Kerbela - Cilt - Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi

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• Abbas Yazdani
virtually all religious traditions and is certainly the most common and
persistent expression of ideological war. All, however, can be said to
represent divinely justified engagement in war. Many Islamic scholars have
contested the justification of holy war in our time as a distortion of the
Prophet’s teachings. They point to the cardinal principle in the Qur’an: There
is no compulsion in religion: According to Islamic teachings people are free
to accept religious belief. Qur'an says: "Let there be no compulsion in
religion: Truth stands out clear from error: whoever rejects evil and believes
in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that never, breaks. And
God hears and knows all things." (Ibid., 2:256)
َﻚَﺴْﻤَﺘْﺳا ِﺪَﻘَﻓ ِﮫّﻠﻟﺎِﺑ ﻦِﻣْﺆُﯾَو ِتﻮُﻏﺎﱠﻄﻟﺎِﺑ ْﺮُﻔْﻜَﯾ ْﻦَﻤَﻓ ﱢﻲَﻐْﻟا َﻦِﻣ ُﺪْﺷﱡﺮﻟا َﻦﱠﯿَﺒﱠﺗ ﺪَﻗ ِﻦﯾﱢﺪﻟا ﻲِﻓ َهاَﺮْﻛِإ َﻻ
.ٌ ﻢﯿِﻠَﻋ ٌﻊﯿِﻤَﺳ ُﮫّﻠﻟاَو ﺎَﮭَﻟ َمﺎَﺼِﻔﻧا َﻻ َﻰَﻘْﺛُﻮْﻟا ِةَوْﺮُﻌْﻟﺎِﺑ
On this point the Qur’an is unequivocal: “The truth is from your Lord;
believe it if you like, or do not.” 7 The message to non-Muslims is, “To you
your religion, to me mine.” 8 These passages counsel tolerance and patience
toward other faiths and in no way provide justification for religious war.
3. The Right of Self- Defence
Self- Defence is one of the human primary rights. Let's speak of human
rights including defence briefly here. The Universal Declaration of Human
rights covers the range of human rights in 30 clear and concise articles. The
first two articles lay the universal foundation of human rights: human beings
are equal because of their shared essence of human dignity; human rights are
universal not because of any state or international organization, but because
they belong to all of humanity. Article 1 declares that ‘all human beings are
born equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and
conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood’.
Article 2 recognises the universal dignity of a life free from discrimination.
‘Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of any Kind such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, Political or other opinion national or social origin,
property, birth or other status’.
According to human rights, the right of individual or collective selfdefence
is a legal and sensible right. Article 51 of the UN Charter says:
7 Qur’an 18:29.
8 Qur’an 109:6.