How Islamist Extremists Warp the Fatwa
From the WSJ, thought members of this group may find it of interest
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By Shawki Allam, the grand mufti of Egypt
Many people in the West have come to associate the word fatwa with pronouncements from terrorist groups and others posing as leaders of Islam, but these declarations are a perversion. Fatwas are a way for Islamic scholars and muftis, who interpret Islamic law, to provide Muslims with guidance on religious issues. As such, fatwas are one of the most important tools we have for countering radical terrorism.
Among the Prophet Muhammad’s many roles—a divine inspiration, social reformer, military leader, statesman—he was also a mufti. He answered religious questions and issued edicts to address people’s concerns; many of his fatwas were considered legal precedents.
Fatwas issued by Muhammad included those that banned burying baby girls alive, asserted a woman’s right to choose her husband and to seek divorce, and emphasized women’s rights of inheritance. He also established a safe environment for religious minorities and laid out principles for equality and citizenship. These fatwas offered guidelines for later Muslim scholars to follow on the path of mercy, justice and compassion.
In effect, fatwas and muftis are the bridge between Islam’s intellectual-legal tradition and the contemporary world. They are the link between the past and the present, the absolute and the relative, the transcendent and the contingent, the theoretical and the practical. New issues are surfacing—the use of stem cells in scientific research, surrogacy and sperm banks, among others. These will require new fatwas, and the challenge for modern Muslims is to hold tightly to the spirit of scripture while adapting to modern life.
Unfortunately, this is not how many in the Western world have come to identify the concept, thanks to statements issued by extremists who are half-educated, weak-minded pseudo scholars. These bogus fatwas have included expelling religious minorities from their homes, subjugating women and treating them as sex slaves, setting people ablaze for their opinions, slaughtering in cold blood those whom they consider their enemies. These acts do not represent Islam. They reflect nothing but a horrendous mentality that is thirsty for bloodshed.
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The violent extremists depend on the apparent meanings of the primary texts without understanding them. They seize on the Quranic verse that says “and kill the polytheists wherever you find them” (9:5), for example, while ignoring subsequent rules of legal extrapolation and scholarly opinions that keep scripture from being manipulated to evil ends. They also disregard the objectives and purposes of the Shariah for which the rulings have been legislated. The inevitable result is extremism.
Thus, it has been incumbent on Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta, an educational institute, to wage an intellectual war against the ill beliefs, warped understanding and sickening interpretations of scriptural texts, which happen when Quranic verses are abruptly removed from context. This effort to counter the twisting of Islam has taken many forms, from publishing books to lecturing at conferences. This education in the true nature of Islam is a powerful tool for combating the deviant ideology of extremists.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB12629032146271714730204581041853312221500