Muslim Scholars Cite Quranic Teachings to Refute ISIL’s Philosophy
"It is forbidden in Islam to torture"; "It is forbidden in Islam to attribute evil acts to God", the letter, authored by a galaxy of well-known religious and scholarly figures in the Muslim world, reads.
"It is forbidden in Islam to declare people non-Muslims until he (or she) openly declares disbelief," it adds.
The 18-page letter, penned in Arabic and translated into English, was released on Wednesday, September 24, by renowned scholars including Sheikh Shawqi Allam, the grand mufti of Egypt, and Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the mufti of Jerusalem and All Palestine.
The letter relies heavily on the Quran to correct parts of ISIL’s ideology expressed by its leaders and members in several occasions.
Using classical religious terms, the letter is difficult to be understood by mainstream Muslims, noted Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, who released it in Washington with ten other American Muslim religious and civil rights leaders.
“The letter is written in Arabic,” Awad told Religion News Service.
“It is using heavy classical religious texts and classical religious scholars that ISIS has used to mobilize young people to join its forces," he added, using another acronym for ISIL.
Awad said its aim is to offer a comprehensive Islamic refutation, “point-by-point,” to the philosophy of ISIL and the violence it has perpetrated.
In the English translation, the scholars offer a 24-point summary of the main points in the letter.
“It is forbidden in Islam to kill emissaries, ambassadors, and diplomats; hence it is forbidden to kill journalists and aid workers,” the letter reads.
“Jihad in Islam is defensive war. It is not permissible without the right cause, the right purpose and without the right rules of conduct.
“It is forbidden in Islam to harm or mistreat —in any way — Christians or any ‘People of the Scripture’.
“The re-introduction of slavery is forbidden in Islam. It was abolished by universal consensus. It is forbidden in Islam to force people to convert.”
Putting the title “Islamic State” in quotes, and the Muslim leaders who released the letter asked people to stop using the term, arguing that it plays into the group’s unfounded logic that it is protecting Muslim lands from non-Muslims and is resurrecting the caliphate.
“Please stop calling them the ‘Islamic State,’ because they are not a state and they are not a religion,” said Ahmed Bedier, a Muslim and the president of United Voices of America, a nonprofit that encourages minority groups to engage in civic life.
Source: OnIslam.net
