Why is this the world’s first? Why haven’t there been hundreds of similar fatawa, issued by Muslim ulama all over the world? “Spanish Muslims Issue Fatwa Against Usama,” from AP, with thanks to all who sent this in:
MADRID, Spain “” Muslim clerics in Spain issued what they called the world’s first fatwa, or Islamic edict, against Usama bin Laden on Thursday, the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings, calling him an apostate and urging others of their faith to denounce the Al Qaeda leader.
The ruling was issued by the Islamic Commission of Spain, the main body representing the country’s 1 million-member Muslim community. The commission represents 200 or so mostly Sunni mosques, or about 70 percent of all mosques in Spain….
The commission’s secretary general, Mansur Escudero, said the group had consulted with Muslim leaders in other countries, such as Morocco “” home to most of the jailed suspects in the bombings “” Algeria and Libya, and had their support.
“They agree,” Escudero said, referring to the Muslim leaders in the three North African countries. “What I want is that they say so publicly.”
Indeed. Why haven’t they done so?
The fatwa said that according to the Quran “the terrorist acts of Usama bin Laden and his organization Al Qaeda … are totally banned and must be roundly condemned as part of Islam.”