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Friedman Wrong About Muslims Again And the Amman Statement on Ecumenism Tom Friedman is a Middle East expert who knows a lot about Islam. Why, then, does he keep saying misleading things? He wrote in his latest column, "To this day - to this day - no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden." A "fatwa" is simply a considered opinion of a Muslim jurisconsult. Such opinions are numerous. First of all, almost all the major Shiite Grand Ayatollahs have condemned Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. You could say that is easy, since Shiites don't generally like Wahhabis. But they are the leaders of 120 million Muslims (some ten percent of the 1.2 billion). So that is one. Tracking these things down is time-consuming, but this should do: Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Fadlallah of Lebanon condemns Osama Bin Laden. http://www.sullivan-county.com/identity/bin_laden.html So then what about the Sunni world? The leading moral authority for Sunnis is the rector or Grand Imam of the al-Azhar Seminary/ University in Cairo, Egypt. Al-Azhar is perhaps the world's oldest continuous university and has been since the time of Saladin a major center of Sunni religious authority. The current incumbent is Shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi. So what about Tantawi and Bin Laden? Grand Imam of Al-Azhar seminary, Shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, condemns Osamah Bin Laden. And: http://www.usembassyjakarta.org/lawmaker.html The Grand Imam of al-Azhar Seminary, Shaikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, condemns Osamah Bin Laden. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A38857-2002Mar30¬Found=true What about Pakistan? Admittedly, it has some clerics who are fans of Bin Laden, or at least who would avoid condemning him. But the allegation Friedman is making is that no major cleric has condemned him. Try this: Prominent Pakistani Cleric Tahir ul Qadri condemns Bin Laden. http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/10/17/195606.shtml I don't personally care for Yusuf al-Qaradawi. He is an old-time Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood preacher who fled to Qatar and now has a perch at al-Jazeera. But he does have some virtues. He is enormously popular among Muslim fundamentalists. And, he absolutely despises Bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Al-Qaradawi has repeatedly condemned the latter. He even gave a fatwa that it was a duty of Muslims to fight alongside the US in Afghanistan against al-Qaeda! See also:
Yusuf al-Qaradawi condemns al-Qaeda. http://www.islamfortoday.com/qaradawi02.htm There are also substantial Muslim communities in Europe with leaderships that have explicitly condemned Bin Laden. E.g.: Spanish Muslim Clerical authorities Issue Fatwa against Osamah Bin Laden. There are on the order of 250,000 Muslims in Spain. http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/4637/terr42a.html High Mufti of Russian Muslims calls for Extradition of Bin Laden. The Russian Muslim community is about 20 million strong, or 15 percent of Russia's 143 million population, and is growing rapidly, so that in a century Russia may be 50 percent Muslim. So this is not a pro forma thing here. http://english.pravda.ru/world/2001/09/20/15781.html A good round-up on this sort of issue has been put up by al-Muhajabah. http://www.muhajabah.com/otherscondemn.php See also Charles Kurzman's page. http://www.unc.edu/~kurzman/terror.htm Friedman also does refer to a major conference of Muslim clerics, thinkers and notables wound up just Wednesday that made a powerful statement about religious tolerance and condemned everything Osama Bin Laden stands for. But he seems oddly unaware of the significance of having Grand Ayatollah Sistani, Grand Imam of al-Azhar Seminary Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi, and many other great Muslim authorities sign off on this epochal statement of Muslim ecumenism. http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Jordan/185952 The statement forbids one Muslim to declare another "not a Muslim" if the believer adheres to any of the mainstream legal rites of Sunnism and Shiism. The whole basis of al-Qaeda is to call the Muslim leaders of countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as Shiites, "not Muslims." The statement also demands that engineers should please stop pretending to issue fatwas, which should be left to trained clerical jurisconsults. This para. is also a slam at Bin Laden. PS As for Friedman's main point, that Muslims haven't done a good job of fighting jihadi ideology and terrorism, it is bizarre. The Algerian government fought a virtual civil war to put down political Islam, in which over 100,000 persons died. The Egyptians jailed 20,000 or 30,000 radicals for thought crimes and killed 1500 in running street battles in the 1990s and early zeroes. Al-Qaeda can't easily strike in the Middle East precisely because Syria, Egypt, Algeria, etc. have their number and have undertaken massive actions against them. What does Friedman want? And, besides, he is wrong that this is only a Muslim problem. In the global age all problems are everybody's. That's part of flat world, too, Tom. posted by Juan @ 7/09/2005 06:15:00 AM Bin Laden Stirs Struggle on Meaning of Jihad By JOHN F. BURNS
AZHAKHEL BALA, Pakistan, Jan. 20 — Little in the manner of Ijaz Khan Hussein betrays the miseries he saw as a volunteer in the war in Afghanistan. Mr. Khan, a college-trained pharmacist, joined the jihad, or holy war, like thousands of other Pakistanis who crossed over into Afghanistan. He worked as a medical orderly near Kabul, shuttling to the front lines, picking up bodies and parts of bodies. Of 43 men who traveled with him to Afghanistan by truck in October, he says, 41 were killed. Now with the Taliban and Al Qaeda routed, have Mr. Khan and other militants finished with holy war? Mr. Khan, at least, said he had not. "We went to the jihad filled with joy, and I would go again tomorrow," he said. "If Allah had chosen me to die, I would have been in paradise, eating honey and watermelons and grapes, and resting with beautiful virgins, just as it is promised in the Koran. Instead, my fate was to remain amid the unhappiness here on earth." Jihad literally means striving. The Prophet Muhammad gave Muslims the task of striving in the path of God. Whether that striving is armed or a personal duty of conscience is a question causing consternation in the world's 1.2 billion Muslims, and that question goes to the heart of President Bush's war on terrorism. In the Muslim world, it seems that Osama bin Laden is now a fractured idol, and many Muslim scholars criticize him. Yet he also remains appealing to others, almost as a political Robin Hood. "Osama bin Laden is not a theologian, or a jihadist in the traditional sense of the term; he's a political activist," said one critic, Olivier Roy, a French scholar who has written several books about Afghanistan. "He has Islamized the traditional discourse of Western anti-imperialism. So a lot of Muslims support him, not because they see him as a true warrior for Islam, but because they hate America, and he's the only man in the Islamic world that they see fighting the Americans. He's like Carlos the Jackal converted to Islam." In mosques and Islamic seminaries from Morocco to Indonesia, moderate Muslims have been scouring the Koran to demonstrate that a true vision of jihad can never be squared with Sept. 11, even while expressing how aggrieved Muslims may be with America over issues Mr. bin Laden has identified in his videotapes, like Israel's treatment of Palestinians, the presence of American troops in the Arabian peninsula and the United States' role in maintaining sanctions against Iraq. "Don't make the mistake of thinking that Osama bin Laden is the true face of a billion Muslims, or the true voice of the Koran," said Dr. Safir Akhtar, a research scholar at the Islamic University in Islamabad, a Saudi-financed institution that has long been a magnet for young militants from around the Islamic world. "He may have a special appeal through his religiosity," Dr. Akhtar said, "and his spartan way of life, and he has certainly drawn deeply from Muslims' deep sense of frustration, but people think of him more as an adventurer than as an Islamic leader, and they know from their own studies that his sense of jihad is deeply flawed." Conversations with ordinary Muslims in Pakistan tend quickly to turn to their disillusionment with the inglorious figure Mr. bin Laden has cut since Sept. 11 — as he counseled future jihadis that "this world is an illusion," valueless beside paradise, and posed for the videotapes with a Kalashnikov and a camouflage jacket, while avoiding the hazards of combat himself. Moreover, many of Islam's most militant theologians now rebuke Mr. bin Laden, who suggested in the videotapes that he cast himself in the mold of Saladin, who recaptured Jerusalem from the Crusaders in the 12th century. From Cairo, Beirut and Tehran, and a dozen other centers of fervent Islamic belief, pioneers of Mr. bin Laden's kind of jihad — violent, anti- Western, above all anti-American and anti-Israeli — have called him a coward and an enemy of Islam. No example is starker than that of Sheik Muhammad Hussain Fadlallah, spiritual leader of Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based Party of God, for 25 years a scourge of Israel and the United States with its suicide bombings and other terror attacks in Lebanon and Israel. After a 1983 truck bombing of a United States Marine barracks near the Beirut airport killed 241 servicemen, American officials accused Sheik Fadlallah of having ordered the attack, an allegation he returned when he blamed the Central Intelligence Agency for a 1985 car bombing outside his Beirut home that killed 75 people. But Sheik Fadlallah, now 66, has been relentless in his condemnation of the attacks in America. He preaches that they were "not compatible with Shariah law," the Koranic legal code, nor with the Islamic concept of jihad, and that the perpetrators were not martyrs as Mr. bin Laden has claimed, but "merely suicides," because they killed innocent civilians, and in a distant land, America. In an interview with a Beirut newspaper, Al Safir, Sheik Fadlallah again accused Mr. bin Laden of having ignored Koranic texts. "There is no concept of jihad as aggressive combat," he said, quoting verses of the Koran that Islamic theologians have argued over for centuries. In misreading these texts, he said, Mr. bin Laden had relied on "personal psychological needs," including a "tribal urge for revenge." An Egyptian-born theologian, Sheik Yusuf Abdullah al-Qaradawi, with a history of anti-American militancy even longer than Sheik Fadlallah's, expresses a similar view. From his base in the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, the 75-year-old sheik has issued Islamic fatwas, or decrees, on issues like the need for Muslims to boycott McDonald's restaurants, and on husbands' right to beat their wives as long as they do not draw blood. But on the Sept. 11 attacks, he has used language similar to that of Mr. Bush and other American politicians. "Islam, the religion of tolerance, holds the human soul in high esteem, and considers the attack on innocent human beings a grave sin," said. "Even in times of war, Muslims are not allowed to kill anybody save the one who is engaged in face-to-face confrontation with them. "Killing hundreds of helpless civilians," he added, "is a heinous crime in Islam." To many Western scholars, Mr. bin Laden stands out not for the liturgical context, but for drawing on the wellspring of anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim world. Another French scholar, Gilles Kepel, said Mr. bin Laden drew his views from a deadly mixture of the fundamentalist, aggressive form of Islam known as Salafism that he knew as a student in Saudi Arabia and the heady, but misleading, experience he had when he arrived in Afghanistan in the 1980's to join the last stages of the jihad against Soviet occupation troops. "By 1989, the jihadists thought that they had destroyed the Soviet Union, and that militant Islam was a force that could prevail against any enemy, forgetting that what really drove the Russians out of Afghanistan was the Stinger antiaircraft missiles given to them by the United States, which neutralized Soviet air power," Dr. Kepel said. "This led them to believe that they could triumph everywhere." That has not been the case. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan for just five years. Islamic militancy has been violently suppressed in Egypt and Algeria, has crested as an influence in Sudan, and has achieved little in Chechnya and Kashmir. In Pakistan, clerics who saw the country as following in the Taliban's rise have instead witnessed the nation's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, starting a broad-based crackdown on Islamic militancy. Yet there are legions of young men who seethe with resentment at America and its power, and long after Mr. bin Laden and Al Qaeda have faded into history, they seem likely to form a ready pool of recruits for messianic leaders. In Pakistan, that is evident in any one of the hundreds of Islamic schools and seminaries that flourished around Peshawar, the frontier city, in the wake of the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan. Although they are under notice now from General Musharraf that they will no longer be allowed to operate as thinly disguised recruiting camps for holy war, their courtyards still teem with angry young men who say they will one day find a way to strike back at America for all it has done in Afghanistan, and for America's "crimes" against Muslims. At one such institution, the Markaz-e-Islami seminary near Peshawar, a visitor stopped recently to read a painted signboard inscribed with 140 names of Pakistanis who have died as "holy warriors" in Afghanistan and Kashmir since 1993. A bearded young man named Nurullah, introducing himself as a student, pointed to a fresh board nearby that has been prepared for the names of the latest martyrs, men who died fighting with the Taliban after Sept. 11, and said, "Jihad will continue until doomsday, or until America is defeated, either way. Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, JAKARTA, INDONESIA
Official Text Text: Lawmaker Says Grand Shaykh of Al-Azhar in Egypt Condemns bin Laden (Shaykh Tantawi says Koran forbids what al-Qaida, Taliban did)
One of the leading exponents of freedom of religion in the U.S. House of Representatives is quoting one of Islam's most noted authorities to condemn the terrorist actions of Usama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that supports him. Representative Joseph Pitts (Republican of Pennsylvania) in an October 30 speech to the House of Representatives quoted the Grand Shaykh of Al-Azhar in Egypt, whom he referred to as "the highest and most respected Islamic authority in the world," on the types of acts forbidden by the Koran. Shaykh Tantawi has stated that the Koran "specifically forbids the kinds of things the Taliban and al-Qaida are guilty of," Pitts said. Shaykh Tantawi, Pitts continued, has said that the "jihad" Usama bin Laden has called for against America "is invalid and not binding on Muslims." Pitts quoted the Grand Shaykh as saying, "Islam rejects all of these acts." The Shaykh added that terrorism is un-Islamic, Pitts said. "Killing innocent civilians is a horrific, hideous act that no religion can approve," Pitts quoted the religious leader as saying. Pitts is a member of the Helsinki Commission, the arm of Congress that participates in the international human rights group known as the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Pennsylvania lawmaker also belongs to the Human Rights Caucus, and in 1997 he founded the Religious Prisoners Congressional Task Force to advocate for prisoners of conscience. Pitts writes on his congressional website that "even in the 21st century, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists are all still oppressed in many places." The Congressman, a member of the House International Relations Committee, has held hearings on religious persecution in various lands and, according to his website, frequently writes letters to presidents, visits with ambassadors, and travels to foreign countries "to spread the idea that men and women should be free to believe and worship according to their convictions." Following is the text of Pitts' October 30 speech from the Congressional Record: (begin text) GRAND IMAM OF EGYPT DENOUNCES TERRORISM House of Representatives
Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, since September 11, we in Congress have joined the President in making clear that this is not a war between the West and the East or a war against Islam. This is not a war between America and Afghanistan. In fact, we are doing as much as we can right now to help the people of Afghanistan. This is a war between all civilized nations and the barbaric terrorists and those who harbor them. Just a few days ago, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the highest and most respected Islamic authority in the world, who resides in Egypt, also made this clear. The Grand Imam said that the Koran specifically forbids the kinds of things the Taliban and al-Qaida are guilty of. He said the jihad Usama bin Laden has called for against America is invalid and not binding on Muslims. He said that "Islam rejects all of these acts." He called terrorism un-Islamic. In fact, he says, "Killing innocent civilians is a horrific, hideous act that no religion can approve." Mr. Speaker, this war may take a long time to win, but we will win it and the world will remain united against terrorism and removing evil terrorists like Usama bin Laden from the caves where they hide. (end text) (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov) mosque and the most widely respected and influential moral voice for Sunni Islam, sought to clarify for me the Islamic concepts of jihad, paradise and martyrdom. I had been struck by the widespread view in the United States that Islam seems to possess no ethical norms for armed struggle, so, before leaving for a 14-day visit to the Middle East, I asked Nabil Fahmy, the Egyptian ambassador in Washington,whether he could arrange an audience with the grand sheik. I wanted to clear up my own confusion over who -- if anyone -- speaks for Islam on the concepts that, in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the suicide bombings by Palestinians and the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl, have driven so many Americans to view Islam as a violent religion. Tantawi, it turns out, was the right person from whom to seek guidance. While the moral teachings of Islam rest in its law, known as sharia, there is no doctrine or orthodoxy for Islam, nor any human authority or hierarchy to interrupt the direct relationship between the believer and Allah. However, Sunni Muslims from Malaysia to the Middle East to Middle America, representing more than 80 percent of Islamic believers worldwide, look to al-Azhar and its Academy of Islamic Research (of which Tantawi is chairman) for learned interpretation and moral counsel. Can it be, I wondered, that any Muslim, with a few followers, can walk into the street and proclaim a legitimate and authentic jihad against the West or Israel? Is it possible that any group of a few thousand fanatics can attack three huge American buildings, kill 3,000 unsuspecting innocents and validly say that the act is justified by the Koran? In his vast office, decorated with lovely wood paneling carved with geometric Arabic designs and appointed with huge photographs of Islam's three holiest mosques, at Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, the 73-year-old Tantawi spoke forcefully about the misconceptions in the West and, equally forcefully, of the perversions of Islam in the East that have led to the violence. A small man, with puffy eyes, deliberate speech and a gentle demeanor, he sat on his couch amid advisers and lesser imams, dressed in a simple red and white cap and a brown, floor-length caftan. The concept of jihad, Tantawi affirmed through an interpreter, is purely defensive and cannot be aggressive. It can only legitimately be proclaimed by a head of state or leader Page 2 of all Arab peoples when Arab lands are invaded and occupied (in the manner 12th- century Islamic leader Saladin employed against the Crusader force of Richard I of England), or when great numbers of Arab peoples are displaced and exiled, or when the tenets of Islam are directly attacked or abused. Tantawi's explanation fit with the words I had read in the Koran and quoted back to him: "Fight in Allah's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression, for verily Allah does not love aggressors." Tantawi spoke out against the attacks in New York and Washington the day after they happened, saying that "killing civilians is a horrific, hideous act that no religion can condone." Now, the grand imam was eager for me to have his fuller, written statement on terrorism, which he had issued seven weeks after the attacks. This condemnation was largely overlooked in the American media -- it received only a brief mention in The Post, for example. It did not register with the American people, any more than did the condemnations of the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council in Saudi Arabia; or of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (representing Muslims in 56 countries); or of the chairman of the Sunna and Sira Council in Qatar; or of the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, also chairman of the senior ulema (the learned), who has, controversially, questioned suicide missions as a legitimate tool of the Arab struggle. The imam's statement, which I took away to study later, distinguishes between jihad and the Koranic concept of irhab. In contrast to the defensive and obligatory nature of jihad, irhab is terrorism: unjust, aggressive violence against innocent and defenseless civilians that is expressly forbidden by Islamic law and Islamic principles. These rules forbid Muslims to kill innocent people -- and in particular, religious clerics of all faiths. They forbid killing the retreating enemy and those who surrender; they forbid harming captives; and they expressly forbid the destruction of buildings and civil centers. All of this made clear to me how the continuing misuse of the word jihad, in the American media and elsewhere, perpetuates the myth that we have entered a "clash of civilizations" (to borrow Harvard professor Samuel Huntington's term). This misuse, repeated almost daily, is a gift to bin Laden, for such a formulation of East against West, Islam against Christianity, America against the Arab world, is what he wished to foment. Bin Laden may call his campaign jihad, but it is more precise to call it a crusade -- or even irhab. Everywhere I traveled -- in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Egypt - - bin Laden and his group were freely and frequently labeled as criminals. The al Qaeda leader, I heard time and again, cares nothing for the Palestinian cause, but only about himself and his place in history -- he's a classic megalomaniac. Nor did bin Laden's perversion of Islamic principles find credence with the many people I spoke to. Tantawi scoffed when I read him the 1998 call to arms that bin Laden called his fatwa: "We . . . with God's help . . . call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill Americans and plunder their money." Page 3 "Osama bin Laden is no specialist in religious affairs," the grand imam quipped, to the delight of the imams seated to his left. And then he added: "Islamic law banishes anyone who issues an untrue fatwa." About the references in the hijackers' documents that they were martyrs and would achieve paradise, Tantawi was equally contemptuous. "They are not martyrs but aggressors," he said. "They will not achieve paradise, but will receive severe punishment for their aggression." In Islam, he noted, there is an exact equivalent of Moses's commandant against killing. "Whoever shall kill a man or a believer without right," said the grand imam, "the punishment is hell forever. Allah will be angry with him and give him a great punishment." Especially ugly, Tantawi said, is the criminal who murders by surprise, "from the back," because "it is against morality and good honor." There are of course two sides to the current confusion over religious beliefs between the West and Islam. On the one hand is the worry, widely acknowledged in the Persian Gulf region, that the Islamic world has not done a good job in separating the beliefs of the vast majority of the Arabs from the perversions of bin Ladenism. The most learned and prestigious imams of Sunni Islam are intently aware that a wrong understanding of the faith has taken hold in dangerous ways. When the prophet's name is appropriated by a so- called Army of Mohammed that murders an innocent journalist, or the sacred al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem becomes the symbol for which teenagers kill themselves and murder innocent people, then the faith has strayedoff course. A few weeks from now, a conference will be held at al-Azhar to reemphasize the essential core of the faith in the face of such "intrusive ideas." But the other side of the coin is equally worrisome. In its fear and flag-waving and victimhood, the American people are not listening to such distinctions. Many Americans have projected onto all Arabs and all Muslims the view of bin Laden's aggressors. Unless this distinction, clear-cut in the Arab world, is more widely understood in the United States, we risk further violence based on misunderstanding.James Reston Jr. is the author of "Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade" (Doubleday). Original article found in WashingtonPost.com at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38857-2002Mar30.html
Seeking Meaning From a Grand Imam A Top Sunni Cleric on the Use, and Misuse, of Islam
By James Reston Jr.
Sunday, March 31, 2002; Page B04
CAIRO
Nearly two weeks ago, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the grand imam of Egypt's al-Azhar mosque and the most widely respected and influential moral voice for Sunni Islam, sought to clarify for me the Islamic concepts of jihad, paradise and martyrdom. I had been struck by the widespread view in the United States that Islam seems to possess no ethical norms for armed struggle, so, before leaving for a 14-day visit to the Middle East, I asked Nabil Fahmy, the Egyptian ambassador in Washington,whether he could arrange an audience with the grand sheik. I wanted to clear up my own confusion over who -- if anyone -- speaks for Islam on the concepts that, in the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the suicide bombings by Palestinians and the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl, have driven so many Americans to view Islam as a violent religion.
Tantawi, it turns out, was the right person from whom to seek guidance. While the moral teachings of Islam rest in its law, known as sharia, there is no doctrine or orthodoxy for Islam, nor any human authority or hierarchy to interrupt the direct relationship between the believer and Allah. However, Sunni Muslims from Malaysia to the Middle East to Middle America, representing more than 80 percent of Islamic believers worldwide, look to al-Azhar and its Academy of Islamic Research (of which Tantawi is chairman) for learned interpretation and moral counsel.
Can it be, I wondered, that any Muslim, with a few followers, can walk into the street and proclaim a legitimate and authentic jihad against the West or Israel? Is it possible that any group of a few thousand fanatics can attack three huge American buildings, kill 3,000 unsuspecting innocents and validly say that the act is justified by the Koran?
In his vast office, decorated with lovely wood paneling carved with geometric Arabic designs and appointed with huge photographs of Islam's three holiest mosques, at Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, the 73-year-old Tantawi spoke forcefully about the misconceptions in the West and, equally forcefully, of the perversions of Islam in the East that have led to the violence. A small man, with puffy eyes, deliberate speech and a gentle demeanor, he sat on his couch amid advisers and lesser imams, dressed in a simple red and white cap and a brown, floor-length caftan.
The concept of jihad, Tantawi affirmed through an interpreter, is purely defensive and cannot be aggressive. It can only legitimately be proclaimed by a head of state or leader of all Arab peoples when Arab lands are invaded and occupied (in the manner 12th-century Islamic leader Saladin employed against the Crusader force of Richard I of England), or when great numbers of Arab peoples are displaced and exiled, or when the tenets of Islam are directly attacked or abused. Tantawi's explanation fit with the words I had read in the Koran and quoted back to him: "Fight in Allah's cause against those who wage war against you, but do not commit aggression, for verily Allah does not love aggressors."
Tantawi spoke out against the attacks in New York and Washington the day after they happened, saying that "killing civilians is a horrific, hideous act that no religion can condone." Now, the grand imam was eager for me to have his fuller, written statement on terrorism, which he had issued seven weeks after the attacks. This condemnation was largely overlooked in the American media -- it received only a brief mention in The Post, for example. It did not register with the American people, any more than did the condemnations of the chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council in Saudi Arabia; or of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (representing Muslims in 56 countries); or of the chairman of the Sunna and Sira Council in Qatar; or of the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, also chairman of the senior ulema (the learned), who has, controversially, questioned suicide missions as a legitimate tool of the Arab struggle.
The imam's statement, which I took away to study later, distinguishes between jihad and the Koranic concept of irhab. In contrast to the defensive and obligatory nature of jihad, irhab is terrorism: unjust, aggressive violence against innocent and defenseless civilians that is expressly forbidden by Islamic law and Islamic principles. These rules forbid Muslims to kill innocent people -- and in particular, religious clerics of all faiths. They forbid killing the retreating enemy and those who surrender; they forbid harming captives; and they expressly forbid the destruction of buildings and civil centers.
All of this made clear to me how the continuing misuse of the word jihad, in the American media and elsewhere, perpetuates the myth that we have entered a "clash of civilizations" (to borrow Harvard professor Samuel Huntington's term). This misuse, repeated almost daily, is a gift to bin Laden, for such a formulation of East against West, Islam against Christianity, America against the Arab world, is what he wished to foment. Bin Laden may call his campaign jihad, but it is more precise to call it a crusade -- or even irhab.
Everywhere I traveled -- in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Egypt -- bin Laden and his group were freely and frequently labeled as criminals. The al Qaeda leader, I heard time and again, cares nothing for the Palestinian cause, but only about himself and his place in history -- he's a classic megalomaniac.
Nor did bin Laden's perversion of Islamic principles find credence with the many people I spoke to. Tantawi scoffed when I read him the 1998 call to arms that bin Laden called his fatwa: "We . . . with God's help . . . call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill Americans and plunder their money."
"Osama bin Laden is no specialist in religious affairs," the grand imam quipped, to the delight of the imams seated to his left. And then he added: "Islamic law banishes anyone who issues an untrue fatwa." About the references in the hijackers' documents that they were martyrs and would achieve paradise, Tantawi was equally contemptuous. "They are not martyrs but aggressors," he said. "They will not achieve paradise, but will receive severe punishment for their aggression." In Islam, he noted, there is an exact equivalent of Moses's commandant against killing. "Whoever shall kill a man or a believer without right," said the grand imam, "the punishment is hell forever. Allah will be angry with him and give him a great punishment." Especially ugly, Tantawi said, is the criminal who murders by surprise, "from the back," because "it is against morality and good honor."
There are of course two sides to the current confusion over religious beliefs between the West and Islam. On the one hand is the worry, widely acknowledged in the Persian Gulf region, that the Islamic world has not done a good job in separating the beliefs of the vast majority of the Arabs from the perversions of bin Ladenism. The most learned and prestigious imams of Sunni Islam are intently aware that a wrong understanding of the faith has taken hold in dangerous ways. When the prophet's name is appropriated by a so-called Army of Mohammed that murders an innocent journalist, or the sacred al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem becomes the symbol for which teenagers kill themselves and murder innocent people, then the faith has strayedoff course. A few weeks from now, a conference will be held at al-Azhar to reemphasize the essential core of the faith in the face of such "intrusive ideas."
But the other side of the coin is equally worrisome. In its fear and flag-waving and victimhood, the American people are not listening to such distinctions. Many Americans have projected onto all Arabs and all Muslims the view of bin Laden's aggressors. Unless this distinction, clear-cut in the Arab world, is more widely understood in the United States, we risk further violence based on misunderstanding.James Reston Jr. is the author of "Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade" (Doubleday).
© 2002 The Washington Post Company
Prominent Muslim Cleric Denounces bin Laden
NewsMax.com Wires Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A prominent Muslim cleric today denounced terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden and urged Afghanistan's Taliban rulers not to risk thousands of lives for him.
"Bin Laden is not a prophet that we should put thousands of lives at risk for," said Tahirul Qadri, who heads the Pakistani Awami Tehrik Party.
Qadri, who has thousands of followers in Pakistan and abroad, also criticized the Taliban for sheltering bin Laden and urged the Muslims to "see the difference between jihad and acts of terrorism."
He is the first prominent Muslim scholar to condemn bin Laden and the Taliban so strongly in public. His condemnation could help the Pakistani government defuse tensions in Pakistan where a small but vocal religious group has launched a nationwide campaign against its decision to back U.S.-led military strikes into Afghanistan.
"Bombing embassies or destroying non-military installations like the World Trade Center is no jihad," Qadri said, and "those who launched the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks not only killed thousands of innocent people in the United States but also put the lives of millions of Muslims across the world at risk."
"Now the Americans are killing Afghans ... they may go for other targets too. Who knows how many innocent Muslims will be killed because of those terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center?"
While urging the United States to stop its airstrikes in Afghanistan, Qadri held the Taliban rulers responsible "for the death of hundreds of innocent Afghans."
The Taliban, he said, should have handed over bin Laden and other terrorists to the United Nations or any other neutral international organization before the air strikes began. "They can still do it and save their country from further destruction," he said.
Qadri, whose Pakistan Awami Tehrik emerged as a popular religious party in local elections earlier this year, acknowledged that the United States had provided credible evidence about bin Laden's involvement in acts of terrorism.
"In the light of this evidence, the Taliban had no justification for continuing to protect bin Laden. Why protect him? Is he a saint or a prophet? He is a man who himself has admitted arranging car-bomb attacks on U.S. embassies. He is no saint."
Copyright 2001 by United Press International.
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Qaradawi Rejects Al-Qaeda’s Killing of Innocents Prominent Muslim scholar Dr. Youssef Al-Qaradawi has condemned Al-Qaeda for their fuel tanker suicide bombing of a centuries-old Jewish synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba in April 2002.
On June 23 in a statement broadcast on the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television channel., Sulaiman Abu Gaith, a spokesman for the Al-Qaeda network, claimed responsibility for the explosion that killed 14 German tourists. Five local Jews also perished.
Dr. Al Qaradawi said that in Islam it is not permissible to attack places of worship such as churches and synagogues or attack men of religion, even in a state of war.
“Civilians, such as the German tourists, should not be killed, or kept as hostages. Jews, not in conflict with Muslims, must not be killed either. Anyone who commits these crimes is punishable by Islamic Sharia and have committed the sin of killing a soul which God has prohibited to kill and of spreading corruption on earth,” said Dr. Al Qaradawi.
When asked whether the killing of Jewish women, children and men is permissible, Islamic scholar Muhammad Al-Hanuti said that no one may be persecuted or tortured because of their religion.
“The only one who could be killed is the murderer or the one who commits a crime punishable by the law. In war, when people are fighting for a certain cause, Muslims are not allowed to kill the elderly, women or children. The only legitimate target is the one who is involved in combat against Muslims,” he said.
Dr. Al-Qaradawi said that the conflict with the Jews is over land and not about their Judaism, because they are people of the Book (i.e. they believe in a revealed religion).
“We are allowed to eat their food and marry their women. Accordingly, social intercourse, including inter-marriage, is permitted with the People of the Book. The Jews lived under Muslims’ protection for many centuries.
Spanish Muslims issue 'fatwa' against bin Laden
(March 12, 2005) Spain's leading Muslim clerics have issued a religious order declaring Usama bin Ladin an apostate and to have forsaken Islam by backing attacks such as the Madrid train bombings.
The Islamic Commission of Spain timed its fatwa to coincide with the first anniversary of the attacks, which killed 191 people and were claimed in the name of al-Qaeda in Europe.
The commission's secretary-general, Mansur Escudero, urged others of their faith worldwide to denounce the al-Qaeda. Escudero said that the group had consulted with Muslim leaders in other countries, such as Morocco – home to most of the jailed suspects in the atrocities – Algeria and Libya, and had their support also. He has called upon all Muslim leaders to now also condemn the terrorists publicly.
Crimes
The commission, whose elected leaders represent the Muslim community in talks with the government, said the Koran barred Muslims from committing crimes against innocent people.
"We declare ... that Usama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organisation, responsible for the horrendous crimes against innocent people who were despicably murdered in the 11 March terrorist attack in Madrid, are outside the parameters of Islam," the commission said. The fatwa said that according to the Koran “the terrorist acts of Osama bin Laden and his organization al-Qaeda … are totally banned and must be roundly condemned as against Islam.”
It added: “Inasmuch as Osama bin Laden and his organization defend terrorism as legal and try to base it on the Koran --- they are committing the crime of ‘istihlal’ and thus become apostates that should not be considered Muslims or treated as such.” The term “istihlal” refers to the act of making up one’s own laws.
Muslim fear
"The reaction of some Muslims has been: 'How do you dare to do this (fatwa)? You are putting your lives in danger'," Escudero said.
"But so far, I have not seen any Muslim who opposed it. Some might question our authority to do it, but no one has denied our arguments."
Muhammad Chaib, head of the Ibn Batuta Socio-Cultural Association for Muslim immigrants, supported the condemnation of Bin Laden but said the Muslim community's priority should be integrating into Spanish society, not making political statements.
Islam does not justify terrorism
Most of the 42 suspects still held in the investigation into the bombings are of Moroccan origin. Investigators say they were committed to fighting the West.
"The terrorist acts of Usama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organisation ... which result in the death of civilians, such as women and children ... are totally prohibited and are the object of strong condemnation within Islam," the commission said in a statement quoting extensively from religious texts.
It issued its fatwa as Spaniards paid tribute to the passengers killed on four Madrid commuter trains a year ago.
At Madrid's main mosque, worshippers observed a minute's silence before Friday prayers, and Morocco's King Muhammad attended a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the victims.
Muslim isolation
Some one million Muslims live in Spain and many have felt increasingly isolated as a result of the 11 March 2004 bombings.
Twelve Muslims were killed in the attacks.
"If we analyse [Bin Laden's] actions, we see they have only caused harm and pain to the Muslim world," said Escudero, a Spaniard who converted to Islam in the 1970s. "Some Muslims even wonder whether he is an invention of the enemies of Islam."
Bin Laden's stated aim of recovering al Andalus - the Arabic term for Spain during the nearly 800 years parts of the country were under Moorish rule - "totally contradicts God's will", the commission added.
"If there are reprisals from this group or any other, then I am willing to accept them. I am not afraid," said Escudero.
"I only fear God, and He is the best protector."
№ Sep, 20 2001
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Pravda.RU:World:More in detail 19:56 2001-09-20 RUSSIAN MUSLIM LEADER CALLS AFGHAN ULAMAS TO EXTRADITE BIN LADEN
The Afghan ulamas ought to have long ago expelled Osama bin Laden from the country, Talgat Tadjuddin, High Mufti of the Russian Muslims, said to newsmen. A man who advises to kill cannot be God's counsellor, however much he may quote the Koran, and he will bring nothing but evil to the country which gives him shelter, stressed the Mufti as he called to "punish evil". At the same time, Mufti Talgat Tadjuddin doubts that the USA will comply with moral and legal norms in its vengeance on Afghanistan, and warns about possible civilian victims. The USA intends to act above the UN Security Council head, so its revenge will boil down to terror on a particular country and nation, he said.
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Islamic Statements Against Terrorism in the Wake of the September 11 Mass Murders
Mustafa Mashhur, General Guide, Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt; Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Ameer, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan, Pakistan; Muti Rahman Nizami, Ameer, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Bangladesh; Shaykh Ahmad Yassin, Founder, Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Palestine; Rashid Ghannoushi, President, Nahda Renaissance Movement, Tunisia; Fazil Nour, President, PAS - Parti Islam SeMalaysia, Malaysia; and 40 other Muslim scholars and politicians: “The undersigned, leaders of Islamic movements, are horrified by the events of Tuesday 11 September 2001 in the United States which resulted in massive killing, destruction and attack on innocent lives. We express our deepest sympathies and sorrow. We condemn, in the strongest terms, the incidents, which are against all human and Islamic norms. This is grounded in the Noble Laws of Islam which forbid all forms of attacks on innocents. God Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an: 'No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another' (Surah al-Isra 17:15).” MSANews, September 14, 2001, http://msanews.mynet.net/MSANEWS/200109/20010917.15.html; Arabic original in al-Quds al-Arabi (London), September 14, 2001, p. 2, http://www.alquds.co.uk/Alquds/2001/09Sep/14%20Sep%20Fri/Quds02.pdf
Shaykh Yusuf Qaradawi, Qatar; Tariq Bishri, Egypt; Muhammad S. Awwa, Egypt; Fahmi Huwaydi, Egypt; Haytham Khayyat, Syria; Shaykh Taha Jabir al-Alwani, U.S.: “All Muslims ought to be united against all those who terrorize the innocents, and those who permit the killing of non-combatants without a justifiable reason. Islam has declared the spilling of blood and the destruction of property as absolute prohibitions until the Day of Judgment. ... [It is] necessary to apprehend the true perpetrators of these crimes, as well as those who aid and abet them through incitement, financing or other support. They must be brought to justice in an impartial court of law and [punished] appropriately. ... [It is] a duty of Muslims to participate in this effort with all possible means.” Statement of September 27, 2001. The Washington Post, October 11, 2001, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40545-2001Oct10.html Full text of this fatwa in English and Arabic.
Shaykh Muhammed Sayyid al-Tantawi, imam of al-Azhar mosque in Cairo, Egypt: “Attacking innocent people is not courageous, it is stupid and will be punished on the day of judgement. ... It’s not courageous to attack innocent children, women and civilians. It is courageous to protect freedom, it is courageous to defend oneself and not to attack.” Agence France Presse, September 14, 2001
Abdel-Mo'tei Bayyoumi, al-Azhar Islamic Research Academy, Cairo, Egypt: “There is no terrorism or a threat to civilians in jihad [religious struggle].” Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 20 - 26 September 2001, http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/552/p4fall3.htm
Muslim Brotherhood, an opposition Islamist group in Egypt, said it was “horrified” by the attack and expressed “condolences and sadness”: “[We] strongly condemn such activities that are against all humanist and Islamic morals. ... [We] condemn and oppose all aggression on human life, freedom and dignity anywhere in the world.” Al-Ahram Weekly Online, 13 - 19 September 2001, http://www.ahram.org.eg/weekly/2001/551/fo2.htm
Shaykh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, spiritual guide of Shi‘i Muslim radicals in Lebanon, said he was “horrified” by these “barbaric ... crimes”: “Beside the fact that they are forbidden by Islam, these acts do not serve those who carried them out but their victims, who will reap the sympathy of the whole world. ... Islamists who live according to the human values of Islam could not commit such crimes.” Agence France Presse, September 14, 2001
‘Abdulaziz bin ‘Abdallah Al-Ashaykh, chief mufti of Saudi Arabia: “Firstly: the recent developments in the United States including hijacking planes, terrorizing innocent people and shedding blood, constitute a form of injustice that cannot be tolerated by Islam, which views them as gross crimes and sinful acts. Secondly: any Muslim who is aware of the teachings of his religion and who adheres to the directives of the Holy Qur'an and the sunnah (the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad) will never involve himself in such acts, because they will invoke the anger of God Almighty and lead to harm and corruption on earth.” Statement of September 15, 2001, http://saudiembassy.net/press_release/01-spa/09-15-Islam.htm
‘Abdulaziz bin ‘Abdallah Al-Ashaykh, chief mufti of Saudi Arabia: "You must know Islam’s firm position against all these terrible crimes. The world must know that Islam is a religion of peace and mercy and goodness; it is a religion of justice and guidance…Islam has forbidden violence in all its forms. It forbids the hijacking airplanes, ships and other means of transport, and it forbids all acts that undermine the security of the innocent." Hajj sermon of February 2, 2004, in "Public Statements by Senior Saudi Officials Condemning Extremism and Promoting Moderation," May 2004, http://www.saudiembassy.net/ReportLink/Report_Extremism_May04.pdf, page 10
Shaikh Saleh Al-Luheidan, Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Saudi Arabia: "As a human community we must be vigilant and careful to oppose these pernicious and shameless evils, which are not justified by any sane logic, nor by the religion of Islam." Statement of September 14, 2001, in "Public Statements by Senior Saudi Officials Condemning Extremism and Promoting Moderation," May 2004, http://www.saudiembassy.net/ReportLink/Report_Extremism_May04.pdf, page 6
Shaikh Saleh Al-Luheidan, Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Saudi Arabia: "And I repeat once again: that this act that the United states was afflicted with, with this vulgarity and barbarism, and which is even more barbaric than terrorist acts, I say that these acts are from the depths of depravity and the worst of evils." Televised statement of September 2001, in Muhammad ibn Hussin Al-Qahtani, editor, The Position of Saudi Muslim Scholars Regarding Terrorism in the Name of Islam (Saudi Arabia, 2004), pages 27-28.
Shaykh Muhammad bin ‘Abdallah al-Sabil, member of the Council of Senior Religious Scholars, Saudi Arabia: “Any attack on innocent people is unlawful and contrary to shari'a (Islamic law). ... Muslims must safeguard the lives, honor and property of Christians and Jews. Attacking them contradicts shari'a.” Agence France Presse, December 4, 2001
Council of Saudi ‘Ulama', fatwa of February 2003: "What is happening in some countries from the shedding of the innocent blood and the bombing of buildings and ships and the destruction of public and private installations is a criminal act against Islam. ... Those who carry out such acts have the deviant beliefs and misleading ideologies and are responsible for the crime. Islam and Muslims should not be held responsible for such actions." The Dawn newspaper, Karachi, Pakistan, February 8, 2003, http://www.dawn.com/2003/02/08/top17.htm; also in "Public Statements by Senior Saudi Officials Condemning Extremism and Promoting Moderation," May 2004, http://www.saudiembassy.net/ReportLink/Report_Extremism_May04.pdf, page 10
Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, chairman of the Sunna and Sira Council, Qatar: “Our hearts bleed for the attacks that has targeted the World Trade Center [WTC], as well as other institutions in the United States despite our strong oppositions to the American biased policy towards Israel on the military, political and economic fronts. Islam, the religion of tolerance, holds the human soul in high esteem, and considers the attack against innocent human beings a grave sin, this is backed by the Qur’anic verse which reads: ‘Who so ever kills a human being [as punishment] for [crimes] other than manslaughter or [sowing] corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he has killed all mankind, and who so ever saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind’ (Al-Ma’idah:32).” Statement of September 13, 2001. http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2001-09/13/article25.shtml. Arabic original at http://www.qaradawi.net/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=1665&version=1&template_id=130&parent_id=17
Ayatollah Ali Khamene’i, supreme jurist-ruler of Iran: “Killing of people, in any place and with any kind of weapons, including atomic bombs, long-range missiles, biological or chemical weopons, passenger or war planes, carried out by any organization, country or individuals is condemned. ... It makes no difference whether such massacres happen in Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Qana, Sabra, Shatila, Deir Yassin, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq or in New York and Washington.” Islamic Republic News Agency, September 16, 2001, http://www.irna.com/en/hphoto/010916000000.ehp.shtml
President Muhammad Khatami of Iran: “[T]he September 11 terrorist blasts in America can only be the job of a group that have voluntarily severed their own ears and tongues, so that the only language with which they could communicate would be destroying and spreading death.” Address to the United Nations General Assembly, November 9, 2001, http://www.president.ir/cronicnews/1380/8008/800818/800818.htm#b3
League of Arab States: “The General-Secretariat of the League of Arab States shares with the people and government of the United States of America the feelings of revulsion, horror and shock over the terrorist attacks that ripped through the World Trade Centre and Pentagon, inflicting heavy damage and killing and wounding thousands of many nationalities. These terrorist crimes have been viewed by the League as inadmissible and deserving all condemnation. Divergence of views between the Arabs and the United States over the latter’s foreign policy on the Middle East crisis does in no way adversely affect the common Arab attitude of compassion with the people and government of the United States at such moments of facing the menace and ruthlessness of international terrorism. In more than one statement released since the horrendous attacks, the League has also expressed deep sympathy with the families of the victims. In remarks to newsmen immediately following the tragic events, Arab League Secretary-General Amre Moussa described the feelings of the Arab world as demonstrably sympathetic with the American people, particularly with families and individuals who lost their loved ones. “It is indeed tormenting that any country or people or city anywhere in the world be the scene of such disastrous attacks,” he added. While convinced that it is both inconceivable and lamentable that such a large-scale, organised terrorist campaign take place anywhere, anytime, the League believes that the dreadful attacks against WTC and the Pentagon unveil, time and again, that the cancer of terrorism can be extensively damaging if left unchecked. It follows that there is a pressing and urgent need to combat world terrorism. In this context, an earlier call by [Egyptian] President Hosni Mubarak for convening an international conference to draw up universal accord on ways and means to eradicate this phenomenon and demonstrate international solidarity is worthy of active consideration. The Arabs have walked a large distancein the fight against cross-border terrorism by concluding in April 1998 the Arab Agreement on Combating Terrorism.” September 17, 2001, http://www.leagueofarabstates.org/E_Perspectives_17_09_01.asp
Dr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference: “Following the bloody attacks against major buildings and installations in the United States yesterday, Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Dr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz, secretary-general of the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), stated that he was shocked and deeply saddened when he heard of those attacks which led to the death and injury of a very large number of innocent American citizens. Dr. Belkeziz said he was denouncing and condemning those criminal and brutal acts that ran counter to all covenants, humanitarian values and divine religions foremost among which was Islam.” Press Release, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 12, 2001, http://www.oic-oci.org/press/english/september%202001/america%20on%20attack.htm
Organization of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers: “The Conference strongly condemned the brutal terror acts that befell the United States, caused huge losses in human lives from various nationalities and wreaked tremendous destruction and damage in New York and Washington. It further reaffirmed that these terror acts ran counter to the teachings of the divine religions as well as ethical and human values, stressed the necessity of tracking down the perpetrators of these acts in the light of the results of investigations and bringing them to justice to inflict on them the penalty they deserve, and underscored its support of this effort. In this respect, the Conference expressed its condolences to and sympathy with the people and government of the United States and the families of the victims in these mournful and tragic circumstances.” Final Communique of the Ninth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers, October 10, 2001, http://www.oic-oci.org/english/fm/All%20Download/frmex9.htm
Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, Head of the Directorate of Religious Affairs of Turkey: “Any human being, regardless of his ethnic and religious origin, will never think of carrying out such a violent, evil attack. Whatever its purpose is, this action cannot be justified and tolerated.” Mehmet Nuri Yilmaz, “A Message on Ragaib Night and Terrorism,” September 21, 2001, http://www.diyanet.gov.tr/duyurular/regaibing.htm
Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar), Turkish author: “Islam does not encourage any kind of terrorism; in fact, it denounces it. Those who use terrorism in the name of Islam, in fact, have no other faculty except ignorance and hatred.” Harun Yahya, “Islam Denounces Terrorism,” http://www.islamdenouncesterrorism.com
Shaikh Muhammad Yusuf Islahi, Pakistani-American Muslim leader: “The sudden barbaric attack on innocent citizens living in peace is extremely distressing and deplorable. Every gentle human heart goes out to the victims of this attack and as humans we are ashamed at the barbarism perpetrated by a few people. Islam, which is a religion of peace and tolerance, condemns this act and sees this is as a wounding scar on the face of humanity. I appeal to Muslims to strongly condemn this act, express unity with the victims' relatives, donate blood, money and do whatever it takes to help the affected people.” “Messages From Shaikh Muhammad Yusuf Islahi,” http://www.icna.org/wtc_islahi.htm
Abdal-Hakim Murad, British Muslim author: “Targeting civilians is a negation of every possible school of Sunni Islam. Suicide bombing is so foreign to the Quranic ethos that the Prophet Samson is entirely absent from our scriptures.” “The Hijackers Were Not Muslims After All: Recapturing Islam From the Terrorists,” http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/masud/ISLAM/ahm/recapturing.htm
Syed Mumtaz Ali, President of the Canadian Society of Muslims: “We condemn in the strongest terms possible what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. We join with all Canadians in calling for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators. No political cause could ever be assisted by such immoral acts.” Canadian Society of Muslims, Media Release, September 12, 2001, http://muslim-canada.org/news09112001.html
15 American Muslim organizations: “We reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of the crime committed on September 11, 2001 and join our fellow Americans in mourning the loss of up to 6000 innocent civilians.” Muslim American Society (MAS), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), Muslim Alliance of North America (MANA), Muslim Student Association (MSA), Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP), United Association for Studies and Research (UASR), Solidarity International, American Muslims for Global Peace and Justice (AMGPJ), American Muslim Alliance (AMA), United Muslim Americans Association (UMAA), Islamic Media Foundation (IMF), American Muslim Foundation (AMF), Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations (CCMO), American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ), Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA), October 22, 2001, http://www.icna.org/wtc_pr.htm
57 leaders of North American Islamic organizations, 77 intellectuals, and dozens of concerned citizens: “As American Muslims and scholars of Islam, we wish to restate our conviction that peace and justice constitute the basic principles of the Muslim faith. We wish again to state unequivocally that neither the al-Qaeda organization nor Usama bin Laden represents Islam or reflects Muslim beliefs and practice. Rather, groups like al-Qaeda have misused and abused Islam in order to fit their own radical and indeed anti-Islamic agenda. Usama bin Laden and al-Qaeda's actions are criminal, misguided and counter to the true teachings of Islam.” Statement Rejecting Terrorism, September 9, 2002, http://www.islam-democracy.org/terrorism_statement.asp
American Muslim Political Coordination Council: “American Muslims utterly condemn what are apparently vicious and cowardly acts of terrorism against innocent civilians. We join with all Americans in calling for the swift apprehension and punishment of the perpetrators. No political cause could ever be assisted by such immoral acts.” http://capwiz.com/cair/issues/alert/?alertid=49818&type=CU&azip=
Dr. Agha Saeed, National Chair of the American Muslim Alliance: “These attacks are against both divine and human laws and we condemn them in the strongest terms. The Muslim Americans join the nation in calling for swift apprehension and stiff punishment of the perpetrators, and offer our sympathies to the victims and their families.” http://www.amaweb.org/AMA%20Condemns.html
Hamza Yusuf, American Muslim leader: “Religious zealots of any creed are defeated people who lash out in desperation, and they often do horrific things. And if these people [who committed murder on September 11] indeed are Arabs, Muslims, they're obviously very sick people and I can't even look at it in religious terms. It's politics, tragic politics. There's no Islamic justification for any of it. ... You can't kill innocent people. There's no Islamic declaration of war against the United States. I think every Muslim country except Afghanistan has an embassy in this country. And in Islam, a country where you have embassies is not considered a belligerent country. In Islam, the only wars that are permitted are between armies and they should engage on battlefields and engage nobly. The Prophet Muhammad said, ``Do not kill women or children or non-combatants and do not kill old people or religious people,'' and he mentioned priests, nuns and rabbis. And he said, ``Do not cut down fruit-bearing trees and do not poison the wells of your enemies.'' The Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet, say that no one can punish with fire except the lord of fire. It's prohibited to burn anyone in Islam as a punishment. No one can grant these attackers any legitimacy. It was evil.” San Jose Mercury News, September 15, 2001, http://www0.mercurycenter.com/local/center/isl0916.htm
Nuh Ha Mim Keller, American Muslim author: “Muslims have nothing to be ashamed of, and nothing to hide, and should simply tell people what their scholars and religious leaders have always said: first, that the Wahhabi sect has nothing to do with orthodox Islam, for its lack of tolerance is a perversion of traditional values; and second, that killing civilians is wrong and immoral.” “Making the World Safe for Terrorism,” September 30, 2001, http://66.34.131.5/ISLAM/nuh/terrorism.htm
Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), prominent British Muslim: "I wish to express my heartfelt horror at the indiscriminate terrorist attacks committed against innocent people of the United States yesterday. While it is still not clear who carried out the attack, it must be stated that no right thinking follower of Islam could possibly condone such an action: the Qur'an equates the murder of one innocent person with the murder of the whole of humanity. We pray for the families of all those who lost their lives in this unthinkable act of violence as well as all those injured; I hope to reflect the feelings of all Muslims and people around the world whose sympathies go out to the victims at this sorrowful moment." [On singing an a cappella version of "Peace Train" for the Concert for New York City:] "After the tragedy, my heart was heavy with sadness and shock, and I was determined to help in some way. Organizers asked me to take part in a message for tolerance and sing 'Peace Train.' Of course, I agreed. ... As a Muslim from the West, it is important to me to let people know that these acts of mass murder have nothing to do with Islam and the beliefs of Muslims." Press release of September 13, 2001, and PR Newswire, October 22, 2001, both at http://www.mountainoflight.co.uk/pages/news/2001.html
Muslims Against Terrorism, a U.S.-based organization: “As Muslims, we condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Ours is a religion of peace. We are sick and tired of extremists dictating the public face of Islam.” http://www.muslimsagainstterrorism.org/aboutus.html. This statement has been replaced by a new statement in favor of peace by the group's successor organization, Muslim Voices for Peace, http://www.mvp-us.org.
Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor of religious studies, University of Virginia: “New York was grieving. Sorrow covered the horizons. The pain of separation and of missing family members, neighbors, citizens, humans could be felt in every corner of the country. That day was my personal day of “jihad” (“struggle”) - jihad with my pride and my identity as a Muslim. This is the true meaning of jihad – “struggle with one’s own ego and false pride.” I don’t ever recall that I had prayed so earnestly to God to spare attribution of such madness that was unleashed upon New York and Washington to the Muslims. I felt the pain and, perhaps for the first time in my entire life, I felt embarrassed at the thought that it could very well be my fellow Muslims who had committed this horrendous act of terrorism. How could these terrorists invoke God’s mercifulness and compassion when they had, through their evil act, put to shame the entire history of this great religion and its culture of toleration?” “Where Was God on September 11?," http://www.virginia.edu/~soasia/newsletter/Fall01/God.html
Ali Khan, professor of law, Washburn University School of Law: “To the most learned in the text of the Quran, these verses must be read in the context of many other verses that stipulate the Islamic law of war---a war that the Islamic leader must declare after due consultation with advisers. For the less learned, however, these verses may provide the motivation and even the plot for a merciless strike against a self-chosen enemy.” “Attack on America: An Islamic Perspective, September 17, 2001, http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forum/forumnew29.htm
Muqtedar Khan, assistant professor of political science, Adrian College, Michigan, USA: “What happened on September 11th in New York and Washington DC will forever remain a horrible scar on the history of Islam and humanity. No matter how much we condemn it, and point to the Quran and the Sunnah to argue that Islam forbids the killing of innocent people, the fact remains that the perpetrators of this crime against humanity have indicated that their actions are sanctioned by Islamic values. The fact that even now several Muslim scholars and thousands of Muslims defend the accused is indicative that not all Muslims believe that the attacks are unIslamic. This is truly sad. ... If anywhere in your hearts there is any sympathy or understanding with those who committed this act, I invite you to ask yourself this question, would Muhammad (pbuh) sanction such an act? While encouraging Muslims to struggle against injustice (Al Quran 4:135), Allah also imposes strict rules of engagement. He says in unequivocal terms that to kill an innocent being is like killing entire humanity (Al Quran 5:32). He also encourages Muslims to forgive Jews and Christians if they have committed injustices against us (Al Quran 2:109, 3:159, 5:85).” “Memo to American Muslims,” October 5, 2001, http://www.ijtihad.org/memo.htm
Dr. Alaa Al-Yousuf, Bahraini economist and political activist: “On Friday, 14 September [the first Friday prayers after 11 September], almost the whole world expressed its condemnation of the crime and its grief for the bereaved families of the victims. Those who abstained or, even worse, rejoiced, will have joined the terrorists, not in the murder, but in adding to the incalculable damage on the other victims of the atrocity, namely, Islam as a faith, Muslims and Arabs as peoples, and possibly the Palestinian cause. The terrorists and their apologists managed to sully Islam as a faith both in the eyes of many Muslims and non-Muslims alike.” Interview with the International Forum for Islamic Dialogue, London, http://www.islam21.net/pages/keyissues/key7-6.htm
Dr. S. Parvez Manzoor, Swedish-based Muslim author: “If these acts of terror indeed have been perpetrated by Muslim radicals or fundamentalists, they have reaped nothing but eternal damnation, shame and ignominy. For nothing, absolutely nothing, could remotely be advanced as an excuse for these barbaric acts. They represent a total negation of Islamic values, an utter disregard of our fiqhi tradition, and a slap in the face of the Ummah. They are in total contrast to what Islamic reason, compassion and faith stand for. Even from the more mundane criteria of common good, the maslaha of the jurists, these acts are treasonous and suicidal. Islamic faith has been so callously and casually sacrificed at the altar of politics, a home-grown politics of parochial causes, primeval passions, self-endorsing piety and messianic terror.” Interview with the International Forum for Islamic Dialogue, London, http://www.islam21.net/pages/keyissues/key7-6.htm
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian Islamic activist and former deputy prime minister: “Never in Islam's entire history has the action of so few of its followers caused the religion and its community of believers to be such an abomination in the eyes of others. Millions of Muslims who fled to North America and Europe to escape poverty and persecution at home have become the object of hatred and are now profiled as potential terrorists. And the nascent democratic movements in Muslim countries will regress for a few decades as ruling autocrats use their participation in the global war against terrorism to terrorize their critics and dissenters. This is what Mohammed Atta and his fellow terrorists and sponsors have done to Islam and its community worldwide by their murder of innocents at the World Trade Center in New York and the Defense Depart-ment in Washington. The attack must be condemned, and the condemnation must be without reservation.” Anwar Ibrahim, “Growth of Democracy Is the Answer to Terrorism,” International Herald Tribune, October 11, 2001, http://www.iht.com/articles/35281.htm
Ziauddin Sardar, British Muslim author: “The failure of Islamic movements is their inability to come to terms with modernity, to give modernity a sustainable home-grown expression. Instead of engaging with the abundant problems that bedevil Muslim lives, the Islamic prescription consists of blind following of narrow pieties and slavish submission to inept obscurantists. Instead of engagement with the wider world, they have made Islam into an ethic of separation, separate under-development, and negation of the rest of the world.” Ziauddin Sardar, “Islam has become its own enemy,” The Observer, October 21, 2001, http://www.observer.co.uk/waronterrorism/story/0,1373,577942,00.html
Khaled Abou El Fadl, Kuwaiti-Egyptian-American legal scholar: “It would be disingenuous to deny that the Qur'an and other Islamic sources offer possibilities of intolerant interpretation. Clearly these possibilities are exploited by the contemporary puritans and supremacists. But the text does not command such intolerant readings. Historically, Islamic civilization has displayed a remarkable ability to recognize possibilities of tolerance, and to act upon these possibilities.” Khaled Abou El Fadl, “The Place of Tolerance in Islam: On Reading the Qur'an -- and Misreading It,” Boston Review, December 2001/January 2002, http://bostonreview.mit.edu/BR26.6/elfadl.html
Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Hanooti, Palestinian-American mufti and member of the North American Fiqh Council: “The people who attacked the WTC and Pentagon and hijacked the forth plane that crashed in Pennsylvania are criminal who deserve the severest punishment as the Quran elaborates. They are murderers and terrorists. If there were any person who felt happy for that incident we would not be able to equate them with those criminals, but we can say no one with faith and ethics would accept anything of that murder and targeting of innocent people.” Sheikh Muhammad Ali Al-Hanooti, "Fatwa Session on Latest Tragic Events," IslamOnline, September 20, 2001, http://www.islamonline.net/livefatwa/english/Browse.asp?hGuestID=pdwD2E
Syed Shahabuddin, Indian Muslim author: “Islam prohibits terrorism as well as suicide. Jihad is neither and has no place for taking innocent lives or one’s own life. No cause, howsoever noble or just, can justify terrorism. So while one may sympathize with the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people and support their claim to a state of their own, while one may appreciate the democratic awakening among the people of many Muslim states and uphold their demand for withdrawal of foreign presence from their soil and support their struggle for revision of the terms of trade for their natural resources, no thinking Muslim can go along with the use of terrorism for securing political goals.” Syed Shahabuddin, "Global war against terrorism – the Islamic dimension," Milli Gazette newspaper, New Delhi, India, November 1, 2001, http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/01112001/34.htm
Dr. M. A. Zaki Badawi, principal of the Muslim College, London, England: “Neither the law of Islam nor its ethical system justify such a crime.” Dr. M. A. Zaki Badawi, "Terrorism has no place in Islam," Arab News, Jiddah-Riyadh-Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, September 28, 2001, http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5§ion=0&article=9314&d=28&m=9&y=2001
Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai, head mufti at Jamiat-ul-Uloom-ul-Islamia seminary, Binori Town, Pakistan and a leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) party, Pakistan: “It's wrong to kill innocent people. ... It's also wrong to praise those who kill innocent people.” The New York Times, September 28, 2001, p. B3
Shaykh Omar Bakri, leader of al-Muhajirun, a radical Islamist movement based in London, England: “If Islamists did it -- and most likely it is Islamists, because of the nature of what happened -- then they have fully misunderstood the teachings of Islam. ... Even the most radical of us have condemned this. I am always considered to be a radical in the Islamic world and even I condemn it.” The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada), September 13, 2001, p. B6
Salih bin Muhammad Lahidan, chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Saudi Arabia: “Killing the weak, infants, women, and the elderly, and destroying property, are considered serious crimes in Islam. . . . Viewing on the TV networks what happened to the twin towers . . . was like watching doomsday. Those who commit such crimes are the worst of people. Anyone who thinks that any Islamic scholar will condone such acts is totally wrong. . . . This barbaric act is not justified by any sane mind-set. . . . This act is pernicious and shameless and evil in the extreme.” The Washington Post, October 13, 2001, p. B9
Shaykh Rached Ghannouchi, chairman of Tunisia's an-Nahda Movement, in exile in London, England: “Such destruction can only be condemned by any Muslim, however resentful one may be of America's biased policies supporting occupation in Palestine, as an unacceptable attack on thousands of innocent people having no relation to American policies. Anyone familiar with Islam has no doubt about its rejection of collective punishment, based on the well-known Quranic principle that 'no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another.'” The Washington Post, October 13, 2001, p. B9
Shaykh Salih al-Suhaymi, religious scholar, Saudi Arabia: “Based upon what has preceded, then we say that that which we believe and hold as our religion concerning what happened to the World Trade Centre in America – and in Allaah lies success – that the terrorist attacks that took place and what occurred of general (mass) killing, then it is not permissible and Islaam does not allow it in any form whatsoever.” "Shaykh Saalih as-Suhaymee speaks about current affairs...," October 18, 2001, translated by Abu 'Iyaad, http://www.fatwaonline.com/news/0011018.htm
Dr. Sayed G. Safavi, Iranian religious scholar and director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, London, England: “The targeting of innocent persons cannot be allowed. Islam is against any form of terrorism, whether it be carried out by an individual, a group or a state. ... For Muslims to kill civilians unconnected with any attack on them is a crime. The principal law of Islam is: don't attack civilians. This includes civilians of any faith, whether Jewish, Muslim or Christian. According to Islam, all people are the family of God. The target of religion is peace.” Letter to the Editor, The Daily Telegraph, London, England, June 30, 2003, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/06/30/dt3001.xml
Iqbal Siddiqui, editor of Crescent International, London, England: “History also teaches us that the only effective way of challenging oppression and the only effective way of fighting injustice is through force; that is simply the way of the world. Pacifism is all too often a weapon of the status quo.... When Islamic movements in the world do need to resort to the use of force, that force must be used morally. When extreme fringes of those movements are pushed to use force indiscriminately, immorally, wrongly against illegitimate targets, and using illegitimate weapons (such [as] hijacked jumbo jets), those are crimes for which the people who share their cause, who share their view of the world, their understanding of the need to use force, must also criticise them, turn against them, isolate them. Our standards must be higher than those of the people whom we are fighting, because if we descend to their standards then there is no difference between us.” Iqbal Siddiqui, "Terrorism and political violence in contemporary history," Conference on Terrorism, Institute of Islamic Studies, London, England, November 13, 2001, published in Muslimedia International, February 16-28, 2002, http://www.muslimedia.com/archives/movement02/terror-hist.htm. Earlier version on-line at http://www.islamic-studies.org/terrorconfer.pro.htm
Islamway website: "In light of these and other Islamic texts, the act of inciting terror in the hearts of defenseless civilians, the wholesale destruction of buildings and properties, the bombing and maiming of innocent men, women, and children are all forbidden and detestable acts according to Islam and the Muslims." "What Does Islam Say About Terrorism?" http://english.islamway.com/bindex.php?section=article&id=126
Islamic Commission of Spain: "Muslims, therefore, are not only forbidden from committing crimes against innocent people, but are responsible before God to stop those people who have the intention to do so, since these people 'are planting the seeds of corruption on Earth'.... The perpetration of terrorist acts supposes a rupture of such magnitude with Islamic teaching that it allows to affirm that the individuals or groups who have perpetrated them have stopped being Muslim and have put themselves outside the sphere of Islam." "Text of the Fatwa Declared Against Osama Bin Laden by the Islamic Commission of Spain," March 17, 2005, http://webislam.com/?idn=537; original Spanish version: "La Comisión Islámica de España emite una fatua condenando el terrorismo y al grupo Al Qaida," March 10, 2005, http://www.webislam.com/?idn=399.
See also:
Bernard Haykel, assistant professor of Islamic law at New York University: “According to Islamic law there are at least six reasons why Bin Laden's barbaric violence cannot fall under the rubric of jihad: 1) Individuals and organizations cannot declare a jihad, only states can; 2) One cannot kill innocent women and children when conducting a jihad; 3) One cannot kill Muslims in a jihad; 4) One cannot fight a jihad against a country in which Muslims can freely practise their religion and proselytize Islam; 5) Prominent Muslim jurists around the world have condemned these attacks and their condemnation forms a juristic consensus (ijma') against Bin Laden's actions (This consensus renders his actions un-Islamic); 6) The welfare and interest of the Muslim community (maslaha) is being harmed by Bin Laden's actions and this equally makes them un-Islamic.” The Dawn newspaper, Karachi, Pakistan, October 8, 2001, http://www.dawn.com/2001/10/08/op.htm#2
See other collections of statements:
Omid Safi, Colgate University, “Scholars of Islam & the Tragedy of Sept. 11th,” http://groups.colgate.edu/aarislam/response.htm
Tim Lubin, Washington and Lee University, “Islamic Responses to the Sept. 11 Attack,” http://home.wlu.edu/~lubint/islamonWTC.htm
The Becket Fund, “Osama Bin Laden Hijacked Four Airplanes and a Religion,” October 17, 2001, http://www.becketfund.org/other/MuslimAd.html
Islam for Today, “Muslims Against Terrorism,” http://www.islamfortoday.com/terrorism.htm
ReligiousTolerance.org, “Aftermath of the 9-11 Terrorist Attack: Voices of Moderate Muslims,” http://www.religioustolerance.org/reac_ter16.htm
Islamic Stand on Terrorism: An International Conference, Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 20-22 April 2004, http://www.islamstand.org/english/abaakail.htm
Back to C. Kurzman home page. Liberal Islam Web Links. Updated April 20, 2005
Religious edicts forbidding the declaration of any Muslim
Posted: 06-07-2005 , 21:34 GMT
According to PETRA, leading Muslim clerics on Wednesday endorsed religious edicts forbidding the declaration of any Muslim an apostate and limiting the issuance of religious edicts to qualified Muslim clerics in the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
The endorsement of the edicts was part of a final statement issued at the closing session of the International Islamic Conference on Wednesday. The joint statement, collecting signatures from scholars and clergies of the eight schools, is the first of its kind. The statement, issued in the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah II, forbids declaring any adherent to any one of the eight schools of jurisprudence or to Sufism, an apostate, acknowledges the agreement among the eight schools on the fundamental principles of Islamic belief and practice, instructs the eight schools to establish a mechanism by which only qualified clergy could issue religious edicts and forbade the issuance of edicts by unqualified clergy, affirms the necessity and benefit of dialogue among the eight schools and urges Muslims to eschew discord and instead unite and fortify affinity among Muslim people and states. The statement's terms of reference included religious edicts issued by ten of the most preeminent members of the global Islamic clergy ahead of the conference, which condemned the doctrine of takfir, among other things. The edicts were issued by Their Eminences Grand Imam Sheikh Al Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayyed Tantawi, Grand Ayatollah Al Sayyid Ali Al Sistani, Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Jumaa, a compendium of Shi'i clerics (both Ja'fari and Zeidi), Grand Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman Ahmad Bin Hamad Al Khalili, the Islamic Fiqh Academy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Grand Council for Religious Affairs, Turkey, Grand Mufti of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan Sheikh Izzeddine Al Khateeb Al Tamimi, and the members of its National Fatwa Committee, and Sheikh Dr. Yusuf Al Qaradawi. Other elements of the statement were drawn from King Abdullah's address to the conference, which urged more than 170 scholars and clerics from the different schools of Islamic thought to unify the global Muslim community against threats to its integrity from both Muslims and non-Muslims. The King said that divisions within the global Islamic community, acts of violence and terrorism and accusations of apostasy and the killing of Muslims in the name of Islam violate the spirit of Islam and generate global turmoil because they give justification to non-Muslims to judge Islam according to acts that Islam disavows, and subsequently interfere in Muslims' affairs. The King said it was unacceptable to call an adherent to any one of the eight schools of jurisprudence an apostate. All schools recognize the fundamental principles of Islamic belief and uphold the five pillars of Islam, he said, and therefore practice true Islam. The mutual acknowledgement of all schools of Islamic jurisprudence would permit the emergence of a fundamental methodology in the issuance of religious edicts in order that those issuing edicts would be "qualified for this undertaking," the King said. "This," he said, "would end the practice of defaming others as apostates and close the door on ignorant people who practice killing and terrorism - of which Islam is innocent - in the name of Islam." The joint statement, read out by Jordan Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs/ Spokesman of the conference and in presence of the King's Personal Envoy and Private Advisor and President of the Board of Trustees of the Al Al Bayet Foundation for Islamic Thought, said the essence of the Amman Message, which was issued on the Blessed Night of Power in the year 1425 H. and which was read aloud in Masjid al-Hashimiyyin, is adherence to the Schools of Jurisprudence and their fundamental methodology and acknowledging the Schools of Jurisprudence and affirming discussion and engagement between them ensures fairness, moderation, mutual forgiveness, compassion, and engaging in dialogue with others.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
Bismillahi ar-Rahman ar-Rahim
Muslims Condemn Terrorist Attacks
http://www.muhajabah.com/otherscondemn.php
This page focuses on condemnations of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It is not a complete listing of all condemnations written or spoken by Muslims but is intended to provide a representative sample. Note: See also How American Muslims Really Responded to September 11 for more information about the Muslim response to 9/11. Related commentary at Friedman Wrong About Muslims Again , by Juan Cole.
Muslim Leaders
A Message from the Council on American-Islamic Relations
American Muslim Leaders Condemn Attacks
American Muslims and Scholars Denounce Terrorism on Anniversary of 9/11
Australian Muslims Condemn Terrorist Attack
Bin Laden Distorts Islam, Islamic Scholars Say
Bin Laden's Idea of 'Jihad' is Out of Bounds, Islamic Scholars Say
British Muslims Condemn Terrorist Attacks
Canadian Muslims Condemn Terorist Attacks
Islamic Statements Against Terrorism in the Wake of the September 11 Mass Murders
Islamic World Deplores U.S. Losses
Looking for Answers in Islam's Holy Book: What Islamic Scholars Have to Say
Muslim Reactions to Sept 11
Muslim World Condemns Attacks on U.S.
Muslim rulers condemn WTC attacks
New Zealand Muslims Condemn Terrorism
Organization of the Islamic Conference Foreign Ministers Condemn International Terrorism
Quran a Book of Peace Not War, Islamic Scholars Say
Scholars of Islam Condemn Terrorism
Some American Muslims Take a Look at Their Communities' Shortcomings
U.S. Muslim Scholars Condemn Attacks
UK Muslim Leaders Condemn 'Lunatic Fringe'
When is jihad OK? Muslim Perspectives
Specific Muslim Scholars
Attacks on Civilians: Forbidden by Islam, by Shaykh Yusuf Qaradawi
Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Fadlallah of Lebanon condemns Osama Bin Laden, by Ayatollah Muhammad Husain Fadlallah
Bin Laden's Violence is a Heresy Against Islam, by AbdulHakim Murad (Tim Winter)
Expert Says Islam Prohibits Violence Against Innocents, by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar Condemns Suicide Bombings, by Shaykh Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi
High Mufti of Russian Muslims calls for Extradition of Bin Laden, by Russian Muslim leaders
Iran's Supreme Leader Condemns Attacks on U.S., by Ayatollah Ali Khamanei
Islam and the Question of Violence, by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Iranian scholar
Jihad: Its True Meaning and Purpose, by Muzammil H. Siddiqui
Most Prominent Sunni Muslim Scholar Condemns Killing of Civilians, by Shaykh Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University
Muslim Attitudes about Violence, by Shaykh Muhammad al-Munajjid |