Jihad and the Killing of Non-Muslims

A letter to CNN regarding the article I discussed here, from John Eibner of Christian Solidarity International:

Dear Sir/Madam,
The hopes of many were surely raised seeing a CNN.com headline on the 31st of January declaring: "Top Saudi religious authority condemns terrorists". But upon further reading, I was disturbed to find that the Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Sheik was very selective in his condemnation.

This powerful Muslim leader - whose influence extends around the world through Saudi funded institutions and missionary activity - limited his prohibition to the killing of Muslims and those non-Muslims who have been "given sanctuary in Muslim lands". Presumably he means by the latter those who are defined as dhimmis in Islamic law, in other words Christian and Jews who have submitted to the rule of Islam. Conspicuously absent from the Grand Mufti's condemnation is the jihad killing of non-Muslims who have not submitted to the rule of Islam, that is to say the kufar or infidels. The Grand Mufti also exempted the possessions of non-Muslims from his injunction against the destruction of property.

Far from breaking new pacific ground in relations with non-Muslims, the Grand Mufti is apparently reiterating the precepts of traditional Islamic law which sanctions the jihad killing of non-Muslim infidels and the confiscation of their property as booty. The Grand Mufti's threatening words are no comfort to the vast majority of people on this planet, who are non-Muslims living outside Islamic lands.

It would seem that the Grand Mufti's declamations against the killing of non-Muslims is customarily qualified in this way. A VOA report, dated October 25, 2001, reports the Grand Mufti saying: "those who kill non-Muslims with whom Muslims have treaties [another formulation meaning dhimmis] will never see paradise." The hidden side of this coin is "those who kill non-Muslims who are not protected by treaties with Muslims may indeed see paradise".

Another AP report, with a dateline Mina, January 30,2004, confirms the extent to which CNN's headline misrepresents the views of the Saudi religious establishment. Sheikh Salah al-Taleb is quoted offered the following public prayer before an assembly of 500,000 hajj pilgrims in Mecca's Grand Mosque and nearby streets:

"Oh God, give victory to the mujahedeen (holy warriors) everywhere. Give them victory in Palestine. Oh God, make the Muslims triumphant and destroy their enemies, and make this country and other Muslim countries safe. Oh God, inflict your wrath on the criminal Zionists."

Can it be in the public interest to obfuscate the position of influential Islamic leaders on the use of jihad violence against non-Muslims?

Sincerely,
John Eibner

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6 Comments

rusty shackleford | February 3, 2004 10:57 AM

Amen. I was hoping more people would catch on to the actually phraseology being used.

If you look at the entire sermon, you will find that it is a condemnation of terrorism directed toward Saudi Arabia and of extremism that brands the Sauds apostates. Hmm, I wonder who is paying the Grand Mufti's salary?

www.mypetjawa.blogspot.com

Jay Stevens | February 3, 2004 2:00 PM

His position is probably publicly funded. So what you are hearing is the official government position.

jay

jihan | February 3, 2004 7:35 PM

The reason why the Grand Mufti said what he said is due to the terrorist attacks INSIDE Saudia Arabia. As long as these attacks are not in the Saudi Arabia, everything is right with the world, right?

jihan

adela | February 4, 2004 1:31 AM

And this is exactly why,i never watch CNN.

Whitey | February 13, 2004 8:15 PM

You brown folks want to make this a racial issue. I remember from my history books of another "brown race" that was willing to kill Americans(of all colors)for their sacred entity. They succeeded in wiping most of our Pacific naval fleet(except for the aircraft carriers). I seemed to remember we ended up wiping them out at a rate of about 8 to 1 on several Pacific islands. The coup de grace should have ended at Hiroshima, unfortunately they were so dedicated(or just stupid) that it took Nagasaki for them to capitulate.
They fully took the wrath of an America aroused into action. The difference then was we were, as one Japanese Admiral put it a "sleeping giant". We are not asleep now, we have taken on the role of the world's police men to stop things like the killing of millions of Chinese by their "brown brothers" from Japan. Make no mistake the US and its allies will prevail. You will die for Allah just as Yamamoto died for his emporer. They are still plenty of tough and motivated British and American(and other allied)soldiers who will see to it that you animals in Al-Quieda and other similar groups meet your maker as you say you wish to do.

P.S. Oh yeah, some of those brave soldiers will be brown folks just like you.

World War III | March 24, 2004 12:04 AM

(Whitey)

Wats up with the use of "brown folks"?

Muslims are not only brown you idiot.
American soldiers wont die for their country but for money.

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