4 - War and Peace in Islamic Law

Summary

This chapter examines the ethics of war in early Islam. Using a range of sources, it shows that Islamic law does not permit intentional attacks on innocent people, particularly women and children. It argues that civilian protection rules were most likely a holdover from pre-Islamic rules of war, and it argues that the theory developed in Chapter 2 provides a useful way of accounting for the development and content of the rules of war.