(2006-02-19) — As the global death toll from protests over editorial cartoons rose to 45 yesterday, an Islamic scholar, or Mufti, issued a new fatwa adding a “Sixth Pillar” to the traditional five requirements of the religion.

The following is the new revised standard version of the pillars of IslamÂ…
1. Testifying to God’s one-ness: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet.”
2. Prayer: five times daily
3. Fasting: during daylight in the month of Ramadan
4. Giving charity: 2.5 percent of income to needy Muslims
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj) to Mecca, for those who are able, or
6. Participation in a violent demonstration to protect Allah from insult

The sixth pillar is technically part of the fifth pillar, the fatwa explains, “and it provides a cheap, convenient alternative to the Mecca Hajj that can be performed at an embassy or fast-food establishment near you.”

According to a written statement to be read in mosques worldwide this week. “This new expression of devotion is simply an acknowledgement of the important place that sacramental rioting has come to hold in the lives of so many Muslims.”

The fatwa has been issued, the statement said, “to codify the official silence of major Muslim leaders over the bloodshed and property damage caused by our followers as they valiantly try to shelter Allah (the great and powerful) from devastating emotional harm caused by these vicious cartoons.”