Saudi Grand Mufti Issues Fatwa Permitting Cyber-Jihad

Saudi Grand Mufti Abd Al-Aziz Al-Sheikh (photo courtesy an7a.com/tag) The first known fatwa on cyber-jihad was reported by the Saudi government religious magazine Al-Dawa on May 11, 2000; the fatwa, which approved of sending viruses and other methods of online attacks, was issued by Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abd Al-Aziz Al-Sheikh (the position of Grand Mufti is comparable to that of a government minister) in response to a question. Asked "If there are websites on the Internet that are hostile to Islam, and are disseminating immoral materials... is it permissible for me to send viruses to disable and destroy these websites?" The mufti replied: "If such a website is hostile to Islam and you counter its evil with good, and respond to it, refute its falsehood, and show its void content - that would be the best option. But if you are unable to respond to it, and you want to destroy it, and have the ability to do so, it's okay to destroy it, because it is an evil website."