War and Peace in the Law of Islam

Majid Khadduri was an accomplished author and academic, although not a Muslim scholar in the classical sense.Unfortunately, this book is being used by some to “prove” that the theory of perpetual jihad and binary terminologies like Dar al Islam and Dar al Harb are somehow “immutable” in Islamic Law.This is absolutely not the case and it is becoming dangerous to claim otherwise.There have been tremendous developments in Islamic Law and thinking by Muslim scholars on this subject over the last half century since this book was written.A more useful and up to date book on this subject is “War and Peace in Islam, the uses and abuses of Jihad”, which is a collection of essays written by fourteen Muslim scholars and academics, published by the Islamic Texts Society and also available on Amazon.There is a reading of classical Islamic tradition and law that argues against the idea of Jihad as perpetual, indiscriminate warfare.Attempts to present Islam as the new communism, a system locked in a life and death struggle with the West, while making for good ideology, are fundamentally flawed and could lead to disastrous consequences for all of us.

Professor Khadduri's "War and Peace in the Law of Islam" is an indispensable reference for those who want to understand the immutable doctrine governing the relationship between the Umma (Muslim community) and the kuffar (non-Muslims). In this forthright and candid 1955 edition, Professor Khadduri updated his original 1941 text and examined this relationship at a time when 10 Muslim countries had entered the United Nations, providing context to an otherwise anomalous development in international relations between Dar al Islam (the abode of Islam) and Dar al Harb (the abode of war). Professor Khadduri provides the reader a clear, concise analysis in eminently readable language that is devoid of dissimulation. His discussion is both legal and historical, and draws from a variety of irrefutable sources. Khadduri's examination will be valuable to historians and diplomats alike, but should rightfully be absorbed by the general public as the lessons of his analysis will be ignored at our peril. I had been hoping to add this excellent manuscript to my library for years, but at nearly $100 per copy it was beyond my budget. At the rather accessible price of just over $20 (as of December 2013), this paperback version is a great addition to anyone's library. Highly recommended.