Fatwa Forbidding Jihad across the Globe

A Fatwa is an Islamic legal judgment forbidding´-or-justifying certain actions, and aiming to benefit Muslims and humanity. It plays an important role in Islamic culture because it is supposed to express the core Islamic beliefs and guide the Muslims in their daily lives. Fatwas are still issued today, and they are highly influential in shaping the beliefs and behaviors of Muslims.

However, it is very strange and even extremely shocking that a Fatwa forbidding Jihad across the globe is not issued yet. The explanations for the absence of this Fatwa might vary. For example, the misguided interpretations of Islam are the main factors behind not developing a Fatwa forbidding Jihad. In addition, many Muslims are even fearful of thinking about this Fatwa. This is so because this Fatwa might challenge the status quo of the Muslim world.
Most Muslims who portray Islam as a religion of peace will endorse this Fatwa forbidding Jihad across the globe. And those Muslims who might not accept it are in fact rejecting the core of their religion. The Quran says: "If anyone killed a person…it would be as if he killed all of humanity, and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the whole humanity." From the same perspective, the prophet Muhammad says: "Do not kill women´-or-children´-or-non-combatants and do not kill old people´-or-religious people." It obviously follows that Jihad in the sense of an actual holy war against innocent citizens is not Islamically accepted. On the contrary, it is Islamically forbidden to launch attacks against citizens, and a true Muslim should save lives instead of terrorizing others in the name of a holy war. Therefore, Jihad as a holy war against others, whether in the East´-or-the West, is Islamically forbidden.

Jihad doesn’t have to be interpreted as an actual holy war. Rather, it could be interpreted as a peaceful resistance to injustice and a spiritual journey towards freeing oneself from one’s selfish desires and material needs. The prophet Muhammad says: “The best type of Jihad is speaking a true word in the presence of a tyrant ruler”. He also declares that “ Jihad involves four things: enjoining the doing of good, forbidding the doing of evil, speaking the truth in a situation of trial, and having enmity for the wrong-doer”.
In addition to the fact that Jihad in the sense of an actual holy war harms people everywhere, it also harms the Muslims themselves. Many Arab and Muslim countries have been destroyed because of Jihad. Thus, Jihad as an actual holy war is not beneficial for the Muslims. And whenever a Jihadi activity is done in the West, Muslims are described as terrorists and anti-Muslim sentiment becomes dominant, leading the Muslims in the West to be more isolated and not successful in having better lives. The harmfulness of Jihad is a genuine justification of its Islamic illegitimacy. In light of these considerations, I call upon the Muslims everywhere to publicly accept this Fatwa of peace forbidding Jihad as a holy war across the globe.

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