ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an introduction to Islamic scripture and political ethics, then proceeds with an exploration of the Islamic war ethic specifically. Empirical analyses follow, in which Preferred Government Religious Preference scores of Islam and its two largest branches are regressed on states’ propensities to initiate interstate armed conflicts. Among the great debates over and within Islam today are whether or not Islam and the Islamic world are militant and whether or not the Islamic world will embrace a militant agenda in the future. Islam and Christianity both emphasize individual moral responsibility. But in contrast to Christianity, Islam holds that people can achieve salvation only through their actions, not by virtue of membership in a select group or because of someone else's supreme sacrifice. With the foundation of Islamic political theory and law established, an analysis of the Islamic war ethic can proceed.
