This paper intends to discuss the topic of traditional Islamic laws of war as well as highlight the ways in which Islamic war laws are an outdated concept, relevant more to the context of the time in which they were formed. Therefore this paper will seek to outline Islamic laws of war, discuss the context of those laws as well as examine how those laws were formed in relation to war, Islam and the Middle East. The history and ideology of Islamic laws of war did not occur during the initial formation of Islam as a religion, but rather developed during the later years of the Prophets mission when Muslims were still a minority within the Middle Eastern region.
Islamic Laws of War
Historically Islamic wars where not taken lightly by the community
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Traditional Muslim jurists constructed Islamic laws of war in a world where war was a natural and reoccurring state of the society. It is also imperative to mention that Islamic laws of war were a concept developed by the Arab Muslims of the time and thus were relevant only to that region and those people. When Islam moved out of Middle Eastern regions, the concept of Islamic laws of war did not. This was due to Muslims within the Middle East being persecuted against as a minority and war being a cultural constant within the region as conquest and land disputes were common place during that time period. Therefore the fighting culture that had developed during that time and Muslims being a minority to which other ethnic and religious groups were often aggressive towards were, it seems, the main two reasons that these laws were formed, allowing Muslims to defend themselves, their families and their religious beliefs while still upholding the morals and ethics associated with being Muslim. It has also been found, from examinations of the Hadith and other such religious historical texts, that the Islamic wars that took place, throughout the life of the Prophet, were most often not instigated by Muslims but rather occurred when Muslims were attacked and forced to defend themselves. These actions of aggression directed at Muslims were often