Moralism or Doctrinism: A Critical Analysis of theWisdom behind Primary Jihad

This paper seeks to account for, and analyze, the wisdom behind primary jihad (al-jihād al-ibtidā’ī). The essential question is: what is the philosophy behind primary jihad in Islamic thought? In response to the problem, intellectuals have proposed three theories. Some people account for primary jihad in terms of human natural rights; others account for it in terms of the divine right; and still others consider it as an implication of the transcendence of Islam over other religions. These three accounts of the philosophy of primary jihad are centered on “beliefs and doctrines,” maintaining that primary jihad aims to obliterate polytheism and spread monotheism. In this paper, I deploy an analytic-documentary method to show that, besides these accounts, one might propose a fourth account, which I shall defend here. Unlike the three accounts in which combat with polytheism and non-divine beliefs are proposed as the philosophy behind primary jihad, this account concentrates on “conducts and actions,” taking the philosophy of primary jihad to be combat with immoralities and breaches of covenants.