A leading Muslim organisation in Britain has issued a fatwa against
suicide
bombings and terrorism, declaring them un-Islamic.
Minhaj-ul-Quran, a Sufi organisation based in East London which advises
the
Government on how to combat radicalisation of Muslim youth, will launch
the
600-page religious verdict tomorrow. It condemns the perpetrators of
terrorist explosions and suicide bombings.
The document, written by Dr Muhammed Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former minister
of
Pakistan and friend of Benazir Bhutto, declares suicide bombings and
terrorism as "totally un-Islamic". It is one of the most detailed and
comprehensive documents of its kind to be published in Britain.
The fatwa, which was released in Pakistan last month, uses texts from
the
Koran and other Islamic writings to argue that attacks against innocent
citizens are "absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam
does
not permit such acts on any excuse, reason or pretext".
Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, who is based in Canada and has written more than 400
books
on Islamic law, said: "All these acts are grave violations of human
rights
and constitute kufr, disbelief, under Islamic law."
Minhaj-ul-Quran is an organisation based in 80 countries that follows
Sufi
teachings of peace and moderation. It is gaining influence in Britain as
the
Government seeks to gain ground among Muslim groups eager to combat the
radicalisation of young people.
The group receives no government funding but its agenda is comparable to
the
official Prevent strategy, under which community organisations are
encouraged to work together to counter extremism.
Radical Islamists will dismiss the fatwa but it will be welcomed by many
Muslims from the large community of South Asian heritage in Britain,
among
whom confusion about religious teaching is exploited by extremists
seeking
to recruit suicide bombers.
"Extremist groups start brainwashing the young students from British
universities and eventually convince them to oppose integration in
British
society," said Shahid Mursaleen, a spokesman for Minhaj-ul-Quran.
The fatwa would help fight extremist recruitment of young Muslims and
was "one
of the most comprehensive verdicts on this topic in the history of
Islam",
he added.
Inayat Bunglawala, former spokesman of the Muslim Council of Britain and
founder of the new group Muslims4UK, set up to counter the radical
message
of the newly banned Islam4UK and other extremist groups, welcomed the
fatwa.
"This adds to the view of many Islamic scholars internationally that
terrorism
and suicide bombings are unacceptable in Islam," he said. "It is a
positive
initiative. Anything that helps move young people away from violence and
from those who promote violence must be welcomed."