Fatwa Issued Against Bin Laden

Muslim clerics in Spain have issued the world's first fatwa, or Islamic edict, against Osama bin Laden. According to the Associated Press, the fatwa issued on the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings, calls bin Laden an apostate and urging others to denounce the al-Qaida leader:

The ruling was issued by the Islamic Commission of Spain, the main body representing the country's 1 million-member Muslim community. The commission represents 200 or so mostly Sunni mosques, or about 70 percent of all mosques in Spain.

[. . .]

The commission's secretary general, Mansur Escudero, said the group had consulted with Muslim leaders in other countries, such as Morocco - home to most of the jailed suspects in the bombings - Algeria and Libya, and had their support.

[. . .]

The fatwa said that according to the Quran "the terrorist acts of Osama bin Laden and his organization al-Qaida ... are totally banned and must be roundly condemned as part of Islam."

It added: "Inasmuch as Osama bin Laden and his organization defend terrorism as legal and try to base it on the Quran ... they are committing the crime of 'istihlal' and thus become apostates that should not be considered Muslims or treated as such." The Arabic term 'istihlal' refers to the act of making up one's own laws.

This is a very clever tactic. Short of bringing bin Laden to justice I can't think of a better way to honor those massacred at his bidding. American Muslims would have made a lot of points in the U.S., and helped the War Against Terrorism, had they done something like this after 9-11.

Comments

[Tom]

"the world's first fatwa, or Islamic edict, against Osama bin Laden."

Listen the words of Hezbollah's spiritual leader:

>>

http://www.sullivan-county.com/identity/bin_laden.html

[Agnes]

A very informative and helpful page! Thank you!

[Shantelle]

Your site is very interesting and helpful.

[stav. chris]

The bad news for Osama is that he is not authorized to issue a fatwa. Only high rank clerics can issue fatwas. Osama is not an imam - not a cleric. He is just a caveman. I wonder why noone points this out every time he issues one of his "fatwas". Instead, we have breaking news on CNN, and a response by the US State Dept. for something that does not exist. It takes little effort to really annihilate Osama. He does not even know how to play his own game. He is a nobody.

[jim guirard]

Please post the full wording of the Spanish Muslim clerics' fatwa !!! JIM GUIRARD

[Jrm]

Well, now. There is a sea change.

To date, almost all fatwas of which I have been aware have been issued by a single man, or the head of a single mosque. This is the first time I know of that a fatwa quoting a mass source has been issued.

And this doesn't say "You were wrong on this legal point, and need to change your actions." It says he is a monster, totally at odds with Islam, and is outlaw, cast out, no longer of us, and can no longer hide behind Islam for justification of his opinions and actions.

Takes a bite out of OBL's credibility.

I wonder if other groups will start singing this hymn?

[Earnest Iconoclast]

CAIR has plenty of statements by Muslims condemning the 9/11 attacks.

They also have a "Not in the Name of Islam" petition:

Unfortunately, there are ignorant Muslims who have been brainwashed by state-controlled media in the Middle East who believe all kinds of horrible things about the West. They are dupes for the better educated terrorist leaders who are, apparently, completely insane as far as I can tell.

Hopefully the current democratization of the Middle East will lead to a growing number of more moderate Muslims who can coexist with non-Muslims peacefully.

[Arty]

"Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions."

You don't want anyone to mention Muslims then you throw in a gratuitous slur against Christians??? Do the words "You Are An Asshole" mean anything to you Rob?

[Arty]

"Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions."

You don't want anyone to mention Muslims then you throw in a gratuitous slur against Christians??? Do the words "You Are An Asshole" mean anything to you Rob?

[Arty]

"Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions."

You don't want anyone to mention Muslims then you throw in a gratuitous slur against Christians??? Do the words "You Are An Asshole" mean anything to you Rob?

[Arty]

"Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions."

You don't want anyone to mention Muslims then you throw in a gratuitous slur against Christians??? Do the words "You Are An Asshole" mean anything to you Rob?

[Arty]

"Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions."

You don't want anyone to mention Muslims then you throw in a gratuitous slur against Christians??? Do the words "You Are An Asshole" mean anything to you Rob?

[Arty]

"Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions."

You don't want anyone to mention Muslims then you throw in a gratuitous slur against Christians??? Do the words "You Are An Asshole" mean anything to you Rob?

[David Ross]

If I am reading Islamic law right (Caliph 'Umar's pronouncements, plus suras 2 and 5), then the Spanish imams just declared the US to be overstepping the "tooth for a tooth" rule of the Qur'an. Muslims from Spain are then justified in redressing the balance...

[Cosmo]

"...'disproportionate' measures similar to those which the Sept 11 attacks sparked in the US."

Really, like what? No specifics, of course. It’s likely they're patting Spain on the head for failing to respond to the murder of its citizens. This must be what they mean by a more 'proportionate' measure. Or they're scolding the U.S. for daring to spoil their re-run of the seventh century. Or maybe it's a reference to the mythical 'anti-Muslim backlash' (yawn).

If 'disproportionate' means lancing the boil that the Middle East has become and holding a mirror up to the failed ideologies, routine genocide, pandemic corruption and incompetent governance which have, in the end, cost the lives of far too many of my countrymen and women, so be it. As it is, the Muslim world's present strategy – combining a thin-skinned, woe-is-us victim act with loud-mouthed boasting and cowardly displays of barbarism -- isn't working.

Ever have a friend or family member who refused to address a problem, yet demanded bottomless wells of sympathy, time and money, and impacted everyone around with self-destructive behavior? This is what today's Muslim apologists sound like. It's not very pretty. And when the pity runs out, the only thing left will be contempt.

[Mastiff]

To reiterate a point that some are missing (particularly Stephen):

A fatwa is a ruling of law. Although some have used fatwas to rule that certain people should be killed, saying fatwas should all be banned is like saying the Supreme Court cannot issue rulings because they made the Dred Scott decision.

The Spanish imams have issued a legal ruling (fatwa), in which they declared Bin Laden to be outside of Islam. I don't see what the confusion is.

[Rob W]

I beg to differ. I think a lot of right-wing bloggers spend a lot of time scouring for muslim quotes which put them in bed with terrorists. This search is useless. Regardless of whether Al Qaeda uses Islam or not, they are terrorists and we should focus on the terrorist aspect instead of looking for information backing up pet theories of how Islam is creating terror. Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions.

We need to do what is going to work for us in this war. It is, in the end, a hearts and minds war. There can always be another terrorist, another insurgent ready to take the place of the next if we choose only to fight on the military level. Remember, that in Iraq and Afghanistan, our enemies live there. They will be there after we are gone. We have to win over their supporters, the half-hearted and the rest if we are to win. Naked force will not do that. Clausewitz said that in a rebellion, the central point which should be the focus of the state and its armed forces is the personalities of the leaders and public opinion. He is right. We need a political strategy to win this war. I see Bush and the rest of the right focusing on winning the political battle in the States, trying to justify their actions etc. The American people (and the Iraqis) will come along once the Administration stops polticizing this war at home and starts polticizing it in the theatre of war.

[Rob W]

I beg to differ. I think a lot of right-wing bloggers spend a lot of time scouring for muslim quotes which put them in bed with terrorists. This search is useless. Regardless of whether Al Qaeda uses Islam or not, they are terrorists and we should focus on the terrorist aspect instead of looking for information backing up pet theories of how Islam is creating terror. Just because there are a bunch of right-wing people who distort Christianity and engage in violent activities does not mean Christians are terrorists or that we should be delving deep in the Bible looking for quotes to support such assertions.

We need to do what is going to work for us in this war. It is, in the end, a hearts and minds war. There can always be another terrorist, another insurgent ready to take the place of the next if we choose only to fight on the military level. Remember, that in Iraq and Afghanistan, our enemies live there. They will be there after we are gone. We have to win over their supporters, the half-hearted and the rest if we are to win. Naked force will not do that. Clausewitz said that in a rebellion, the central point which should be the focus of the state and its armed forces is the personalities of the leaders and public opinion. He is right. We need a poltical strategy to win this war. I see Bush and the rest of the right focusing on winning the political battle in the States, trying to justify their actions etc. The American people (and the Iraqis) will come along once the Administration stops polticizing this war at home and starts polticizing it in the theatre of war.

[Ook]

Stephen, not all fatwas are death sentences. A fatwa is a ruling by an Islamic scholar on some point of Islamic law. Not infrequently, the subject matter and intent of fatwas are things that most of us in the West (not counting the left, bless their deranged little hearts) would consider (and I'm gonna use a technical term here) 'bugfuck loony' -- but not all. For example, these guys are just saying, "no, sorry, mass murder of civilians is not legitimate Islam." That point seems to be debatable, but hey, it's nice to see somebody on the rational side of the debate once in a while.

Rob W., the point that "not all muslims are terrorists" has been made ad nauseam, and was made very loudly and in public immediately after 9/11 by George Bush (and regularly ever since). If I recall correctly, George did a photo op or two with Ibrahim Hooper from CAIR, who does happen to advocate terrorism himself, when the wind blows south-southwest... but hey, whatever. The point is, the only valid point which resembles your point at all, was in fact made. We're all quite aware that the terrorists didn't "just happen" to be Muslims in either case. Islamism (the common term in the west for a psychotic, barbarous, and medieval strain of Islam) is inseparable from Al Qaeda and what Al Qaeda does. The terrorism that we are talking about is drenched in Islam. This discussion right here is about the rare pleasure of seeing credible Muslims speaking out in clear and Islamic terms against terrorism. "Rare" I said. There are a lot of reasons for the rarity; I suspect that the discourse coming out of the Islamic world is distorted by state control of media and other factors, and that rank-and-file Muslims are less pro-Islamist than we're often led to believe. But that's just a guess, really.

[Dave Schuler]

Stephen, you probably should look up what a fatwa is. A fatwa is an opinion, the opinion of a scholar of Islam—like a judges's opinion. It's not a condemnation or a writ of execution. There are fatwas on almost every conceivable subject. Banning fatwas would be something like trying to ban papal encyclicals.

[Rob W]

The other reports go into a bit more detail:

"The Commission has also drawn up a document designed to 'thank the Spanish people and the government for their attitude towards Muslims' since last March 11, in particular for not taking 'disproportionate' measures similar to those which the Sept 11 attacks sparked in the US."

We could have done a lot more to generate this type of goodwill. Remember, Terrorists who happen to be Muslims did this, not muslims who happen to be terrorists. Everytime we emphasize the fact that the September 11 terrorists were muslim, we help Al Qaeda score a point and argue that we are opposed to muslims in general. That's exactly what they want muslims to believe.

[Stephen]

American Muslims should have issued a fatwa against Bin Laden? Are you serious? However despicable Bin Laden is (and disappointing most American Muslims are), the fatwa as a practice and a concept is unacceptable. I think it should be crimimally and civilly actionable in the United States: issue a fatwa and go to jail and get hit with a big civil judgment.

[Eddie]

American Muslims
would have made a lot of points in the U.S., and helped the War Against Terrorism, had they done something like this after 9-11.

Right on the money with that. I wish they had. All we got instead were unhelpful statements from C.A.I.R.

[TallDave]

Booyah!

You fatwa me? No, I fatwa you!!

[Dave Schuler]

Presumably you meant “bringing”. But I think the brining idea isn't a bad one, at that.