Tariq Rahman - Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia_ An Intellectual History-de Gruyter (2018) ch 7
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What is beyond dispute is that Mawdūdī did inspire many people who wanted to establish an Islamic state and at least some of these people may have wanted to expedite the process through violent revolution. His journal Tarjumān al-Qur’ān lays out arguments for the Islamic state and its blueprint in almost every issue. Indeed, he initiated his efforts to create such a state in Pakistan from the very beginning as one of his interviews broadcasted from Radio Pakistan on 18 May 1948 bears witness.... Mawdūdī is often credited with being one of the intellectual fathers of Islamist militancy which is much in evidence nowadays in the form of violent attacks on civilian targets, suicide attacks, and so on. Yet by his own actions and writings he does not advocate the use of force in the way militant thinkers do. Mawdūdī might have inspired them in certain of their doctrines, but he did not personally choose to legitimise violence by non-state actors either against one’s own rulers or against non-Muslims in general... . In short, though Mawdūdī’s method is not outwardly revolutionary his conclusions are. And, since political power is his main concern, the establishment of an Islamic state, and jihad, carry great significance in his works.

— Tariq Rahman - Interpretations of Jihad

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "What is beyond dispute is that Mawdūdī did inspire many people who wanted to establish an Islamic state and at least some of these people may have wanted to expedite the process through violent revolution. His journal Tarjumān al-Qur’ān lays out arguments for the Islamic state and its blueprint in almost every issue. Indeed, he initiated his efforts to create such a state in Pakistan from the very beginning as one of his interviews broadcasted from Radio Pakistan on 18 May 1948 bears witness.... Mawdūdī is often credited with being one of the intellectual fathers of Islamist militancy which is much in evidence nowadays in the form of violent attacks on civilian targets, suicide attacks, and so on. Yet by his own actions and writings he does not advocate the use of force in the way militant thinkers do. Mawdūdī might have inspired them in certain of their doctrines, but he did not personally choose to legitimise violence by non-state actors either against one’s own rulers or against non-Muslims in general... . In short, though Mawdūdī’s method is not outwardly revolutionary his conclusions are. And, since political power is his main concern, the establishment of an Islamic state, and jihad, carry great significance in his works." in the context of "Tariq Rahman - Interpretations of Jihad in South Asia_ An Intellectual History-de Gruyter (2018) ch 7" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Abul A'la Maududi" (About) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Abul A

About Abul A'la Maududi

Syed Abul A'la Maududi Chishti (Urdu: ابو الاعلی مودودی; September 25, 1903 – September 22, 1979), also known as Abul A'la Maududi, was a journalist, theologian, Muslim revivalist leader and political philosopher. He was the founder of the Jamaat-e-Islami and the first recipient of the King Faisal International Award from Saudi Arabia. He has been the second person in history whose absentee funeral was observed in the Kaaba.