Resurrecting Siyar Through Fatwas? (Re) Constructing ‘Islamic International Law’ in a Post-(Iraq) Invasion World

Warwick School of Law Research Paper

Journal of Conflict & Security Law, Oxford University Press, 2009

31 Pages Posted: 1 Nov 2009

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 29, 2009

Abstract

This article seeks to explore the impact of the Iraq war on Siyar or ‘Islamic international law’ from a range of Muslim perspectives by raising some critical questions and addressing these through the lens of a selection of Fatwas solicited by Muslims from a range of countries and continents, on the Iraq war and its implications for popular understandings of Siyar and Jihad. This article suggests that the Iraq war presents an opportunity to revisit and potentially revive historical Siyar pronouncements of a dichotomous world, Li.e. dar-al-harhb and dar-al-Islarnm. I argue that in so doing, this discourse has invigorated the notions of a universal Ummah within the normative framework of Siyar hitherto marginalized by ascendancy of the nation state, international organizations and contemporary Muslim state practice. Finally, I argue that a wider Internet access to Muslim communities in the global South has facilitated a modified institution of ifta to reflect popular understandings of Siyar and Jihad and influence its reformulation in the backdrop of the Iraq war.

Keywords: jihad, Fatwas, Iraq

Suggested Citation

Ali, Shaheen S., Resurrecting Siyar Through Fatwas? (Re) Constructing ‘Islamic International Law’ in a Post-(Iraq) Invasion World (October 29, 2009). Warwick School of Law Research Paper, Journal of Conflict & Security Law, Oxford University Press, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1496337

Shaheen S. Ali (Contact Author)

University of Warwick ( email )

Gibbet Hill Rd.
Coventry, West Midlands CV4 8UW
United Kingdom

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