http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20060220.F02&irec=3 Islamic law, state of war and peace
Nurrohman, Bandung The confession of a terror suspect, who was recently arrested in Central Java for his alleged link to Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) mastermind, Noordin M.Top, that he had been involved in armed robberies to collect funds for terrorist activities, has proven police suspicions. The terrorists see themselves as living in a state of war, in which killing and stealing are acceptable means to winning the war. For someone familiar with Islamic law, such opinions are not new. In classical Islamic law theories, a state of Dar al-Harb (war) is the opposite of a state of Dar al-Islam (peace). The world during the classical Islamic period was merely divided by scholars, into these two categories. Theoretically, peace is always in conflict, trying to prevent a state of war. Muslims who adopt or live in Dar al-Islam are obliged to persuade other nations to abide by Islam. If they (other nations/religious believers) deny Islam, there are only two options for them: paying jizyah (taxes), or being attacked and conquered through jihad -- Holy War. Non-Muslims who are ready to pay the taxes will be protected by the Islamic state and get the status of dzimmi bestowed upon them. Non-Muslims are protected in Dar al-Islam with limited political rights. While non-Muslims who refuse Islam and refuse dzimmi status, their blood and wealth are not protected. It means that jihad against non-Muslim nations/peoples, is used by an Islamic state to change Dar al-Harb into Dar al-Islam. As Islam was born in Arabia, as explained by Majid Khadduri in his book War and Peace in the Law of Islam, Islam was strongly influenced by Arabic characters who were eager to go to war. Arab tribes, at that time, were always in a state of war against each other. War as the principle relation among Arab tribes was then adopted by early Islamic law scholars and they renewed its role and definition as holy war toward people who refused to accept Islam. While noting that Islamic law was the very essence of Islam, scholars then measured and determined the states that can be grouped to Dar al-Islam or Dar al-Harb by seeing how far Islamic sharia can be implemented. In Islamic law theory, a state of peace is defined as a state that assures, or at least, does not hinder sharia to be performed freely by Muslims. A state of war was thus defined as any situation where people were not able to implement Islamic law. The debate on whether Indonesia can be categorized as being in Dar al-Harb or Dar al-Islam emerged well before Indonesia proclaimed independence. After the proclamation in 1945, to ensure Indonesia's position as an Islamic state, some of the founding fathers insisted on including seven words of the Jakarta Charter, which ensured and obliged Muslims to incorporate sharia law into the Constitution. Although the now famous seven words were eventually omitted, the 1945 Constitution of Indonesia actually does ensure that all Muslims can freely perform their religious obligations. The argument that posits that the principle relation between nations in the world is based on war -- as mentioned above -- is not derived from the spirit of the Koran. The spirit of the Koran, as mentioned in many verses, reveals that the principle of relationships among nations is peace. Muslims should be aware and able to differentiate between the spirit of Islamic laws and Arabic culture over a thousand years ago, which is not always suitable to Indonesian culture in the year 2006 -- or 1427 for devout Muslims. The writer is lecturer in law and politics in Islam and is the secretary of the Islamic law unit of the Bandung State Islamic University's post graduate program. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/aYWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. Situs Web: http://www.wanita-muslimah.com ARSIP DISKUSI : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/messages Kirim Posting mailto:wanita-muslimah@yahoogroups.com Berhenti mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Milis Keluarga Sejahtera mailto:keluarga-sejahtera@yahoogroups.com Milis Anak Muda Islam mailto:majelismuda@yahoogroups.com This mailing list has a special spell casted to reject any attachment .... Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wanita-muslimah/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
