From the Heart of the Syrian Crisis

Overview

Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Abu Zeid (coordinator): From the heart of the Syrian Crisis: a report on Islamic Discourse between a Culture of War and the Establishment of a Culture of Peace. Adyan, 2015

This report comes from the heart of the Syrian crisis, to face the violent manifestations related to the religious discourse, with the revision of the violent discourse and the foundations of new religious discourse for a future based on non-violent change and post war development.

Abstract & Findings

Abstract

This report studies the historical development of the sunni religious discourse on jihad, through a sketch of the reflections and writings of major Islamic scholars and Syrian thinkers starting with Ibn Taymiya, passing by the jurists of the Ottoman period and the calls for jihad in the twentieth century in Syria, that were directed at the colonizer and then regimes in power, until the current salafi jihadi discourse.

The report also sheds the light on the revision literature done by the theorists of jihad themselves such as Abu Mus’ab al Suri or on reflections on Jihad by important Syrian sunni scholars such as Al Buti and Muhammad Khayr Haykal and on counter discourses from Syrian scholars.

Important Findings

The report shows on the one hand the important participation of Syrian jihadi theorists on the international sunni scene, and especially in Afghanistan. On the other hand, it highlights a Syrian non-violent jihad theory, put forward by one of the major figures of non-violence in the past and current century: Jawdat Said.

The study and its conclusions and recommendations are intended for use in a practical and empirical way as they can present material for sermons, teachingsand training. The report also aims to spread a positive discourse that sets a basis for a post-war culture.

The Authors

Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Abu Zeid (coordinator)

Judge at the religious court in Saida, Professor of Religious Procedures and Personal Status jurisprudence at Al Jinan University; Author of many publications and studies on Islamic affairs.

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