UK Muslims issue fatwa against bomb attacks
-19/07/05
As British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepares to meet Muslim leaders and community workers from across the country today, a group of more than 500 Islamic scholars and clerics have issued a fatwa (religious edict) condemning the actions like the 7 July London bombings in the strongest terms.
The decree expresses condolences to families of the victims of the atrocity and says that Islam condemns the use of violence and the destruction of innocent lives. Suicide bombings are ìvehemently prohibitedî in Muslim teaching, it declares.
The British Muslim Forum issued the formal opinion last night. The Forum brings together more than 300 mosques in the Sufi tradition of Islam. Fifty UK Muslim leaders gathered to proclaim the fatwa outside the House of Commons.
Gul Mohammad, head of the British Muslim Forum, said that this was a historic moment.
In some Western minds the term ëfatwaí is associated with a sentence of death, following the hard-line Iranian decree against author Salman Rushdi some years ago. But in fact this was a declaration ìfor lifeî said the BMF secretary general.
He went on to render in English a sura (verse) from the Qurían: ìWhoever kills a human being … then it is as though he has killed all [hu]mankind; and whoever saves a human life it is as though he had saved all [hu]mankind.î
The fatwa says: ìIslam’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.î
Gul Mohammad continued: ìWe pray for the defeat of extremism and terrorism in the world. We pray for the peace, security and harmony to triumph in multicultural Britain.î
The aim of the Prime Ministerís meeting with a variety of Muslim leaders at Number 10 Downing Street today is to seek cooperation in the wake of the London bombings.
Tony Blair will ask how young Britons become suicide bombers and how best to tackle those who promote extreme ideologies using the language of Islam.
The government is considering new emergency powers and the use of banning orders. But some commentators and community leaders are worried that pushing political and theological arguments underground will further fuel anger and alienation.
Ekklesia’s initial response to the London bombings, Beyond the Politics of Fear, called on faith communities and the govrenment to look to root causes not just symptoms.
UK Muslims issue fatwa against bomb attacks
-19/07/05
As British Prime Minister Tony Blair prepares to meet Muslim leaders and community workers from across the country today, a group of more than 500 Islamic scholars and clerics have issued a fatwa (religious edict) condemning the actions like the 7 July London bombings in the strongest terms.
The decree expresses condolences to families of the victims of the atrocity and says that Islam condemns the use of violence and the destruction of innocent lives. Suicide bombings are ‘vehemently prohibited’ in Muslim teaching, it declares.
The British Muslim Forum issued the formal opinion last night. The Forum brings together more than 300 mosques in the Sufi tradition of Islam. Fifty UK Muslim leaders gathered to proclaim the fatwa outside the House of Commons.
Gul Mohammad, head of the British Muslim Forum, said that this was a historic moment.
In some Western minds the term ëfatwa’ is associated with a sentence of death, following the hard-line Iranian decree against author Salman Rushdi some years ago. But in fact this was a declaration ‘for life’ said the BMF secretary general.
He went on to render in English a sura (verse) from the Qur’an: ‘Whoever kills a human being … then it is as though he has killed all [hu]mankind; and whoever saves a human life it is as though he had saved all [hu]mankind.’
The fatwa says: ‘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.’
Gul Mohammad continued: ‘We pray for the defeat of extremism and terrorism in the world. We pray for the peace, security and harmony to triumph in multicultural Britain.’
The aim of the Prime Minister’s meeting with a variety of Muslim leaders at Number 10 Downing Street today is to seek cooperation in the wake of the London bombings.
Tony Blair will ask how young Britons become suicide bombers and how best to tackle those who promote extreme ideologies using the language of Islam.
The government is considering new emergency powers and the use of banning orders. But some commentators and community leaders are worried that pushing political and theological arguments underground will further fuel anger and alienation.
Ekklesia’s initial response to the London bombings, Beyond the Politics of Fear, called on faith communities and the govrenment to look to root causes not just symptoms.