SAUDI MUFTI URGES MUSLIMS TO FIGHT TERROR
Riyadh, 4 Jumadil Awwal 1436/23 February 2015 (MINA) – As Saudi Arabia hosts international anti-terror conference, the Kingdom’s grand mufti urged Muslim to rally all efforts to fight terrorism as an Islamic duty.
“The misuse of the religion by extremists is greatly damaging the image of Islam,” grand mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh was quoted by Arab News on Sunday, February 22.
Those sinners attribute their inhuman actions to Islam when they claimed an Islamic State and Allah knows that the hypocrites are liars, the mufti added in comments made during his weekly talk show, On Islam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting. Monday.
These statements came as Saudi hosts an international conference in the holy city of Makkah on Sunday, to discuss counter terrorism from a Muslim perspective.
The conference, held under the title “Islam and the Fight against Terrorism”, highlights efforts by the Kingdom in the field of fighting terrorism.
Organized by the Muslim World League (MWL), it opens today under Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman’s patronage, Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.
According to MWL Secretary-General Abdullah Al-Turki, the theme of counterterrorism was selected because of the deeply upsetting events taking place in the world as a result of terrorist acts falsely attributed to Islam.
He added that fighting terror is a religious necessity in Islam.
“The terrorist groups, their supporters, who declare society as a whole as infidel and kill innocent people as a religious act, are misguided groups that are not following the right Islamic path,” said Al-Turki.
The secretary-general added that the international community should confront those supporting terrorism, stressing that MWL subsidiaries in various countries have been striving to fight against terror.
“The conference will also focus on the Kingdom’s tireless efforts to combat terror and also the implementation of the Shari`ah law and the mutual support between the Kingdom’s people and its leaders,” said the MWL secretary-general.
The conference is attended by several academics and officials from Islamic centers and societies across the world.
The first session will be dedicated to defining terrorism form an Islamic perspective, as well as the use of religion as an umbrella for terror.
Egypt Too
Away from Saudi conference, Egypt’s Mufti Shawqi Allam stressed in an opinion piece he wrote for the “Cyprus Mail” newspaper that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism and murder.
“Every Muslim has been in utter shock since the senseless, appalling and cowardly attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. This horrific attack is a complete violation of Islamic law and norms and the perpetrators are not representing Muslims or Islam,” Allam wrote, State Information Service reported.
“God upholds the sanctity of life as a universal principle. Islam views murder as both a crime punishable by law in this world and as a major sin punishable in the afterlife as well. Prophet Muhammad said,
“The first cases to be decided among the people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed,” he added.
Islam considers all life forms as sacred. However, the sanctity of human life is accorded a special place. The first and the foremost basic right of a human being is the right to live.
Even in a state of war, Islam enjoins that one deals with the enemy nobly in the battlefield. Islam has drawn a clear line of distinction between the combatants and the non-combatants of the enemy country. (T/P002/P3)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
