Register for E-mail alerts. Comment on articles. Sign up today, it's easy.
Close
The Washington Times Online Edition

Moderate Muslims celebrate public rebuke of bin Laden

From combined dispatches

CAIRO — The condemnation of Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda by the Islamic Commission of Spain on the first anniversary of the train bombings in Madrid that took 200 lives is making waves throughout the Muslim world.

The Spanish commission’s fatwa, or condemnation, follows other signs of the kind of public theological debate rarely seen in the Muslim world, openly challenging the dominance of Saudi Arabia’s wealthy Wahhabi fanatics.

One Islamic scholar even calls it a sign of “a counter-jihad.”

In a recent interview with the Qatari daily newspaper Al-Raya, for example, Abd Al-Hamid Al-Ansari, the former dean of Shariah and law at the University of Qatar, urged his fellow Muslims to purge their heritage of fanaticism and adopt “new civilized humane thought.”

Such humane thought, he said, “must be translated [into deeds] in educational ways, via the media, tolerant religious discourse, nondiscriminatory policy and just legislation.”

“We must purge the school curricula of all sectarian implications and elements according to which others deviate from the righteous path and the truth is in our hands alone. We must enrich the curricula with the values of tolerance and acceptance of the other who is different [in school of faith, ethnic group, religion, nationality or sex].

“The political regime must refrain from sectarian or ethnic preference; it must respect the rights and liberties of the minorities and must guarantee them through legislative action, practical policy and equal opportunity in the areas of education, media and civil positions.”

Other Muslims quickly attacked the Spanish fatwa.

A group calling itself al Qaeda in Iraq — the name Jordanian-born militant Abu Musab Zarqawi gave his organization after he aligned himself with bin Laden — mocked it in the familiar religious rhetoric. “Allah has promised us victory,” it said in a posting on its Internet Web site. “… Terrorizing enemies of God is our faith and religion, which is taught to us by our Koran.”

Nevertheless, the reaction to the Spanish fatwa astonished its authors, who were swamped with e-mail messages of congratulations.

“I couldn’t even read them all — there’s at least a thousand, maybe more,” said Mansur Escudero, secretary-general of the Islamic Commission of Spain. “The tone was nearly all the same: ‘It’s about time someone did it. Bravo!’ ”

Says Khaled Abou El Fadl, an authority on Islamic law at the University of California at Los Angeles: “The long and painful silence of moderate theologians and experts in Islam jurisprudence — who had been bought off or intimidated into silence — is finally starting to break apart. We are seeing signs of a counter-jihad.”

The response to the Spanish fatwa was dominated by Muslims outside the Middle East, suggesting most moderates live outside traditional Muslim areas.

“I’m glad that someone of authority in Islam is taking a stand and demanding their religion back from the terrorists who have hijacked it,” a respondent from the United States wrote.

Story Continues →

View Entire Story
Comments
blog comments powered by Disqus
You Might Also Like
  • **FILE** Director of National Intelligence James Clapper (Associated Press)

    Sanctions may be changing Iran’s nuke plans

    By Shaun Waterman - The Washington Times

  • David Wilmot, a power player in the District, is using a program to aid the economically disadvantaged to win contracts. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

    Top D.C. lobbyist says he deserves special aid

    By Jeffrey Anderson - The Washington Times

  • Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire is surrounded by legislators and others Monday as she signs into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. The law is to take effect June 7, but opponents are mounting a repeal effort. (Associated Press)

    Washington ballot best chance for foes of same-sex marriage

    By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

  • Happening Now

          Independent voices from the TWT Communities

          Hail Mary Food of Grace

          Chef Mary Moran discusses the food we eat, where it comes from and what it does for us.

          Ad Lib

          Are there profound differences between the Left and the Right? You betcha.

          Talking Sense

          We’re human: we don’t always think things through, so we accept many ideas that are, well, ideas that are wrong. We also look past certain truths without recognizing them.