Ethics & International Affairs

Ethics & International Affairs

Table of Contents - 2013 - Volume 27, Issue 04  

Roundtable: The Ethics of Rebellion

Muslim Discourse on Rebellion

John Kelsay

We can begin with a story. In his account of the reign of Harun al-Rashid, al-Tabari spends considerable time on the matter of Yahya ibn Abdallah. Scion of the family of ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, Yahya was the leader of a group active in Daylam, a region in present-day Iran. Al-Rashid and other Abbasid leaders laid claim to the territory, but at the time (the 790s) they did not have effective control over it. Ever-sensitive to the challenge presented by sentiment favoring the house of ‘Ali, al-Rashid and his advisers devised a scheme by which the ruler of Daylam received payment for persuading Yahya to turn himself in. He did so, but only on the condition that al-Rashid provide him with a written aman, or guarantee of security.

John Kelsay is Distinguished Research Professor of Religion at Florida State University in Tallahassee. His publications include Arguing the Just War in Islam (2007), Islam and War (1993), and a number of articles on topics related to the cultural regulation of armed force. jkelsay@fsu.edu

Metrics