Afsaruddin spoke as the final speaker as part of the Poynter Center Roundtable series.
The Poynter Center Roundtable series highlights new work by IU-Bloomington faculty that raises issues in ethics and democratic life and culture. Each roundtable includes a presentation followed by discussion and interaction with the featured faculty member.
The Poynter Center is an endowed ethics research center at IU-Bloomington. The Center is dedicated to studying a broad range of ethical issues in American public life. Interdisciplinary in aim, it uses the full resources of IU to initiate research and teaching across customary academic boundaries.
The Center’s projects attempt to take a regulating perspective. In recent years, the Poynter Center has focused on bioethics, religion, political ethics, research ethics, professional ethics and technology.
Referring to her recently published book by the Oxford University Press, “Striving in the Path of God: Jihad and Martyrdom in Islamic Thought,” Afsaruddin broke down the meaning of the word “jihad” and its transition of both denotation and connotation.
“There are many popular myths of the jihad,” Afsaruddin said. “Popular media, mainstream publications, in addition to print literature, emphasizes these myths.”
The modern myths were broken down into three categories: bloody warfare in efforts to take over the world or until the world ends, whichever comes first, the myth that any Muslim can summon up a jihad when wanted for self-gain and the myth that the ultimate goal is to make Muslims the dominate people no matter what, regardless of any boundaries.
“Vast Quran commentaries holding discussions of jihad are about able Muslim men put to work in obligation to religion,” Afsaruddin said.
A variety of commentaries were then presented to the audience of about 20 participants. Those who were active in the lecture were given a glossary to fill in during the lecture to understand the many commentaries that Afsaruddin gave reference toward when breaking down the meaning of jihad.
The basis definition of the word was broken down via the rules of war. These rules are as follows: one should only fight those who fight, one should only fight those who have the ability to fight back and one should only fight those who fight unless they have an inclination toward peace.
Some interpreters of the Quran believed these rules only applied to the first generation Muslims, Afsaruddin said.
“When it is dually constituted, war is allowed,” Afsaruddin said.
The lecture then transitioned to the altered definition of jihad, turning from an effort or struggle to a negatively looked-at holy war.
According to the Quran, there is neither compulsion nor coercion in religion. Therefore, wars fought for material gain are all forbidden. This is broadened to forbid any acts of self-destruction or suicide.
Modern terrorist groups today like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant interpret these laws in a different way in order for it to fit their own meaning.
This is how the holy war has become the modern meaning, according to Afsaruddin, of the once religious struggle of jihad.
“You can prove anything you want to from context if you want that intention,” Afsaruddin said.
