Islam and Political Violence

The global threat of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after the events of September 11th has increased the conflict between Shiites and Sunnis. Many news headlines have been devoted to violence in the Middle East and Pakistan causing challenges among the states in regional and international levels.  Both extremist Muslims and some Western experts and analysts speak of a conflict among civilizations or cultural war between Muslims and Westerners. This discourse and the violence that originates in it again give rise to the question as to what the relationship between Islam and violence and terrorism. Is Islam a special and violent religion? To prove their claim, critics of Islam make use of some verses as well as some discourses such as Jihad and other events in the history of Islam referring to them as signs and proofs confirming the fact that the main reason behind the extremist conducts of Muslims and the emergence of Islamic terrorism are some verses of the Quran. A question that naturally comes up is: What do the Qur'an and Shari'ah say about violence, Jihad and war? What are the main slogans chanted by terrorists in the name of Islam? This article examines these questions as well as the spread of global jihadist movements, especially al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, the roots and origins of their advent, their ideologies and plans.