Dr Tariq Rahman, dean at the Beaconhouse National University, Lahore, is back with another publication. When I wrote a review of his book From Hindi to Urdu, I compared him with the Australian journalist John Gunther who had written a series of books in the 1960s including Inside Russia and Inside Asia, for which he was called the Inside Man. Taking a cue from the description, I had called Dr Rahman the Language Man as he has written a whole series of books on various aspects of language politics like Language and Politics in Pakistan, Language, Ideology and Power, etc, culminating in From Hindi to Urdu. Since the publication of that review, I have come to revise my opinion about him as since then he has published two more books that have nothing to do with language per se. One of these was A Study of Personal Names and Power in Pakistan and the other Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia: An Intellectual History published by Oxford, which is the subject of this review. Following their publication, I find it more appropriate to say that Dr Rahman is a scholar of many parts and not just of language. Publishing a multitude of books on a variety of subjects is not necessarily a virtue unless they are all marked by excellence. Judged against the litmus test, he deserves praise because his books are not run-of-the-mill stuff. The two publications I have mentioned here have won best-book-of-the-year awards.

The book under review is not a mere study of varieties of interpretations that South Asian practitioners of holy war have put on the concept of jihad at various times. As the subtitle promises, there is an intellectual odyssey. This makes the book somewhat unique. The author explains the reason why he chose this title in the following terms: He observes that it is not a book of theology but a study that falls in the discipline of the history of ideas. He suggests that his purpose in writing the book is to study jihad in the larger intellectual framework taking into account the impact of modernity and interaction of political forces and cultural trends on it. Further, he says that the study focuses on the formation of an idea, its evolution in historical perspective and then relates it to forces that play upon it. In his view, such an approach is indispensable in order to comprehend the meaning and implications of the idea at a given time. The approach is not geared to solving some immediate problems but to helping the reader understand how the concept is construed and what practical effects this can have on the world. He also spells out various approaches that different exegetes have employed in interpreting the jihad-related religious provisions and reaches the conclusion that they used them to confirm their preconceived conclusions. In this perspective, the approach that an exegete employs becomes highly relevant because he or she is after all the child of his or her age and prisoner of his understanding.

Rahman begins with the idea that there is no single interpretation of jihad but a variety of them depending on the military strength or weakness of the Muslims at the time the exegetes or practitioners were involved in the interpretation. When the Muslims were strong, jihad was interpreted to support aggression and domination; when they were weak, as during the colonial period, it was construed in defensive terms. Now, in the post-colonial period, with the West asserting its hegemony, the emphasis is on unconventional warfare. Broadly speaking, Rahman divides the jihad commentaries into three categories, namely, traditional or classical, modernist and radical. The traditional commentaries emphasise the sharia-based jihad. The modernist exegeses written during the British colonial rule, inspired by liberal humanist values stressed the defensive character of jihad. The holy war was opposed on the ground that the sharia-based conditions were missing. For example, it was argued that the British did not stop their Muslim subjects from following the injunctions of Islam, including the preaching of their faith; that there was no reasonable chance of a military victory against the British; and that there was no Muslim ruler, who alone was competent to declare jihad.

As far as the radical commentaries are concerned, their exegetes and practitioners of jihad justify armed struggle against the West on account of its hegemonic policies towards the Muslim lands and for grabbing Palestine; and against India for occupying Kashmir. They also invoke holy war against Muslim rulers on the ground that they are nothing but slaves to the Western powers; that they do not live according to the precepts of Islam; and that it is justified for creating an Islamic society. The characteristic feature of this epoch is the total rejection of the sharia-based conditions as a justification for jihad. Thus, the interpreters endow non-state actors with the right to declare jihad on the ground that Muslim rulers are unwilling to do so; and justify suicide attacks not only against military targets and combatants but also against non-military targets and civilians on the ground of asymmetry of military strength between the antagonists.

The panoramic survey of the march of the idea of jihad in South Asia over the last five hundred years that Rahman presents is indeed impressive. The approach is scholarly and the mass of literature that the writer has consulted is enormous. The book has many insights to offer but paucity of space does not permit us to delve into those. While the book has many merits, it also suffers from some weaknesses – the kind that creep into any study of such proportions. For example, the American writer of Iraqi extraction, Majid Khadduri, a Jew, has been introduced as a Muslim.

Notwithstanding the gravity of the subject matter, Rahman’s treatment is lively. He displays a knack for putting complicated things in simple terms, making the book highly readable. True to the intellectual tapestry that he weaves around the various connotations of the concept of jihad and its progress through the ages, he appropriately concludes the study with the observation that, “if the reader has derived intellectual gratification from this book, as the author certainly has, it would have served its purpose”. This is a delightful ending. How many writers of scholarly books can conclude their publications in this manner? Apart from the students of Islam, jihad or terrorism and the policy makers interested to chart the future course of action on militancy in the light of the past, all those who enjoy a good read, must read this book.

Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia: An Intellectual History

By Tariq Rahman

Publisher: Oxford

Pages: 315

Price: $27.9

The writer is a former dean of the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad