to encounter Muslims who ask a question: ‘Is Jihad in Chechnya mandatory (Fard’Ayn) or voluntary (Fard-Kifayah)?’
Traditionally, defensive jihad to protect Muslim lands is fard ‘ayn; offensive jihad to spread the hegemony of Islamic rule is fard kifayah.
. . . or even ‘Is it Jihad going on in Chechnya?’ Therefore, even though we are afraid to seem like pestering too much by repeating the same thing over and over, we would still like to remind some regulations concerning Jihad according to the Word of the Most High . . .
First, what is Jihad?
Hanbali School (one of the four Shariah Scientific Schools, «Madhabs» – K.C.) [that is, one of the four main schools of Sunni Muslim jurisprudence; the great majority of Muslims adhere to the teachings of one of these four schools — RS]defined it as spending power and energy in the war in the way of Allah by personal participation, property, word, etc.
Maliki School considers it a war (a battle) of a Muslim with a Kafir (an infidel) who has no treaty, to exalt the Word of Allah, or who trespassed on the territories of Muslims.
Hanbalis say that this is a war against Kafirs (the infidels), unlike an armed fight with the Muslims bordering on being rebels, or brigands or robbers for an example. (Mugni-Muhtaj, vol. 6, page 4).
This document doesn’t quote anything from the other school, the Shafi’is, but I have already done so here several times: among other things, jihad is “war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians . . . until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax” (‘Umdat al-Salik, o9.8).
The Chechen document continues:
The missions of Jihad is protection and spreading of Islam and spreading the calling, and protection of Muslims and unbelievers, who are under the jurisdiction of Muslims, from a foreign aggression.
Those unbelievers would be the dhimmis, who are “protected” by Muslims but must by Islamic law live as inferiors in Muslim society.
This treatise also states that “most of the scholars view Jihad as mandatory (i.e. personal obligation for each Muslim) only in three cases:
1. If a Muslim of the full legal age joined the troops in accordance with the words of the Most High:
‘O ye who believe! When ye meet an army, hold firm and think of Allah much, that ye may be successful’ (Koran, The Spoils of War, 45) [“The Spoils of War” is Sura 8.]
‘O ye who believe! When ye meet the unbelievers in hostile array, never turn your backs to them’. (Koran, The Spoils of War, 45)
2. When the enemy entered a territory, a city or a village where Muslims are living, then everybody is obligated to go to war.
This is the call that resounds today in Iraq.
3. When a country’s ruler mobilized some of the men of the full legal age. Ibn Abbas told that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: ‘There is no Hijra from Mecca to Medina after Mecca was taken, but the Jihad and the intention remains, therefore if you get mobilized, then come out’. (Fikh al Sunna).
The Chechens quote Abdullah Azzam, Osama bin Laden’s mentor and a key theorist of violent jihad. Azzam is also profiled in Onward Muslim Soldiers. In this document he is quoted thusly about the necessity to wage defensive jihad:
“And righteous ancestors, and followers,… and scholars, and commentators of the Koran are unanimous in the opinion that in this case Jihad becomes mandatory for the residents of the country that was attacked by Kafirs and for its closest neighbors. So, son should come out without permission from his father, a wife without permission from her husband, and debtor without permission from his creditor. If there are not enough of these people, i.e. residents and neighbors, or if they show negligence and carelessness or taking no actions to repulse the enemy, then this obligation extends to all Muslims.”
The medieval Muslim theologian Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328), a favored theorist of radical Muslims, is also quoted to the same effect. Likewise the Imam Abu Jafar at-Tahawi:
“Hajj and Jihad for Muslim rulers, for the devout as well for the sinners, is carried out until the Day of Judgment, and there is nothing that takes it away or makes them vain”. (Al-Akida at-Takawiyya).
That is the scope of the war on terror as far as radical Muslims are concerned.
Perhaps with people like Saddam in mind, the document continues:
We acknowledge that many Amirs and Commanders are not an ideal, just like ordinary Muslims are not, they are often far from the examples of the disciples of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). But the Shariah texts are undeviatingly demanding that the rulers of Muslims in Jihad are obeyed, except when they order to commit a sin.