ISIS and its Brutality Under Islamic Law

KANSAI UNIVERSITY REVIEW of LAW and POLITICS　No. 36　MARCH 2015　Offprint

ISIS and its Brutality Under Islamic Law

Ahmed AL-DAWOODY

101

ISIS and its Brutality Under Islamic Law

Ahmed AL-DAWOODY＊

1. Introduction

While the world was shocked by the horrific images of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, none would have imagined that the planning and execution of these heinous terrorist acts could be perpetrated by a terrorist Muslim organization hidden in Afghanistan. A former CIA officer said that the first thought that came to his mind while watching these images on TV was that these terrorist acts were perpetrated by the intelligence of a foreign country. In fact, many still believe until now in conspiracy theories regarding the planning and execution of these attacks.1） None would also expect, particularly after the US strikes against Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, that within about a dozen years of the 9/11 attacks, a much stronger and more dangerous terrorist Muslim organization would be created. The US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 has had serious consequences on stability in the region up to the present time. The sectarian and ethnic strife and tension in Iraq have escalated after overthrowing Saddam Hussein and, more importantly, after dismantling the Iraqi army and the notorious de-Baathification policy which led to the deterioration of an already fragile and war-torn Iraq. That is because these US policies following the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime led to a feeling among the Sunnis of being discriminated against and alienated by the Shiites.2） Moreover, and as a consequence, these policies also resulted in a regional sectarian rift between the Shiite camp, led by the Republic of Iran, and the Sunni camp, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and some other Gulf countries, which were already suffering from their own Shiite sectarian minority problems. The results of the December 2005 parliamentary elections in Iraq reflected this Shiite-Sunni sectarian division.3） It is in this context of the foreign occupation of Iraq and replacing the Sunni dominant regime of Saddam Hussein with a previously oppressed Shiite regime that a number of terrorist Sunni groups were formed 4） with the slogan of forming an Islamic state in Iraq. This

＊ Assistant Professor, Dr., Zayed University. 1） “9/11 Conspiracy theories,” http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14665953, September 17, 2014. 2） See Pierre-Jean Luizard, “Islam as a Point of Reference for Political and Social Groups in Iraq,”

International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 89, No. 868, December 2007, p. 849. 3） See Ibid., p. 843. 4） See Sa‘d Kanānah, Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah wa al-Ḥarakāt al-Jihādiyah fi al-‘Irāq (Amman: Dār Amnah, 2011),

102KANSAI UNIV REV. L. & POL. No. 36, MAR 2015

article discusses the position of Islamic law on the tactics and brutal use of force and other heinous acts committed by the terrorist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

2. EmergenceofISISandRootCausesofTerrorism

Throughout history almost every known human society has known certain forms of terrorism. One of the most important issues in understanding terrorism is examining the objectives of the terrorists and placing them in the context of their socio-political history. After the US-led invasion of Iraq, the Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi formed Al-Qaeda in Iraq in 2003 and pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qaeda. Killed in an American air strike in June 7, 2006, al-Zarqawi was known for his brutality, beheadings, and the savage killing of his victims. Al-Qaeda in Iraq, in association with other militant groups, formed the Islamic state in Iraq (ISI) in October 2006. When the Syrian civil war broke out, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (b. 1971) merged its forces with the rebels in Syria and announced in April 2013 the creation of al-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also translated as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and therefore, the acronyms ISIS, ISIL, or simply IS are used interchangeably for the same terrorist group. The changing names of these terrorist groups evolve around an Islamic state identity in Iraq. In fact, these groups consist of “Baathists, nationalists, anti-Shiite Sunnites, Sunni or Salafist Islamists of Ansar al-Islam, foreign combatants associated with Al Qaeda, [and] criminal gangs.” 5） But, apart from the criminal gangs, what unites these groups, whether secular or religious are the US occupation of Iraq and the Sunnis’ attempt to reclaim their lost power from the hands of the Shiites. Hence these religious groups found in this context an opportunity to establish the Islamic state/the caliphate; an aspiration for many Muslim groups worldwide whether peaceful or violent for the last nine decades. The aspiration for establishing, whether an Islamic nation state or the caliphate, the umbrella one state system under which the Muslim umma (nation) is supposed to be unified has been projected as the genuine solution to restore the lost glory of the Muslim world. Nonetheless, many Muslims see this aspiration as a naïve, utopian, and ahistorical understanding of the caliphate and the realities of the modern world. Furthermore, there is also a secular line of thought in the Muslim world that considers that the idea of the institution of the caliphate or an Islamic state is not truly supported by the teachings of Islam.6）

p. 153. 5） See Ibid., p. 852. For more information about the militant groups in Iraq since the USA invasion, Kanānah,

Tanẓīm al-Qā‘idah wa al-Ḥarakāt al-Jihādiyah fi al-‘Irāq, pp. 151-170. 6） For this secular line of thought see, for example, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-Rāziq, Al-Islām wa Uṣūl al-Ḥukm (Cairo:

Al-Hay’a al-Miṣriyya al-‘Āmma lil-Kitāb, 1993); Muḥammad Sa‘īd al-‘Ashmāwī, Al-Khilāfah al-Islāmiyyah,

103ISIS and its Brutality Under Islamic Law

In the belief of some Muslim fundamentalist groups, the Muslim world has to return to the true teachings of Islam in order to restore the golden days of Islam, which necessitates the reestablishment of the caliphate system and the application of the sharia.7） Over the last century, Muslims worldwide have been trying to diagnose the reasons for, and therefore find the solutions to, the backwardness of the Muslim world. The fragmentation of the Muslim world at the hands of the West in the Sykes-Picot agreement in 1916, and its subsequent abolition of the caliphate in March 3, 1924 at the hands of the Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (d. 1938), are seen as the main sources of weakness and deterioration of the Muslim world. The creation of the nation state system in the Muslim world is therefore considered by some Islamist groups as alien to the true teachings of Islam. In the words of Daniel Atzori: “According to the Islamists, the Arab state is a colonial legacy, a social construction extraneous to Muslim people.” 8） Hence, on June 29, 2014, al-Baghdadi proclaimed the restoration of the caliphate and appointed himself the caliph and asked the Muslims to pay allegiance to him. In fact, it is not possible to understand the recent waves of terrorism perpetrated at the hands of Muslims without the wider historical background of the deterioration and decline of the power of the Muslim world for the last three centuries. The Islamists attempt to escape to the past, in order to bring about the desired glory which their Muslim predecessors achieved many centuries ago, is partly due to the failure of Arab states to provide for the basic needs of their peoples and modernize and democratize their societies. The Arab Spring of 2011 was a result of this failure which indicates the serious crisis in the structure of the state system in many Arab countries that led to a sense of alienation and religious non-belonging among many sectors in society including fundamentalist and terrorist groups. The calls or attempts to create an Islamic state, whether by moderate or terrorist Muslims groups, have surfaced recently in many different parts of the Muslim world. The most salient issue and the greatest challenge regarding creating an Islamic state and thus bringing about a bigger role for Islam in the public life of the Muslims is the application of the shariah, Islamic law – an issue that could not be overridden even in the American-orchestrated new Iraqi constitution.9） Article 2 of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution states that: “Islam is the official religion of the state and is a foundation source of legislation: A. No law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam.” 10） Furthermore,

2nd ed. (Cairo: Sīnā lil-Nashr, 1992). 7） See Abd Allah bin Bayyah, “Mā Hadhih bi-Ṭariq al-Jannah: Naṣiḥah wa Bayān,” http://peacems.com/

wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Arabic_Doc_bayan-Arabic_no_crops.pdf, October 13, 2014. 8） Daniel Atzori, “The Birth of Jihadist Caliphate,” Review of Environment, Energy and Economics, Jul. 25,

2014, available from: http://www.feem.it/userfiles/attach/20147281721274Re3-D.Atzori-20140725.pdf, p. 3. 9） See Kristen A. Stilt, “Islamic Law and the Making and Remaking of the Iraqi Legal System,” The George

Washington International Law Review, Vol. 36, No. 4, 2004, pp. 695-756.10） http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf, September 22, 2014.


the Egyptian constitutions have also included a similar article regarding the role of Islam in the public life. Article 2 of the 1971 constitution states that: “Islam is the religion of the state and the Arabic language is its official language, and the principles of the sharī‘a are the main source of legislation.” 11） The call for the application of the shariah has also surfaced in Egypt following the January 25, 2011 revolution. Many Salafi candidates running for the parliamentary elections made it clear that their top priority was the application of the shariah in Egypt.12）

As for the Muslim terrorist and fundamentalist groups such as Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Boko Haram (trans. Western education is unlawful) in Nigeria, and ISIS in Iraq, their understanding of bringing about a greater role for Islam in public life represents a backward, narrow-minded, and repressive understanding of human rights, the role of women in society, and the religious freedom of Muslim individuals and the religious freedom of minorities. In 2012, Sanda Ould Boumama, a spokesperson of the Mali terrorist organization Ansar Dine confirmed: “Sharia has to be applied whether the people like it or not, we will enforce it. We are not asking anybody’s opinion. We are not democrats. We are servants of Allah who demands Sharia” 13） Rejecting Western school education of women, the abduction of more than two hundred school girls by the Islamist group Boko Haram in Nigeria,14） officially designated by the United Nations Security Council as a terrorist group, is another case in point. According to Amnesty International, ISIS enforced a ban on smoking in the areas under their control and prohibited women from leaving their houses unless necessary. They have given the Christian of Mosul an ultimatum to either accept Islam, pay jizyah (tax levied on ahl al-dhimmah to exempt eligible males from conscription), or be killed.15） Writing about the objectives of ISIS, Aki Peritz and Tara Maller explain that ISIS “claims to be a religious organization, dedicated to re-establishing the caliphate and enforcing codes of modesty and behavior.” 16） In a

11） See, for example, Johannes J.G. Jansen, The Dual Nature of Islamic Fundamentalism (London: Hurts & Co., 1997), p. 165; Jan Michiel Otto, “Jurists, Nation-Building, and Social Tensions in Egypt,” in Benno Galjart and Patricio Silva, eds., designers of Development, (Leiden: Research School CNWS, 1995), p. 119.

12） See, for example, Sayid ‘Isā Muḥammad, Al-Dasātīr al-Misriyah (Cairo: Nahdat Misr, 2007), p. 100. 1971 Egyptian Constitution is available from: http://www.sis.gov.eg/Newvr/dostorpdf/1971.pdf, September 22, 2014.

13） Sanda Ould Boumama, Ansar Dine’s spokesman in Timbuktu, in a statement to IRIN. See IRIN, “Mali: Students flee Sharia in Northern Schools,” http://www.irinnews.org/report/95713/mali-students-flee-sharia-in-northern-schools, September 22, 2014.

14） See Vladimir Duthiers, Faith Karimi and Greg Botelho, “Boko Haram: Why terror group kidnaps schoolgirls, and what happens next,” http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/24/world/africa/nigeria-kidnapping-answers/, September 22, 2014.

15） Amnesty International, “Ethnic Cleansing on a Historic Scale: Islamic State’s Systematic Targeting of Minorities in Northern Iraq,” https://www.es.amnesty.org/uploads/media/Iraq_ethnic_cleansing_final_formatted.pdf, September 22, 2014, p. 26.

16） Aki Peritz and Tara Maller, “The Islamic State of Sexual Violence,” Foreign Policy, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/09/16/the_islamic_state_of_sexual_violence_women_rape_iraq_syria, September 18,


word, Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, insightfully relates the roots of all problems in the Middle East to “bad systems of politics mixed with abuse of religion.” 17）

3. BrutalityofISISUnderIslamicLaw

US Secretary of State John Kerry explained in a congregational meeting on September 19, 2014 that ISIS is a more dangerous terrorist organization than Al-Qaeda because they possess weapons and money that were not available to Al-Qaeda. They also continue to maintain territory, while Al-Qaeda never did. One day earlier, on September 18, 2014, Kerry revealed in a testimony before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that ISIS supports itself financially by selling oil from the wells it captured in Iraq and Syria via either Turkey or Lebanon.18）

But what is more striking here is the unprecedented, unimaginable, and shocking degree of brutality as well as the many forms of mass atrocities committed by ISIS against its victims, whether women, children, religious, ethnic, and sectarian minorities. According to Amnesty International, ISIS “has carried out ethnic cleansing on a historic scale in northern Iraq… [It] has systematically targeted non-Arab and non-Sunni Muslim communities, killing or abducting hundreds, possibly thousands, and forcing more than 830,000 others to flee the areas it has captured since 10 June 2014.” 19） It has also committed massacres and mass killings of hundreds of Iraqi captured soldiers. In one incident, ISIS showed images of executing allegedly 1700 Iraqi soldiers. Numerous incidents of beheadings, floggings, and mutilation of both military and civilians including journalists have been carried out by ISIS insurgents.20）

ISIS has also committed horrific acts of sexual violence and slavery against religious minorities. On 13 August 2014, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq called on the international society to take immediate actions to protect the civilian minorities in Iraq from the “‘barbaric acts’ of sexual violence and ‘savage rapes’” perpetrated by ISIS in the areas captured under their control where “some 1,500 Yazidi and Christian persons may have been forced into sexual slavery.” 21） Andrew Bennett,

2014.17） “All you need to know about ISIS and what is happening in Iraq,” http://rt.com/news/166836-isis-isil-al-

qaeda-iraq/, September 15, 2014.18） “US Secretary of State Kerry: ISIL Sells Oil via Turkey and Lebanon,” http://www.todayszaman.com/

diplomacy_us-secretary-of-state-kerry-isil-sells-oil-via-turkey-and-lebanon_359138.html, September 19, 2014.19） Amnesty International, “Ethnic Cleansing on a Historic Scale: Islamic State’s Systematic Targeting of

Minorities in Northern Iraq,” p. 4.20） “All you need to know about ISIS and what is happening in Iraq,” http://rt.com/news/166836-isis-isil-al-

qaeda-iraq/, September 15, 2014.21） “‘Barbaric’ sexual violence perpetrated by Islamic State militants in Iraq – UN,” http://www.un.org/apps/

news/story.asp?NewsID=48477#, September 18, 2014.


Canada’s ambassador for religious freedom, adds that the gruesome murder, religious persecutions, and forced expulsions of the Yazidis and Christians at the hands of ISIS in Iraq and Syria amount to genocide.22）

The above different types of heinous acts committed by ISIS within the course of this non-international armed conflict in Iraq and Syria constitute war crimes and grave violations of international humanitarian law. But what is more interesting here, at least for the purpose of this article, is examining the position of Islamic law on these heinous acts committed by ISIS insurgents particularly because they claim that they have established an Islamic state that obviously is supposed to abide by the dictates of Islamic law including the Islamic law of armed conflict. Before delving into the discussion about the Muslim scholars’ response to the heinous acts committed by ISIS and the position of Islamic law on these acts, it is interesting to add here that the European Centre for Law and Justice affirmed in a written statement submitted to the UN Secretary General on 29, August 2014 under the title: “The Dangers ISIS and its Progeny Pose to Regional and Global Peace” the following: “radical Islamist groups have distanced themselves from ISIS and have publicly condemned ISIS’ actions. ISIS jihadists commit violence against fellow Muslims in violation of Sharia; they routinely commit war crimes and engage in torture in violation of international law; and they also issue threats to Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities. ISIS is especially dangerous because, not only are ISIS leaders and fighters ruthless, but they also have sufficient material assets to support a standing military force and they possess the will to use weapons of mass destruction. Claiming to uphold Allah’s law, ISIS, in fact, routinely violates Sharia, which forbids a Muslim from killing another Muslim unless certain conditions are met. ISIS routinely kills Muslims and non-Muslims alike even when they have not taken up arms against ISIS. Such killings constitute violations of Islamic law and morality as well as war crimes.” 23）

These observations and incidents addressed by the European Centre for Law and Justice are discussed in a detailed scholarly response in the form of an open letter signed by 126 distinguished Muslim figures worldwide which includes Grand Muftis from 10 countries, Islamic law and Islamic theology professors, Islamic thinkers, Muslim judges, and chairpersons of Islamic institutes and associations both from the Muslim world and the West. The Open Letter to ISIS leader al-Baghdadi and all its members and supporters, signed on September 19, 2014, denounced their actions and asked them to repent and return to the true teachings of Islam, the religion of mercy – the Open Letter confirms. The 17 page letter of the English version contains point-by-point refutations and criticism of the ISIS claims and actions based on the Islamic texts: the Qur’an and Sunnah

22） “Islamic State attacks on religious minorities ‘genocide,’ Canadian ambassador says,” http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/09/08/islamic_state_attacks_on_religious_minorities_genocide_canadian_ambassador_says.html; October 17, 2014.

23） http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/E/HRC/ngo_st/A_HRC_S22_NGO_8.doc, September 15, 2014.


(tradition of Prophet Muhammad). The executive summary of this Open Letter includes 24 points and the first five of them emphasize that the ISIS leaders and members are ignorant of the “established Islamic sciences” and that they lack the necessary credentials including “mastery of Arabic language” and therefore the issuing of fatwas and the oversimplification of Islamic legal issues by ISIS are “forbidden” according to the dictates of Islamic law. The Open Letter states: “It is forbidden in Islam to issue fatwas without all the necessary learning requirements. Even then fatwas must follow Islamic legal theory as defined in the classical texts. It is also forbidden to cite a portion of a verse from the Qur’an—or part of a verse—to derive a ruling without looking at everything that the Qur’an and Hadith teach related to that matter.” 24）

For the purpose of this article, discussion of ISIS heinous acts and their tactics will be limited to the following seven issues:

a) Non-CombatantImmunity: The most important question in regulating the use of force is determining who is and who is not a legitimate target in war. The Open Letter quotes some verses from the Qur’an (5:32; 6:151; 17:33) indicating the sanctity of human life and the prohibition of the killing of innocents. This ultimate Islamic objective is reinforced in the following Qur’anic text: “For that We have decreed upon the children of Israel that whosoever kills a human soul except in retribution or committing fasād (destruction, damage, i.e., terrorism) in the land, it is as if he killed the entire humanity; and whosoever saves it [a human soul] as if he saves the entire humanity.” 25） The Open Letter adds that emissaries have “a special inviolability” status in all religions and, therefore, killing them is forbidden.26） Classical Muslim jurists have emphasized that, because of the nature of their mission, the immunity and protection of envoys, or in modern day terminology, diplomats and ambassadors, is a well-established and unanimously agreed upon rule under Islamic law.27） Indeed, the immunity of

24） See http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 14, 2014, p. 1.25） Qur’an:5:32. Translations of the Qur’anic texts are mine. See Parvez Ahmed, “Terror in the Name of Islam-

Unholy War, Not Jihad,” Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, Vol. 39, No. 3, 2007/2008, p. 767.

26） http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 14, 2014, p. 6.27） See, for example, Ahmed Al-Dawoody, The Islamic Law of War: Justifications and Regulations, Palgrave

Series in Islamic Theology, Law, and History, Vol. 2, (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), p. 134; M. Cherif Bassiouni, “Protection of Diplomats under Islamic Law,” American Journal of International Law, Vol. 74, 1980, pp. 609-633; Obaidullah Fahad, “Principles of Diplomacy in Islam: Privileges and Immunities,” Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. XII, No. 3, Autumn 1989, pp. 41-48; Farhad Malekian, The Concept of Islamic International Criminal Law: A Comparative Study (London: Graham & Trotman, 1994), p. 72; C.G. Weeramantry, Islamic Jurisprudence: An International Perspective (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988), p. 142; David Aaron Schwartz, “International Terrorism and Islamic Law,” Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, Vol. 29, 1991, pp. 648 f.; Muhammad Munir, “Compatibility between Anti-terrorism Legislation and Shari‘a,” Pakistan Journal of Islamic Research, Vol. 8, 2011, p. 101.


envoys was an accepted norm even in pre-Islamic Arabia and Muslims have continued to respect it. Furthermore, the Islamic law of Amān (quarter and safe conduct) grounded in both the Qur’an 28） and Sunnah, and discussed in lengthy detail by the classical Muslim jurists of the eighth and ninth centuries, guarantees the protection of the lives and property of enemy in both cases: (1) quarter: given to enemy belligerents who show any willingness or sign of stopping the use of force or those who become hors de combat either through surrender, capture or injury etc. (2) Safe conduct: given to any citizen of an enemy state who wants to enter the Islamic state for a temporary period of time to undertake business, tourism, education etc.29） Classical Muslim jurists make it clear that the objective of Amān is ḥaqn al-dam (prevention of the shedding of blood).30） By way of examples, the Open Letter singled out the killing of the American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and the British aid worker David Haines and affirmed that Islamically this “is unquestionably forbidden (haraam).” 31） In fact, the doctrine of non-combatant immunity is fully developed since the time of Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) who specifically enumerates five categories that cannot be a legitimate target during military operations, namely women, children, the aged, the clergy, and al-‛Asīf (any hired man that works for the enemy even in the battlefield, but does not engage in fighting).32） As for the last category, if

28） According to the Qur’an: “And if anyone of the polytheists seeks your protection, then protect him until he hears the word of God. Then, afterwards, escort him to his place of safety.” Qur’an: 9:6.

29） On the Islamic law of Amān see, for example, Majid Khadduri, The Law of War and Peace in Islam: A Study in Muslim International Law (London: Luzac & Co., 1940), p. 79; and his, War and Peace in the Law of Islam (Baltimore, MD.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1955), pp. 164 f.; Aḥmad al-Ṣāwī, Bulghah al-Sālik li-Aqrab al-Masālik, ed. Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Salām Shāhīn (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1995), Vol. 2, p. 185; Wahbah al-Zuḥaylī, Āthār al-Ḥarb fī al-Islām: Dirāsah Muqāranah, 3rd ed. (Damascus: Dār al-Fikr, 1998), pp. 225, 228, 237-239, 258-262, 269; Sobhi Mahmassani, “The Principles of International Law in the Light of Islamic Doctrine,” Recueil des Cours, Vol. 117, 1966, pp. 255 f.; Rudolph Peters, Islam and Colonialism: The Doctrine of Jihad in Modern History (The Hague: Mouton, 1979), p. 29; Ann K.S. Lambton, State and Government in Medieval Islam: An Introduction to the Study of Islamic Political Theory: The Jurists, London Oriental Series, Vol. 36 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), p. 202; Munir, “Compatibility between Anti-terrorism Legislation and Shari‘a,” pp. 101 f.

30） See, for example, Muḥammad al-Khaṭīb al-Shirbīnī, Mughnī al-Muḥtāj ilā Ma‘rifah Ma‘ānī Alfāẓ al-Minhāj (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, n.d.), Vol. 4, p. 237; Aḥmad al-Ṣāwī, Bulghah al-Sālik li-Aqrab al-Masālik, ed. Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Salām Shāhīn (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1995), Vol. 2, p. 185; Al-Dawoody, The Islamic Law of War, p. 130.

31） http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 14, 2014, p. 6.32） See, for example, traditions numbers 17932, 17933, 17934, 17935, 17936 and 17937 in Aḥmad ibn

al-Ḥusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Mūsā al-Bayhaqī, Sunan al-Bayhaqī al-Kubrā, ed. Muḥammad ‘Abd al-Qādir ‘Aṭā (Mecca: Maktabah Dār al-Bāz, 1994), Vol. 9, pp. 90 f.; traditions numbers 2613 and 2614 in Sulaymān ibn al-Ash‘ath Abū Dāwūd, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, ed. Muḥammad Muḥyī al-Dīn ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd (N.p.: Dār al-Fikr, n.d.), Vol. 3, p. 37; traditions numbers 2841 and 2842 in Muḥammad ibn Yazīd ibn Mājah, Sunan Ibn Mājah, ed. Muḥammad Fū’ād ‘Abd al-Bāqī (Beirut: Dār al-Fikr, n.d.), Vol. 2, pp. 947 f.; traditions numbers 8625,


al-‛Asīf who provides services or support to the enemy during military operations cannot be targeted, then a fortiori journalists and humanitarian aid workers as well as any other non-combatants cannot be targeted in war under Islamic law. Following the traditions of Prophet Muhammad prohibiting targeting these specific categories, by way of analogy, classical Muslim jurists of the eighth and ninth centuries extended the list of the nun-combatant immunity and specifically mentioned the farmers, traders, and craftsmen. However, if any of these categories engage in fighting, then s/he becomes a legitimate target in war operations.33） The Open Letter indicates that the murder and slaughter of about 3000 captives and unarmed civilians by ISIS between June-August 2014 are grave crimes and in stark contradiction to Islamic law.34） Furthermore, these incidents of murder constitute a war crime under article 8(2)(a)(i) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

b) Attacks onReligiousMinorities: Iraq was the home of some of the oldest and greatest world civilizations and throughout history its people have lived side by side and for over fourteen centuries of the history of Islam the Yazidis and Christians in Iraq among other ethnicities and religions, have lived in peace together. Religious minorities including the Jews and Christians have contributed to the great Islamic civilizations. The barbaric acts committed against these religious minorities reflect the dangerous nature of the ISIS tactics and its distorted reading of Islam and Islamic history. Furthermore, the atrocities committed by ISIS against the Yazidis and Christians in Iraq and Syria constitutes a serious threat to stability to this multiethnic and multireligious region. The Mauritanian eminent scholar and jurist shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah (b. 1935) issued a lengthy fatwa on September 14, 2014 under the title “This is Not the Path

8626 and 8627 in Aḥmad ibn Shu‘ayb al-Nasā’ī, Sunan al-Nasā’ī al-Kubrā, ed. ‘Abd al-Ghaffār Sulaymān al-Bindarī and Sayyid Kasrawī Ḥasan (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1991), Vol. 5, pp. 186 f.; traditions numbers 9379, 9382 and 9384 in ‘Abd al-Rāziq ibn Hammām al-Ṣana‘ānī, Al-Muṣannaf, ed. Ḥabīb al-Raḥman al-A‘ẓamī, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Al-Maktab al-Islāmī, 1982), Vol. 5, pp. 200-202; Anisseh Van Engeland, “The Differences and Similarities between International Humanitarian Law and Islamic Humanitarian Law: Is there Ground for Reconciliation?,” Journal of Islamic Law and Culture, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2008, p. 88; Munir, “Compatibility between Anti-terrorism Legislation and Shari‘a,” p. 98; http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 14, 2014, p. 12.

33） See, for example, al-Dawoody, The Islamic Law of War, pp. 111-116; Muuḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī, Al-Siyar al-Kabīr, ed. Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Munjid (Cairo: Ma‘had al-Makhṭūṭāt, n.d.), Vol. 4, Vol. 4, p. 1416; Aḥmad ibn Idrīs al-Qarāfī, Al-Dhakhīrah, ed. Muḥammad Būkhubzah (Beirut: Dār al-Gharb al-Islāmī, 1994), Vol. 3, p. 399; ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Ṣaqr, ‘Al-‘Alāqāt al-Dawliyyah fī al-Islām Waqt al-Ḥarb: Dirāsah lil-Qawā‛id al-Munaẓẓimah li-Sayr al-Qitāl, Mashrū‘ al-‘Alāqāt al-Dawliyyah fī al-Islām 6 (Cairo: Al-Ma‘had al-‘Ālamī lil-Fikr al-Islāmī, 1996), pp. 46-48; Karima Bennoune, “As-Salāmū ‛Alaykum? Humanitarian Law in Islamic Jurisprudence,” Michigan Journal of International Law, Vol. 15, Winter 1994, p. 630.

34） See http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 14, 2014, pp. 11 f.


to Paradise: Response to ISIS” in which he states that: “All forms of oppression and aggression against religious minorities are in direct contradiction to the values of our religion. In fact, Islam calls us to do well by religious minorities, to place them under our protection, and threatens those who harm them with punishment in the afterlife. This is evidenced by the track record of the Muslim world, which has no peer in history when it pertains to people living harmoniously with religious minorities, beyond what basic humanity demands of equal rights and responsibilities. Hence, any aggression of any kind or coercion to convert is unacceptable. Coerced conversion is invalid in Islamic law. Islam has nothing to do with this, as the Qur’an states, ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (Qur’an, 2:256).” 35） Moreover, The Open Letter stresses that the killings, destruction of Churches, looting the homes and properties, and forced expulsions of the Yazidis and Christians in Iraq and Syria are grave violations of the protection granted in Islamic law to the ahl al-kitāb (lit. family of the scripture, generally translated as People of the Book). The Yazidis are to be treated as the People of the Book because they are Magians and Prophet Muhammad instructs the Muslims to “Treat them [the Magians] as you treat People of the Scripture.” 36） During the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750), Hindus and Buddhists were also treated as People of the Book.37） The reference here to the classical Muslim jurists’ categorization of the non-Muslims as either People of the Book or infidels and the emphasis made by the Open Letter on the protection granted in Islamic Law to the former should not be understood to mean the permissibility of attacking the non-People of the Book particularly in light of the non-combatant immunity discussed above. Additionally, the Muslim world has replaced this ancient classical Islamic categorization with the concept of citizenship particularly after adopting the nation-state system after the abolition of the caliphate.

c) The Resuscitation of Slavery: The resuscitation of slavery by ISIS is another example that shows their ahistorical and distorted reading of the teachings of Islam and its message. The teachings of Islam affirm that the liberation of slaves is an act of worship by which Muslims come closer to God and for which they will be rewarded. In fact, according to the Qur’an, one of the eight areas of expenditure of the Zakah funds (obligatory alms, one of the five pillars of Islam) is the emancipation of slaves.38） The Open Letter denounced the resuscitation of slavery by ISIS which Islam “has worked tirelessly to undo and has been considered forbidden by consensus for over a century. Indeed, all the Muslim

35） Shaykh Abdullah Bin Bayyah, “This is Not the Path to Paradise: Response to ISIS,” http://binbayyah.net/english/2014/09/24/fatwa-response-to-isis/; October 18, 2014.

36） Ibid., p. 11.37） Ibid., p. 12.38） Qur’an: 9:60.


countries in the world are signatories of anti-slavery conventions.” 39） In fact, the Open Letter does not address openly and adequately one of the most heinous crimes committed by ISIS militants: ‘sexual violence’ and ‘savage rapes’. Forcing the female Yazidis including in some cases children to become concubines or female slaves should have been emphatically classified as committing the crime of rape under the use of organized force by a terrorist group and thus the perpetrators should receive the severest punishment under Islamic law specified for the crime of ḥirābah (terrorism).40） About a century ago, Shaykh Rashīd Riḍā (d. 1935) advocated that culprits of the crimes of “rape or abduction for the purposes of obtaining a ransom” 41） must be punished under the severe Islamic law of ḥirābah. Culprits of this crime receive the most severe punishment under Islamic law because the elements of this crime are considered an aggression on the society as a whole and not against the individual victims only. That is because any innocent citizen could be the victim of their aggression and therefore it is considered a crime against the security, peace, and economy of the society as a whole. Furthermore, the mere fact of the use of force or intimidation of the use of force by any group of armed Muslims directed against civilians falls under the crime of terrorism. These barbaric acts of sexual violence and sexual slavery constitute a war crime under article 8(b)(xxii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

d) Repression of Women: Not only have the female members of the religious minorities been the subject of repression, but Muslim women have also been subjected to different forms of repression by ISIS. Muslim women have been treated by ISIS in Iraq as “detainees and prisoners; they dress according to … [ISIS] whims; they are not allowed to leave their homes and they are not allowed to go to school.” 42） All extremist and terrorist Muslim groups whether the Taliban in Afghanistan, Boko Haram in Nigeria, or ISIS have exercised different forms of repressions against women such as forcing them to wear the complete veil and preventing them from attending public schools. It is ironic that after fourteen centuries of the advent of Islam, such distortions of Islam and ignorance of the great role Muslim women have contributed to Islamic civilization still exist in the heart of the Muslim world today. It is interesting to note that hundreds of great Muslim scholars throughout Islamic history have pointed out that they were educated at the hands of female Ḥadith scholars and jurists. In Cordoba (Muslim Spain) there were at a time 400 Muslim female Ḥadith scholars and 200 Muslim

39） http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 14, 2014, p. 12.40） See Al-Dawoody, The Islamic Law of War, pp. 174 f., 182.41） See Khaled Abou El Fadl, Rebellion and Violence in Islamic Law, paperback ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press, 2006), p. 337.42） http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 18, 2014, p. 12.


female jurists teaching Muslims about their religion and the dictates of Islamic law. For example, the twelfth century Muslim historian Ibn Asakir (d. 1176) studied under 80 female Muslim scholars.43）

e) Children: Innocent children have been also the subject of the brutality of ISIS. Many children have been recruited and trained by ISIS to commit terrorist acts and fight alongside the ISIS militants. Many children aged 13 and below attend training camps where they shoot rifles and were forced to watch decapitations and stoning of ISIS victims.44） The appalling images of a child playing with a severed head of an ISIS victim have shocked the world.45） The Open Letter inadequately responded to this brutality against children in the following sentence: “These are crimes against innocents who are so young they are not even morally accountable.” 46） But it should be mentioned here that it is prohibited under Islamic law for children who have not reached puberty or one below the age of fifteen, according to the opinions of most classical Muslim jurists, to join the army. This prohibition is based on the Prophet’s refusal to accept Muslim male volunteers who wanted to join the Muslim army in the battles of Badr (March 624) and Uḥud (March 625) and accepted them only when they reached the age of fifteen.47） Therefore, under the title “The Rights of the Child Under Islamic Law: Prohibition of the Child Soldier,” Maryam Elahi emphasizes that: “the use of [Muslim] children in armed conflicts is in direct contravention of the fundamental sources of Islamic law.” 48） This is to reiterate here the ignorance of ISIS of the fundamentals of Islamic law, despite their claim for establishing an Islamic state that applies Islamic law. It is worth adding here that Article 77 (2) of the Additional Protocol I, 8 June 1977, of the Geneva Conventions stipulates the same age limit for the protection of children. It reads: “The Parties to the conflict shall take all feasible measures in order that children who have not attained the age of fifteen years do not take a direct part in hostilities and, in particular, they shall refrain from recruiting them into their armed forces.” 49） The

43） Muhammad Eqbal and Farouque Hassan, “Madrassa (Madrasah),” in Helmut K. Anheier and Stefan Toepler eds. International Encyclopedia of Civil Society (New York: springer, 2010), p. 964.

44） Deborah Hastings, “ISIS Recruits Children to Perform Beheadings, Shoot Rifles, Carry out Terrorist Attacks,” http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/isis-training-children-behead-launch-terrorist-attacks-article-1. 1921995, October 18, 2014.

45） “‘Radicalized’ Father of Australian Boy Holding Severed Head has Mental Illness,” http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/12/world/asia/australia-boy-severed-head-syria/, October 18, 2014.

46） http://lettertobaghdadi.com, October 19, 2014, p. 13.47） Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī, Al-Majmū‘: Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab, ed. Maḥmūd Maṭrajī (Beirut: Dār

al-Fikr, 2000), Vol. 21, pp. 20 f.48） Maryam Elahi, “The Rights of the Child Under Islamic Law: Prohibition of the Child Soldier,” Columbia

Human Rights Law Review, Vol. 19, No. 2, 1988, pp. 265, 274, 279.49） “Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of


brutality committed by ISIS against the children falls under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. According to Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: “Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into the national armed forces or using them to participate actively in hostilities,” constitutes a war crime.

f) Torture: The different forms of the brutal torture perpetrated by ISIS against its victims include torture through beatings, burying people alive, decapitating people with knives, and waterboarding.50） The teachings of Islam make it clear that human beings are dignified creatures. The honor, dignity, and body of human beings must be respected whether in times of peace or during war operations. As an example of this respect to human dignity, Prophet Muhammad instructed the Muslim soldiers to avoid the enemy’s face during the fighting.51） Early Islamic history books show that none of the prisoners of war were subjected to cruel, degrading or inhumane treatment, and based on the instructions of Prophet Muhammad, prisoners of war were humanely treated, fed, and clothed by the Muslims.52） Mālik ibn Anas (d. 795), the eponymous founder of the Mālikī school of law, pointed out that torture of captured enemy belligerents to obtain military intelligence is prohibited under Islamic law.53） This dignified treatment of human beings extends to animals: Islam considers any cruel treatment to animals as a sin. “When the Prophet once passed a group of people who were shooting arrows at a sheep, he abhorred their action.” 54） Prophet Muhammad commanded Muslims that if they had to take the life of a human being in accordance with the law, then it must be done in the best manner and if they slaughter an animal, then also it must be done in the best manner. Hence, according to the rules of ritual

Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), 8 June 1977,” https://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/7c4d08d9b287a42141256739003e636b/f6c8b9fee14a77fdc125641e0052b079, October 19, 2014.

50） See http://lettertobaghdadi.com/, October 19, 2014, p. 13; http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2780905/Photographer-prison-hell-mercy-Pinocchio-British-torturer-ISIS-defector-says-hostage-John-Cantlie-waterboarded-given-electric-shocks-jihadi-lied.html, October 19, 2014.

51） See, for example, traditions number 2458 in Muḥammad ibn Fattūḥ al-Ḥumaydī, Al-Jam‘ bayn al-Ṣaḥīḥayn al-Bukhārī wa Muslim, ed. ‘Alī Ḥusayn al-Bawwāb, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Dār ibn Ḥazm, 2002), Vol. 3, pp. 210 f.; traditions number 516 in Aḥmad ibn ‘Amr ibn Abī ‘Āṣīm al-Ḍaḥḥāk, Kitāb al-Sunnah, ed. Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (Beirut: Al-Maktab al-Islāmī, 1979), Vol. 1, p. 228; Mahmassani, “The Principles of International Law in the Light of Islamic Doctrine,” p. 303.

52） Al-Dawoody, The Islamic Law of War, p. 139. On the Treatment of the prisoners of war under Islamic law, see also Troy S. Thomas, “Prisoners of War in Islam: A Legal Inquiry,” The Muslim World, Vol. LXXXVII, No. 1, January, 1997, p. 44-53; and his, “Jihad’s Captives: Prisoners of War in Islam,” U.S. Air Force Academy Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 12, 2003, pp. 78-101; Lena Salaymeh, “Early Islamic Legal-Historical Precedents: Prisoners of War,” Law and History Review, Vol. 26, No. 3, Fall 2008, pp. 521-544.

53） Al-Dawoody, The Islamic Law of War, p. 139. On investigative torture under Islamic law see, Sadiq Reza, “Torture and Islamic Law,” Chicago Journal of International Law, Vol. 8, No. 1, Summer 2007, pp. 21-41.

54） Ibid., p. 120.


slaughtering of animals in Islam, all measures should be taken to speed and alleviate the pain of slaughtering animals such as sharpening the knife, and slaughtering the animal from the back of the neck so it cannot see the knife, as well as not slaughtering an animal in front of another animal. Over and again, the barbaric and brutal torture perpetrated by the ISIS militants is in flagrant violation of Islamic law and constitutes a war crime according to Article 8(2)(a)(ii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

g) Mutilation: The respect and dignity of human beings referred to above continues after death. Such respect includes the obligation of burying the enemy dead and if Muslims do not abide by this obligation, they would be committing mutilation, the Andalusian jurist Ibn Ḥazm (d. 1064) confirms.55） The Prophet’s instructions to the Muslim soldiers include: “do not betray and do not mutilate.” 56） Likewise, the first Muslim caliph Abū Bakr (d. 634) sent written commands to one of his governors in Hadramaut, Yemen which reads: “Beware of mutilation, because it is a sin and a disgusting act.” 57） Abū Bakr also strongly abhorred the Persian and Byzantine practice of carrying the severed heads of enemy leaders as a sign of victory and emphatically ordered the Muslims to abide by the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah and abstain from such un-Islamic practices.58） Prophet Muhammad also prohibited mutilation of animals as follows: “God curses the one who mutilates animals.” 59） Furthermore, the Prophet even prohibited mutilating the body of the dangerous al-kalb al-‘aqūr (rabid dog).60） This prohibition demonstrates the heinous nature of mutilation and proves beyond an iota of doubt

55） ‘Alī ibn Aḥmad ibn Sa‘īd ibn Ḥazm, Al-Muḥallā (Beirut: Dār al-Āfāq al-Jadīdah, n.d.), Vol. 5, p. 117.56） Tradition number 966 in Anas ibn Mālik, Muwaṭṭa’ al-Imām Mālik, ed. Muḥammad Fū’ād ‛Abd al-Bāqī

(Cairo: Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‛Arabī, n.d.), Vol. 2, p. 448; traditions numbers 2342 and 5197 in Muḥammad ibn Ismā‛īl al-Bukhārī, Al-Jāmi‘ al-Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mukhtaṣar, ed. Muṣṭafā Dīb al-Baghā, 3rd ed. (Damascus; Beirut: Dār ibn Kathīr, 1987), Vol. 2, p. 875, Vol. 5, p. 2100; Abdulrahman Muhammad Alsumaih, “The Sunni Concept of Jihad in Classical Fiqh and Modern Islamic Thought” (PhD thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1998), p. 124.

57） Quoted in ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Ṣaqr, ‘Al-‘Alāqāt al-Dawliyyah fī al-Islām Waqt al-Ḥarb: Dirāsah lil-Qawā‘id al-Munaẓẓimah li-Sayr al-Qitāl, Mashrū‘ al-‘Alāqāt al-Dawliyyah fī al-Islām 6 (Cairo: Al-Ma‛had al-‛Ālamī lil-Fikr al-Islāmī, 1996), p. 57.

58） See Al-Nawawī, Al-Majmū‘,Vol. 21, p. 80; Muwaffaq al-Dīn ‘Abd Allah ibn Qudāmah, Al-Kāfī fī Fiqh al-Imām Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal, ed. Muḥammad Fāris and Mus‘ad ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd al-Sa‘danī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2004), Vol. 4, p. 129; Ṣaqr, ‘Al-‘Alāqāt al-Dawliyyah, p. 57; Yadh Ben Ashoor, Islam and International Humanitarian Law (N.p.: International Committee of the Red Cross, 1980), p. 7; A.B.M. Mafizul Islam Patwari, Principles of International Humanitarian Law: An Oriental Perspective (Dhaka: Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, 1994), p. 31.

59） Tradition number 4442 in Aḥmad ibn Shu‘ayb al-Nasā’ī, Al-Mujtabā min al-Sunan, ed. ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ Abū Ghuddah, 2nd ed. (Aleppo: Maktab al-Maṭbū‘āt al-Islāmiyyah, 1986), Vol. 7, p. 238.

60） Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Abī Sahl al-Sarakhsī, Kitāb al-Mabsūt (Beirut: Dār al-Ma‘rifah, n.d.), Vol. 9, pp. 135, 196, Vol. 10, pp. 129, 131, Vol. 16, p. 145, Vol. 26, p. 175.


that mutilation is a sin in Islam. ISIS have violated all these prohibitions and mutilated the corpses of their victims, kicked and mocked at their severed heads and broadcasted such gruesome images.61） Like most of the other heinous acts committed by ISIS above, mutilation constitutes a war crime according to Article 8(2)(b)(x) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

4. Conclusion

These stark violations of Islamic law indicate that, apart from the sheer ignorance of Islamic law,62） the phenomenon of Islamist terrorism requires investigation into the educational, social, and political backgrounds breeding and harboring the current wave of Muslim terrorist groups.63） The significance of the rate of education and the system of education itself should not be underestimated here. Illiteracy rates in the Arab world are higher than the international average 64） and as pointed out by Parvez Ahmed: “The number of universities in the fifty-seven Muslim countries combined is fewer than the number of universities in Japan alone.” 65） Therefore, it is rare to find one single university in the Arab world in the annual academic ranking of the world top 500 universities and, therefore, it is no wonder that the number of the Muslim Nobel Laureates until the present time is only ten: seven in peace, two in literature, and one in Chemistry.66） Religious education is no exception to the poor education system in the Muslim world and in fact it receives the least attention from the governments in the Muslim countries. The education system that depends on memorization, delivery and retention of information without critical thinking is a typical breeding ground for literal understanding of religious texts which leads to radicalism and extremism. The examples of distortions and ignorance of Islamic law and

61） http://lettertobaghdadi.com/, October 20, 2014, p. 13.62） On the distortion of Islamic religious texts by Muslim terrorists and the “link between religious ignorance

and terrorism,” see Munir, “Compatibility between Anti-terrorism Legislation and Shari‘a,” pp. 105 f. On the fact that “There is no special link between Islam and terrorism,” see Ahmed, “Terror in the Name of Islam-Unholy War, Not Jihad,” p. 785.

63） See Ahmed, “Terror in the Name of Islam-Unholy War, Not Jihad,” p. 785.64） See Charles F. Bingman, Governments in the Muslim World: The Search for Peace, Justice, and Fifty

Million New Jobs (Bloomington: iUniverse, 2013), p. 212.65） Ibid., p. 787. As of May 1, 2011, the number of universities in Japan is 780 including national, public, and

private universities. Higher Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, “Higher Education in Japan,” http://www.mext.go.jp/english/highered/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2012/06/ 19/1302653_1.pdf, October 27, 2014. According to Husain Haqqani: “A little less than half of the world’s Muslim population is illiterate. The number of books published in the Arab world, with more than 250 million people, is less than the titles printed every year in Greek, which is the language of only 16 million people.” Husain Haqqani, “Cartoon Protests and Muslim Decline,” http://www.island.lk/2006/03/19/features3.html, October 21, 2014.

66） The Pakistani Abdus Salam jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979. He belonged to the Ahmaddia sect which is considered as non-Muslims by the 1974 Pakistani Constitution.


its methods and methodologies by ISIS, discussed above, are merely cases in point of the results of such an education system, or even lack thereof. Literal understanding of religious text and laws and taking them out of context are not unique to the case of Islam nor of its present time. Several fundamentalist groups have emerged throughout different phases and situations in Islamic history. At present, unlike other parts of the world, the greatest part of the Muslim world is still recovering from the repercussions of the colonial era and, unfortunately, after almost more than half a century, many parts of the Muslim world are still struggling with either occupations, border disputes, inefficient and poor governance, dictatorship, or lack of genuine democratic experiences. Certainly, this situation led to the emergence of many radical groups in different parts of the Muslim world. No less importantly here, determining the place and role of the religion of Islam in the public life of Muslim societies remains a challenge for governments and religious institutions in the Muslim world. It is also a core factor that determines the nature and identity of the many, still embryonic, Muslim nation states. The failure of the secular nationalist regimes and the religious establishments in many Muslim countries to settle and/or adapt the relation between the religion of Islam and public life in the modern world has caused the zealot Islamist groups who call for the Islamization of Muslim societies to appear to many among the ordinary public as the champions for the cause of the religion of Islam. Therefore, the reestablishment of the caliphate,67） or the creation of an Islamic state and the application of Islamic law are rallying cries for many zealot Muslim groups throughout the world. Therefore, in light of the internal situation in most of the Muslim countries as shown above, this article only partly agrees with Tony Blair that the root causes of all problems including terrorism in the Middle East are “bad systems of politics mixed with abuse of religion.” Equally important, however, as root causes of radicalization and terrorism of the Muslim youth are the foreign occupations of the Muslim territories and the double-standard of the foreign policy of the Western countries regarding the Middle East issues. The Israeli occupation of Palestine will remain one of the root causes that generates both peaceful and violent resistance in the Palestinian occupied territories as well as terrorism and resentment of the Western, particularly USA, foreign policy in the Middle East. The study of the world’s leading expert on terrorism Robert A. Pape confirms that: “suicide terrorism is mainly the product of foreign military occupation… It is not, as the conventional wisdom holds, mostly a product of religious extremism independent of political circumstances.” 68） The US-UK led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 in which Blair

67） See “What’s the Appeal of a Caliphate,” http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29761018, October 27, 2014.68） Robert A. Pape, “Methods and Findings in the Study of Suicide Terrorism,” American Political Science

Review, Vol. 102, No. 2, May 2008, p. 275, see also his, “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism,” The American Political Science Review, Vol. 97, No. 3, August 2003, pp. 343-361; and his Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism, paperback ed. (New York: Random House, 2006).


played a vital role, undoubtedly, has led to the radicalization of many Muslim youths including those living in the West. The 7 July, 2005, terrorist bombings in London, which killed 52 and injured hundreds of civilians, were carried out by four British Muslims, three of whom were born in Britain. In fact, the massive peaceful demonstrations of millions of British citizens in the streets of London forced Blair to resign in 2007 because of the British involvement in the invasion of Iraq. In conclusion, terrorism is a complex phenomenon: it is a disease, but at the same time it is also a symptom to other diseases. In other words, the eradication of terrorism depends on tackling its root causes. Relating the causes of terrorism merely to religious fanaticism or misinterpretation of the religious texts is an oversimplification that does not help in the eradication of terrorism. The same applies to the intelligence and security treatment of terrorism: while it is very crucial in curtailing terrorist acts in the short-term, it does not lead to eradicating terrorism altogether. Removing the root causes specific to each case of terrorism is the most effective way in the eradication and even prevention of terrorism. In the case of terrorism under discussion, ending occupation and tyranny and promoting good governance, democracy, and human rights in the Muslim world should be the strategic long term approach to the prevention of terrorism in the Muslim world. In the meantime, addressing and educating the public about the distortions and violations of Islamic law by Muslim terrorists should also be utilized as a counter terrorism approach. Classical Muslim jurists, as this article has shown, regulated in great detail the use of force and prohibited any use of terrorist or indiscriminate use of force against non-combatants. Indeed, the antidote to terrorism perpetrated by Muslims is disseminating the position of Islamic law on these terrorist acts at the hands of qualified and trustworthy Muslim jurists. It is regrettable that despite the importance of this task in the counter-terrorism process, it has not yet been adequately utilized and on the contrary Islam has been even blamed as a cause of terrorism.

ISIS and its Brutality Under Islamic Law

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