Monday, August 24, 2009

Jihad


"Jihad (Arabic: jihād, ‘striving, exerting oneself’). Some classical Islamic writers distinguished between ‘the greater jihad’, a spiritual struggle against the evil within oneself, and a ‘lesser jihad’, physical effort in the cause of Islam, but it is the latter which is our concern here. It has meant in practice military action for either the spreading of Islam or its defence, following on from the idea of the universality of Islam and the consequent necessity of strenuous and continuous action for the furtherance of the faith. The basis of the doctrine is found in the Koran, and in strict Islamic law jihad is a duty on all adult free male believers until Islam has attained universal domination; hence there can be no permanent peace with unbelievers but only limited truces."

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This idea of Jihad was to spread Islam throughout the world, and this term will be used until the world is controlled by all of Islam. If and Islamic tribe was to be attacked they would use this to defend themselves against the threat and eliminate it so as to continue with their little peace that they had.

"In medieval times, feelings of jihad lay behind fighting for the defence of Islam in the Mediterranean basin, such as during the Crusades in the Levant and during the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian peninsula. It was also used for the spreading of Islam outside the heartlands, e.g. into sub-Saharan Africa, in the Indian subcontinent, and in Indonesia. Typical manifestations of this last in West Africa were the Fulani Jihad led by Usumanu dan Fodio (d. 1817) in Hausaland and jihads by Umar al-Futi and Samori Ture in other parts of black West Africa in the 19th century, aimed primarily at spreading the faith among local animists. In Muslim India, notable was the movement of the mujahedin or ‘fighters for the faith’ of Sayyid Ahmad Brelwi (killed 1831), primarily against the Sikhs in the Punjab, and other similar movements against the British which continued throughout the century and into the present one, especially along the North-West frontier. In pre-modern times jihad was not invariably directed against the outside, non-Islamic world; at various times, the slogans of jihad were employed in campaigns against heterodox or dissident Muslims, such as the Ismailis, during the Mongol period and just afterwards."

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"The word Jihad stems from the Arabic root word J-H-D, which means "strive." Other words derived from this root include "effort," "labor," and "fatigue." Essentially Jihad is an effort to practice religion in the face of oppression and persecution. The effort may come in fighting the evil in your own heart, or in standing up to a dictator. Military effort is included as an option, but as a last resort and not "to spread Islam by the sword" as the stereotype would have one believe.

The Qur'an describes Jihad as a system of checks and balances, as a way that Allah set up to "check one people by means of another." When one person or group transgresses their limits and violates the rights of others, Muslims have the right and the duty to "check" them and bring them back into line. There are several verses of the Qur'an that describe jihad in this manner. One example:

"And did not Allah check one set of people by means of another,
the earth would indeed be full of mischief;
but Allah is full of Bounty to all the worlds"
-Qur'an 2:251

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"Many accounts in the media define "jihad" as a synonym for "holy war," -- a vicious clash between followers of different religions, each of whom believes that God is on their side and that the other side is is of Satan. This usage often appears on Western TV, radio, and other media during news about the Middle East, where it is used to describe a call for Muslims to fight against non-Muslims in the defense of Islam. Some Muslims have begun to adopt this meaning of "jihad" as a result of Western influence."

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"Islam never tolerates unprovoked aggression from its own side; Muslims are commanded in the Qur'an not to begin hostilities, embark on any act of aggression, violate the rights of others, or harm the innocent. Even hurting or destroying animals or trees is forbidden. War is waged only to defend the religious community against oppression and persecution, because the Qur'an says that "persecution is worse than slaughter" and "let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression" (Qur'an 2:190-193). Therefore, if non-Muslims are peaceful or indifferent to Islam, there is no justified reason to declare war on them.

The Qur'an describes those people who are permitted to fight:

"They are those who have been expelled from their homes
in defiance of right, for no cause except that they say,
'Our Lord is Allah.'
Did not Allah check one set of people by means of another,
there would surely have been pulled down monasteries, churches,
synagogues, and mosques, in which the name of God is commemorated
in abundant measure..."
-Qur'an 22:40

Note that the verse specifically commands the protection of all houses of worship. Finally, the Qur'an also says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion" (2:256). Forcing someone at the point of a sword to choose death or Islam is an idea that is foreign to Islam in spirit and in historical practice. There is absolutely no question of waging a "holy war" to "spread the faith" and compel people to embrace Islam; that would be an unholy war and the people's forced conversions would not be sincere.


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Jihad came to pass when Islam was opposed by all the nations that were around Islam. When a prophet or a Messenger comes from God all of their followers were considered righteous that were likely to advance quickly. Other religious sects around would soon begin to develop anger and jealously towards them. Because of this the teachers' students began to drop from their trap and join the prophets or messengers. because this started to happen they became angry with each other and started fighting. Then the "Pagans" began to attack them and prevent Islam from spreading, and because of this they attacked back in order to defend themselves.


Book^Online

The jihad is still going on today. We believe that there are terrorists all around us that use the Jihad is in action and that why they were able to terrorize the nation of America, and they use the jihad to signify that they can attack us.


Book^Online

in conclusion there is still Jihad going on today that was used during the crusades. Muslims still are trying to dominate the world so that then jihad would no longer be in place.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Saint Augustine

Saint Augustine was a bishop of Hippo during the 5th century. he was the one who influenced the crusades to take place through his various writings, which in fact were very popular with the clerics of the Medieval Time. His views on warfare and Christian ethos were very important in the "Just War" theory.
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"The decline of the Roman Empire gave rise to two problems, which combined to form one of the most perplexing philosophical questions of late antiquity. On the one hand, Rome found itself under constant military threat as various tribes from the north and east encroached along its borders to fill the power vacuum left by the receding Empire. On the other hand, adherents to the Empire’s new official faith — Christianity — found themselves without clear guidance as to what military roles their faith would permit. The death of the apostles had left Christians without ongoing revelatory guidance, and the New Testament writings alone were not definitive on the subject. The question thus became: ‘Can a Christian answer the Empire’s call to military duty and still have a clear conscience before God?’

Fifth-century philosopher St. Augustine of Hippo sought to provide an answer to the question. His approach formed the foundation of the ‘just war’ tradition, which has had enormous influence upon moral-philosophical thought on military issues in the West ever since. This major new study identifies Augustine’s fundamental premises, reconstructs his just-war theory, and critically evaluates the reconstructed theory in light of his historical context and neo-Platonic and Christian philosophical considerations."(Mattox Online Book)


St. Augustine was able to begin to compel the people that, though they didn't know what to do, they were able to fight because of his "Just War" theory. he slowly begins to build the foundation on which most of the western civilizations use today. His legacy still goes on and that is why we study him to know what this theory actually is, and how we use it today, if we use it today.

There were 8 principles that made up his Just War theory:

1)A punitive conception of war.
2)Assessment of the evil of war in terms of the evil moral attitudes and wants.
3)The authorization of the use of violence.
4)A duelistic epistemology which gives spiritual priorities to goods.
5)Interpretation of evangelical norms in terms of inner attitudes.
6)Passive attitude to authority and social change.
7)use of texts within the Bible to the participation of war.
8)An analogical knowledge of what peace is.

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"The Just War Theory is an authoritative Catholic Church teaching confirmed by the United States Catholic Bishops in their pastoral letter, The Challenge of Peace: God's Promise and Our Response, issued in 1983. More recently, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in paragraph 2309, lists four strict conditions for "legitimate defense by military force":

* the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
* all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
* there must be serious prospects of success;
* the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition.

While proponents claim such views have a long tradition, critics claim the application of Just War is only relativistic, and directly contradicts more universal philosophical traditions such as the Ethic of reciprocity.[citation needed] Secular humanists may accept just war theory based on universal ethics without reference to Christian morality.

Just War theorists combine both a moral abhorrence towards war with a readiness to accept that war may sometimes be necessary. The criteria of the just war tradition act as an aid to determining whether resorting to arms is morally permissible. Just War theories are attempts "to distinguish between justifiable and unjustifiable uses of organized armed forces"; they attempt "to conceive of how the use of arms might be restrained, made more humane, and ultimately directed towards the aim of establishing lasting peace and justice."[6]

The Just War tradition addresses the morality of the use of force in two parts: when it is right to resort to armed force (the concern of jus ad bellum) and what is acceptable in using such force (the concern of jus in bello).[7] In more recent years, a third category — jus post bellum — has been added, which governs the justice of war termination and peace agreements, as well as the prosecution of war criminals.

Libertarian scholar Murray Rothbard stated, "a just war exists when a people tries to ward off the threat of coercive domination by another people, or to overthrow an already-existing domination. A war is unjust, on the other hand, when a people try to impose domination on another people, or try to retain an already existing coercive rule over them."[8] Rothbard was an admitted anarchist or "anti-Statist", but left room nevertheless for a "minarchist" stance to allow social contracts to defend the general public from clear and present dangers."

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"Augustine's two greatest surviving works, out of several dozen, are his City of God and his Confessions. His conversion to Christianity is among the most famous, as many are familiar with his quip in which he asked God to make him chaste, but do it later. As the Bishop of Hippo, Augustine also was involved with the Council of Hippo in 393 which, along with the Council of Carthage in 397, first recognized the 27 books of the New Testament that are still recognized as the New Testament today.

His influence on Christian theology continued from the middle ages until the present day. All Medieval monks were likely made aware of Augustine at some point in their career and would have studied his works if they had the opportunity to receive a proper education in theology from the Church."

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His ability to influence and "charm" the monks in the middle ages played such a significant role in making the crusades begin, that if he wasn't there to influence them there probably wouldn't have been any crusades, and the world would be completely different than it is now.

"But, say they, the wise man will wage just wars. As if he would not all the rather lament the necessity of
just wars, if he remembers that he is a man; for if they were not just he would not wage them, and would
therefore be delivered from all wars. For it is the wrongdoing of the opposing party which compels the
wise man to wage just wars; and this wrong-doing, even though it gave rise to no war, would still be
matter of grief to man because it is man's wrong-doing… (Chapter 7)

Whoever gives even moderate attention to human affairs and to our common nature, will recognize that if
there is no man who does not wish to be joyful, neither is there any one who does not wish to have peace.
For even they who make war desire nothing but victory -- desire, that is to say, to attain to peace with
glory. For what else is victory than the conquest of those who resist us? And when this is done there is
peace. It is therefore with the desire for peace that wars are waged, even by those who take pleasure in
exercising their warlike nature in command and battle. And hence it is obvious that peace is the end sought
for by war. (Chapter 12)

For even when we wage a just war, our adversaries must be sinning; and every victory, even though
gained by wicked men, is a result of the first judgment of God, who humbles the vanquished either for the
sake of removing or of punishing their sins. Witness that man of God, Daniel, who, when he was in
captivity, confessed to God his own sins and the sins of his people, and declares with pious grief that these
were the cause of the captivity. (Chapter 15)"(Hippo Chapters 7, 12, and 15)

In the end it is not enough to wage war to achieve justice without treating the underlying causes. "Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war" [CCC 2317]. The Church has no illusions that true justice and peace can be attained before the Coming of the Lord. It is the duty of men of good will to work towards it, nonetheless. In the words of the spiritual dictum, we should work as if everything depended upon our efforts, and pray as if everything depended upon God.
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Mattox, John Mark. Saint Augustine and the Theory of Just War New York. 2006. Pp. 196 (online book)

Hippo, Augustine of. “The City of God,” Trans. by Marcus Dodds, D.D. In Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series One, Volume 2. Edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. American Edition, 1887.