Many people ask what the Qur’an teaches about violence, war and terrorism. In response to these requests, we publish this review of relevant Qur’anic texts. It should be noted that, although the Qur’an is the primary source of Islamic law, it is not the only source, so other material has also contributed to the classical Islamic understanding of this subject.
The question of whether violence is found in the Qur’an is very relevant today in the aftermath of the recent series of terrorist attacks, perpetrated by Muslim extremists. There is no doubt that the Qur’an includes a strand of passages extolling violence and jihad which have always served as justification for Muslims involved in such actions down through the ages. Some voices in contemporary Islam are calling for a more peaceable reinterpretation of such passages, arguing, for example, that they were only applicable in a particular historical or geographical context.
However, traditional and classical Islam has always taken these passages at face value, and the generally accepted doctrine of abrogation has always asserted that the later aggressive Medinan passages have abrogated the more peaceful earlier Meccan verses.
