Classical Islamic Paradigms of Deterrence and their Expression in ...

they thought That their fortresses Would defend them from God! But the (Wrath of) God came to themfrom quarters From which they little Expected (it), and cast Terror into their hearts, So that they destroyedTheir dwellings by their own Hands and the hands Of the Believers. Take warning, then, O ye with eyes (tosee)!" 98Moreover, Qur’an Surat al-Nisa' plays a preeminent role for individual tactical deterrence by punishment,which we will further discuss below (2.a). One might even argue that the verse is the doctrinaire fundamentof contemporary martyrdom jihadism (jihadiya istishhadiyya ), i.e. that doctrinaire strand in the jihadimovement that puts absolute focus on punishment (tankil) martyrdom (istishhadiya): "Then fight in Allah’scause - Thou art held responsible only for thyself - and rouse the believers. It may be that Allah will restrainthe fury of the unbelievers; for Allah is the strongest in might and in punishment." 99 The verse contains astipulation that - in jihadi thinking- allows individuals to apply "exemplary punishment" by self-responsibleterrorist attacks against alleged enemies of Islam. The rationale behind it is to deter others from hostileacts against Muslims, such as insult, vituperation, ridicule (for example, caricatures of Muhammad), oroccupation. Also the Kosovo-Albanian Arid Uka, who killed U.S.-soldiers at Frankfurt Airport in March 2011,was praised by jihadi ideologues as someone, who realized this doctrine of deterrence.Medieval Islamic theology and deterrenceOne of the Islamic legal conditions that needed to be met in al-Qaeda’s reasoning to justify the September11, 2011 attacks was that of heavy weaponry being used against the enemy with no possibility todistinguish between enemy civilians and combatants. Al-Qaeda argued that this went back to the use ofcatapults by Muslim armies against fortified enemy cities in early Islamic warfare, when similar conditionswere met. As Cioffi-Revilla argues, fortifications are one of the earliest empirically proven forms ofdeterrence by denial. 100When we translate a similar reasoning to a possible situation of nuclear armament by salafi-jihadis, then anatomic bomb could be analogized to catapults (manjaniqat). The modern interpretation nurtures itself onthe medieval precedence case in which Muslims found themselves confronted by fortifications, neglectedthe message, besieged the fortified city and were in need to develop tactics to open it. The concept ofmanjaniq can be found in numerous Islamic traditions, for example, in Malik bin Anas, when at the siege ofTa'if in 630 AD Muhammad used catapults against the city and "it was said to him, ‘Messenger of God,there are women and youth inside,’ and the messenger of God said, peace be upon him, ‘they belong totheir fathers.’" 101 Since then, the catapult case has been applied to numerous battle situations in Muslimhistory. In Islamic legal terms, an analogy (qiyas) is drawn from an original case (asl) to a new case (far') onthe basis of a reasoning ('illah) that such a ruling (hukm) is permissible, if it benefits the Muslims under warcircumstances. Similar rulings based on extended analogical reasoning can be found in extremists’ writingson the issue of civilian casualties, always drawing on historical precedents in Islamic tradition and law,which are being read selectively by salafi-jihadis. For example, if the enemy threatens to overrun Muslim98 Al-Hashr 59:2, Yusuf Ali translation, (Accessed June 21, 2012) –http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/Qur'an/05901.htm99 Al-Nisa' 4:84, Yusuf Ali translation, (Accessed June 21, 2012) –http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/Qur'an/00411.htm100 Claudio Cioffi-Revilla, "Origins and Age of Deterrence: Comparative Research on Old World and New World Systems."الحدیث:‏ 276، یَقُولُونَ‏ " :،، عن: هُمْ‏ آبَائِهِمْ.‏ ",،http://www.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?bk_no=20&hid=276&pid=233029رقمقَالَ‏ : سَمِعْتُ‏ أَشْيَاخَنَاإِسْمَاعِي ‏َل بْ‏ ‏ِن عَي َّا ‏ٍش ‏)حدیث مرفوع ‏(قَالَ‏ ابْ‏ ‏ُن وَهْ‏ ‏ٍب مِنْ‏فَقَالَ‏ رَسُو ‏ُل الل َّ ‏ِه صَل َّى الل َّ ‏ُه عَلَيْ‏ ‏ِه وَسَل َّ ‏َم إِ‏ َّن فِيهَا الن ِّسَا ‏َء وَالص ِّبْيَا ‏َن إِ‏ َّن رَسُو ‏َل الل َّ ‏ِه صَل َّى الل َّ ‏ُه عَلَيْ‏ ‏ِه وَسَل َّ ‏َم رَمَى أَهْ‏ ‏َل الط َّائِ‏ ‏ِف بِالْمَنْجَنِي ‏ِق , فَقِي ‏َل لَ‏ ‏ُه : یَا رَسُو ‏َل الل َّ ‏ِه101