Top Muslim clerics issue Fatwa denouncing terror attacks on Canada and U.S
One of the clerics, Prof. Syed, walked across Canada calling for a stop to violence.
CALGARY – Top Imams affiliated with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada have issued a fatwa calling those terrorists who attack the United States and Canada “evil.”
The Fatwa is the most important condemnation of terrorists who try to hurt people living in Canada. Extremists have been told that any attack on the U.S. or on Canada will be construed as an attack on 10 million Muslims who live in these two countries.
“This is the first Fatwa by the Muslim clergy declaring attacks on Canada and the United States as attack on Muslims. Following is the text of the Fatwa. A Fatwa is a religious edict.
“We, the undersigned Imams, are issuing the following Fatwa in order to guide the Muslims of North America regarding the attacks on Canada and the United States by the terrorists and the extremists,” said the declaration.
“In our view, these attacks are evil and Islam requires from Muslims to stand up against this evil. In the holy Qur’an Almighty Allah (God) orders Muslims:
“Let there among you be a group that summon to all that is beneficial commands what is proper and forbids what is improper; they are the ones who will prosper.” (3:104)
“Believing men and believing women are protecting friends of one another; they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong; they perform salat and give zakat…” (9:71)
“Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said in a Hadith;
“When people see a wrong-doer and do nothing to stop him, they may well be visited by God with a punishment.”
“Therefore, it is an obligation upon us (Imams) to inform all Muslims around the world that Muslims in Canada and the United States have complete freedom to practice Islam.
“There is no single city in Canada and the United States where MASAJIDS (Mosques) are not built. In all major cities Islamic schools provide education to Muslim children about Qur’an and the Islamic traditions.
“Thousands of Muslims perform Hajj every year and travel to Saudi Arabia with complete freedom and respect. In the month of Ramadan, both Canadian and the United States governments recognize the occasion and greet all Muslim citizens.
“Muslims pray five daily prayers in mosques without any fear or restrictions. Muslims have complete freedom to pay Zakat (poor due) to the charity or a person of their choice. Muslims have complete freedom to celebrate their festivals openly, publicly and Islamically. Muslims enjoy freedom of religion just like Christians, Jews and others. No one stops us from obeying Allah and His Messenger (Peace be upon him). No one stops us from preaching Islam and practicing Islam. In many cases, Muslims have more freedom to practice Islam here in Canada and the United States than many Muslim countries.”
“In fact, the constitutions of the United States and Canada are very close to the Islamic guiding principles of human rights and freedom. There is no conflict between the Islamic values of freedom and justice and the Canadian /US values of freedom and justice.”
“Therefore, any attack on Canada and the United States is an attack on the freedom of Canadian and American Muslims. Any attack on Canada and the United States is an attack on thousands of mosques across North America. It is a duty of every Canadian and American Muslim to safeguard Canada and the USA.
“They must expose any person, Muslim OR non-Muslim, who would cause harm to fellow Canadians OR Americans. We, Canadian and American Muslims, must condemn and stand up against these attacks on Canada and the United States.”
“May Allah (God) save Canada, the United States and the entire world from the evil of wrong doers. Ameen.”
Signed by:
Prof. Imam Syed B. Soharwardy – Calgary
Allama Imam Ghalib Hussain Chishty – Calgary
Allama Imam Syed Mukhtar Naeemi – Houston, USA
Allama Imam Muhammad Nasir Qadri – Montreal
Allama Imam Abdul Latif No’mani – Vancouver
Imam Hafiz Muhammad Zarif Naeemi – Calgary
Imam Nizamuddin Sayed Qadri – Calgary
Imam Qazi Bashiruddin Qadri – Hamilton
Imam Osman Qazi – Toronto
Imam Saeed Ahmed Saifee – Toronto
Alimah Hafizah Sister Zaheera Tariq – Calgary
Imam Ayaz Khan Qadri – Calgary
Alimah Sister Fatimah Zohra – Toronto
Imam Shahid Bashir Lahori – Calgary
Imam Hafiz Intizar Ahmed Qadri – Montreal
Imam Sayed Sajid Qadri – Calgary
Imam Arif Mahmood Naqshbandi – Calgary
Imam Muhammad Anees Siddiqui – Calgary
Sister Shahana Kamil – Mississauga
Mr. Mushtaq Khan – Mississauga
Editor’s Note: Because of the interest in this article we thought you’d like to see the Charter of Rights that Mohammed guaranteed to Christians. The guarantee was given to the St. Catherines Monastery in Egypt. Here.
The guarantee reads as follows:
This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.
Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them.
Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.
No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses.
Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.
No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.
The Muslims are to fight for them.
If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.
Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.
No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).
Copyright 2009, Vancouverite News Service. Use this article on your blog or website for just $5. News organizations pay $25. To reproduce or distribute, click: http://vancouverite.icopyright.com
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Thank you. This is painfully overdue. This condemnation from prominent figures of Islam is exactly what is required. Every Muslim should be condemning publicly and in the loudest voice possible, the actions of these terrorists. I think this will go a long way towards averting the fear that causes religious and racial profiling by the general public. Hopefully it will provide guidance to ‘lost’ souls whom would otherwise turn to fundamentalism and the path to terrorism.
The sad element of this is these poor guys shouldn’t have to do this. They are being terrorized by right wing media that keeps up the thinly veiled bigotry of saying ” Why dont Muslims comdemn terrorism?!” This is simply is a dishonest harping to impugn Muslims. Do they ask why don’t Jews condemn Pollard, the Rosenbergs, USS Liberty, King David Hotel, Trotskyism or Lavon affair? But then, like Muslims, why should Jews be held responsible for the acts of individual Jews?……The real measure of Canadas media will be who reports this story, who doesnt, and who keeps repeating the “Those Muslims!” mantra anyway.
This fatwa is an amazing stunt, Most reasonable people would expect a fatwa against all attacks designed to maim or kill people. Singling out the US and Canada seems disingenuous, and aimed at protecting their interests in North America. There simply is no justification to maim or kill people be it in Afghanistan or in Zimbabwe.
’bout time eh??
Thank-you for this. I am embarrassed to say that before any of this turmoil, I viewd my close Muslim friends as the peace loving people they are but wondered if they were the exception. All authentic religous people deplore violence and terror on innocent people. These statements restore that fact as in all religions, we sometimes regret what fantatics and extremist do in the name of our beliefs, and we recoil in horror to the thought of taking innocent lives. I am a Christian and not proud of some of the western policies that can create hardships around the world. But today I am proud to be brother of the people who speak of this wisdom and tolerance as most of us really feel. I praise Allah who teaches you these beliefs and praise my God who teaches the same things. I ask my God to bless you. Wouldn’t it be funny if one day we all ended up in front of the same God, who like us, has one real message for all mankind, but delivers it in slightly different packages. Peace to us all.
protip: chechen, yemeni, nigerian and pakistani terrorists don’t care what any top muslim cleric in the west thinks. in fact, they have their very own ‘top supreme imams’ who issue fatwas that say attacking the US is awesome. true story
Typical, muslims concerned only about muslims not “Canadians”. I guess that says it all.
Awesome. And peace be upon all of you too. Thank you for this wonderful message to the world.
Misreading a well-intended message is not helpful. Clearly it is aimed at other Muslims. It is an appeal for all within Canada and U.S. to be kept safe, not just Muslims. But they are speaking to Muslims to influence them using language Muslims will understand. In the end they offer a prayer for the security of all people. It is a good, progressive appeal which we should support. It shows what the Quran says about wrongdoers. It calls terrorism evil.
@typical: Perhaps you over-read (if you read at all) this: “They must expose any person, Muslim OR non-Muslim, who would cause harm to fellow Canadians OR Americans.”
Which part don’t you get that they are denouncing terrorists and harm doers. Also in which part of “Canadians OR Americans” do you see them say only Muslims of that nationality?
@Atwoki Joseph: Perhaps you missed this:
“May Allah (God) save Canada, the United States and the entire world from the evil of wrong doers. Ameen.”
They were speaking about Canada and US in the majority of the text because that is where they reside, and their point is to dispell notions that they are repressed and not allowed religious rights. They are the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, not the Council of the World. What you suggest would be akin to Canada crafting legislation for Afghanistan or in Zimbabwe.
Editor agrees with your assessment. The guy appears to have been reading too many Canwest newspapers.
95% of casualties from attacks by groups like Al Qaeda are Muslim civilians. How is it so hard to win hearts and minds when the other side offers nothing but brutality and oppression?
Wow…like it only took them 9 years and 14,500+ deadly attacks for them to FINALLY speak up. Or is this merely the traditional Taqiyya lies?
THANK YOU for Imam Syed Soharwardy’s statement indicating that attacks on Canadian or U.S. soil are essentially attacks on Muslims. http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/cbc-article.aspx.
It’s about time the Muslim leadership spoke out publicly, loudly & frequently on condemning such acts (taking place anywhere in the world) by those in the minority but who claim to speaking for and committing such heinous acts on behalf of 99% of the moderate, tolerant and law-abiding Muslims.
Still not good enough. Essentially, the Imams think it would be okay to attack us if the 10 million muslims were not here.
Essentially, why this is being said is that it is intended as an educational Fatwa. It is also directed at Muslims. It emphasizes the freedom Muslims enjoy in Canada and the United States. It in no way implies that it is OK to kill anyone if Muslims were not present in Canada and the United States. Those who carry out attacks against innocents are described as “evil.” What the likes of Osama wanted was to create a rift between religions. Giving in to Osama’s deepest held desire gives terrorism a victory. Moderate Islam has the most potent tool to defeat extremism which cannot be extinguished by military adventures. This is not the first time this type of condemnation has come from clerics. But this edict reinforces the essence of Islam – which you knew about little prior to 9/11. This is also important because much of what people of today have learned about Islam is based on a clash of ignorance that ensued after 9/11.
As I said, once again we get embarrassed by what a few skeptics speak without thinking. These statements should be taken at face value. Have you any idea how hard it is for any Muslim to condem another? Even if it is for just Can & US, this speaks volumes to the extremist (any religion by the way) around the world that perhaps if they crawl out of their holes and truly experience the rest of the world has to offer with an open mind, we all might learm some tolernace and understanding. Reacting with suspicion to encouraging words, shows that you perhaps are no better than the “holier than though” fanatics. every religion has had it’s troubles and black eyes in the name of their God. The Christian crusades were not that long ago…………….I think when John Lennon sang “Imagine no religion” he really meant “imagine no difference bewteen our faiths that make us fight to the death.”
Give your heads a shake! Let’s all start looking at the best in all walks of faith and distance ourselves from the small minorities that scream for attention. Why is it that the peaceful, moderate, and understanding majority has to react to the spolied children of our world. Did you every think that every religion is right and every one of our God’s is the true God. Isn’t it a little crowded up there? And if they are so great, don’t you think they have talked, had a cup a tea togther, shaking their heads as we crawl around the planet abusing the earth and each other. Some may think my message is of ignorance or is niave….. I think “hopeful” is better term.
This is truly a good thing.
However, @News Editor, a lot of what westerners have learned about Islam comes from seeing Muslim women in America and the rest of the world being oppressed. It is enough to make one not care about being tolerant at all. I would say that women’s rights is almost a bigger issue than Islamic Extremism.
This is a good start for sure, but the text will need to be strengthened in the future. There is clearly an underlying message that the reason North America should not be attacked is because there are 10 million Muslims here. If there were fewer, then the fatwa would not apply. It is still a good start, just 8 years too late.
And Western women have broken free from the culture of man? How many battered wives and girlfriends have we been writing about? How about the 89,000 rapes in the United States that the FBI stats showed for 2008? Is rape not an oppression of women? Should we take it then that Chritianity approves of the rape of 89,000 women per year in the United States or 14,900 murders? Or should we simply call it a flaw in culture or some other problem? Certainly it is not the faith that taught people to rape women?
Good luck to the people who signed this Fatwa. These are brave individuals for supporting this, they must be aware of the personal risk they are taking by signing the declaration. The rest of us have the responsibility to help protect these people from harm if there is a backlash, and threats against them need to be taken seriously.
Now THIS is the kind of man that I (a Christian) could break bread and be friends with. We all have the same Creator – no matter what man-made names we’ve come up with for our Creator. When we fight and kill each other, its just like if our OWN children did the same in front of us. Lets wake up fellow humans – rise above all of this.
Until the main bodies of Islamic Clerics (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, etc.) do the same, it will be a minor step forward, however it is a start. However, I am very pessimistic that this will happen.
Sure, it’s definitely positive that they are denouncing terrorism, but they don’t have to. Americans desperately want Muslims to denounce terrorism and claim it will help educate other Muslims in America. But in reality Americans want apologies from Muslims because of the acts of others, and that’s just insecurity. Were not going to get an apology for 9/11 because there is no one Muslim in charge of terrorism. Don’t forget that terrorists make up a very small percentage of Muslims, and those other Muslims do not have to apologies or recognize the actions of the violent ones.
Agreed. No one should have to say sorry for the actions of other. In this instance, it is important to convey to a nervous population the fact that 1.2 billion Muslims are not wearing explosive vests ready to kill their fellow human beings. So we did welcome the initiative by the clerics since it provides a degree of comfort to those whose knowledge of Islam is based on hysterics rather than reality.