Published: Jul 28, 2005 American Muslim scholars who interpret religious law for their community issued an edict Thursday condemning terrorism against civilians in response to the wave of deadly attacks in Britain and other countries.
Posted on 07/28/2005 9:22:30 AM PDT by TheOtherOne
American Muslim Scholars Call Terrorism a Violation of Islamic Teaching
Published: Jul 28, 2005 American Muslim scholars who interpret religious law for their community issued an edict Thursday condemning terrorism against civilians in response to the wave of deadly attacks in Britain and other countries.
In the statement, called a fatwa, the 18-member Fiqh Council of North America wrote that people who commit terrorism in the name of Islam were "criminals, not 'martyrs.'"
"There is no justification in Islam for extremism or terrorism," the scholars wrote. "Targeting civilians' life and property through suicide bombings or any other method of attack is haram - or forbidden."
Many Muslim leaders overseas have issued similar condemnations in recent weeks, but some have left an opening for violence to be used. British Muslim leaders who denounced the July 7 attacks in London said suicide bombings could still be justified against an occupying power.
The U.S. fatwa did not specifically address suicide bombings in a war, but the scholars barred Muslims from helping anyone "involved in any act of terrorism or violence." The council also declared that Muslims were obligated to help law enforcement officials protect civilians.
"It is the civic and religious duty of Muslims to cooperate with law enforcement authorities," according to the Fiqh Council. The term "fiqh" refers to Islamic legal issues and understanding the faith's religious law.
Islam has no central authority and the council serves an advisory role for American Muslims, who could number as high as 6 million. But some question whether the panel's statements would sway extremists.
Leaders of major American Muslim organizations have taken pains since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to condemn terrorism and deny any religious justification for it. They have intensified their efforts following the July 7 bombings in London and the botched attacks two weeks later. Other terrorist attacks have occurred in Egypt and Israel in recent weeks, along with continued bombings in Iraq.
The Muslim Public Affairs Council, an advocacy group based in Los Angeles, started the "National Anti-Terrorism Campaign" last year, urging Muslims to monitor their own communities, speak out more boldly against violence and work with law enforcement officials.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington-based civil rights organization, is running a TV ad and a petition-drive called "Not in the Name of Islam," which repudiates terrorism. In New York and other cities, mosque leaders have joined advisory committees created by the FBI to build relations between law enforcement and their local communities.
"We pray for the defeat of extremism and terrorism," the scholars wrote. "We pray for the safety and security of our country, the United States, and its people. We pray for the safety and security of all inhabitants of our planet."
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On the Net:
Council on American-Islamic Relations: http://www.cair-net.org.
AP-ES-07-28-05 1024EDT
It's a step in the right direction. It's probably pressure and being scared then actually giving a damn about us infidel Jews and Christians but what the hell, progress is progress.
September 12 would've been far, far more better and effective.
That statement is a flat out lie. They've taken pains to distance themselves from it and they say it's not allowed, but they always follow up with the line, "We need to understand why they did it," and then go into a five-minute rant about the evils of American foreign policy.
The Islamics have all kinds of talk about how killing innocent civilians isn't allowed. What they leave out is that, in America, there are no innocent civilians except for the muslims that have recently emmigrated from islamic countries. It's okay to accidentally knock off a few of them when killing infidels since they'll be martyred and go off to the highest level of heaven.
Okay.
Am I supposed to believe that amongst Muslims, it takes the combined intellect of a bunch of scholars 4 years to figure out that terrorism is wrong?
Or am I supposed to believe that the strictures of the Muslim faith are difficult to interpret in a way that would make it possible to argue that terrorism is wrong?
How about I just continue to believe that Muslim-Americans have been content to sit on the fence knowing that their religion teaches murdering the infidel is their duty - only now being goaded into pretending to object to terrorism because they fear for their comfortably self-segarated existence in western world.
I'd like to say, "Finally!", but I'm afraid the american scholars are wrong.
When it comes to correctly interpreting Islam, the Wahabbists have it right. It's a religion of murder, mayhem, might makes right, and theocracy.
I guess it is commendable that some "religious" leaders got around to condemning murder. /sarcasm
It ain't gonna happen....
Semper Fi
A swig of that elixir from your friendly neighborhood islamo-fascist. They are just so doggone loving and cuddly, aren't they?
I just saw a nice CA license plate today. "SEMP FI"
I am no Marine, but I thought it was very cool.
I don't see how that could be a bad thing in the short term either way.
Did they define "civilian" in this fatwa?
Interesting, did they do this after 9/11?
I looked around to see if there was somebody behind me, but he was talking to me. He then said, that Jesus was taken away by the angels and Judas was crucified instead and then the evil JEWS made up the Bible and made up the story about Jesus being Crucified and that it is all in the Gospel of Barnabas and then he started into a diatribe about the EVIL JEWS and how they run the world and how the "TRUE PROPHET MUHAMMED" would take care of them.
He must have mentioned "evil Jews" about 15 times in the two or three minutes from the time I got on the elevator until we got out the door.
I felt like I'd just walked onto an elevator in Nazi Germany 60 years ago. Pretty scary stuff. I suspect this guy is a LEGAL immigrant. How do these people get into the United States? Aren't they screened?
At any rate the only difference between an Islamist and a Nazi is that most Nazis tended to love their own children more than they hated Jews. These Islamists will gladly sacrifice their own children for a chance to kill some Jews. And now we have them as our neighbors.
It's the moderates who choose not to hate infidels who are actually the real radicals.
At least they have said it publicly, risking the wrath of the militants.
read later
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