Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Can Islam be nonviolent?

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Matt Stone

2010-01-29

In discussing nonviolence against a backdrop of religiously charged war, I'd like to explore the question: can Islam be nonviolent?

Well, it's always good to read primary sources, so here's what some Muslims think:

Islamic nonviolence / Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Islam and non-violence / What the Muslim world can teach us about nonviolence / Nonviolence in the Islamic context?

So what do you think? Does Islam have a solid foundation to build on, particularly given the different life examples of Jesus and Mohammed? Should we encourage Muslim advocates of nonviolent resistance, or dismiss them as misguided?

And that last question brings me to another question: if you live by a just war theology as a Christian, would you reciprocally defend Muslim use of "justified" violence?

Tags Muslim, Peace

5 responses to “Can Islam be nonviolent?”

Scott Paeth

2010-01-29

As “justified violence” is broadly conceived in Islam, yes. With various qualifications depending on the interpretation of the person under discussion.
On Islamic nonviolence, I’ve been very taken by the work of Badshah Khan.

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Janet

2010-01-30

Fascinating links Matt. I’d hope the thoughts expressed here would be something both Muslims and Christians could agree with.

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Andrew Park

2010-01-31

I felt positive about what I read. Seems some good grounds for encouraging them along the non-violent pathway. They seem to get it.
One of the writers actually defined Islamic various terms such as Jihad along non-violent lifestyle lines.
However, it does concern me that a lot of the talk was about non-violence as a tactic or strategy. It is, but my hope is that it would also be interpreted as Martin Luther King saw it – not a `mere tactic’ but as “a way of life”.
Tactics are disposable – they get abandoned when the people who used them think they don’t work.
Adopting non-violence as a “way of life” takes a much more significant commitment.

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Matt Stone

2010-02-01

Good point Andrew, there’s a big difference to resisting nonviolently as a tactic and resisting nonviolently as an act of obedience. The former may be set aside far more easily. For example, the “eight theses” on Muslim nonviolence described in the first link seem to indicate that Islamic nonviolence is motivated primarily by the problem of distinguishing between combatants and noncombatants in modern warfare. Should we presume then, that if noncombatant distinctions could be made more easily, that the author would then not have so much of a problem with violent struggle? I mean, it’s encouraging that he sees the suicide bombing of civilians as unacceptable, and we should encourage anyone who promotes such a stance, but is this as far as he can go?
And as for the second link on Abdul Ghaffar Khan, from my limited understanding his theological reliance on the earlier part of Muhammed’s life would seem to be a weekness given the progressive nature of Islamic revelation. That is, given that latter revelation takes priority over earlier revelation in Islam, and given Mohammed resorted to armed struggle later in life, it would seem that nonviolence, at best, is one option amongst many for the Muslim who bases his life on Mohammed.
In fact, from a pacifist Christian perspective, these writings seem not so much an attempt at Islamic pacifism as a species of negative just war argument. That is, of what just war advocates do when it is impossible to pursue war in a just way. Better by far than holy war terrorism, but far short of genuine pacifist commitment.

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Janet

2010-02-01

The first author is a “she”, just to be pedantic! 🙂

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