FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 2010

One of the most emailed news article being sent around the Mid East is a 600 page fatwa, which is a written moral opinion by an established cleric. It would be similar to an opinion written by a member of our Supreme Court: "Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, head of the Minhaj ul-Quran religious and educational organisation, said suicide bombers were destined for hell as he released his 600-page edict in London on Tuesday.

"They can't claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umma [the wider Muslim community], no, they become heroes of hellfire, and they are leading towards hellfire. There is no place for any martyrdom and their act is never, ever to be considered Jihad," he said."

Mr ul-Qadri has written over 350 books on Islam and heads an organization that promotes peaceful dialogue throughout the Mid Eastern region. Since he is about my age, I could think of him as an ex-hippie, but he is also recognizes as a top Sufi. It's about time that someone had the cojones to step up and formally say what most people on the street have been saying, hopefully this will have some influence and effect on young potential recruits who look to interpretations of the Koran to justify killing. If nothing else, here's hoping that it serves as a deterrent for those living in Western countries, who lately have been volunteering to commit mayhem on their host countries...

"Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excuses or ifs or buts,"