Where the guide puts it: The guide lists jihad as moral struggle among the themes of ethical practice, and jihad of the sword separately under transgression.
Two entries, two categories. The key concept gloss is the one to start from: jihad (struggle).
Jihad. In no order of merit — the guide's own two entries, and the dispute about the word.
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How to write about jihad: Start from the gloss — struggle. Give the guide's two entries and say where each sits. Note that conditions on the use of force were developed by Muslim jurists.
Do not define the word by the way it is used in news coverage, and do not present either meaning as the only one. Both are on the syllabus and Muslims hold both.
The comparison across the course: Christianity: pacifism and just war. Judaism: war legitimate, the commandment forbidding murder. Sikhism: dharam yudh, developed to limit war.
Islam: jihad as moral struggle, and jihad of the sword under transgression. Buddhism: nothing of the kind.
Five traditions, one question. That table is worth memorising whole.
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| The guide's theme | What the question is |
|---|---|
| Marriage, polygamy, divorce | What each requires; the schools differ on the detail, and states differ again |
| Family law | Marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance — governed by sharia in many states |
| Killing, suicide | Listed together under the ethical themes; suicide is prohibited in Islamic teaching |
| Abortion | Muslim jurists differ, notably over the stage of pregnancy and the circumstances |
| Sexual conduct | A theme the guide names; the schools set out what is required and forbidden |
| Dress | Modesty as the principle, and the different types of veiling, such as the hijab, as the practice |
Principle and practice are different questions: On dress the guide names modesty as the principle and the types of veiling as the practices that express it.
That distinction is the whole of an accurate answer: the principle is widely shared, and Muslims — including Muslim women writing about their own practice — differ about what it requires, in ways that also vary by country and culture.
Where to go for evidence: The guide asks under Theme 4 for first-hand accounts by women.
So the syllabus itself directs you to what Muslim women say about their own practice rather than to descriptions of them. An answer on dress that quotes the range of reasons Muslim women give is doing exactly what the guide asks for.
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Money
- Commercial law is listed under qanun
- Sharia and Islamic banking — the guide names it
- Interest is the central question, and structures exist to avoid it
- Zakat is the Pillar that puts wealth under obligation
The state
- Sharia (divine law) and qanun (secular law) together
- The guide's qanun examples: votes for women, education
- Every Muslim-majority state arranges this differently
- So this is a question about countries, not about Islam in general
Blasphemy
- Listed by the guide as its own item
- Compare: Christianity also lists blasphemy laws
- So two traditions raise the same question in this course
- Muslims and Muslim-majority states differ on it
Islamic banking is a worked example: The guide names sharia and Islamic banking directly, and it is the best available illustration of the Theme 5 key question about applying core teachings to something new.
A prohibition stated centuries ago meets a modern financial system, and Muslim jurists and bankers have built instruments designed to satisfy it. Naming that as an example of the method — not just a fact — is what earns the marks.
Blasphemy appears twice in this course: The guide lists blasphemy laws under Christianity's Theme 5 and blasphemy under Islam's.
A question about religion and the state can therefore be answered comparatively, which is what the top markbands reward: two traditions, the same question, and different answers within each of them.
How this is tested. Theme 5 is taught through no more than three contemporary case studies, and the guide's Islamic list is long enough to choose from.
IB-style questionExamine[15 marks]
Examine the meaning of jihad in Islam.
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