We are used to reading reports of terrorism in newspapers and watching video clips of such acts of terror on TV. Perhaps the most spectacular act of terroism was the September 11, 2001 suicide attack on the World Trade Center in New York City by al-Qaeda operatives who hijacked 4 commercial airliners and used them as guided missiles to crash into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, etc. This terror attack was spectacular because TV video clips of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers were shown live on major international news network around the world. Then there were other terrorist attacks not captured live on TV, like the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing, the 2009 bombing of 2 hotels in Jakarta, etc. Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda justifies such terrorist suicide acts as part of Islamic jihad sanctioned in the Quran. Critics however, said that Osama bin Laden misinterpreted Quranic verses to suit his purpose. Now the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has just stated that terrorism is criminal, and against Islamic teaching.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh, chairman of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars said: “Terrorism is criminal and spills the blood of innocents. It attacks security, spreads terror among people and creates problems for society .” Then he added: ”Such acts are forbidden by Islamic law.”
Referring to those who attempt to justify terrorist acts in the name of Islam, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh said: “It is necessary to fight the attempts of some to attach terrorism to Islam and Muslims with the goal of distorting the religion and assailing its leadership role in the world.”
But why label terrorist acts as criminal? Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh explains that this is because terrorist acts often result in innocent people being killed, and Islam prohibits such innocent killing. He quoted a verse from the Holy Quran to support this: “If anyone kills a person, and this killing is not in retaliation for a murder or is done to spread mischief in the land, then it is as if he has killed the whole of mankind. And if anyone saves a life, it is as if he has saved the whole of mankind.”
So what should the world do about terrorism? Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh said: “We should dry the sources of terror funding and their sources of weapons.”
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh was speaking to the press on the eve of a workshop on combating terrorism and its financing. He called for international cooperation to fight terrorism. Why? Because terrorism threatens not only Muslims, but the whole of mankind.
And what can Saudi Arabia do to help this fight? Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh said: “Saudi Arabia has been fighting terrorism for many years. It has a wealth of experience in successfully combating terrorism and terror financing.” He urged other countries to make use of Saudi Arabia’s expertise in this fight.
Interestingly, the New York Times published an article entitled “Terrorism is not Islamic” on its Opinion page on August 4, 2005 in which author Abdul Cader Asmal wrote: “We Muslims have the greatest vested interest in eradicating terrorism. We need to do this to salvage our religion and our self-respect. As long as we are marginalized by the West and taunted by the extremists, we are made to feel as if we were part of the problem rather than of the solution, and our commitment becomes ambivalent.”
Perhaps Abdul Cader Asmal should have the last words. He said: “An act of terror is an act of supreme injustice. Its prevention is the moral imperative of every Muslim. Those who fail this basic test should have more to fear than that their civil rights might be infringed. In this stand lies our hope, our security, and our future.”
Earlier Posts
Terrorism – How Safe is Air Travel?
War On Terror – Who Is A Terrorist?
British Version Of 9/11 Averted
Remembering 9/11 Victims
Ritualistic Or Religious?
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