Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 10:13 pm

Three hearty cheers for Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, a Pakistan-born Muslim scholar in London, who has issued a fatwa declaring that suicide bombing and other acts of terrorism are prohibited by Islam.

Pointing out that terrorists commit acts of self and mass murder with the firm conviction that they will be rewarded by God and that they are heaven bound, Dr.Qadri’s fatwa convincingly advances scriptural evidence to demonstrate that the perpetrators of suicide bombings are destined for hell, not heaven.

According to the scholar, modern terrorists justify their indiscriminate killings by claiming that Islamic scripture allows such campaigns in war. However, he opened new ground by citing Islamic sources which prohibit killing of women, children, elders, religious leaders, business people, non-combatants and even service personnel not engaged in aggression.

“Contrary to the mindset of the perpetrators of the 11th of September 2001 attacks in New York or the 7th July 2005 tube bombs in London, damaging enemy property or avenging a wrong done by another is strictly prohibited by sound Islamic scholarship,” Dr. Qadri told the audience.

I hope my new hero Dr. Qadri has taken security precautions. There’s some debate over whether his fatwa is as “historic” as he claims, as well as how influential the fatwa will be, coming from a Sufi. But as one Western academic said,

Those who are already hardliners will pay no attention at all. But “swing voters”— poorly educated and angry Muslims, who respect mainstream scholars, will probably take note.

From his lips to Allah’s ears. The only hope for an enduring victory against radical Islam is for a different vision of Islam to take hold.