Jihad Verses and “Prohibition of Use of Force” Rule; Consistency or Contradiction

The relation between “prohibition of use of force” rule in the modern international law and the rule of “jihad” in the international Islamic jurisprudence is a major controversial subject which has been restrengthened in the recent years with the emergence of phenomenon known as counter-terrorism. The turning point of disagreement is consistency or inconsistency of prohibitory rules and regulations of use of force as one of the most important modern international law with the rule of jihad as an inevitable tactic of international Islamic jurisprudence. The present article, studying and reviewing the Quranic teachings on jihad and making a comparison with the prohibition of use of force rule, tries to show the consistency of these two major rules. To draw the conclusion that the Quranic verses on jihad encourage violence and terrorism is against the fundamental humanitarian rules of Islamic teachings.