WRITTEN BY ILANA MERCER 03.07.10 @ 7:16 PM

Whether Dr Tahir ul-Qadri’s 600-page ruling decreeing that “Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citizens and suicide bombings,” Jews included, is a significant departure from previous “yes, but” type fatwas is subject for legitimate debate. What is not debatable is the newsworthiness of ul-Qadri’s judgment.

Yet, so far, the usually diligent Islam-trackers (here and here, and here) have failed to report this bit of news coming out of England. It is quite likely that theirs is an innocent oversight. I hope so. When it comes to Islam, one must avoid seeing faces in the clouds. At the same time, it is wrong to deal only with items that neatly fit one’s paradigm of Islam.