I came across this Elaph article (in Arabic) via Jameed indicating that some Iraqi sources are linking the latest attacks on churches in Iraq -– in which at least three people were killed and nine were wounded — to the current controversy involving the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed in the Danish paper Jyllands-Posten.
According to these sources, some Iraqi-Christian students at the University of Mosul were recently attacked by people upset by the publication of these caricatures in Denmark and Norway. These attacks came following the issuance of several fatwas that called for the expulsion of "the infidels and crusaders" for insulting the prophet. The Iraqi sources said it was likely that the coordinated church attacks that took place yesterday (Jan. 29) are linked with the recent anti-Christian campaign.
I’m not sure how credible this news is, as I’ve not seen mention of it anywhere else. But if it is accurate, then the world has absolutely gone crazy. What kind of a logic is this? People get upset at Danish cartoonists, so they decide to whack their fellow citizens! And who are these low-life individuals issuing fatwas that call for attacks on innocent civilians, ones who happen to belong to a religious minority. But then again, I guess I shouldn’t expect logic to pour forth from Iraq anytime soon.
It is no secret that the number of Christians in the Middle East is rapidly dwindling. According to this IRIN article, "about 150,000 Christians are believed to have left the country [Iraq] since the US occupation began in 2003." The number of Palestinian-Christians inside the Palestinian territories is also on the decrease, and I believe the same thing is happening in Egypt (please correct me if I’m wrong).
This is extremely bad news, as it would mean that, in the long run, the Mideast would lose the diversity that it has always enjoyed. I would ask clerics to issue a counter-fatwa urging believers to safeguard their Christian brethren who are amongst among the indigenous inhabitants of the Middle East who have suffered and fought hard to protect their nation.
Bilal it seems you may well be wrong. The attacks escalated and the Danish embassy was burnt down. Came across this as well, sounds like a Fatwa to me.
The Mujahideen Army in Iraq–a prominent Sunni insurgent group–has released a new communique threatening to attack Denmark and Norway over a series of recent cartoons ridiculing the Prophet Mohammed. According to the statement:
Check your history, religious fervour is stirred up to motivate the followers to do unspeakable things in the name of their God (whichever one it might be). A Christian would tell you that what is going on right now in the World is clearly the work of Satan, it is his domain and will remain so until the second coming of Christ. These extremists are being mislead by their leaders into doing things that their own scriptures forbid, how else do you explain that.
WHAT WE ALL NEED TO DO , IS GO BACK TO OUR DEEN AND LEARN ABOUT IT FROM THE ROOTS ! INSTEAD OF EVERY ONE HERE GIVING THEIR OPINION THUS CREATING MORE CONFUSION ! FATWA ? BY WHOM ? WHO GAVE HIM THE AUTHORITY TO GIVE ANY FATWA ANYWAY ? LEARN ABOUT ISLAM PROPERLY AND YOU WILL KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG !!! ” KILLING AN INNOCENT PERSON IS LIKE KILLING THE WHOLE OF HUMANITY ” IS WHAT ALLAH TELLS US IN THE QUR’AAN !!!
BILAL
Should they be hit regularly to claim there is a problem? Like thursdays and every other Sunday ?
Natasha, let me be more specific, any country where alqueda isnt existant. have churches and mosques been bombed regularly?
Jeff, keep in mind that fatwas which relate to safegaurding Christian citizens have been issued on more than one occassion; Qardawi is just one example of many who issues such fatwas regularly. Except we just assume that they arn’t. why? because sane moderate muslims dont sell magazines. crazy fatwa issuing clerics do. The problem is that fatwas cannot be issued to cure stupdity but only to clarify the unclear.
Do both of you remember the Islamic conference which took place in Jordan last summer. The results of that conference were the first of its kind and greatly beneficial to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike as it sought to fight crazy “ulama” who issue their own fatwas according to Bin Laden. See the same Muslims who say we must kill Christians will call Muslims who disagree with them as kufar or apostates, which is the most serious crime/sin in the religion.
curing people of the alqueda mentality goes much deeper than simple fatwas.
Boycott Forces Danish Apology
Amidst the many protests, Libyas plans to shut its embassy in Denmark, the Boycott of Danish products spreading to UAE, masked gunmen in Gaza have stormed the local office of the EU demanding an apology from Denmark and Norway, Iraqi de…
no fatwa required … diss the prophet or quran. While a samll % of muslims (5%*1.3bil=65,000,000) may actually take your life no muslim on earth will have a problem with your death.
This is clear and concise in the quran … you don’t need to go to the ahadith or any other source.
Yes this is the “religion of peace”.
And so were churches in Pakistan too. How about Egypt,just last week when they tried to reenovate or build a new one. Why didnt this “incident” make it way to the world news ! Just asking !!
Well do you want to say Arab world, or Islamic world? Or, your query begs the question: what about fatwas coming forth from Western countries, a phenomena sure to rise. There are those often intense “watch” sites that document anti-Christian violence of that sort. I’m not sure of the numbers, but I’m sure there are other examples.
And there weren’t just bombings in Pakistan, there were armed men with guns shooting and killing Shiite worshippers on Fridays, I believe on more than one occasion. And their have been Christian schools shot at and bombed as well in Pakistan.
But I’m not keeping tabs on the number or general rise or decline of this type of fatwa. I see one as wrong enough to merit correction or at least some address from a scholar somewhere for the reasons you agreed to that were cited above. The Islamic world is not alone in this, of course. The Christian world has its Pat Robertson, it’s Jerry Fallwell. But their words, while confusing to some, don’t carry the weight of a religious edict and rarely (if ever) the damage.
Nas,
Shia mosques were bombed a number of times in Pakistan.
Jeff, I see your point and I tend to agree with what you’ve said. If such a situation arises which deems a fatwa then I support it. Especially if it is in the spirit of protecting Christians based on fundemental Islamic teachings as well as clearing up the chaos of crazy scholars and their own fatwas.
However I’m forced to ask: has there been a surge in “kill the christians” fatwas that i’m not aware of? Have christians anywhere else in the Arab world been killed or come under attack for something some danish newspaper printed, other than Iraq? If not then it begs the question why iraq? and the answer is quite clear. It is the same answer if we were to ask “why are shia’ mosques not bombed anywhere else but in iraq?”.