Comparing Jewish and Islamic laws of war

Abstract

Religion as a code of human conduct lends certain legal norms and rules to initiate and regulate war among humans. The deduction and interpretation of these rules from the scriptural sources remains a challenge. It is common understanding that scriptural sources evade a certain interpretation. This study seeks to compare the laws of war enshrined inside the Jewish and Islamic scriptures. Such a comparison underscores the point that the lawgiver remains cognizant of the real world threat perception scenarios and transmits commands in response to them. Accordingly, religious laws step closer to the positivistic understanding of laws. A contextual analyses of the both the scriptural sources remain the main methodological focus of this research enquiry. Such a methodological intervention, on the one hand, shall help in understanding certain socio-political realities. On the other hand, it will be useful in exploring and explaining the specific scope and importance of laws relevant to the waging of war in Islam and Judaism. Primary focus of this study remains jus ad bellum rather than jus in bello.