On April 11, 2011, a fatwa by Sheikh Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi regarding Iraq's Christians appeared on the Salafi-jihadi website Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad. The fatwa came in response to a question submitted by an inquirer calling himself "'Izz Al-Din," who asked whether the Christians in Iraq today were to be considered a legitimate target of jihad, even though they had not been in the past. He pointed out that these Christians were not associated with the Coptic Orthodox denomination or with its criminal imprisonment of Muslim women in Egypt, and that they were even at odds with the Copts.
Al-Baghdadi replied that shari'a commanded the Muslims to fight the Jews and Christians until they converted to Islam or paid the jizya (poll tax paid by protected non-Muslims under Islam) while in a state of humiliation, and that it did not distinguish among the various sects and denominations within these religions. He added that all Christians today side with the Jews and the Shi'ites against the Muslims, and that Iraq's Christians themselves had been the greatest collaborators with the Americans and the Shi'ites there – meaning that the Muslims were permitted to shed their blood and also obligated to wage jihad against them.
Following are excerpts of the question and the fatwa issued by Al-Baghdadi in response to it:
"Question: In the past, Iraq's Christians were not generally targeted by [the mujahideen], a fact endorsed by the speeches of Sheikhs Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi and Abu Hamza Al-Muhajir, may Allah have mercy on them, especially if [Iraq's Christians are compared to its] Shi'ites.
"Likewise, Iraq's Catholics are known for their religious disputes with Egypt's [Coptic] Orthodox Christians, and for some time the two have had confrontations in their churches and cursed one another in their books and lectures... How then [should] the mujahideen view [Iraq's Christians] – as those affiliated with [Egypt's Coptic] denomination or as their own allies?
"I am not talking about their protected status, as it is well known that they merit neither the of status dhimma [protection afforded second-rate citizens] nor guarantees, but of punishing them for the sin of a group with which they are not allied, of which they are not members, and in whose crime they have no part. Despite the fact that in messages by brother mujahideen, it was said that the Christians who have been targeted were a [legitimate] target of jihad, they did not describe their crimes, expect for the matter of the Christian sisters who were imprisoned [by the Copts after converting to Islam], which was carried out by people who are not part of the same denomination as [Iraq's Christians] and who do not [even] live in their land. I ask for clarification on the mujahideen's position on this matter, if possible."
"Answer: The laws of the shari'a clarify the types of infidels and how the Muslims must treat them. Among these infidels are the Jews and the Christians, whom Allah declared must be fought until they convert to Islam or and pay the jizyai while in a state of humiliation... There is no proof in the Koran or the Sunna that any distinction is made between the denominations among the Jews and Christians, as this law is general and applies to all their denominations...
"The Christians today – all of their various denominations and groups – have a clear alliance with the Jews and the rafidites [literally "refusers," a derogatory term applied by Sunnis to Shi'ites], and even with the Buddhists... The clerics unanimously agreed that if [the Jews and Christians] defame the Koran or the Prophet, it violates the [Muslims'] agreement with and them and permits [the Muslims] to shed their blood and [confiscate] their property. This is [true] when there is a dhimma agreement with them... All the more so today, when they are not dhimmis, are we commanded to fight them and to urge [other] Muslims to do the same...
"As to the inquirer's statements to the effect that Iraq's Christians were not targeted by the [mujahideen] in the past, this is a piece of nonsense that originates from the ignorance about [these Christians'] stance. Anyone who knows them knows that they are among the greatest collaborators with the Americans and Shi'ites, and that most of those who work on the American bases as translators, clerks, and contractors are Christians, and [therefore] waging jihad against them is a [shari'a] commandment."
