Here is an interesting spin on the favorite Qur’an verse of George W. Bush and so many other Western non-Muslims, 5:32, which says that killing an innocent person is like killing all of humanity. Qazi Hussain Ahmed here matter-of-factly equates “innocent people” with “Muslims,” rendering the verse as “the murder of a Muslim is in fact the killing of all humanity.” And so here he says suicide attacks are “un-Islamic,” and it is quite clear that he is only upset about them because Muslims were killed.
This is an extraordinarily important point, since Muslim groups in the U.S. have frequently issued condemnations of terrorism that boil down to condemnations of attacks on “innocent people.” But if non-Muslims are not innocent, as many jihadis contend openly, then these condemnations are essentially worthless.
“Qazi terms suicide attacks ‘un-Islamic,'” from APP, December 14 (thanks to James):
NOWSHERA: Former Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed on Sunday called suicide bombings “un-Islamic”, saying that US drone strikes were an assault on the country’s sovereignty and “cannot be tolerated anymore”. Addressing a conference, he said Islam did not allow killing of “Muslim brothers” by launching suicide attacks and bomb blasts on ordinary citizens. “Suicide attacks are not allowed in Islam and our religion does not allow the killing of innocent people. “The murder of a Muslim is in fact the killing of all humanity,” he said, adding that US and NATO forces would be defeated in Afghanistan due to their “anti-people” policies. He said drone attacks in Pakistan were a violation of international law and the country’s sovereignty. Qazi called for strict action against elements involved in corruption adding that clerics from different schools of thought should unite to guide the nation in “these testing times” and protect it from imperialist forces. app