| Submit your comments on this article |
| Arabia |
| Fatwa urges Saudis, expats to squeal on terror suspects |
| 2004-06-05 |
| Issue a fatwah? Brilliant! Simply brilliant! Saudi Arabiaâs highest Muslim authority on Friday issued a fatwa calling on both citizens and expatriates to inform on suspected Islamist extremists engaged in terrorist activities. The committee that issues religious rulings, headed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, âurges citizens and (foreign) residents to inform on anyone planning or preparing to carry out an act of sabotage,â said the fatwa, carried by the state SPA news agency. The aim is to âprotect the people and the country from the destructive effects of such actions and to shield the planners themselves from the consequences of their actions,â it said. The edict also called on the Islamist extremists to âfear God Almighty and come back to their senses.â The committee said it had issued its edict in response to inquiries about âthe appalling events of the past few weeks,â which have seen an escalation in the terror campaign blamed on sympathizers of the Al-Qaeda terror network. Fridayâs edict reinforces repeated calls by Saudi officials on the population to inform on terror suspects, coupled with warnings that those who turn a blind eye to terrorist activities will be seen as accomplices of the extremists. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 Immediately after the 9-11 atrocity, I inquired at another message board about why there was no fatwa issued against bin Laden. Here is the text of my inquiry: ---------------------------- After giving Islam the blackest of eyes, I have yet to see any Muslim cleric or council issue a fatwa seeking the death of bin Laden. If anybody is aware of this please post a link. I have seen nothing of the sort in any news, anywhere. As so many Arab Muslims proclaim unwarranted persecution subsequent to the 9-11 atrocity I remain amazed at a profound dichotomy in a lot of their rhetoric. It has been claimed by Muslim anti-American elements that the 9-11 atrocities were actually implemented by the United States or Jewish subversives, seeking some pretext for a purge of Islam's followers. Yet, in the same breath many of these same people also say, "America had it coming..." One cannot have it both ways. Was this a non-Arab conspiracy or terrorist atrocity? Such sanctimonious attempts to make both claims at once perfectly expose the hypocrisy and overarching malignancy of this sort of mentality. Osama bin Laden's evil acts have so tainted the global perception of Islam that one would think several fatwas would have been issued already. A death fatwa, like that decreed against Salman Rushdie, would be one of the few concrete actions to persuade world opinion that bin Laden acted against all Islamic principles. It is impossible not to believe that many fundamentalist Muslim clerics and practitioners maintain the dichotomous precepts mentioned above. The complete absence of any Islamic death warrant against bin Laden stands as stark testimony to the undercurrent of retribution sought by these fanatics. The deafening silence of so many Muslims concerning the apprehension and trial of bin Laden for his crimes constitutes a tacit approval and utterly contradicts their cries of unwarranted persecution. ---------------------------- Some very well versed Islamic scholars answered that moderate Islamic factions refused to issue the same ultra-violent edicts as employed by their more rapacious counterparts. While that sounded fairly reasonable at the time, lately it has become a lot less acceptable. I still maintain that bin Laden has blackened Islam's eye in so severe a fashion as to taint its name for decades to come (if not forever). At some point, a religion that has beheading and other numerous violent penalties within its own code of punishment must confront the fact that bin Laden is chief among its apostates. According to so much rhetoric being bandied about, Islamic apostasy is punishable by death. Here we arrive at the crux of the matter. If bin Laden has indeed besmirched Islam's reputation so heinously in such a way as to refute all it stands for, isn't this a form of apostasy and therefore punishable by death? If, instead, bin Laden's actions represent all that Islam seeks to bring to the world, then shouldn't they drop all pretence and just admit it openly? Duplicity of intent will usually be interpreted in the least desirable way by those who are confronted with it. In its refusal to issue a death fatwa against bin Laden, Islam has tacitly declared a degree of sympathy for the barbarity of al Qaeda's atrocities. Again, moderates will point out that it was the virulent Iranian Shias who issued the death fatwa against Salman Rushdi and not the more mainstream clerics. While this may be so, Islam needs must face up to the fact that outsiders will not feel so obliged to draw such fine distinctions. If an author can be condemned to death for mere writings, how is it that another more violent individual can murder thousands and in doing so bring shame and calumny upon Islam without much more than a hiccough? It is becoming increasingly difficult to appreciate how moderate Muslims are adequately divorcing themselves from bin Laden and al Qaeda. While there has been some renunciation, a palpable undercurrent of approval for terrorism (especially Palestinian) remains as an unspoken refrain in so much of all that issues forth from Islamic sources where little time is left to correct this perception (no matter how erroneous it might be). As mentioned, even if such a perception were erroneous, it would make it all the more important to correct on the part of moderate Muslims. The daminingly faint protestations issuing forth from Islam's quarter are insufficient to divert overwhelming public suspicion as to a hidden agenda. Better that they issue a death fatwa on bin Laden than continue to equivocate on terrorism. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-05 6:21:05 PM |
| #4 Observe the lack of specified instructions to turn in individuals plotting strikes against the West. |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2004-06-05 5:40:16 PM |
| #3 Now why didn't I think of issuing a fatwa on that? Must be fatwa burnout.... Al-Aska Paul |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-06-05 2:41:37 PM |
| #2 Like pigs. Yeah, squeal like pigs. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-05 2:16:27 AM |
| #1 Princes must have threatened to cut off funding. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-06-05 2:15:28 AM |