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Fatwa examines views on Muslim radicals

As an increasing number of suicide bombings and terrorist attacks have been claimed under the banner of Islam, a Muslim scholar publicly condemned those acts by issuing a 600-page fatwa in March he hopes will sway extremists away from acts, he said, that would damn them to hell rather than grant them paradise.

The fatwa, or Islamic ruling, by Pakistani scholar Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri not only stated that terrorism and suicide bombings were forbidden by the religion, but that those who engaged in it would be considered “kafirs,” or disbelievers.

UH professor Ibrahim Sumer, who is a Muslim, said he was relieved that someone in the Muslim hierarchy had finally spoken out about terrorism in such a public manner.

Sumer, who has a doctorate in comparative religions, said that “jihad” is a word often misunderstood by both Muslims and non-Muslims.

“The term ‘jihad’ has a much broader meaning than just war,” Sumer said. “The Prophet Muhammad — peace be upon him — said the biggest Jihad is fighting against our carnal desires.”

Jihad actually means “struggle,” Sumer said. One can struggle in understanding the Quran, dealing with one’s own desires and on the battlefield, he said.

“There are more than 30 verses in the Quran about Jihad, but only four verses are directly related to fighting,” he said.

War is permitted in Islam, Sumer said, but many extremists take that out of context while remaining ignorant of the very precise and restricting rules of Islamic warfare.

Sumer said that the Prophet Muhammad was not only a spiritual leader but also a head of state. With that position, he was responsible for the safety of his people, including defending them if an enemy attacked. This legitimate war, he said, was similar to the Christianity principle of “Just War.”

“The wars that the Prophet Muhammad were involved in were defensive wars,” he said. “Either the Muslims were being attacked already, or there was word that the opposing army was coming.”

The most important thing that the terrorists and suicide bombers are missing, he said, are the Islamic rules of warfare. Among them is the prohibition of harming children, women, the elderly and non-combatants. The rules also specify that an individual or group cannot declare war, only a state or government.

Sumer said that the rules even limit the intentions of warfare.

“Islam does not permit war for motives such as conquest or plunder or revenge or for the sake of material advantage,” he said. “Also, a Muslim country cannot declare war in order to preach Islam. War is only permitted for defensive purposes.”

Besides the fact that many terrorists disobey the Islamic rules of warfare, Sumer said, there is one huge issue that takes away their legitimacy altogether: suicide.

“If you kill yourself by suicide, it is a very sinful act in Islam,” he said. “According to some prophetic sayings, whosoever kills (himself) will never enter paradise.”

Suicide is also condemned in the Quran, Sumer said. The fourth chapter reads, “O you who believe! Do not kill yourselves, for truly God has been to you Most Merciful. And whoever commits that in rancor and injustice, soon shall We cast him into the Fire.”

Suicide, killing innocent people and declaring war without a government are among the many rules that terrorists break while insisting that they are fighting for the sake of God, Sumer said.

If they were really devout Muslims, they would have known this, he said.

Like ul-Qadri and other Muslims who have studied the religion, Sumer said he hopes that this new fatwa will shed light on the true ideologies of Islam, putting those who defame it with illegitimate acts to rest.

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14 Comments

    • How about quoting mainstream press or scholars with relevant information instead of hacks who have a preset agenda…your interested in hate not truth…

    • Read the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Joshua in the Bible and see what is “permissable” in Christendom…quoting the Qur’an out of historical and theological context is intellectually dishonest as is using quotes form the Old Testament form the books I list and saying it represents all of what Christianity is all about…

  • Islam means submission they are ordered to under Koran law to charge anyone living on Muslim land with a Jizza tax or translated to (humilation tax) how could these be left out of the fatwa. Plus their are many phrases in the Koran about giving up your life in the struggle with the kadaffer, and being rewarded for it. Suicide is purmissable as long as it benifits islam’s plan for global dommination. Another article full of half truths and misinformation. Mohammads last words were for the Christians and jews to be driven from the land. Between takin child brides of course

  • Majority muslims do not know enough about islam and lie about islam unknowingly but ulkudri and sumer are lying knowingly as christopherl pointed out because lying to deceive non-muslims is
    allowed in islam and allah itself claims in quran(3:54) that it is the best in deceit or “makar” in arabic.
    According to Bible(1John2:22)- the one that denies the Father and the Son is the antichrist the liar;
    allah,islam,mohammad,muslims,quran all deny and condemn the belief in the Father and the Son.

    • Here is a translation of the verse you threw out there (3:54)

      “And they plotted and planned, and God planned too. And God is the Best of planners.”
      [Surah 3 Al’ Imran, Ayah 54]

      This is in reference to when the Jews attempted to crucify Prophet Jesus peace be upon him. They plotted and planned to kill him, but they were unsuccessful, because God raised him up indicating that God’s plan is above all other planners.

      So.. not sure where your argument is buddy?

    • a.tayyab:
      According to Bible(1John2:22)- the one that denies the Father and the Son is the antichrist the liar

      I believe you meant the New Testament.

  • Posting hate sites that are based off of the Quran’s words which are twisted to suit your Christian radical perspective won’t do anything. This article impartially summed up and informed us about a recent event that took place. I see no bias in it at all. It’s informative, whereas these comments are fully biased and hateful. Though I’m DEFINITELY not a big proponent of religion, the comments above do no justice to what Islam really teaches, and it sickens me to see that people will stoop so low to degrade another religion with their snide remarks, faulty websites, and personal attacks on professors. Live and let live. And for the record, I’ve never had a Muslim lie to me.

    Nice article! Hopefully this fatwa will open up the eyes of terrorists who do this “for God.”

    props

  • ChristopherL:
    This fatwa is a fraud.

    How do we know it’s fraud, if we haven’t even read it to begin with?

    It is fraudulent to say that Islam encourages lying, when the Muslim’s highest authority, The Quran, says, “Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies.” Surah 40:28

    Suicide is clearly prohibited in Islam, as per the Prophet Muhamamd PBUH’s saying, “He who commits suicide by throttling shall keep on throttling himself in the Hell Fire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hell-Fire.”

    When making claims, please include proof, because no sane person would believe worthless words without evidence of their worth.

    Why must we be Islamophobes? It’s not fair to anyone, least of all ourselves. The internet has many answers, if only we look in the right places. Sad to say, but the sites you refer to are clearly smear-casters, and it’s best to avoid such bias when pursuing the truth.

    On a lighter note, this was a great read! Masterful writing, and though it clearly sparked debate, it was brave of the author to pursue such a controversial topic. It’s definitely shed light on common misperceptions!

  • Sumer is definitely an expert in the Islamic doctrines of Taqiyya and Kitman, the “holy hypocrisy” doctrine of Islam.

    Need to lie about Islam? Conveniently “forget” the other half of a violent verse. Conveniently forget that Islamic doctrine is not just the koran (piss be upon it), but the whole host of “Hadith”, or “sayings of Mohammed” (may the pedoprophet rot in hell) as well.

    As an atheist, I know precisely what’s in store for me should the Mohammedians take over – a painful death with my throat sliced open. As written in their books: only the “people of the book”, e.g. Jews or Christians, get to live the slave-life of the jizya tax, yellow stars of david or yellow crosses on their shoulders, etc – the rest of us just get “convert or die” and there’s no way I’m converting to some 7th-century moon god’s death cult.

    Oh, and by the way, I’M AN ATHEIST. The usual brainwashed left wing nutbags screaming “waah someone said something bad about Islam quick yell stuff about Xtianity” mean nothing to me. So there.

    • Bob:
      Sumer is definitely an expert in the Islamic doctrines of Taqiyya and Kitman, the “holy hypocrisy” doctrine of Islam.
      Need to lie about Islam? Conveniently “forget” the other half of a violent verse. Conveniently forget that Islamic doctrine is not just the koran (piss be upon it), but the whole host of “Hadith”, or “sayings of Mohammed” (may the pedoprophet rot in hell) as well.
      As an atheist, I know precisely what’s in store for me should the Mohammedians take over – a painful death with my throat sliced open. As written in their books: only the “people of the book”, e.g. Jews or Christians, get to live the slave-life of the jizya tax, yellow stars of david or yellow crosses on their shoulders, etc – the rest of us just get “convert or die” and there’s no way I’m converting to some 7th-century moon god’s death cult.Oh, and by the way, I’M AN ATHEIST. The usual brainwashed left wing nutbags screaming “waah someone said something bad about Islam quick yell stuff about Xtianity” mean nothing to me. So there.

      Bob, I wish you would take the same amount of time it took you to type up this ignorant, hateful message to look into the Qur’an (which is the holy book for all mankind and is sent down to everyone, for everyone by the one and only God whether or not you believe in Him).

      Read the Qur’an with a clear heart and an open mind without any prejudice and you will see that what you have learned from hateful websites that talk down Islam and many other religions are all in fact bogus.

      I wish you good luck.

  • Bob:
    Sumer is definitely an expert in the Islamic doctrines of Taqiyya and Kitman, the “holy hypocrisy” doctrine of Islam.
    Need to lie about Islam? Conveniently “forget” the other half of a violent verse. Conveniently forget that Islamic doctrine is not just the koran (piss be upon it), but the whole host of “Hadith”, or “sayings of Mohammed” (may the pedoprophet rot in hell) as well.
    As an atheist, I know precisely what’s in store for me should the Mohammedians take over – a painful death with my throat sliced open. As written in their books: only the “people of the book”, e.g. Jews or Christians, get to live the slave-life of the jizya tax, yellow stars of david or yellow crosses on their shoulders, etc – the rest of us just get “convert or die” and there’s no way I’m converting to some 7th-century moon god’s death cult.Oh, and by the way, I’M AN ATHEIST. The usual brainwashed left wing nutbags screaming “waah someone said something bad about Islam quick yell stuff about Xtianity” mean nothing to me. So there.

    condensed version:

    “i am totally opposed to all religions and it’s not at all a smokescreen for my profound islamophobia.”

  • And I thought only Orthodox Jews used the term Xtianity to refer to Christianity. Now I know, people on the other side of the spectrum do too.

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