Violence, Force and War in the Doctrine of Islam

The author attempts to approach the concept of the permissible use of violence and force by Islam as a religious/political system. Considerations of the topic are presented in parallel from historical and theological viewpoints. The fundamental aim of the following study is the search for an answer to the question which is exercising an increasingly large group of people; is the substance, the very essence itself of the Muslim religion the killing of the Infidel? The article enters a wide discussion currently being conducted on a global forum. It is an additional voice brought to a discourse devoted to the nature and essence of Islam, as well as to its relationship to the use of violence. It also attempts to discern the source of these relationships. The study encompasses two fundamental parts; a more general historical part, presenting the phenomenon within the context of Islam's past and a somewhat more detailed theological part, dealing precisely with the religious aspects of the 'Jihad', Holy War, conducted by Muslims. The conclusion generalizes the most important observations made in the article. It is neither the intention to warn anyone against nor to persuade anyone to Islam, let alone to pigeonhole it as a bloodthirsty cult. It is simply an attempt to reach its true countenance and that embraces, amongst other things, the employment of violence and the use of force. As it was then, so is it now.