The London terror outrage of July 7 2005 and the failed attacks almost 2 years later once again in London and Glasgow made it clear that the threat from suicide bombers does not simply come from foreigners who slip into the country, but from people who live and have grown up amongst us. How and why British-born Muslims would want to blow themselves up is difficult to understand, though understand we must if we are to prevent these acts in the future.
The chapters in this book are written by evolving and renowned Muslim scholars in the field of Islamic studies. Particularly focusing on the legal discussions on Jihad, these scholars differentiate between key Islamic concepts and rules pertaining to the conduct of war and its jurisprudence and the hate-inspired crime scourging the earth today.
In this updated and expanded edition, the contributors address crucial contemporary issues and challenges facing Muslims in the West. Drawing upon an intellectual framework from within a classical Islamic discourse, they provide a social, political and cultural observation of the world in which we all live in today.
- Seeks to understand what drives young Muslims to radicalism
- Examines the argument that "Islam needs a reformation"
- Reviews the legal injunctions on warfare and examines the sacred texts in this regard
- Explains the various verses from the Qur'an that are used to justify indiscriminate killing (such as "do not take the Jews and Christians as 'awliya") in light of the earliest Qur'anic exegetes
- Concludes with a comprehensive fatwa (with its evidences) that examines both the issue of targeting civilians and the legality of suicide bombings
"At last, a significant and sustained Muslim commentary on 7/7. Aftab Malik is to be congratulated on identifying a new generation of western Muslim thinkers at ease with the social sciences and mainstream Sunni scholarship. An indispensable point of entry for policy makers, academics and the general reader."
- Dr Philip Lewis, lecturer in Peace Studies, Bradford University