Opinion

NO JIHAD IN BALI BOMBING

By Abd A’la

As can be read from the mass media coverage, the advent of Amrozi and Mukhlas corpses in the village of their birth in Lamongan on November 10, 2008 greeted by some or groups of Muslim communities there as a martyrs, mujahid.

Community who view those Amrozi at al as martyrs confirm the strong impression of supporting Amrozi at al bombing the region of Legian in Bali and killing hundreds of civil society on 12 October 2002 six years ago. They seem to view that terroristic attack on Bali is not terrorism, but holy war (qital-jihadi).

This reality shows there are some people who still do not understand the whole concept of jihad. They were trapped in the naive belief understanding religious teachings partially. They may believe, doing violence to –even killing –non-Muslim in any condition and at any time is jihad fi sabilillah; the holy war.

Such views certainly had to face with the concept of jihad as in the Koran, Hadith of the Messenger, the views of ulama, and with Islam the history. Through this dialogue, we expected not too hasty in using religious symbols, especially for things that would harm Islam, people and their life overall.

The Meaning of Jihad

In Islam, the term of jihad is not a synonym words qital and harb (war/ physical battle). Meanwhile qital in the Koran always refers to self-defense and physical resistance, jihad laden with various meanings that have become the theological basis since the Meccan period. This can be tracked such from paragraph 25 of the Koran, which directs people to “fight” Mecca idolaters through the Koran. Because of this paragraph came down in Mecca, jihad clearly is not physical attacks, but argues and the like.

In addition, the hadith in Musnad Imam Ahmad stated, who called mujahid is someone who struggled against her/his desire to obey God's teachings, and the Hadith in Imam Nasai declared, jihad for adults or other, male or female, and the strong and the weak one are doing pilgrimage (hajj and 'umrah). The meaning is clearly different with qital allowed when people fled to Medina with the goal solely for self-defense.

Related to the diversity of the meaning of jihad, Hossein Nasr (2005) argues, all of the effort in noble morality, including prayer (solat) and so is the jihad. Therefore, Khaled Abou El Fadl (2005:21) is not excessive when he states, jihad is a powerful symbol of perseverance, hard work, and all the success in Islam. history To certain degree, jihad has similarity with the ethics of Protestantism. Through this jihad, Islam and civilization achieve peak performance in the scholarly and sciences during the early to mid-century.

It must be recognized, jihad during the first generation of Muslims often be connotated with qital. This is because the world at that time, i.e. Arabs, Byzantium and the other were in the state of war. Such reality making the Prophet Muhammad (puh) and Muslims after flight to Medina were allowed to resistance against the polytheists. However, qital-jihadi (holy war or physically resistance) was allowed only for defense, and self-exemption from the fetters repression. More than that, connoting resistance with jihad means that it must be based on moral grandeur, and as last way when other efforts have been closed entirely.

In the next period, the fuqaha (Islamic legal experts) both the Sunni and Shi’ah formulated the requirements of qital-jihadi strictly. Based on the Koran and Sunnah of the Messenger, they assert that physical resistance by the people of Islam should never direct to the civilian population. In addition, only leaders have the right to declare the implementation and enforcement of resistance. In the context of the Sunni, the leader is the head of state, while of the Shi’ah is the priest.

If it is drawn to the contemporary context, when the world is no longer in the state of war, and conflict between two or more countries should be solved through international agencies, the requirement of qital-jihadi must be more closely strict. Conversely, jihad in comprehensive and humanistic perspectives, and with its morality meaning need to be disseminated.

No Jihad in Terrorism

Based on the meaning of jihad above, we believe the attack carried out by Amrozi et al has no relation, even contrary, to the true jihad. Moreover, the tourists to whom Amrozi at al targeted, according to al-Qardhawi, not only cannot be attacked, but also not to be disturbed. Furthermore, al-Jabiri (2003) asserts, the verses of the sword (qital), which is often used as the basis for certain Muslim groups to conduct terrorism is highly contextual, associated with the condition of Islam at that time. Even al-Faqih Ibn al-Arabi -quoted by al-Jabiri -states, the unbelievers (kafir or mushrikun) stated in the revelations is related to the unbelievers of Mecca in that time. Thus, the infidel, especially the other non-Muslims, nowadays, cannot be make simply the same as unbelievers of Mecca.

In this perspective, explaining jihad accordance with the substance of the teachings of Islam is very urgent to be done. Thus, the existence of Islam as a religion of peace and as grace for all (rahmatan lil alamin) is no more an apology, but as reality anchored in the life firmly. Through the ideals of jihad, Muslims charged hard to build and develop civilization in order to reach the welfare for themselves and the humankind as a whole. For that reason, sincerity, honesty, and building firm-commitment between Muslims and Western countries to achieve the goal are a certainty that cannot be ignored©.

Originally published in Indonesian on Jawa Pos daily, November 19, 2008