Mar 5, 2010

"This fatwa has the potential to be a highly significant step towards eradicating Islamist terrorism. Groups such as al-Qaeda continue to justify their mass killings with self-serving readings of religious scripture. Fatwas that demolish and expose such theological innovations will consign Islamist terrorism to the dustbin of history."

(United Kingdom)—A London-based Muslim organization led by Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founder of the increasingly popular Sufi movement Minhaj-ul-Quran, has issued a fatwa against...Islamic terrorists. The move, according to a First Post news report, is being "hailed as a significant step forward in the fight against fundamentalism, and one that will have repercussions in the UK and beyond." (Photo: FirstPost.co.uk)

As noted in the report the 600-page edict mounts a "direct challenge to al-Qaeda's violent ideology" and declares "suicide bombings and attacks against civilian targets are not only condemned by Islam, but render the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam, in other words, to be unbelievers."

Ul-Qadri was quoted as saying the edict, which is aimed at persuading young Muslims to turn their backs on extremism, goes further than any previous denunciation. "This is the first, most comprehensive fatwa on the subject of terrorism ever written," he said.

A spokesman for the counter-extremist think tank Quilliam said: "This fatwa has the potential to be a highly significant step towards eradicating Islamist terrorism. Groups such as al-Qaeda continue to justify their mass killings with self-serving readings of religious scripture. Fatwas that demolish and expose such theological innovations will consign Islamist terrorism to the dustbin of history."