Spanish Muslims' Fatwa of "Jihad Against al Qaeda"

Author: Jim Guirard, President -- TrueSpeak Institute

Source: FreeMuslims.org -- March 13, 2005

On Friday, March 11, the first anniversary of Spain's 3-11 version of America's 9-11 atrocity by al Qaeda terrorists, a remarkable thing happened in Madrid. A large number of clerics from the Islamic Conference of Spain issued a very tough fatwa (religious edict) which went so far as to condemn Osama bin Laden as an "apostate" and as a "kafir" (an infidel) to authentic, Quranic Islam.

This public and formal condemnation goes much farther than anything anyone from the Bush-Cheney Administration or from any other Western government has made to date. If proven valid, this charge of Apostasy (or Blasphemy) carries a punishment of death.

Ask poor old Salman Rushdie. He was formally charged with Blasphemy for having misquoted the Prophet Mohammed and, even without "conviction" for this alleged transgression, has been under a death warrant for over a decade.

Yet, on State Department advice, the President and other U.S. officials can no longer even refer to al Qaeda terrorists as "evildoers" (mufsidoon and/or muharibun in Arabic) -- for fear of using a word with Islamic religious implications that might constitute an egg-in-the-face mistake or might somehow offend politically correct intellectualoids.

The question now is whether the charges of "apostasy" and "istihlal" (Islam's grievous sin of playing God "in the name of Allah") will loosen up the rules as to what US officials and spokespersons are allowed to call these suicide mass murderers.

At present, al Qaeda and its clones typically call their murderous cause "Jihad" (Holy War), their assassins "mujahiddin" (holy warriors) and "martyrs" and their destiny Paradise. And all to often, these are the selfsame words that we (including virtually all Government, academia, media and assorted other "experts") carelessly use for them, as well -- thus tending to confirm their patently false terms of self-sanctification.

Such ineptitude is both ridiculous and deadly dangerous. Both by truth-in-language and truth-in-Islam, the Islamic labels which must be applied are those of "Hirabah" (unholy war) by "mufsidoon" (unholy warriors) on their way to "Jahannam" (eternal Hellfire), instead.

Although the historic Spanish fatwa's words of derision may not be precisely the same as these, their general meaning and impact are virtually identical -- in that they re-define bin Laden and his suicide mass murderers not as the "Servants of Allah" they claim to be but as de facto "Abdul Shaitan" (Servants of Satan) and, therefore, destined for eternal damnation.

Now that these faithful and brave Spanish clerics have broken the ice and have declared an authentic Jihad, a truly holy war, against the al Qaeda evildoers, apostates, infidels and blasphemers, others in the "moderate" Muslim clergy and in Quranic (as opposed to Wahhabist and other extremist) socio-religious organizations all across the Muslim World, the Umma, should be encouraged to do the same.

While the resulting fatwas and socio-religious resolutions will differ widely both in wording and intensity against The Al Qaeda Blasphemy (or Apostasy), a model for these might be the following draft of a Resolution of Condemnation prepared almost two years ago by this writer for consideration by Muslim-American organizations which were then being urged to "apologize" for 9-11:

RESOLVED: As faithful and peaceful Muslims, and as loyal Americans, it is not our intention to "apologize" for ruthless transgressions and blasphemous criminality of the al Qaeda variety which were not of our doing and are most certainly not part of authentic Islam. However, we have condemned and will continue to condemn in the harshest possible terms not only the criminal and sinful offenses of September 11, 2001 but also any ongoing or future terrorist attacks on America and the West by al Qaeda or like-minded terrorist organizations -- the basic terms of our renewed and strengthened condemnation being as follows:

1. we denounce the ongoing attack on America and the West not as authentic "Jihad" (Holy War) but as a heinous crime and mortal sin of Hirabah (Unholy War and forbidden "war against society," or what today would be called "crimes against humanity");
2. we label those who are fomenting and waging this forbidden type of warfare not as the mujaheddin (holy warriors) or the shahiddin (martyrs) they falsely claim to be but as the mufsidoon and muharibun (evildoers, both) they actually are;
3. we affirm that unless these evildoers cease their sinful ways and earnestly seek and obtain forgiveness from Allah for their transgressions, they are very likely destined not for Jinnah (Paradise) but for Jahannam (Eternal Hellfire), instead;
4. we proclaim that this forbidden slaughter of innocents, this fomenting of hatred among religions and communities of nations, this condemnation of everyone but themselves as "infidels" and many other violations of Quranic law are not in the Will of Allah but, rather, that they constitute a tajdeef (a blasphemy and apostasy) against the holy religion of the eternally just Allah of the Quran; and
5. we conclude that such an apostasy -- The Al Qaeda Apostasy -- based as it is on unholy war by evildoers who are placing young Muslims, and themselves, in mortal danger of Eternal Hellfire, has surely not been designed or approved by the peaceful, merciful, compassionate and just Allah who is repeatedly so described by the Quran but, rather, by a hate-filled and violent force which is plainly shaitaniyah (satanic) in nature.

Finally, although the Spanish Muslims' fatwa does not enumerate the long list of al Qaeda crimes and sins which have broken the proverbial "camel's back" and have brought about this ultimate condemnation, here is a "bill of particulars" which fully justifies their action:

• Wanton killing of innocents and noncombatants, including many peaceful Muslims
• Decapitating the live and desecrating the dead bodies of perceived enemies
• Committing and enticing others to commit suicide for reasons of intimidation
• Fomenting hatred among communities, nations, religions and civilizations
• Ruthless warring against nations in which Islam is freely practiced
• Issuing and inspiring unauthorized and un-Islamic fatwas (religious edicts)
• Using some mosques as weapons depots and battle stations, while destroying others
• Forcing extremist and absolutist versions (and perversions) of Islam on Muslims, when the Quran clearly says that there shall be "no compulsion in religion"
• Distorting the word "infidels" to include all Christians, all Jews and many Muslims, as well -- when the Quran calls them all "Children of the Book" (the Old Testament) and "Sons of Abraham," and calls Jesus one of Islam's five main Prophets
• Deliberate misreading, ignoring and perverting of passages of the Quran, the Hadith (the life and words of Mohammed) and the Islamic Jurisprudence (the Fiqh) -- to suit the arrogant and soul-less ambitions of an outdside-the-religion (khawarij) person whose correct name is now Osama Abd' al-Shaitan (Osama, Servant of Satan).

Jim Guirard TrueSpeak Institute 703-768-0957 Justcauses@aol.com

A Washington DC-area attorney, writer and anti-terrorism consultant, Jim Guirard was longtime Chief of Staff to former US Senators Allen Ellender and Russell Long. His TrueSpeak Initiative is devoted to truth-in-language and truth-in-history in public discourse