*EPF405 07/01/2004
Backgrounder: Six Saudi Clerics Denounce Terrorist Bombings in Saudi Arabia
(Say acts are forbidden in Islam, terrorists are criminals) (1020)

Washington -- Six Saudi clerics have sharply rebuked al-Qa'ida terrorists for killing fellow Muslims and damaging public and private property during a recent string of bombings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"There is no doubt even to the least knowledgeable of the Koran, the Sunnah, and the opinions by the ulema [Muslim religious scholars] of the nation, that it is a forbidden act and that its perpetrator is a criminal," the clerics said in a statement released through the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). "Islam came to preserve five essentials, which are religion, soul, mind, honor, and property, and forbade any encroachment on them," the statement intoned.

"The bombings that took place in the city of Riyadh, ... and the previous bombings and incidents that led to the loss of lives and damaged public and private property, were a heinous crime and a great sin."

The six clerics -- Shaykh Abd-al-Rahman Bin-Nasir al-Barak, Shaykh Dr. Abdallah Bin-Abd-al-Rahman al-Jibrin, Shaykh Dr. Safar Bin-Abd-al-Rahman al-Hawali, Shaykh Dr. Salaman Bin-Fahd al-Awdah, Shaykh Dr. Abdallah Bin-Humud al-Tuwayjiri, and Shaykh Dr. Nasir Bin-Sulayman al-Umar -- cite eight points on why the terrorist bombings violated the Islamic faith, according to an SPA news dispatch June 13.

The statement is especially noteworthy because three of the signatories, al-Hawali, al-Awdah, and al-Umar, were radical clerics who had been jailed from 1994 to 1999 by the Saudi government. In his 1996 "Declaration of War Against the Americans," al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden specifically mentioned the arrests of al-Hawali and al-Awdah.

These six Muslim scholars are among a number of other Islamic leaders who have also condemned terrorism and extremist interpretations of Islam.

During a June 13-15 conference of the Islamic Centers in Europe, Secretary-General Abdelouahed Belkeziz of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) said that "combat[ing] the pockets of blind religious fanaticism and extremism strewn here and there, which have no basis whatsoever in Islam, ... are founded instead on extremely exaggerated misconceptions misleadingly ascribed to Islam.

"Such misguided behaviors, as you are well aware, cause Islam and Muslims unspeakable harm, and all but succeed in obscuring the real, shining and tolerant Islam, and depicting it as a backward religion based on extremism, bigotry, rejection of modernity, and repudiation of contemporary civilization."

On June 20, the OIC issued a press release condemning the beheading of American hostage Paul Johnson, saying:

"Dr. Abdelouahed Belkeziz, the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, has expressed his strong condemnation and stigmatization of the brutal killing and decapitation in Riyadh of the U.S. hostage Paul M. Johnson, which has provoked large-scale indignation and outrage.

"The Secretary-General reaffirmed that such a heinous act against foreigners repudiates the very principles of Islam which urge the provision of full care and protection to foreigners and which proscribe the killing of the innocent."

A terrorist group in Saudi Arabia that claimed it was an affiliate of the transnational al-Qa'ida terrorist network killed Johnson in mid-June. Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin, the self-proclaimed military leader of al-Qa'ida in Saudi Arabia, who claimed he killed Johnson, was killed soon thereafter while disposing of Johnson's body on the outskirts of Riyadh.

These are the reasons why Muslims are not permitted to carry out terrorist bombings, according to the six clerics' statement:

-- "First: It is an act of corruption on earth and God Almighty has forbidden in His Book and condemned its perpetrator. God said: 'And do no evil nor mischief on the face of the earth.'

-- "Second: It involves killing innocent lives without any right. The ulema of the nation are unanimous in forbidding attack on innocent life, whether it is the life of a Muslim or a non-Muslim, among those whose security is pledged. The Koran and the Sunnah forbid that, considering it a great sin.

-- "Third: It is damage of protected property without any right. The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon, is cited as saying in the farewell pilgrimage: 'Your blood, property, and honor are sacrosanct as this day, in this month, and in this country.' The Prophet is also cited as saying: 'It is forbidden for a Muslim to encroach on his fellow Muslim's blood, property, and honor.'

-- "Fourth: It involves terrorization of peaceful Muslims. The Prophet, may the peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: 'A Muslim has no right to terrorize fellow Muslims.' This was related by Imams Ahmad [Al-Shafi'i] and Abu Dawud.

-- "Fifth: It involves taking up arms against Muslims. Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim cite Abu Hurayrah, may God be pleased with him, as saying: 'The Prophet said: No one should take up arms against his Muslim brother.' ... The Prophet is cited as saying: 'Whoever takes up arms against us is not one of us.'

-- "Sixth: It involves harm to Muslims. God said: 'And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly bear on themselves a calumny and a glaring sin.' The Prophet is also cited as saying: 'The Muslim is the one whom Muslims are safe from his tongue and hand.'

-- "Seventh: It leads to splitting Muslim ranks and unity, which they are in dire need of at a time when other nations are vying with one another to harm them and lie in wait for them; and

-- "Finally, we advise all Muslims, and those who got involved in these acts, or whose mind has been polluted, to fear God for themselves and their Muslim brothers. He who got involved must repent to God, give up every sin he committed, and return to his senses and the truth. He should unite with his brothers against their enemies, who are lurking for them. He must not become a pickaxe that demolishes the entity of the nation. ..."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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