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For Muslims, a role in the war on terror
Topic Started: Aug 12 2005, 07:06 PM (105 Views)
24thcenstfan
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Something Wicked This Fae Comes
For Muslims, a role in the war on terror

Quote:
 
The time has come to issue a fatwa to excommunicate  Osama bin Laden and his followers from the world of Islam.  In fact, as terrorism rages, we need a stream of solid counter-fatwas - legal pronouncements in Islam - from the Muslim community.

Thus far we have heard fatwas, such as the one issued last month by the Fiqh Council of North America, telling us that Islam does not condone violence or that Islam condemns these actions. These types of words are not enough. We need to move beyond abstract condemnations and actually exclude those who give Islam a bad name.

In the same spirit that bin Laden and his group label moderate Muslims as Western lackeys, it is time Muslim leaders pronounce bin Laden by name as non-Muslim. That's right, excommunicate him. A clear fatwa should come from the centers of theology in the Muslim world - from al-Azhar University, a prestigious school of Islamic law in Cairo, and from Mecca.

And if a mosque is used as a place to plan attacks or to shield the perpetrators, Muslims should withdraw the name of that mosque, meaning it can no longer serve its holy purpose. It has been desecrated by such evil. The terrorists of Leeds, Britain, allegedly cooked their plots to bomb London inside a mosque, putting signs outside the door that they were praying. Praying for what - for God or for Satan?

God said that those who spread destruction on earth should be punished and that their hands and legs should be cut off, a metaphor for the severity of the punishment. Yet some Muslims continue to cheer bin Laden. The unspoken message sent to him is that "you are doing to the West what we want done."

Unless extreme pressure is applied on Muslims all over the world to come up with counter-fatwas, little will happen in Muslim communities to fight terrorism. Unless we speak up, Muslims will appear in the eyes of the world as providing tacit support for terrorists.

I have talked with many Muslims, especially in the West, who in public condemn violent acts but in private conversations say, "The West deserves this." In public, they will say it is a revenge for Palestine and Iraq, but in private I hear blind hatred, a virus that is taking over too many Muslim minds.

Only two things can stop terrorism: serious counter-fatwas from all Muslims to excommunicate bin Laden and his supporters, and a more skeptical eye in the West for Islamists who say one thing while advocating another.

There are no moderate Islamists that I have seen. There are ordinary Muslims who are living decent lives, and there are terrorists or would-be terrorists.


Mamoun Fandy is a senior fellow of Middle East and Islamic politics at Baker Institute at Rice University.

(Bold Added)

Regarding the bolded areas: Eactly! I think Fandy hits on one very important issue in this opinion piece. One of the greatest combatants to terror would be for the Muslim community to stand up and fight against (verbally that is) these perpetrators of terrorism. This must ultimately come from the epicenter of their religion as Fandy mentions.

It does the good people who practice Islam no good to continue to allow the Bin Laden's of the world to continue to hijack their religion for their own maniacal purposes. Excommunicate away, I say.
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ds9074
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Admiral
Quote:
 
Islam strictly, strongly and severely condemns the use of violence and the destruction of innocent lives.

There is neither place nor justification in Islam for extremism, fanaticism or terrorism. Suicide bombings, which killed and injured innocent people in London, are haram - vehemently prohibited in Islam, and those who committed these barbaric acts in London are criminals not martyrs.

Such acts, as perpetrated in London, are crimes against all of humanity and contrary to the teachings of Islam.

The Holy Koran declares:

"Whoever kills a human being, then it is as though he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a human life, it is as though he had saved all mankind." (Koran, Surah al-Maidah (5), verse 32).

Islam teaches us to be caring towards all of Allah's (God's) creation, not just mankind. The Prophet of Islam who was described as "a mercy to the worlds" said: "All creation is the family of Allah and that person is most beloved to Allah who is kind and caring towards His family."

Islam's position is clear and unequivocal: murder of one soul is the murder of the whole of humanity; he who shows no respect for human life is an enemy of humanity.

We pray for the defeat of extremism and terrorism in the world.

We pray for peace, security and harmony to triumph in multicultural Great Britain.

This was the recent Fatwa issued by British Muslims. I think this is a strong and clear statement but I can also see what you are saying.
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ds9074
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Admiral
There has actually been a Fatwa naming Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda directly. This was issued by Spanish Muslims after the attacks there. While not nessasarily carrying the same weight as say a Fatwa comming from important Mosques in Mecca its still and important correct to the original story.

Full Text (English translation) and story.

The words used were;

Quote:
 
"As long as Osama ben Laden and his organization defend the legality of terrorism and try to base it on the Sacred Koran and the Sunna, they are committing the crime of istihlal and they have become ipso facto apostates (kafir murtadd), who should not be considered Muslim nor be treated as such".

Quote:
 
"We declare that Osama ben Laden and his organization Al Qaida, responsible for the horrible crimes against the innocents who vilely were assassinated in the terrorist attack of 11 March in Madrid, are outside the parameters of Islam; and the same goes to all who wield the Sacred Koran and The Prophet's Sunna to commit terrorist acts"


The preamble to the Fatwa states;

Quote:
 
The whole point of this fatwa --which means legal judgement-- is not to excommunicate Ben Laden and his Al Quaida. On the contrary, it is to prove these people have excommunicated themselves from Islam and thus should not be referred by anybody --whether Muslim or non-Muslim-- as "Islamic" terrorists. Terrorism goes against the core of Islam and whoever performs a terrorist act has put themselves outside of the guidance of Islam
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somerled
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Admiral MacDonald RN
Some of Australia's mulsim clerics have suggested that, I think before the London Bombings happened.

However - Al Qaeda and coy. could give a damb about the views of less radical mulsims and they have proven that by showing they don't give a fig who is killed in their attacks and don't give a second thought killing fellow muslims in theatres such as Afganistan, Iran, Egypt if said killing achieves their political ends.
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