The Doctrine of Jihad in the Islamic Hadith -- By: Emir F. Caner

Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 08:1 (Spring 2004)
Article: The Doctrine of Jihad in the Islamic Hadith
Author: Emir F. Caner


The Doctrine of Jihad in the Islamic Hadith

Emir F. Caner

Ergun M. Caner

Emir Fethi Caner is Associate Professor of Church History and Anabaptist Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He previously served as a church planter in the Czech Republic. Dr. Caner has also served as a pastor and speaks regularly on church history and Islam around the world. Ergun Mehmet Caner is Professor of Theology and Church History at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has served as a pastor and has lectured on apologetics, world religions, and theology in eleven countries. Raised as Sunni Muslims, the Caner brothers have co-authored several books, including Unveiling Islam: An Insider’s Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs (Kregel, 2002), More than a Prophet: An Insider ’s Response to Muslim Beliefs about Jesus and Christianity (Kregel, 2003), andOut of the Crescent Shadows: Leading Muslim Women into the Light of Christ (New Hope, 2003).

Introduction

On 23 February 1998, five Islamic caliphates signed a document of a declaration of war against the United States of America (fatwa). Representing five radical factions, these men united in calling the Muslim world to task against the perceived enemy of Islam. The full text reads as follows:

Statement signed by Sheikh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin; Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Abu-Yasir Rifa’i Ahmad Taha, a leader of the Islamic Group; Sheikh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e- Pakistan; and Fazlul Rahman, leader of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh.

Praise be to Allah, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book, “But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)”; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-’Abdallah, who said, “I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but Allah is worshipped, Allah who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders.” The Arabian Peninsula has never—since Allah made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas—been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies now spreading in it like locusts, consuming its riches and destroying its plantations. All this is happening at a time when nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food. In the light of the grave situation and the lack of support, we and you are obliged to discuss current events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter.

No one argues today about three fact...

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