Author: Wagemakers, Joas

Source: Die Welt des Islams, Volume 48, Numbers 3-4, 2008 , pp. 348-371(24)

Publisher: BRILL

Abstract:

This article examines the interpretation of “the enemies” in Sūrat al-Mumtahana (60) by the Jordanian ideologue Abū Muhammad al-Maqdisī, one of the most influential jihādī-Salafī theorists alive. Al-Maqdisī's reading of the sūra's text and his interpretation of its context turn this part of the Qur'ān, which seems to have been meant to warn the early Medinan Muslims of the dangers of befriending hostile Meccan idolaters, into the basis of a radical ideology. Special attention is paid to the far-reaching consequences of al-Maqdisī's political interpretation of the text, especially when combined with his views on kufr (unbelief) and al-walā' wa-l-barā' (loyalty and disavowal), which he adopts from Wahhābī scholars and bases mostly on this sūra. Al-Maqdisī's particular combination of the text and context of sūra 60 yields a definition of “the enemy” that is rooted in the Qur'ān and Sunna but differs greatly from its traditional interpretations as well as Wahhābī writings by evolving into a radical ideology to overthrow the political rulers of the Muslim world.

Keywords: QUR'ĀN; EXEGESIS (TAFSĪR); SŪRAT AL-MUMTAHANA (SŪRA 60); SALAFISM; WAHHĀBISM; ABŪ; MUHAMMAD AL-MAQDISĪ; JIHĀDĪ-SALAFISM; HADĪTH; SUNNA; HĀTIB B. ABĪ BALTA'A

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157006008X364712

Affiliations: 1: Nijmegen

Publication date: 2008-12-01

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