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There are two types of armed religious warfare in Islam, namely the defensive jihad and the offensive jihad. This article discusses offensive jihad as a concept in Islamic law. (For discussion of aspects of jihad not related to warfare, see the main article, jihad.)

Offensive jihad is the waging of wars of aggression and conquest against non-Muslims in order to bring them and their territories under Islamic rule. Although the basis of any decisions, made by Muslims regarding war, should be derived from the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad, many people are increasingly quoting the works of non-Muslims or those Muslims that issue insightful fatwas to justify their opinions of violence in Islam. However, without direct evidence from the Quran and Sunnah these opinions are merely the words of man; as depicted in the paragraph below.

According to the Encyclopedia of the Orient, "offensive jihad, i.e. attacking, is fully permissible in Sunni Islam." [1]. An Islamic theologian considered the father of the modern Islamist movement, Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, declared in his fatwa, Defense of the Muslim Lands; the First Obligation after Faith that:

"Jihad Against the Kuffar is of two Types: Offensive Jihad (where the enemy is attacked in his own territory) ... [and] Defensive Jihad. This is expelling the Kuffar from our land, and it is Fard Ayn [personal religious obligation on Muslim individuals], a compulsory duty upon all...

Where the Kuffar [infidels] are not gathering to fight the Muslims, the fighting becomes Fard Kifaya [religious obligation on Muslim society] with the minimum requirement of appointing believers to guard borders, and the sending of an army at least once a year to terrorise the enemies of Allah. It is a duty of the Imam to assemble and send out an army unit into the land of war once or twice every year. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the Muslim population to assist him, and if he does not send an army he is in sin. - And the Ulama have mentioned that this type of jihad is for maintaining the payment of Jizya. The scholars of the principles of religion have also said: "Jihad is Daw'ah with a force, and is obligatory to perform with all available capabilities, until there remains only Muslims or people who submit to Islam." [2]

Liberal Muslims who do not subscribe to this interpretation of Jihad dispute the necessity and obligation of the offensive jihad in contemporary times. They argue that the traditional "land of war" referenced in Shaikh Azzam's fatwa refers to the hostile regimes and empires surrounding early Islamic communities. Under this interpretation, offensive jihad was practiced only to preserve Islam from destruction and is now obsolete.

In support of this view, those who reject militant Islamism are likely to resist the claim that Islam as a whole is under hostile attack. While acknowledging both political turbulence and suffering, they point out that Muslim pilgrims come and go as they wish to the annual Hajj pilgrimage, that religious freedom for Muslims to practice their faith exists in most countries, and that sizeable Muslim communities have emerged in countries like the United States and England. They are also likely to emphasize Islamic traditions that endorse tolerance for other religious groups.

Some argue that the conflict between these two points of view can itself be seen as a "struggle", or jihad, for the soul of contemporary Islam. Others argue that the modernizing forces among the non-religious in Muslim countries tend to be have a secular focus.

Contents 1 Who can authorize offensive Jihad? 2 See also 3 External links 4 References

Only the supreme leader of the Muslims, the Caliph, can declare an offensive jihad against a non-Muslim territory. The institution of the Caliphate ended with the fall of Islamic imperialism. The last Islamic empire was the Ottoman Empire, which fell after World War I; on March 3, 1924, Kemal Atatürk abolished the Ottoman Caliphate. In the absence of a Caliph and an Islamic empire capable of waging wars of conquests, there is no possibility of anyone authorizing an offensive jihad.

• Jihad
• Defensive jihad
• Rules of war in Islam
• Islam as a political movement

• Islam Q&A: Was Islam spread by the sword?