Reclaiming Ibn Taymiyyah: Deradicalizing Classical Exegesis for Contemporary Counter-Terrorism in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31943/afkarjournal.v9i3.3464Keywords:
Ibn Taymiyyah, Jihad Exegesis, Deradicalization, Islamic Radicalism, Counter-TerrorismAbstract
Radical extremist groups frequently misappropriate classical Islamic scholarship to legitimize violence, yet counter-extremism initiatives often overlook the theological roots of this distortion. This study explicitly aims to reconstruct Ibn Taymiyyah’s (d. 728 H) original exegetical framework on jihad and qital to dismantle extremist narratives and establish a theology-based deradicalization model. Employing a qualitative textual analysis of Majmu‘ al-Fatawa and al-Tafsir al-Kabir, grounded in historical-contextual and theological-critical methodologies, this research systematically examines his interpretive principles. The results explicitly demonstrate that Ibn Taymiyyah’s conception of jihad is fundamentally multidimensional, sharply distinguishing spiritual striving from armed conflict, which he strictly conditions on legitimate political authority and defensive necessity. Furthermore, the findings reveal that his stringent legal positions were contingent responses to Mongol invasions and Mamluk-era crises, rather than universal mandates for violence. Extremist appropriations systematically strip these juridical constraints through selective, decontextualized readings. By recovering his epistemological framework, this article proposes a three-tiered deradicalization strategy integrating historical contextualization, textual reconstruction, and maqasid-oriented reasoning. Theoretically, it reclaims classical Islamic authority as a normative resource for moderation. Practically, it provides a doctrinal foundation for developing targeted, contextually grounded counter-narratives within contemporary Muslim societies.
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