Category: J

JUSTICE

JUSTICE. [This entry comprises two articles. The first discusses concepts of justice that inform Islamic political discourse and that, more broadly, suffuse the Islamic worldview; the second focuses on the notion of social justice in modern Islamic thought as developed in the writings of Sayyid Qutb and others.] Concepts of Justice It has been argued

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JOUMBLATT, KAMAL

JUMBLATT, KAMAL (Kamal Joumblatt, 191’7-1977), Lebanese politician, traditional Druze chieftain, leader and ideologue of the Left. Born in the mountain village of al-Mukhtarah, Jumblatt attended the Lazarist school of `Ayntirah and received his university education at the Sorbonne. He later studied law at the Jesuit Saint Joseph University in Beirut. Elected to parliament for the

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JUDAISM AND ISLAM

JUDAISM AND ISLAM. From Islam’s inception, it has had a varied and profound relationship with Judaism. In scripture and thought, in society and politics, in culture and intellectual life, the two religious civilizations have exemplified their relations. In modern times, these relations have reflected major historical dislocations. This article selectively surveys the history and range

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JIHAD ORGANIZATIONS

JIHAD ORGANIZATIONS. The number of jihad organizations has been increasing in the Arab world, and indeed in much of the Islamic world. This fact does not say as much about Islam, as is often assumed in the West, as it says about desperate attempts to exploit Islam politically. The word jihad is often translated in

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JORDAN

JORDAN. The modern state of Jordan first emerged in 1921 as the Emirate of Transjordan. Until the end of World War I this area had been part of greater Syria under Ottoman rule. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 the Allied Powers divided the Middle East into spheres of influence, with Transjordan

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JIZYAH

JIZYAH. A word meaning recompense, compensation, or requital, as in the Qur’dn: “Fight those who believe not in Allah, nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth from those who have been given the Book-until they pay the jizyah by

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JINNAH, MOHAMMAD ALI

JINNAH, MOHAMMAD ALI (1876-1948), Quaid-i-Azam (“Great Leader”) and first governor-general of Pakistan. Born in Karachi, the eldest child of well-to-do Khojas, young Jinnah was sent to London in 1893 and apprenticed to a British managing agency. He was bored by business, however, and turned to the study of law at Lincoln’s Inn and also aspired

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JIHAD

JIHAD. Carrying the basic connotation of an endeavor toward a praiseworthy aim, the word jihad bears many shades of meaning in the Islamic context. It may express a struggle against one’s evil inclinations or an exertion for the sake of Islam and the ummah, for example, trying to convert unbelievers or working for the moral

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JERUSALEM

JERUSALEM. One of Islam’s three holiest cities, Jerusalem was originally an old Canaanite settlement where David, king of Israel, built his capital and his son Solomon, the Temple. Generally called simply “the Holy” (al-Quds) by the Muslims, Jerusalem is not mentioned by name in the Qur’an, but the Muslim tradition unanimously sees a reference to

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JANISSARIES

JANISSARIES. In the late fourteenth century the government of the Ottoman Empire established an elite slave infantry known as “new troops” or Janissaries (Turkish, yenicen), differentiating them from the traditional levies of free Muslim warriors. Interpreting freely the ancient rules of Islamic warfare, by which a portion of enslaved prisoners taken in battle went to

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