Fighting and martyrdom in Islamic tradition and its use by modern jihadist groups

Description

This essay will take into account how Jihadist groups make use of Islamic tradition and theology and will argue that Jihadism does not exploit, corrupt or misuse Islam, but that it is a specific interpretation of religion like other phenomena in Islamic history – especially the early Islamic history. In their argumentations they ignore certain aspects of Islamic history and tradition but this is true for all Islamic communities of commemoration. Using the theory of cultural memory allows us to understand that the selection of figures of commemoration must necessarily be shaped by the present, based on the social context. This implies that there is no authentic or true memory or faith. Both are shaped and reshaped by the historical situation of the believers and the way these believers see themselves. Refuting some common arguments this essay will also argue that no influences of Shiite concepts of martyrdom but similar political and social situations have to be seen as the base of the modern Sunni Jihadist concept of fighting and martyrdom. Neither Shia nor Sunni martyrologies have digressed themselves from the discourses of the prophetic community, which provides both with role models for passive suffering, as well as for an active search of martyrdom.