ISIS - A Statement

The Holy Koran states that in the last days the ‘mufsidin fi al-ard,’ (those who corrupt the earth), will appear.

Some of the learned ‘Ulama equate ISIS with the ‘mufsidin fi al-ard’ -- “those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption” as recorded in Chapter 5, verse 33 of the Holy Quran.

We are appalled at the savage atrocity committed in the act of execution of the Jordanian pilot Ra’id Moath al-Kassasbeh and, indeed, by the brutal beheadings of so many innocent aid workers and journalists, as well as by the martyrdom of the Coptic Christians (young men from the same village who died with the name of the Messiah on their lips as any who have watched the horrific video will be aware).

Some claim the kind of violence being exercised by ISIS is part of the past, of the ‘jahiliyah,’ the pre-Islamic era.

Some Muslim scholars go further and argue that, members of ISIS and their supporters are behaving in a way that is thoroughly un-Islamic. Some of these scholars suggest that they resemble the “false Muslims” referred to in Surah al-Munafiqun, the 33^rd chapter of the Holy Koran and should be treated as such. Their approach of dividing the world into ‘Dar al-Islam’ (the House of Islam) and ‘Dar al-Harb’ (the House of War) is not valid. 

To quote Aristotle, “Anyone can be angry, but to be angry at the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose and in the right way is to be commended.”

Having said which, we caution against the use of indiscriminate force to destroy ISIS. There has been too much civilian collateral damage in the liberation of Kobani and in the bombing of Durna, and we must move with careful deliberation in acting against ISIS lest we increase sympathy for this renegade terrorist group.

The Religious Affairs Advisory Council

The Next Century Foundation

Westminster

London SW1

Al-Zawahiri to the U.S.:

I put this on the blog because it is good to see that Memri have mended their ways - and are now sourcing their "Islamist website" stories. This is much more credible:

Al-Zawahiri to the U.S.: "Do Not Ask President Bush When The Soldiers Will Return– Ask Instead How Many Will Return"
The Islamist website www.ekhlaas.org/forum/ which is hosted by Layered Technologies, Inc. in Texas, USA, posted, on September 20, 2007, an 80-minute video of Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman Al-Zawahiri speaking on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of 9/11. The video was produced by the Al-Sahab media company in the month of Sha'ban, 1428 (August-September 2007), apparently prior to September 11, 2007, and is subtitled in English.In the video, statements by Al-Zawahiri are interspersed with footage of jihad fighters in various places around the world, audio clips from Osama bin Laden's speeches, statements by Western commentators and U.S. officials, and more.

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Qardawi promotes violence - AGAIN and AGAIN

One of Al Jazeera's greatest sins - probably its greatest by a mile - is the airtime it gives to the Egyptian zealot preacher, Yousef Qardawi. Felix writes: This is truly very sick and must be on your blog as an example of hatefulmisrepresentation of history meant to mislead today's generation concerninghistory -both the history of the holocaust and the history of the near East.Regardless of Quradhawi's official titles within Islam, he purposefully misrepresents history in no less a fashion than past and present falsifierssuch as Hitler and his ilk, religious or secular, who simply refuse to facefacts well recorded. In that sense he is worse than a flat earther whosimply refuses to face reality but otherwise has no further influence inmankind. Qaradhawi engenders hateful thoughts and ideas to help stoke thefire of lothesome self immolation in the name of a religion whose essentialshe has perverted.

Hamas Leader Khaled Mash'al Praises Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi for HisSupport of Suicide Operations and States: Holocaust Exaggerated, Being Usedto Extort Germany, and Zionist Holocaust Against Arabs Much Worse

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The following are excerpts from speeches delivered by Hamas leader KhaledMash'al and Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi at a conference honoringAl-Qaradhawi. The speeches aired on Al-Jazeera TV on July 16, 2007.

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Islamic Scholars Debate the Meaning of Jihad

Felix sends this item. William comments: Omar Bakri Muhammed is a fanatic cut from the same cloth as all extremists. We in Britain have dumped him in Lebanon instead of dealing with our own dirty washing. I have never heard of "New TV" in Lebanon - but this may be an issue for the forthcoming media conference.

The following are excerpts of a TV debate on the subject of jihad. Theparticipants are Syrian-born British Islamist Sheikh Omar Bakri,(1) Bahraini Shi'ite liberal intellectual Diyaa Al-Musawi,(2) and Egyptian Islamist thinker, author, and journalist Sheikh Gamal Al-Bana.(3) The debate aired on New TV onMarch 20, 2007.

Sheikh Omar Bakri: "Jihad is a duty that has to do with the means, not thegoals. In other words, jihad is a religious means to a religious goal – toelevate the word of Allah. This is what jihad for the sake of Allah, in thesense of fighting, means, although we accept that there is another meaning to jihad."

Online Fatwas Incite Young Muslims to Jihad

Felix sends this item:

In an article in the Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, columnist Fares bin Hazam reports that both preachers in mosques and online propaganda are inciting young Muslims to wage jihad. An interview with a young Muslim who went to fight in Afghanistan, also in Al-Riyadh, provides first-hand testimony confirming this claim.

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