INTELWIRE.COM                 
Investigative reports on terrorism, intelligence and more     

FOLLOW

Follow Intelwire on Twitter Twitter
Follow Intelwire in Facebook Facebook
Follow Intelwire on RSS RSS

SITE

  • Home
  • All News
  • Weblog
  • Footage
  • Documents
  • Special Reports
  • Sourcebooks
  • Press

    ABOUT

  • INTELWIRE
  • License Footage
  • Services
  • Television
  • Radio
  • J.M. Berger
  • About MMG
  • Copyright

    TOPICS

  • 9/11 Documents
  • American Jihadis
  • Jamal Khalifa
  • Secrets/Scandals
  • OKBOMB
  • Old Index

  • Monday, April 12, 2010
     

    A Significant Discussion About Takfir

    According to Al Sharq Al Awsat, a group of senior Saudi clerics is discussing a proposal to criminalize "takfiri" fatwas which claim that people taking part in certain kinds of activity are not to be considered Muslims.

    While a positive development, there is an important loophole -- the proposed rule would only prohibit takfiri fatwas from "non-official institutions." Sorry, Ahmadiyyas! Apparently takfir is OK when it's coming from the Saudi establishment.

    The definition of what is an "official" institution is also in play. There are a lot of Islamic institutions outside of Saudi Arabia which rely on Saudi financial support, and not all of them are exemplars of tolerance and brotherly love. Would all of these institutions be covered by this ban, or would it just apply within the kingdom?

    Furthermore, the stated motive for this proposal is not exactly pristine from an Islamic standpoint. A source explained to Al Sharq that the non-official takfiri fatwa phenomenon "diminishes the prestige of the state, as well as impacting on external relations between Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world." That sounds like nationalism, which is a no-no under the Saudi interpretation of Islam, and it also sounds like a politically expedient decision rather than a principled stand.

    And what is the penalty for issuing a non-official takfiri fatwa? Will the Saudis declare takfir against offenders? And doesn't that undercut the whole point of this exercise?

    Whether for good -- in that it diminishes the strength of the takfiri movement -- or for ill -- in that it highlights the hypocrisy of the Saudi establishment for all Muslims to see -- this discussion is worth watching. If a ruling emerges, there will almost certainly be repercussions. Beware the law of unintended consequences.

    In other takfiri news, Dr. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a prominent Islamic scholar with one foot in the east and one in the west, has issued a fatwa against terrorism which states that terrorists who are "burning the Muslims are debarred from the fold of Islam."

    Will those who live by the sword of takfir also die by it? This seems a little dicey to me. Also take note that the takfir in this case applies only to terrorists who kill Muslims. The fatwa does prohibit terrorism against non-Muslim targets, but no penalty is specified.

    Labels: , , ,




    Archives

  • January 2004
  • February 2004
  • March 2004
  • April 2004
  • May 2004
  • June 2004
  • July 2004
  • August 2004
  • September 2004
  • October 2004
  • November 2004
  • December 2004
  • January 2005
  • February 2005
  • March 2005
  • April 2005
  • May 2005
  • October 2005
  • November 2005
  • December 2005
  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • July 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • March 2008
  • April 2008
  • May 2008
  • July 2008
  • August 2008
  • September 2008
  • October 2008
  • November 2008
  • December 2008
  • January 2009
  • February 2009
  • March 2009
  • April 2009
  • May 2009
  • June 2009
  • July 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • December 2009
  • January 2010
  • February 2010
  • March 2010
  • April 2010
  • May 2010
  • June 2010
  • July 2010
  • September 2010
  • Broadcast Television Services

    INTELWIRE's parent company, Multifaceted Media Group (MMG), provides licensing for a wide array of terrorism- and insurgency-related stock footage and audio, suitable for broadcast. Depending on the nature of the footage you need, we can provide clips in quality ranging all the way to near-HD, from locations including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq, Bosnia and more. Click here for more information about our footage library. MMG footage recently appeared on National Geographic Explorer special Talibanistan. MMG also maintains a massive library of exclusive research documents for both front-end and back-end needs, including on-screen graphics and professional, network-friendly fact-checking services and investigative lead generation. MMG documents recently appeared on Fox News Reporting: The American Terrorist. Contact us for more information.

    INTELWIRE Exclusives

  • Full Issue of AQAP Inspire Posted Online
  • Coverage of AQ's "New English Magazine," 1 of 2
  • Coverage of AQ's "New English Magazine," 2 of 2
  • Gaza Flotilla Official Was Foreign Fighter in Bosnia
  • U.S. Gave Millions to Terror-Linked Yemeni Charity

    Recent Posts

  • Newest posts!
  • A Portrait Emerges Of Guardians Of The Free Republ...
  • The Growing Aafia Siddiqi Problem
  • White Supremacist 'Plot' To Kill Obama
  • INTELWIRE Records 1 Million Page Views
  • Full Text of Indictment, Connecticut White Suprema...
  • Awlaki's Path
  • Whatever Happened to Abu Yahya Al-Adam?
  • Jihad Jane II: Jamie Paulin-Ramirez
  • Mobley Linked To Awlaki
  • They Keep On Coming...
  • Translate

    American Jihadists

    J.M. Berger is currently writing a book on American jihadists, which is scheduled for a spring 2011 release. More details will be posted soon.

      Adam Gadahn

      Aafia Siddiqi

      Ali A. Mohamed

      Anwar Awlaki

      Bryant Neal Vinas

      Daniel Boyd

      Daniel Maldonado

      Jihad Jane (Colleen LaRose)

      John Walker Lindh

      Jose Padilla

      Luqman Al-Amin Abdullah

      Abu Mansour Al Amriki

      Najibullah Zazi

      Nidal Malik Hasan

      Sharif Mobley

      Tarek Mehanna

    September 11 Index

    INTELWIRE features the largest collection of official 9/11 documents on the Web, including a collection of documents footnoted in the Final Report of the 9/11 Commission. Hundreds of documents obtained from the FBI through the Freedom of Information Act have already been posted. More documents from other agencies will follow.

    FBI Files Cited In 9/11 Report

  • By 9/11 Report Chapter
  • 1995 to 2000
  • 1/1/2001 to 9/10/2001
  • 9/11/2001
  • 9/12/2001
  • 9/13/2001 to 9/30/2001
  • 10/01/2001 to 12/31/2001
  • 01/01/2002 to 04/30/2002
  • 5/2002 to 12/2002
  • 1/2003 to 12/2003
  • 1/2004 to FBI FOIA complete

  • More Key 9/11 Documents
  • More 9/11 Document Posts

  • (C) 2002-2009, Multifaceted Media Group, all rights reserved | About Intelwire | Press Contacts