Year 11 - Religious education
Islam and Just War theory
Peace and conflict
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils examine Islamic attitudes to peace and violence. They will examine attitudes to conflict, pacifism and holy or just war. They will move on to examine specific ideas such as nuclear war and terrorism. Finally they will examine the role of Islam in finding and making peace.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain Just War theory and Islamic responses to it.
Key Notes
- Just War theory developed across classical, religious and secular traditions, setting rules for war.
- Lesser jihad has similar rules: just cause, right authority and protection of civilians, aiming for peace.
- Sunni and Shia Muslims differ on who can declare lesser jihad but agree on its main conditions.
- Many Muslims see Just War theory as broadly in line with Islamic values on defence and justice.
- Some Muslims believe lesser jihad no longer applies and focus on peaceful resistance.
Vocabulary To Learn
- innocents: those who are not actively taking part in the fighting or planning of war
- Just War theory: a set of ethical principles used to decide whether war is morally acceptable
- lesser jihad: the struggle to remove evil from the world
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All Muslims support the idea of lesser jihad and believe in using violence to defend Islam.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the lesson in two key points.
Just War theory developed across classical, religious and secular traditions, setting rules for war. Lesser jihad has similar rules: just cause, right authority and protection of civilians, aiming for peace.
2. What does this key word mean in this lesson? 'innocents'
those who are not actively taking part in the fighting or planning of war.
3. Correct this common mistake.
Mistake: All Muslims support the idea of lesser jihad and believe in using violence to defend Islam. Correction: While some Muslims accept the conditions for lesser jihad, others reject physical fighting today and focus on peaceful, spiritual struggle instead. Islam teaches that war must be a last resort and only under strict moral limits.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Divergent Muslim attitudes to pacifism Study Guide
- Holy War and lesser Jihad Study Guide
- Islam and issues surrounding conflict Study Guide
- Muslim attitudes to conflict Study Guide
- Muslim attitudes towards peace Study Guide
- Muslim responses to weapons of mass destruction Study Guide
- The role of Muslims in peacemaking Study Guide
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