What happened in Paris on Friday 13th will go down in history as one of the most brutal, unjust, bloody, abhorrent and horrific acts of terror that Europe has ever seen. An act like this has no justification morally, ethically or legally, and tarnishes those who practice the Muslim faith as a peaceful religion and as a means of moral cultivation. The horror of the evening’s events tore the country and the whole of Europe apart, and the mourning will undoubtedly be shared by the whole word. It is an abuse of our values, our lives and our safety. Above all, it is an abuse of Jihad.
The idea of just war is no modern concept. In fact, it goes back centuries to the age of St Augustine and of course later, Aquinas. The violent attacks that we saw in Paris last night, and indeed many of the attacks predating these terrorist murders, are a complete logical violation of what Jihad actually means, constitutes and implies. The idea of Jihad, ontologically, is a method of engaging in protest in order to promote or preserve a belief system. The principles of engagement outlined in Jihad explicitly highlight conflict and violence as an absolute last resort. There is also the requirement of proportionality that underpins jihad; the violence or act must be directly proportionate to the threat or enemy. This concept forms the backbone of the Rule of Law. Furthermore, there is the clear rule that no woman or child should be harmed.
In scripture, just war theory or jihad tells us that there must be a genuine political outline motivation to replace the system that is conflicting, as well as the fact that peaceful means and diplomatic processes must always be sought first. With these rules clearly outlined in Islamic and even Christian scripture, it becomes clear that the Paris attacks are a complete abuse of what Jihad actually means.
Last night, Paris was stricken at its heart when over 100 people were murdered, as well as numerous critical injuries sustained by entirely innocent civilians. Women were killed, proportionality was violated and peaceful means were definitely not attempted first. The murders were chosen as a primary option, not a last resort. We should therefore be sickened at the fact that these so called jihadists killed innocent human beings that posed no threat to anyone’s values, beliefs or lifestyles. It is, quite frankly, disgusting.
Just war theory is a concept that is quickly becoming abused on several levels by terrorist groups, especially ISIL. What they propose as Jihad is actually brutality and warfare, not just war. It is so far removed from how just war has been outlined in its historical context that it looks more like the complete antithesis rather than the corollary. What we have witnessed is unjust war, without question. We have witnessed the raping of a country’s values and liberty by young, disaffected men lacking self-esteem and any concept of meaning in their pathetic lives.
Even St Augustine, who promoted just war in order to convert people into Christians, was clear about what constituted justification of engagement. As aforementioned, the prerequisites are proportionality in threat, last resort violence and peaceful means attempted first. These were so obviously ignored by the terrorists who turned Paris red that it is an abomination that they should even be seen as jihadists or even members of the Muslim faith.
We need to be very careful about using the term jihad or jihadists to label these men. They are not jihadists, they are pitiful, evil, lost, lonely, angry, frustrated, disillusioned, brainwashed, indoctrinated, morally abhorrent, abominable excuses for human beings. We must not let these murderous animals tarnish the Muslim faith, which is etymologically a peaceful faith. We must use diplomacy and freedom of speech to fight this threat. Conflict and hatred are self-perpetuating, and just like the first requisite of just war, we must first seek peaceful means to solve this complex cultural and geo-political situation.