October 07, 2004

Muslim Cleric Issues Fatwa: Kidnapping is fine, and the occasional beheading too

Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi, once called a moderate by MSNBC, has condemned the murder of hostages in Iraq. The catch? It's ok to take hostages, just not kill them. I think the ol' Sheik is kinda missing the whole point about hostage taking. Like when Sheriff Bart took himself hostage in Blazing Saddles, the people of Rock Ridge really had to believe that he was crazy enough to blow the hostages head off. Ok, so al-Qaradawi is a moron, I can live with that. At least he's sort of changed his position on the whole kill all the infidels question. Notice the wording of the article, though. Only governments have the authority to kill the infidels. Nice, so I guess if Allawi is replaced by al Sadr then that sort of changes everything. Seattle Post Intelligencer:

An influential Sunni Muslim cleric who once condoned attacks on U.S. civilians in Iraq has issued a religious edict saying it is permissible under Islam to kidnap in wartime - but not to kill the hostages.

Hostages should be accorded good treatment as prisoners of war and only government courts have the authority to order executions, according to the fatwa, or edict, issued by Sheik Youssef al-Qaradawi, head of the London-based International Association of Muslim Scholars.....

Those who actually take them as prisoners or keep them do not have any authority over them and cannot determine their fate," the edict said.

Although the edict cites Quranic verses and Islamic traditions that say killing captives is prohibited, it says a captive can be killed in "exceptional circumstances, by an order of the head of the Muslim state made on the basis of a court sentence."...

It urged Muslims to maintain "the upper moral ground and not lower our ethical conduct to the wanton level of the occupation forces in Iraq."

By Rusty Shackleford, Ph.D. at 08:27 PM | |