In an article he published in the Egyptian daily Al-Yawm Al-Sabi', Dr. Nageh Ibrahim, one of the founders of the Egyptian Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya movement, expressed sorrow that Muslims had perpetrated the Boston bombing and were still engaging in terrorism against civilians. In particular, he criticized Muslims living in the West for harming the countries that host them. He argued that the Islamic shari'a forbids killing innocent people – women, children, the elderly, priests, monks, and invalids – even in times of war, and also forbids killing civilians in retaliation for the policy of their governments, as Al-Qaeda does.
It should be noted that Al-Gama'a, which perpetrated terror attacks in Egypt throughout the 1980s and 1990s - most notably the 1981 assassination of then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat - has in recent years undergone an ideological reversal exceptional among Islamist organizations. Its leaders have pledged to forsake violence and apologized for past attacks, promoting a new ideology of coexistence with the regime. In addition, they have gone to great lengths to argue against Al-Qaeda's ideology and to combat its influence on Muslims.[1]
The following are excerpts from Ibrahim's article:[2]
Nageh Ibrahim (Image: Alarabiya.net)
"I hoped that no Muslim would turn out to be involved in the Boston explosions, that Muslims would forsake targeting civilians once and for all, and that, in return for the protection granted them in non-Muslim countries, [Muslims living in these countries] would grant protection [to others], as required by the system of protection-granting [laws] set out in the noble shari'a. I hoped we could close the dark chapter that was written by those who harmed Islam in the West and presented it in the ugliest possible light, to the detriment of this mighty and compassionate religion. Islam is just, but sometimes those who undertake to defend it are bad advocates who cause us to lose our case. Had Islam been allowed to speak for itself and defend itself, and to present its case to mankind without the mediation of negative elements, it would have been better and more fruitful…
"Happily, this brief article gives me the opportunity to present the honorable readers with some important shari'a issues relevant to the Boston bombings and to similar acts:
"First, the basic principle is that life is generally immune [from harm]. This principle is waived only in cases where it is clearer than the light of day [that the act of killing is justified]. The honorable [medieval] jurisprudent Ibn Taymiyya ruled that spilling blood, [whether of] Muslims or non-Muslims, is a heinous act that the shari'a permits only in exceptional cases during justified war and in order to prevent acts even more heinous.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
"Second, there is a consensus among Muslim jurisprudents that killing children, women, the elderly, monks, priests, and invalids is forbidden even during war. In the parlance of international law, these are called 'civilians.' Islam preceded international law in this matter: [our] early scholars explained that, in warfare, the targets are combatants, and since civilians are not combatants, they must not be killed. The Prophet instructed his forces: 'Never kill a child, a woman, an elderly person, or an invalid'… [The second Caliph] 'Omar bin Al-Khattab said: 'Fear Allah [in your treatment of] peasants who are not fighting you.' Examining the bombings in Boston and all similar bombings – such as those that took place in the London underground and in Madrid, [to give some examples from] the West, or the bombings in Muslim countries, for instance in Riyadh, Casablanca, or Sharm Al-Sheikh – one finds that most of the victims were civilians.
"Third, a civilian is not responsible for the policy of his country, whether it is a democracy or a dictatorship. An American, British, or Egyptian citizen is not responsible for the policy of his country – neither from a shari'a perspective nor from a legal or even a moral perspective. In a dictatorship, citizens have no power [to influence] the leaders' [actions], and in a democracy, the president can win [the election] even by a margin of one percent, as happened with [former U.S. president] George W. Bush. 49% of the people voted against him; moreover, almost 60% of Americans did not support his military intervention in Iraq. Thus, the ordinary citizen does not determine his country's policy and has no part in it, and he is certainly not responsible for it, nor does he kill anyone in its name.
"Fourth, killing [people] based on their nationality is one of the worst kinds of killing. It was invented by Al-Qaeda when it issued a ruling [that sanctioned] the killing of any American or Jew. No nation or religion on earth consists of people who are all cast from a single mold: [all] good or [all] evil, [all] just or [all] oppressors – not even the Muslims themselves. I have long examined and pondered the verse [that says] 'they are not [all] the same,'[3] which is the epitome of Koranic justice. I have [even] written a short treatise bearing this title. The Muslims fought many nations, but never believed in killing every Byzantine, every Persian, etc.
"Fifth, some who lack true knowledge of jurisprudence and the noble shari'a have claimed that, because an American citizen pays taxes, he is party to all the crimes of the American army in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. – because these taxes are the army's true source of funding. Frankly, such claims hardly merit discussion, for they contravene the consensus among jurisprudents throughout Islamic history that killing civilians is forbidden.
"Sixth, can the spilling of blood [be permitted] so easily? Can fatwas permitting the blood of others be issued by [just] anyone, [even by those who are] not conversant in shari'a and whose hearts are not seeped with Islamic compassion for all men, Muslims and non-Muslims alike?
"Finally, the tyranny, arrogance and double standards of American policy should not cause us to violate the shari'a. We treat others according to [Allah's] edict: 'Do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness [Koran 5:8].' The best way to confront this tyranny is to build a civilization more honorable than theirs, instead of killing their women and children."
[1] See MEMRI Inquiry & Analysis Series Report No. 309, The Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya Cessation of Violence: An Ideological Reversal, December 22, 2006.
[2] Al-Yawm Al-Sabi' (Egypt), April 23, 2013.
[3] Refers to Koran 3:113: "They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Book is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]."
