The defensive vocation of jihad, its history and its contemporary legal reality

Considered the most controversial-and often misunderstood-aspect of the Muslim religion, jihad has been the focus of widespread debate and study for many years. This article revisits the historic evolution of the concept of defensive jihad and confirms the existence of a continuous and stable majority doctrinal trend that limits jihad to this defensive vocation (jihad al-dafaa), both in classic Muslim legal doctrine and in the writings of Muslim legal scholars and theologians since the so-called Renaissance period. This doctrinal stability supports the idea that jihad can be viewed as a specific form of legitimate self-defence similar, in some ways, to the concept as developed in contemporary international law. Added to this is the argument according to which Muslim countries' adherence to instruments of international law cannot be completely dissociated from the historic evolution of defensive jihad.