Violence in Islamic Thought from the Qur'an to the Mongols

This book examines how violence was described and evaluated in the foundational texts of Islam. How was violence justified in early Islam? What role did violent actions play in the formation and maintenance of the Muslim political order? How did Muslim thinkers view the origins and acceptability of violence? These questions are addressed in this book by an international range of eminent authors. By examining not only who perpetrates violence, but also the victims, the studies describe different arena and contexts where violence takes place, and how this is incorporated into Muslim thinking in the first 5 centuries of Islam. By understanding the early development of Muslim thinking around violence, our understanding of subsequent trends in Islamic thought, during the medieval period and up to the modern day, become clearer. It examines the portrayal of violence in a variety of different intellectual contexts. It takes a broad understanding of violence - from warfare between Muslims (and between Muslims and others) to individual acts of violence. It enables a better informed debate about the nature of violence in early Islam. It includes contributions from leading international experts.