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Amazigh say Beida government’s fatwa authority incites genocide
[Libya Herald] The Supreme Amazigh Council has accused the Islamic affairs and endowments authority that is part of the Beida-based interim government of inciting genocide against the Amazigh community.

It follows a fatwa last week from the authority damning Ibadis as infidels and "Kharijites".

Ibadi Islam, which is neither Sunni nor Shiite, is followed by a large number Libyan Amazigh, as well as Amazigh in Tunisia and Algeria. It is also the official form of Islam in Oman... The Higher Committee of Fatwa in east Libya is made up of a group of radicals known as “Madkhalis.” One of its prominent members, Hamid Abu Dwairah, was a former Jihadist in Afghanistan. The Madkhalis are followers of Saudi cleric Rabea Madkhali.
Ibadi Islam, which is neither Sunni nor Shiite, is followed by a large number Libyan Amazigh, as well as Amazigh in Tunisia and Algeria. It is also the official form of Islam in Oman.

The council, which is accepted by Amazigh communities throughout western Libya including Zuwara, Nalut and Jadu, has labelled the fatwa a threat to peace in Libya as well as a source of potential conflict with Tunisia and Algeria. The Benghazi-based endowments authority was being both racist and bellicose, its said, calling on Amazigh towns to step up security to prevent attacks on Amazigh individuals by murderous Moslems.

The statement by the Benghazi endowments authority, which is firmly in the hands of Salafists
...Salafists are ostentatiously devout Moslems who figure the ostentation of their piety gives them the right to tell others how to do it and to kill those who don't listen to them...
, has already caused outrage across Libya. Even before the Supreme Amazigh Council responded, it was also seen as severely damaging relations between the Amazigh community and the eastern authorities.

Until now a significant proportion of those communities have supported the House of Representatives and the Libya National Army, although there is also a small, well-armed Islamist minority that backs Khalifa Ghwell.

More detail from Libya Observer
A number of diplomats, intellectuals and bloggers have shown outright condemnation and rage directed at the Higher Committee of Fatwa (HCF) of the Interim Government in east Libya following a controversial fatwa regarding the followers of Ibadism, the widespread Islamic doctrine in Libya’s Amazigh towns, as "Khawarij and infidels."

On its official website, the HCF said the followers of Ibadism have gone astray, in response to a question on whether it was legitimate in Islam to pray behind an Ibadi Imam.

“Ibadism is a perverted version of Islam and it is not acceptable by Allah to pray behind them; its followers have no dignity”
“Ibadism is a perverted version of Islam and it is not acceptable by Allah to pray behind them; its followers have no dignity,” it further explained.

Ibadism is an Islamic doctrine dominant in Oman, but also found in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and east Africa.

The National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRIL) denounced the takfiri fatwa, saying in a statement that such fatwas undermine the national security and social peace. It called on the Religious Affairs Committee of House of Representatives to intervene immediately to stop this “dangerous escalation,” which put the lives of people on danger.

Islam has no central religious authority. Any idiot can issue a fatwa, and many do.
The NCHRIL accused the Higher Committee of Fatwa of inciting violence and practicing religious and intellectual terrorism.

Among the long list of those angered by the Fatwa is Libya's former representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi. He called on the HCF to retract the takfiri fatwa immediately and urged the Interim Government to dissolve it if it failed to comply.

No edits to the fatwa have been made and no formal apology has been issued by either the HCF or the Interim Government regarding the matter until now.

In contrast, Tripoli-based Fatwa House reposted a fatwa it made in 2015 regarding Ibadism to falsify the takfiri fatwa of the HCF. The fatwa called for coexistence between the Sunnis and Ibadis and urged them to pray behind each other and spread love among their communities.

The Higher Committee of Fatwa in east Libya is made up of a group of radicals known as “Madkhalis.” One of its prominent members, Hamid Abu Dwairah, was a former Jihadist in Afghanistan. The Madkhalis are followers of Saudi cleric Rabea Madkhali. Their influence in the east is on the rise. They formed their own brigades, which are now fighting alongside Dignity Operation forces. Ibadi Islam, which is neither Sunni nor Shiite, is followed by a large number Libyan Amazigh, as well as Amazigh in Tunisia and Algeria. It is also the official form of Islam in Oman.
Posted by: Fred 2017-07-13
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=492526