Islamic State Practices, International Law and the Threat from Terrorism: A Critique of the 'Clash of Civilizations' in the New World Order

(Hardback)

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In the post 9/11 legal and political environment, Islam and Muslims have been associated with terrorism. Islamic civilization has increasingly been characterized as backward, insular, stagnant and unable to deal with the demands of the twenty first century and differences and schisms between Islam and the west are being perceived as monumental and insurmountable. 9/11 terrorist attacks have unfortunately provided vital ammunition to the critics of Islam and those who champion a clash of civilizations. In this original and incisive study, the author investigates the relationship between Islamic law, States practices and International terrorism. It presents a detailed analysis of the sources of Islamic law and reviews the concepts of Jihad, religious freedom and minority rights within Sharia and Siyar. In eradicating existing misconceptions, the book provides a thorough commentary of the contributions made by Islamic States in the development of international law, including norms on the prohibition of terrorism. It presents a lucid debate on such key issues within classical and modern Islamic State practices as diplomatic immunities, prohibitions on hostage-taking, aerial and maritime terrorism, and the financing of terrorism. The book surveys the unfairness and injustices within international law - a legal system dominated and operated at the behest of a select band of powerful States. It forewarns that unilateralism and the undermining of human rights values in the name of the war on terrorism is producing powerful reactions within Muslim States: the new world order presents a dangerous prognosis of the self-fulfilling prophecy of an inevitable clash of civilizations between the Islamic world and the west.

Reviews

...the author gives a deep but easy to read introduction to Islamic law, which is also useful and understandable for those who have no knowledge about it...The book gives a broad view of terrorism, balancing a political perspective on the processes which led to the adoption of the main conventions with a juridical approach that analyses the relevant provisions and the consequences for their application. The author also introduces general concepts of international law, which are extremely useful to understand the phenomenon -- Sara de Vido * Criminal Law Forum *
This type of scholarship is very much needed and would be welcomed in the present climate as a means of providing a rounded rather than a one-sided approach to the relationship between Islamic and international norms. -- Mashood Baderin, University of the West of England * African Journal of International and Comparative Law *
offers a much-needed challenge to commonly held views regarding Islam's relationship with terrorism. * Yale Journal of International Law, Issue 32 *

Author Bio

Javaid Rehman is a Professor of International Law at Brunel University, UK.