Chapter Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN Hijacking and HostageTaking: Heinous Crimes h Hijacking is, without doubt, haram or forbidden in Islam. No matter from which angle it is looked at, it is definitely forbidden according to the shariah and is a major crime. It is a crime that simultaneously involves many criminal activities, including ‘highway robbery’, hostage-taking, killing innocents, looting or damaging other people’s property, and so on. ‘Highway robbery’ entails attacking a person who is in a vulnerable position and inflicting harm on him. In earlier times, ‘highway robbery’ was a common occurrence. Related to this was piracy on the seas. And in modern times we have hijacking in the air. All these forms of ‘highway robbery’ are equally forbidden or haraam in Islam. An individual or group that, directly or indirectly, engages in this sort of action is, in the eyes of Islam, a major criminal. Hostage-taking entails capturing innocent people and using them to bargain to have one’s demands met. This practice was known in the ancient past, but today it has become almost an art in itself. There is no doubt that it is a terrible sin, as well as utter cowardice. If you have a grouse against someone and you take revenge for this on someone else—this is completely forbidden or