Since the September 11th attack
by “democide” Muslim killers that slaughtered over 3,000 innocent Americans,
there has been a great deal of rhetoric over the question—does this truly represent
the teachings of the religion of Islam, or was this just an abberation by a
group of non-representative fanatics? Our
airwaves have been flooded by spokespeople for Arab and Muslim groups foreign
and domestic, all proclaiming loudly and forcefully that “Islam is a religion
of peace” and “We are not terrorists.”
Many Americans have been persuaded by these voices. Some because they want to believe these Muslim apologists so they can avoid taking responsibility for this global Islamic assault, others because they hope like the ostrich with its head in the sand that the threat will just disappear, and others because they fear that to oppose Islam will “enflame the Arab streets” and bring on even more such terror attacks.
That is why we decided to post these rulings by leading Islamic religious
spokespeople, rulings and definitions that spell out clearly and concisively what
today’s mainstream Muslim leaders believe about the horror that Israel calls “homicide”
bombers, that the world news media call “suicide bombers” and that the Middle
East Research Institute (MERI) has begun calling “democide” bombers (Demo=people, cide=killers), since those who explode vests and bombs in airports,
malls and other venues crowded with civilians are specifically aiming to butcher
as many ordinary people they can with the goal of creating terror and cowardice
among those populations they perceive as adversaries to the spread of world
Islamic power.
Here, then, are the facts—they speak for themselves.
During the first week of July 2003, the European Council for Fatwa and
Research convened in Stockholm for its 11th session. The council, which was
established in 1997 in the U.K., is comprised primarily of Islamic scholars
from the Arab world and is headed by Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, one of the
most influential clerics in Sunni Islam who is highly respected by most all Islamist
groups and organizations.
This Council convenes every few months in a European city to conduct
discussions and to issue Fatwas (rulings) on questions concerning Muslim
communities in the West. Following differences of opinion on the matter of so-called
suicide bombings during the
previous session (convened in Dublin in January 2003), the council decided to
research the matter and bring it up for discussion at the July session.
Though the Stockholm
conference was called "Jihad and Denying its
Connection to Terror," the five reports that were presented focused on
dictionary definitions of the word "terror." The London-based Arabic
language daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat(1) reported at length on the research by
Sheikh Al-Qaradhawi, who classified terror according to the following
categories: colonialist terror, state terror, international terror, political
terror, terror that is permitted by Islamic law, terror that is prohibited by
Islamic law, and martyrdom operations. The following are excerpts from that
report:
Martyrdom Operations
"The martyrdom operations carried out by the Palestinian factions to resist
the Zionist occupation are not in any way included in the framework of prohibited
terrorism, even if the victims include some civilians."
"This is for several reasons:"
"First of all, due to the colonialist, occupational, racist, and [plundering]
nature of Israeli society, it is, in fact, a military society. Anyone past
childhood, man or woman, is drafted into the Israeli army. Every Israeli is a
solider in the army, either in practical terms or because he is a reservist
soldier who can be summoned at any time for war. This fact needs no proof.
Those they call 'civilians' are in effect 'soldiers' in the army of the sons of
Zion."
"Second, Israeli society has a unique trait that makes it different from
the other human societies, and that is that as far as the people of Palestine
are concerned, it is a 'society of invaders' who came from outside the region -
from Russia or America, from Europe or from the lands of the Orient - to occupy
Palestine and settle in it..."
"Those who are invaded have the right to fight the invaders with all means
at their disposal in order to remove [the invaders] from their homes and send
them back to the homes from whence they came... This is a Jihad of necessity,
as the clerics call it, and not Jihad of choice... Even if an innocent child is
killed as a result of this Jihad - it was not intended, but rather due to the
necessities of the war... Even with the passage of time, these [Israeli]
so-called 'civilians' do not stop being invaders, evil, tyrants, and oppressors..."
"Third... It has been determined by Islamic law that the blood and property
of people of Dar Al-Harb [the Domain of Disbelief where the battle for the
domination of Islam should be waged] is not protected. Because they fight against and are hostile
towards the Muslims, they annulled the protection of his blood and his
property."
"Fourth, the Muslim clerics, or most of them, have agreed that it is permissible
to kill Muslims if the army that attacks the Muslims hides behind them, that
is, uses them as barricades or human shields, and sets them at the front so
that the fire, arrows, or spears of the Muslims will harm them first. The
clerics have permitted the defenders to kill these innocent Muslims, who were
forced to stand at the head of the army of their enemies... Otherwise the
invading army will enter and annihilate their offspring and their harvests.
There was no choice but to sacrifice some [of the Muslims] in order to defend
the entire [Muslim] community... Therefore, if it is permitted to kill innocent
Muslims who are under coercion in order to protect the greater Muslim
community, it is all the more so permissible to kill non-Muslims in order to
liberate the land of the Muslims from its occupiers and oppressors."
"Fifth, in modern war, all of society, with all its classes and ethnic
groups, is mobilized to participate in the war, to aid its continuation, and to
provide it with the material and human fuel required for it to assure the
victory of the state fighting its enemies. Every citizen in society must take
upon himself a role in the effort to provide for the battle. The entire domestic
front, including professionals, laborers, and industrialists, stands behind
the fighting army, even if it does not bear arms. Therefore the experts say
that the Zionist entity, in truth, is one army."
"Sixth, there are two types of Fatwas: Fatwas concerning a situation of
calm and choice, and Fatwas concerning a situation of distress and necessity.
It is permissible for a Muslim, when in a situation of extreme necessity, to do
what is prohibited to him [in circumstances allowing] choice... Thus, one of
the clerics has espoused the rule:
'Necessities permit prohibitions.' Our brothers in Palestine are, without a
doubt, in a situation of extreme necessity to carry out martyrdom operations in
order to unsettle their enemies and the plunderers of their land and to sow
horror in their hearts so that
they will leave, and return to the places from whence they came..."
"What weapon can harm their enemy, can prevent him from sleeping, and can
strip him of a sense of security and stability, except for these human bombs -
a young man or woman who blows himself or herself up amongst their enemy. This
is a weapon the likes of which the enemy cannot obtain, even if the U.S.
provides it with billions [of dollars] and the most powerful weapons, because
it is a unique weapon that Allah has placed only in the hands of the men of
belief. It is a type of divine justice on the face of the earth... it is the
weapon
of the wretched weak in the face of the powerful tyrant..."
'Those Who Oppose Martyrdom Operations and Claim that they are Suicide are
Making a Great Mistake'
"Those who oppose martyrdom operations and claim that they are suicide are
making a great mistake. The goals of the one who carries out a martyrdom
operation and of the one who commits suicide are completely different. Anyone
who analyzes the soul of [these two] will discover the huge difference between
them. The [person who commits] suicide kills himself for himself, because he
failed in business, love, an examination, or the like. He was too weak to cope with
the situation and chose to flee life for death."
"In contrast, the one who carries out a martyrdom operation does not think
of himself. He sacrifices himself for the sake of a higher goal, for which all
sacrifices become meaningless. He sells himself to Allah in order to buy
Paradise in exchange. Allah said: 'Allah has bought from the believers their
souls and their properties for they shall inherit Paradise.'"
"While the [person who commits] suicide dies in escape and retreat, the
one who carries out a martyrdom operation dies in advance and attack. Unlike
the [person who commits] suicide, who has no goal except escape from
confrontation, the one who carries out a martyrdom operation has a clear goal,
and that is to please Allah..."
Endnote: (1) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), July 19, 2003.
*********************
NOTE
WELL: Though the Eurpean Council on Fatwah and Research focused on
Israel as the “invaders,” the same yardstick is used against the “American
invaders” as the “Crusaders,” which justified in Islamic religious eyes the
September 11, 2001 massacre in New York—and will continue to justify future “democides”
against the USA and all other non-Muslim nations that Islam views as the “world
of jihad,” those who have not yet surrendered their sovereignty to Mohammed and
his Islamic faith. Know your adversary
and deal with him with wisdom, courage and strength, for history will prove whose
god is the true and eternal God.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit
organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East.
Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are
available on request.