A leading Syria-based Saudi cleric is blaming the rebel jihadis’ habit of taking “god’s name in vain” as a reason why they have failed to win the Syrian war.
Sheikh Abdullah al-Muhaysini “then posted instructions to his 57,500 followers on how to avoid insulting the divine, and launched an Arabic-language hashtag to promote his anti-blasphemy campaign.”
The cleric’s belief is absurd, but should come as no surprise. Blasphemy comes with a death sentence in Islam – in many countries codified in the civil law, and in Sharia is “divinely” imposed as a punishment from Allah, as al-Muhaysini maintains.
The Syrian opposition that America is backing is rather similar to the Islamic State. It’s convenient, however, to zero in on Islamic State militants, even arguing that they are an aberrant form of Islam, and have nothing to do with Islam. The Islamic State has provided shelter for other jihadists to hide behind, and an excuse for the politically correct to not identify this war as one in which religious zeal is the fuel.
All jihadists share the same goal, under the same umbrella of Islamic supremacism, but this goal can be and is cloaked in quite different ways by different groups. Jihadists are also guided by putative teachers of Islamic jurisprudence who base their teachings on antiquated — sometimes barbaric — texts that they regard as eternally relevant. They all share the same goal of territorial conquest and subjugation of anyone who does not hold their Salafi doctrine. This doctrine emphasizes a special contempt for blasphemers, gays and apostates, all of whom are to be punished by death.
“Saudi cleric blames Syrian rebel losses on ‘blasphemous’ swearing”, Alaraby.co.uk, October 24, 2016:
A leading jihadi cleric has said that Syrians’ habit of taking “god’s name in vain” when swearing is a reason that rebels have failed to win the Syrian war.
Sheikh Abdullah al-Muhaysini, a Syria-based Saudi cleric closely affiliated to al-Qaeda, took to Twitter on Friday to blame recent military setbacks on hot-tempered rebel soldiers using the word “God” when they swear on the battlefield.
“Six years of revolution and there are still some people who insult God when they become angry. Oh God, the words that come out their mouths are too distressing. If only you all knew that possibly this is the reason that our victory has been delayed,” Muhaysini tweeted.
He then posted instructions to his 57,500 followers on how to avoid insulting the divine, and launched an Arabic-language hashtag to promote his anti-blasphemy campaign.
“I am not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the most serious issues that has befallen the people of Syria and has been the reason their enemies have defeated them,” he said.
“Some people may wonder is it possible for a Muslim to insult God? We say: unfortunately,
this has become commonplace among some fools and sin-doers affiliated with Muslims!”“The regime has popularised trivialising the gravity of this heinous crime.”
In the Syrian dialect of Arabic, the insults translated as “curse God”, “curse your Lord” and “curse your religion” are in common usage.
Muhaysini is highly-revered in jihadi circles, and travelled to Syria in 2013 to join the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He has positioned himself in the heart of radical jihadist politics, fundraising, and legal opinion and currently holds the title of the General Judge of Jaish al-Fatah.
Since Russia intervened in the conflict in support of Assad in September last year, opposition groups have lost much ground against the regime….