In my book Islam Unveiled I explain how the example of the Prophet Muhammad is normative for Muslims — and justifies violent jihadist activity and more. Here is another example: “London Islamist Dr. Hani Al-Sibaai Justifies Slaughters in Iraq: The Prophet Muhammad Used to Slaughter As Well,” from MEMRI, with thanks to CJM:
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i: That is the question I’d like to answer. Do these people base themselves on Islamic law or not? They claim that they do, and to support it, they say that slaughtering appeared in a hadith by the Prophet, which was pronounces authentic by Sheik Ahmad Shaker. The Prophet told the Quraysh tribe: “I have brought slaughter upon you,” making this gesture. But these are religious issues that may be disputed.
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i: (The mujahideen say: “This is the time for Jihad jurisprudence. Iraq is an occupied country, so we must study Jihad jurisprudence, which is exceptional law. In this case, there is no need to ask permission — a wife does not need to ask for her husband’s permission to fight.
Interviewer: There is no consensus here.. This is just one opinion.
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i: This is the opinion of the greatest clerics.
Interviewer: But there are other clerics who criticize and condemn what is happening”¦
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i: The problem, Dr. Muhammad”¦
Interviewer: Does the problem lie with Al-Zarqawi or with the religious scholars?
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i: The problem lies with the religious scholars. When they are asked to confront these (mujahideen), to talk with them and respond to the evidence they present. (The mujahideen) tell the Prophet drove nails into and gouged out the eyes of people from the ‘Urayna Tribe. They were merely a group of thieves who stole from sheep herders, and the Prophet drove nails into them and threw them into the Al-Hrara area, and left them there to die. He blinded them and cut off their opposite legs and arms. This is what the Prophet did on a trifling matter — let alone in war. What else could they do when a 1000 lb. bomb lands on a house or a shack belonging to poor people, and the world doesn’t shed a tear, but cries only about the slaughtering. All they have is a knife”¦ …
Ali Al-Saraf, Iraqi Journalist: Dr. Hani said the Prophet gouged out a man’s eye, killed another, and threw”¦
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i: This is a true tradition in the collection of Al-Bukhari.
Ali Al-Saraf, Iraqi Journalist: Excuse me, the Prophet did not do this to innocent people, like this riffraff in Iraq. They kill people who have nothing to do with”¦…
They don’t even acknowledge the term “civilians.”
Interviewer: Who decides what the term means?
Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i: The religious legal authority. One reads in history”¦ I have an historical religious source of authority. Islamic history has no term for “civilian” in the Western sense. This is a Western term. In our Islamic rules of war, one can be a “combatant”, a “non-combatant”, or “protected by an agreement.” A person can be a combatant even if he does not carry a weapon. In other words, a person who came to wash and cook for the American soldiers in order to free them to fight — like the Nepalese — such a person is considered a combatant.