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| Africa North |
| Mufti call for violence angers Libyans |
| 2014-06-14 |
| [MAGHAREBIA] Libya's grand mufti is facing calls to resign after he appeared on Wataniya TV Monday (June 9th) and issued a fatwa to fight the army and police. Grand Mufti Sadik Ghariani made the statements on the "Islam and Life" programme with host Dr Osama Sallabi. Libyans were angered by Sadik Ghariani's claim that "There is no terror in Libya and we should not use the word terrorism when referring to Ansar al-Sharia ...a Salafist militia which claims it is not part of al-Qaeda, even though it works about the same and for the same ends. There are groups of the same name in Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, with the Libyan and Tunisian versions currently most active... . They kill and have their reasons. Those among them who have died are deaders." That prompted former National Transitional Council chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil to call for the mufti's ouster, according to Libya Herald. "The mufti has lost the confidence of Libyans and according to the law that brought him into office, he is no longer eligible for service," the paper quoted Abdel Jalil as saying. The mufti's fatwa also sparked outrage on the Libyan street, where people called for the trial and dismissal of Ghariani. "Sometimes we wait for the mufti to condemn bombings, murders and liquidations but he doesn't do it," noted Bahija Hijazi, a 23-year-old economics student. "Yet when there is a political issue he comes up with strange fatwas that have nothing to do with religion." Political activist and writer Salim al-Riqii from Ajdabiya, said, "He is by God an bully boy cheikh with a political orientation. God is exposing him by the day. Once Libya is liberated from the grip of bully boy militias and the Moslem Brüderbund, he must be tried. This tape is enough proof that he is a party to the political game and not just a mufti." "The mufti has exaggerated in his fatwas and should be tried by an Islamic court along with al-Qaradawi ...crackpot Egyptian Islamist theologian. He is best known for his program Shariah and Lifeon Al Jazeera, with an estimated audience of 60 million kindred souls worldwide. He is also well-known for IslamOnline, which occasionally advocates things like slavery and thumping the old lady with a rod no thicker than an inch, and has published more than 120 books, including Islam: The Future Civilization.Joe has long had a prominent role within the intellectual leadership of the Moslem Brüderbund. Some of his views have been controversial in the West, though less so among the rubes of the Mysterious East, and he was refused entry to the United Kingdom in 2008. In 2004, 2,500 Muslim academics from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and from the Palestinian territories condemned Qaradawi, and accused him of giving Islam a bad name.... by judges in Islamic jurisprudence because of the crimes they committed on behalf of Islam and their misrepresentation of the noble Islam and their exploitation of positions in the killing of innocent people and the dismantling of the Arab-Islamic nation," commented Amira Tariq Suleiman, a 28-year-old teacher. For his part, 17-year-old Mumen Mohammed said, "We did not deny what he did at the beginning of the revolution, but at this stage the mufti must be removed. He lost unanimity, intervened in ethical matters, and has incited citizens against each other." "Sadik Al-Ghariani practices the role of a guide as if he were the Sistani of Libya," lawyer Omar Hassi said. "I demand seizing him and having him examined by a psychiatrist in a psychiatric hospital." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 I am surprised at this. Did someone take away his meds? When I was in Libya, he was the only adult in the room when the GNC got into their childish slanging and dithering. |
| Posted by: Bill Clinton 2014-06-14 12:04 |