Refuting Da’esh properly: a critical review of the “Open Letter to Baghdadi” (My First Article Published in an International Journal!)

Assalaamu’alaykum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuh,

(English version below)

Alhamdulillah, setelah beberapa kali tulisan saya dimuat di jurnal ilmiah berskala nasional (Indonesia), akhirnya satu tulisan saya ini berhasil lolos untuk dimuat di sebuah jurnal internasional bernama Journal of International Humanitarian Action yang dikelola oleh Network on Humanitarian Action alias NOHA.

Tulisan saya berjudul “Refuting Da’esh Properly: a Critical Review of the ‘Open Letter to Baghdadi'”. Saya tentu sadar bahwa surat terbuka tersebut ditandatangani oleh 120+ ulama di seluruh dunia dan saya tidak berniat untuk melangkahi mereka. Apalah saya, baru belajar sekitar 2 tahunan itupun secara serampangan. Bandingkan dengan mereka yang sudah puluhan tahun mengabdikan dirinya untuk keilmuan Islam.

Karena itulah tulisan saya ini mewakili apa yang saya fikirkan  sependek apa yang telah pelajari sampai sekarang. Belum berapa bulan lewat saja saya sudah sadar saya salah paham stance Shaykh Wahbah Az-Zuhayli tentang perbudakan dalam Islam. Entah berapa lagi kesalahan yang akan saya sadari semakin banyak saya belajar nanti. Karena itu saya bukan hanya berharap melainkan sangat memohon masukan dan koreksian dari anda sekalian yang jauh lebih faqih daripada saya supaya saya bisa lebih baik lagi ke depannya.

Terima kasih banyak terutama pada Ustadz Muhammad Al Ghozali dan Ustadz Muhammad Jasir Nashrullah atas bantuannya selama saya menulis ini. Nama antum saya cantumkan pada bagian persembahan supaya terkenal hehehe. Special thanks juga untuk Ustadz Rappung Samuddin dan Ustadz Anshari Taslim yang karyanya saya gunakan dalam penyusunan tulisan ini, dan nama antum tercantum di daftar pustaka (sayangnya nama depan disingkat oleh sistem).

Di bawah terlampir abstrak serta link menuju tulisan lengkapnya.

Jazakumullaahu khayran kathiira

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(Versi Bahasa Indonesia di atas)

Alhamdulillah, after publishing a few times in Indonesian national academic journals, I finally managed to get one of my articles published in an international journal which is the Journal of International Humanitarian Action.

The article is titled “Refuting Da’esh Properly: a Critical Review of the ‘Open Letter to Baghdadi'”. Now I realize that the Open Letter to Baghdadi is signed  by 120+ prominent world scholars and I do not intend to overstep their knowledge. Who am I but someone who have only started learning recklessly for the past couple of years? And that is in face of Scholars who have dedicated decades of their entire lives in Islamic scholarship.

Therefore this article to say what I have to say from my mind to reflect the extent of what I have learned so far. It has been barely months since I completed this manuscript, and I have already found some mistakes such as how I apparently misunderstood Shaykh Wahbah Az-Zuhayli’s stance on slavery. Therefore I not only hope but even beg for feedback from those of you who are more properly learned in Islamic law so that I can do better.

I wish to also thank Ustadz Muhammad Al Ghozali and Ustadz Muhammad Jasir Nashrullah for your help and support during the writing of this article. I put your names under the acknowledgement section, so congratulations you are now famous hahaha. Special thanks to Ustadz Rappung Samuddin and Ustadz Anshari Taslim who’se works were also used in the writing of this article, and I have your names in the reference list (albeit your first names abbreviated by the system).

Jazakumullaahu khayran kathiira

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Refuting Da’esh Properly: a Critical Review of the ‘Open Letter to Baghdadi’

By : Fajri Matahati Muhammadin

Abstract

The emergence of the “Islamic State” or Da’esh in the Syrian war brought a whole new dimension to the war on terror. To counter the “Islamic State” ideology, Islamic scholars from all around the world issued a document titled “Open Letter to Baghdadi” containing refutations towards the “Islamic State”. There are a number of issues that this document may have clarified, such as the refutation towards the “Islamic State” claim of “global caliphate”. However, there are quite a number of problematic points which may be counterproductive to the purpose of this letter in the first place. It is the objective of this article to identify some of these problems which may include a lack of representation of prominent Islamic schools of thought, incorrect application of Islamic law, or lack of observation on actions conducted by the “Islamic State”.

Keywords: The “Islamic State”, Islamic law, Jihad, Terrorism

Link to Full Text Web Article

Link to PDF Format