Fatwa Against Terrorism and Suicide Bombings

Fatwa Against Terrorism and Suicide Bombings By Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qa dri

Global Media Coverage 1

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Historical Launching of Fatwa Against Terrorism TV Coverage http://www.minhaj.or g/en glish/tid/9959/Historic al- L aunchin g- of - Fatwa-Again st- T errerism -lea din gIslamic- authority- laun che s-fat wa- against - terrorism - and- deno unc es- suicide- bom ber s- a sdisbelievers- Anti- terror -Fatwa-la unched.htm

Media Report

Shaykh- ul- Islam D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri, the founding leader and patron-in- chief of Minhaj- ul-Q uran I nternational, has iss ued his detailed edict (Fatwa) agai ns t terrorism which c ons is ts of more than 60 0 pages . T he launc hing c erem ony o f the Fat wa was held o n M arc h 2 , 2010 in London (U K) . M inhaj- ul-Q uran I nternational U K arranged a pres s c onference whic h was heavily attended by rep res entatives of the international media bes ides Labour pa rty minister Shahid M alik, m embers of E U and UK pa rliam ents Sajjad Karim , M uhamm ad Sar war , J am es Finter, ambas s adors of I raq, Germany a nd other c ount ries , offic ials of the H om e O ffic e, Com monwealth O ffic e and M etropolitan Police, Profess ors and M uslim and C hristian c omm unity leaders .

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Shaykh- ul- Islam D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri presented the anti- terror Fat wa in Urdu and Englis h languages before the international media. I t s hould be kept in m ind that Shaykh- ulIslam had dec lared to is s ue a detailed Fat wa a gainst terroris m and s uic ide bom bings in Dec em ber 20 09, whic h was originally thou ght to c ons ist of 3 00 pages, whos e volume later on inc reas ed to 6 00 pages due to s c holarly dealing o f the subjec t. T his Fatwa is the only one of its kind in term s o f its intellectual value, penetrating res earc h and aut hentic allus ions . H enc e, it is a s c holarly and his toric document.

Talking to the international m edia on the oc cas ion, Shaykh- ul-I slam Dr M uham mad T ahir- ulQ adri s aid that ever increas ing wave of extrem ism and terro rism has destroyed the wo rld peac e. I t is a matter of great mis fortune that thes e terro rist activities of the m isguided elements have been b rac keted with Is lam though the reality is other wis e. H e s aid that m ajority of the religious sc holars c ondem n terrorism but the c ondemnation is merely rhetorical. N o one has come for ward with a n aut hentic and intellectual respons e to terroris m in the form of a patent dec ree. M inhaj-ul-Q uran I nternational has told the wo rld in no uncertain terms thro ugh iss uanc e of this Fatwa that te rroris ts have nothing to do wit h Is lam. It is a peaceful religion, whic h not o nly condemns but als o prohibits every kind o f terroris m at every level under any pretext.

He s aid that the s uic ide bom bers are out of the pale o f I s lam . H e hoped that t he yout h wo uld not bec om e the fodde r for t he c annons of terroris t elements or extremis t organizations after s tudying the Fatwa . T he ter roris t elements brainwash the yo uth by invoking wrong interpretations of the faith. T he yout h who advanc e the objec tives of the ter rorists should regard t hems elves out of the fold of Islam in accordanc e with the teachings of the Holy P rophet (sa w). H e s aid that terroris m is terrorism and it c annot be jus tified un der any p retext thro ugh allus ion to any real or alleged ins tances of in jus tic e and there is no s pac e for terroris m in I s lam . He regretted t he fact that the I s lamic teac hings , whic h are bas ed o n love , peac e and welfare, are being ma nipulated a nd quoted out of contexts to s erve the des igns of the ves ted interes ts. He s aid that I s lam spelled out a c lear c ode of c onduc t during the cours e of war and gave c omplete protec tion to the non-c ombatants inc luding wom en, the old, and c hildren etc ., s o m uc h so that trading c entres , sc hools , hospitals and wo rs hip plac es were als o dec lared ared as s afe.

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Shaykh- ul- Islam D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri said that thos e who want to im pos e the I s lam ic order o n ot hers by means o f forc e and naked power belong to t he g roup of Kha wa rij who , during the Caliphate of H azrat A li (ra ), took up arms and initiated rebellion agains t the I s lamic s tate in the name of enfo rcing the D ivine O rder. T he terr oris ts of today als o belong to the s am e breed of Kha warij. They resem ble one anot her i n their appea ranc es, body demeanors and even working . He said that I slam does not approve of the killing of innocent people unde r any exc us e. T here is a ju dic ial s ystem to indic t the wrong- doers an d bring t hem to book. I t is the res pons ibility of the I s lamic s tate to im plement the s ystem of jus tic e and punis hm ent through state- run mec hanis m and none can be allowed to take la w in his hands .

He vehemently c ondemned thos e who per petrate ter roris m in the name of religion and branded them as the greates t enem ies of I s lam. H e s aid that if at all these people have to wage J ihad, they c ould do s o agains t ignoranc e, c orruption, dea rnes s, poverty and ot her s oc ial evils . H e also blas ted the opponents of dem oc rac y and s aid that t he Holy P rophet (saw) is the c hampion of t he democratic and consultative s ys tem. Shaykh-ul- Is lam rem inded the I slamic governments of the fact that it is their national and religious duty to eliminate terroris m and terroris t networks from their midst. They s hould c ontinue the military ac tion till the c omplete elim ination of thes e groups.

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I n reply to a ques tion, he said that the I slamic governments should allow democracy to flouris h and s trengthen political sys tem and processes . I f the enemies of I s lam and Khawari j are totally annihilated , the roots of terr oris m would s tand dis mantled. H e deplored that the M us lim youth hap pened to be the first c as ualty of terroris m, for they got tra pped i n the hands of the terro ris t for the sake of religion. T he major advantage of t he Fat wa would be that the youth would be able to know the reality of their ac tions whether they are c hoos ing the path to hell or heaven.

British c abinet minis ter, Shahid M alik, paid glo wing t ribute to Shaykh-ul-I slam Dr M uham mad Tahir- ul-Q adri and said that he has always projec ted the real teachings of I slam. H is Fatwa wo uld have long- term pos itive and revolutionary impact on the M uslim com munity living in U K and els ewhere an d wo uld trans form minds ets . He ass ured his full c ooperation at the governmental level. The media men as ked Shaykh- ul-Is lam Dr M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri a number ques tions , whic h he ans wered s atis fac torily. T he pres s c onferenc e c ontinued well over three hou rs. Shaykh- ul- Islam also gave s hort interviews to different m edia outlets on t he oc cas ion.

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News In English

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/http://edition.cnn. com /2010/WORLD/europ e/03/03 /fat wa. a gain st.terror

Muslim scholar's fatwa condemns terrorism Marc h 3 , 201 0 -- Updated 231 8 GMT (07 18 H KT) Violenc e is v iolenc e. It has no plac e in Is lam ic teachings --Muhamm ad Tahir ul-Qadri

M uhamm ad Ta hi r ul-Q adri s peaks at a news co n ferenc e in Lon don to an nou nc e his fat wa ag ai ns t t erro ris ts . STO RY HIGHL IGHTS

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Suic ide bom be rs are d est in ed for hell , a ut hor dec l a res i n a 60 0 -pa ge fatwa M uham ma d Ta hir ul-Q adri a ls o c ri tici zes t hose wh o jus tify v io le nc e Ul-Q ad ri fo u nd ed t he M inha j-ul -Q uran , wh ic h h as h und reds o f t housa n ds o f fol lowe rs

London, England (CNN) - - A M us lim s c hol a r h as is su ed a fat wa, or rel igio us ru lin g , th at s ays s uic ide b om be rs a re des ti ne d fo r he ll. M uhamm ad Ta hi r ul-Q adri c ond emn ed terro ris m an d c ri tic i z ed Is lam ic ext remis ts who c i te t hei r rel igio n t o just i fy vi olenc e. Ul-Q ad ri's 6 0 0-page fat wa is "a rgu ably the mos t c omp re he nsi ve th eolo gica l re fu tat ion o f Is lam is t t erro ris m to da te ," acc o rdin g to the Q ui ll iam Fo unda ti on , a L ond on o rg a ni za tion tha t d es cri bes itse l f as a c ou nte rterro ris m t hi nk tank . "Te rroris m is te rroris m ," ul-Q ad ri s ai d a t a n ews co n fe re nc e hos ted by the fou nd at io n. "Violenc e is v io le nc e . I t h as no pl ac e in Islam ic teac h in g , a nd no jus tific atio n c a n be provi de d t o it ..." Ul-Q ad ri is the fo und er o f t he M inha j-u l-Q uran, a n orga n iz at ion wit h hun dre ds o f t ho us a nds of foll o wers i n S o ut h As ia a n d t he U nite d K in gdom , acc ordi n g t o th e Q ui lliam Fo und atio n . T he fou ndat ion refe rs t o ul-Q ad ri as a m ai ns tre am M us lim s c hol ar who is a " wi dely rec ogni zed and res p ec te d au tho rity on Islam ic juris pru denc e ." He c ritic i zed M us lim s who, i n jus ti fy ing terro ris m , s a y i t fu rt he rs th e goa l o f c o rrec t ing wron gs done to M us lims . "No goo d i n tent ion -- even one t housa n d g ood inte ntio ns p u t t o get her -- c a nn ot jus tify a wrong an d forb idde n ac t," he s aid . "G oo d i n te nt io ns c an not co nve rt a wron g in to go od ." S ome ext rem is ts h av e i nte rpret ed t he Q u ra n to s ug ges t t ha t t h os e who ki ll in t he n am e o f Al la h wil l be re warded a fte r de ath wi t h 72 virg ins and a p lace in p arad ise .

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htt p://www.cnn.com /201 0 /W ORLD/eu r ope/03/11 /brita in.fatw a.terror ism /in dex.htm l?ir ef=allsear ch

Islamic scholar who condemned terrorism: 'I am not afraid' By Tom Evans, CNN Marc h 1 1, 20 10 9:3 4 p.m. E S T

M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri announc ing his fat wa against terro ris ts STORY HI GHLI GH TS · · ·

Sheikh M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri issues fatwa agains t terrorism He s ays he is working to brid ge M us lim , Western worlds Ul-Q adri s ays he hopes his m ess age will reach youth

(CNN) -- The Islamic sc holar who iss ued a po wer ful fat wa, o r religious ruling, agains t terroris m and s uic ide bom bers s aid Thursday that he was not afraid of reprisals from his enemies and did not fear for his life. "I am not afraid of any human being on the sur fac e of Earth," Sheikh M uhamm ad Tahir ulQ adri told CNN 's C hris tiane A manpour. "I am working ... to bridge u p the M uslim world a nd the W es tern world, to rem ove the hatreds, to remove all mis unders tandings ." "So this is a good cause. I am not afraid of anybo dy. I t depends upon whatever m y L ord wa nts. I f I have to live, I will live. O therwis e, I am not a fraid ." Ul-Q adri was s peaking to CN N just over a week after he is sued a 60 0- page fatwa in L ondon denounc ing ter rorists as "the bigges t enem ies of I slam." I n his fatwa, ul-Q adri als o s aid s uicide bom bers are destined for hell and s trongly c riticized Islamic extrem ists who c ite I slam to jus tify violenc e. "Terrorism and violenc e c annot be c ons idered to be perm issible in I s lam on the basis of any exc use," he s aid.

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"Any good inte ntion o r any m is take of foreign polic y of any c ountry or a ny p retext cannot legalize the ac t of terroris m." Ul-Q adri told A manpour he does not believe his m ess age will reach the s mall num ber of radicals wh o have already been brainwashed. But he s aid hundreds of thous ands of yout hs who are on the path, or have the potential to be ra dic alized, will lis ten to his fatwa . Am anpour on T hursday also s poke to a Palestinian lawyer and an I s raeli author whos e lives are linked by tragedy and who a re also trying to s pread a mess age of peac e. I t was their firs t joint international television interview. The Pales tinian, E lias Khoury, los t his 2 0- year- old son, G eorge, s ix years ago whe n he was killed by an Arab g unman who m is took him for a J ew. Kho ury's father was als o killed in a Palestinian attack, in 197 5. To honor his s on, Kho ury comm iss ioned an Arabic translation of one of I srael's most fam ous novels , "A Tale of Love and D arknes s," written by prize- winning author Am os O z. "I was deeply moved by M r. Khoury's generous pro pos al to trans late (the book ) into A rabic at his expens e," O z s aid. "A nd I thought it's a very po werful way to comm em orate G eorge Khoury, the s lain s on." " 'A Tale of Love and Darknes s' c an open m any hearts in the Arab world and c an remove many prevailing s tereotypes ," he adde d. O z explained the book is about t he 1 94 0s in J ewis h P ales tine and the 1 9 50s in early I s rael. "It renders the story of the J e ws in a no n- heroic way and in a way that is always attentive to the Palestinian plight and to the Palestinian perspective." He s aid he believes any A rab who reads his book will find it m ore di ffic ult to hate the J ews than before . Khoury told A manpour it is vital to kno w t he othe r side, in or der to build bridges between the two nations . He s aid he was im pres sed by the s tory of I s rael. "Their feeling o f belon ging to the gro up, to the J ewish nation, and the way t hey were ready to sac rifice." "I want my people to see ho w we c an do that , ho w t hey were well- organized, a nd ho w the ins titutions did work at that time, a nd how it c ame to the final s tep, whe n the s tate of Is rael was bor n." O z predicted that one day the re will be a P ales tinian embass y in Is rael and an I sraeli embass y in P alestine - - within walking dis tanc e of each other in a s hared c apital, Jerusalem . I t is a prediction that few believe will become a reality any time s oon, des pite U.S. efforts to kic kstart indirect talks between I sraelis and Pales tinians . I n a sign of ho w diffic ult the peac e proc es s is , the Is raeli government this week approved the c ons truction of another 1 ,60 0 homes on dis puted land in J erusalem . The Is raeli government apologized for t he timing o f t he announc em ent, which c am e as U .S. Vic e President Joe Biden was vis iting I s rael and the W es t Bank in a bid to broker new peace talks.

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/http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/a siapcf/03/03/terror.fat wa.analysis

Some experts see fatwa as significant blow to terrorist recruiting By Kiran Kh alid , CNN Marc h 3, 2010 5:39 p.m. EST

T ahi r ul-Q ad ri , foun der o f th e M i nh a j-u l-Q u ran Inte rna ti onal , a n no unces his fat wa i n Lo ndo n o n Tu esda y .

STO RY HI GHLI GHTS · · · ·

A fat wa, issued Tuesday, called te rrorism "haraam ," or forbidde n Tahir ul-Q adri: Pre viously, scholars had qualifie d their condem nations This fatwa is an "absolute " condem nation, ul-Q adri says Ruling m ay e ve n sway individuals susceptible to radicalism , one scholar says Islamabad, Pa k ist an (CNN) -- A fat wa, or religious ruling, issued this we ek is roiling the ological wate rs afte r it took aim at those notorious for targeting others: terrorists. The anti-terrorism fatwa by re no wne d Muslim scholar M uhammad Tahir ul-Qadri pulled no punche s, de claring that te rrorism was "haraam ," or forbidden by the Q uran, and that suicide bombe rs would be re warded not by 72 vi rgins in he ave n, as many terrorist re cruite rs prom ise, but with a suite in he ll.

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Qadri, the founder of the Minhaj-ul-Q uran International, an Islam ic m ovem ent with centers in 90 countries, told a ne ws confe rence in London, England, on Tue sday that his de cre e categorically conde m ns terrorism and suicide bom bings in the nam e of Islam . "Until now, scholars who we re condem ning te rrorism we re conditional and qualified what they said," Qadri said in a phone inte rvie w, noting that his 600-page ruling left no room for inte rpre tation. "I didn't leave a single, minor aspe ct that, in the m ind of radicals or e x tre m ists, can take them to the dire ction of m artyrdom ." The 59-ye ar-old Pak istani scholar calle d his fatwa an "absolute" condem nation, going as far as to labe l the te rrorists them se lve s "k afirs," a te rm in the Q uran me aning "unbe lieve r." "This fatwa has the potential to be a highly significant ste p towards e radicating Islam ist te rrorism ," Q uilliam , a counte r-ex trem ism think tank based in London, said in a stateme nt. Manan Ahm e d, assistant professor of Islam in South and Southe ast Asia at the Institute for Islam ic Studie s in Berlin, agre ed, calling the fatwa "unprece de nte d." "This is a landmark the ological study -- a care ful and systematic tre atm ent of a thousand ye ars of le gal tradition de aling wi th arm e d re sistance against the state , rules of e ngageme nt, aspects. The fat wa itse lf ... is categorically and com pre he nsively against te rrorism in any form and for any cause ," Ahme d said. Many ske ptics questioned whe the r an inte llectual dismantling of al Q ae da's re ligious philosophy could have any im pact on re cruiting te rro rists in place s like Pak istan, whe re m any potential foot soldie rs don't have access to education, m uch le ss academ ic discourse . Ahm e d says it can. "This is not an academ ic or an intellectual argum ent alone . This is a the ological argum ent, base d in the Q ur'an and Sunnah [practice of the Prophet]," Ahm ed said. "W hat it provide s are e asily available argum e ntation and proof for the m illions of pre achers across Pakistan, who can, in turn, incorporate this into the ir wee kly sermons." Ahm e d says whe re it will undoubte dly leave an inde lible m ark is online . Just this we e k, U.S. Arm y Brig. Ge n. John C uste r, head of intellige nce at the U.S. m ilitary's Ce ntral C ommand, told the C BS program "60 Minute s" that " without a doubt, the Inte rne t is the single m ost im portant ve nue for the radicalization of Islam ic youth." I d idn't le ave a single, minor as pect that, in the m ind of ra dic als or extrem ist s, ca n ta ke them to the d irectio n of m artyr d om. --Ta hir ul-Q ad r i

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http://www .cnn.com/2010/US/03/03/m ip.w e dne sda y/i ndex.htm l?i ref =all search

Intriguing people for March 3, 2010 By Jay K ern is, C NN Marc h 3, 2010 8:18 a.m. EST

She ikh D r. T ahi r ul-Q adri to ld fel lo w M us lim s th at vi ol ence "has no plac e i n Islam ic teac hin g ." STO RY HIGHL IGHTS

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Ren owned M us lim s cho lar c on dem ns al l t e rroris m

Edi tor's n ote: Ev ery weekd ay, CNN foc us es on a handful of people in t he news. T his is a chance to find out m or e about what th ey'v e d one -- g ood or bad -- wh at t h ey'v e s aid or w hat they b eliev e, and why we think they 're int riguing. ( CNN) - - Shei kh Dr. Ta hi r ul -Qa dri: At a ne ws c onfere nc e in L ondon , England, on T ues day, the reno wned I slamic sc holar iss ued a fat wa - - a religious ruling - - c ondem ning s uicide bom bers as destined for hell, removing extrem ists ' c ertainty of ear ning paradis e after death . The 600 -page fatwa is arguably t he mos t c om prehens ive theologic al refutation of I slamis t terroris m to date. Q adri s aid his aim was to set an im portant precedent that m ight allo w other scholars to sim ilarly c ondem n the ideas behind terrorism . L ondon's T he I ndependent ne ws paper reports that the im am told fellow M uslims: "Terrorism is terroris m, violenc e is violenc e and it has no place in I s lam ic teac hing and n o justification can be provided fo r it , or any kind o f exc us es of ifs and b uts . The world needs an abs olute, unc onditional, unqualified and total c ondem nation of terro ris m." Acc ording to his online biography, Q adri was born in P akis tan in 19 51 and was rais ed believing that he would bec ome a religious leader, "s inc e his birth had been foretold thro ugh a s piritual dream to his father." The fo rmer la w profes sor says he has written s om e 1 ,00 0 books , 3 60 of whic h are already in print.

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http:// www. cnn. com /2010/US/studentne ws/03/03/t ranscript.thu/#one March 4, 2010

Fatwa (noun) It's an Arabic wo rd for a le gal opinion or order m ade by an Islamic religious leader source : www.m - w. com Fatwa ag ainst Te rror AZU Z: A Muslim scholar in London is issuing a fatwa against terrorism . Som e Islam ic leade rs have used the teachings of the Koran, Islam 's holy book , to justify te rrorism and suicide bom bings. But this cleric we 're te lling you about today says that idea is totally false. Muham mad Tahir ul-Q adri ex plaine d this fat wa e arlier this we ek . He 's studie d the religious writings and says that viole nce is ne ver justifie d by the Koran. He also criticize d the idea that anyone who carrie s out a te rrorist act would be prom ise d an afte rlife of paradise . Some officials have com e out in support of ul-Q adri's fatwa. The y say it m ight not stop suicide bom be rs, but it could e ncourage younge r M uslim s to reconside r joining e x tre m ist groups. Som e of those groups use the Koran to try to recruit young m embers to comm it viole nce . But ul-Q adri says the holy book is ve ry cle ar on that point. MUHAMM AD TAHIR UL-Q ADR I, M USLIM SC HO LAR: Terrorism is terrorism . Violence is violence. It has no place in Islam ic teachings, and no justification can be provide d to it on the basis of any kinds of e xcuse s.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE http:// www. state.gov/r /p a/prs /dp b/ 2010/ 03/137691. htm

Philip J. Crow ley Assistant Secre ta ry D aily Pr es s Brief ing W ashingt o n, DC Mar c h 2, 2010

QUESTION: P.J., o n a dif ferent subjec t, the lead er of a global Mus lim orga nization today iss ue d a very rar e fa twa c ondem ning terror ism in all its form s. And the r eason that’s im portant is because it’s in Britain, and obvio usly, there’s bee n s ome rad icaliza tion of young British Muslims, a nd the wo uld-be D etroit bomber was o ne of thos e people a few year s ag o. I’m wondering whether this ha s a ny significance to the U.S. Government, give n that that specific sc holar actually has had som e – has worke d with differe nt parts of the U.S. Governm ent o n awarenes s of Muslim issues in this country a s well as others. M R. CROWLEY: W ell, I think Britain has had a very signif ica nt, detailed, exte nsive counter-radica lization s tra tegy over the last few y ears . I t has done exte nsive outreach with Mus lim c ommunities within Britain. Other co untr ies have em ulate d tha t, including the United S tates. These issues a re – a t the hear t o f this, it’s about a very small gro up of peo ple that have trie d to hijack a relig ion. A nd we cer ta inly value the d ebate that is currently und erway within Muslim- m ajority communities aro und the world abo ut the nature of their relig ion, the imp lica tion and definitio n o f the word j ihad, and to kind o f take back the g ood name of I slam. So I think we welcome these kinds of developme nts, w hether in Brita in or elsewhe re ar ound the world, as being very im por ta nt s teps in having the Muslims them se lves m ake their own judgm ent about the vis ion tha t al-Q aida and bin Laden have pr opaga ted . A nd anyone who comes f orward a nd re jec ts that vision, we welcom e those ste ps.

http://editi on.cnn.com /2010/W ORLD/e urope/03/03/fatwa .agai nst.terror/

CNN (Video Comments): Muslim scholar's fatwa condemns terrorism March 3 , 2 010 -- Updated 2 318 GM T (0718 H KT) L ondon, E ngland (CN N) - - A M us lim sc holar has iss ued a fat wa, or religious ruling , that s ays s uic ide bom bers are des tined for hell. M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri c ondemned terroris m and c ritic ized Is lam ic extremis ts who cite their religion to jus tify violenc e. Ul-Q adri's 6 00 - page fatwa is "arguably the mos t c om prehens ive theologic al refutation of Islamis t terrorism to date," acc ording to the Q uilliam Foundation, a L ondon organization t hat des c ribes itself as a c ounterterroris m think tank. "Terrorism is terroris m," ul-Q adri s aid at a ne ws c onference hos ted by the fou ndation . "Violenc e is violence. I t has no plac e in I slamic teaching, and no jus tific ation c an be p rovided to it ..." Ul-Q adri is the foun der o f the M inhaj- ul-Q uran, an organization with hu ndreds o f thousands of follo wers in South As ia and the U nited Kingdom , ac cording to the Q uilliam Foundation. The foundatio n re fers to ul-Q adri as a m ainstream M uslim sc holar who is a "widely rec ognized and res pec ted authority on I s lam ic juris prudence." He c ritic ized M us lims who , i n jus tifying terroris m, s ay it fu rthers the goal o f correc ting wro ngs done to M uslims. "No good intention - - even one thous and good intentions put togethe r - - c annot justify a wr ong and forbidden act," he said. "Good intentions c annot c onvert a wrong into good ." Som e extrem ists have interpreted t he Q uran to s uggest that those who kill in the name o f A llah will be rewarded a fter death wit h 72 virgins and a plac e in pa radise.

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http://news.bbc.c o.uk/2 / hi/uk_news/8 544 531 .s tm

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri issues terrorism fatwa Tuesday, 2 M arch 20 10

By Dominic Cas ciani BBC Ne ws A n influe nt ial Muslim sc ho lar ha s issued a glo ba l ruling a gainst te rror ism a nd suicide bom bing. Dr Tahir ul-Q adri, from Pakistan, says his 600-page judgem ent, k nown as a fatwa, com ple tely dismantle s al-Q ae da's viole nt ideology. The scholar describe s al-Q ae da as an "old evil with a ne w name " that has not bee n sufficiently challenge d. The scholar's m oveme nt is growing in the UK and has attracted the intere st of policym ake rs and securit y chie fs.

Dr Tahir ul-Q adri: 600-page ruling

In his religious ruling, delive red in London, Dr Q adri says that Islam forbids the massacre of innoce nt citize ns and suicide bom bings. Although many scholars have m ade sim ilar rulings in the past, Dr Q adri argue d that his m assive docum e nt goe s m uch further by om itting "ifs and buts" added by other thinke rs. He said that it se t out a point-by-point the ological re buttal of eve ry argum ent use d by al-Q ae da inspire d re cruite rs. The populist scholar de ve lope d his docume nt last year as a re sponse to the incre ase in bom bings across Pakistan by m ilitants. 'He roe s of hellf ir e' The basic tex t has bee n e x te nde d to 600 page s to cove r global issues, in an attem pt to get its the ological argume nts tak en up by Muslim s in We ste rn nations. It wil l be prom oted in the UK by Dr Q adri's organisation, M inhaj ul-Q uran Inte rnational.

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Dr Q adri spoke for more than hour to an audience of Muslim s, cle rgy, M Ps, police officers and othe r security officials. "They [te rrorists] can't claim that their suicide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that the y be com e the he roes of the M uslim Umma [global brotherhood]. No, the y be com e heroes of hellfire , and they are leading towards he llfire," he said. "There is no place for any m artyrdom and the ir act is neve r, e ve r to be considere d jihad." A cts of v eng ea nc e The docum e nt is not the first to condem n terrorism and suicide bom bing to be launched in the UK. Scholars from across the UK cam e toge the r in the wak e of the 7 July London attack s to denounce the bom be rs and urge com m unities to root out extrem ists. But some scholarly rulings in the Middle East have argued that the conflict be t we e n Israel and the Pale stinians is an ex ceptional situation whe re "marty rdom " attack s can be justifie d. Dr Q adri said he re jecte d that vie w saying the re we re no situations under whi ch acts of vengeance , such as attack s on m arket places or com m ute r trains, could eve r be conside re d a justifiable act of war. Although Dr Q adri has many followe rs in Pak istan, M inhaj ul-Q uran Inte rnational rem ained largely unknown in the UK until relative ly re ce ntly. It now has 10 m osque s in cities with significant M uslim comm unitie s and says it is targeting younge r gene rations it be lieves have been le t down by t raditional le ade rs. The organisation is attracting the attention of policym akers and security chiefs who are continuing to look for allie s in the fight against extrem ists. The De partm ent for Comm unitie s, whi ch runs m ost of the governme nt's Preve nting Violent Ex tre m ism strategy, has trie d building bridge s with a variet y of libe ral-m inde d groups, but ofte n found that the y have lim ited actual influe nce at the grassroots.

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http://news.bbc.co.u k/ 2/h i/uk_news/magazine/8550927.st m

A fatwa they can work with? By Dom inic C asciani BBC N ews Wednes day, 1 0 M arc h 2 010

An Islamic scholar turned up in London last week to deliver a religious ruling denouncing terrorism in all its forms - but what was it about him that made everyone sit up and listen? He's a man on a m is s ion - a miss ion to state the obvious . But for Dr M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri it is the obvious fac ts that need s tating loudest. L as t week the P akis tani-born c leric took to a stage in L ondon to declare his I slamic religious ruling, or fatwa, against terroris m. There was a m an from t he othe r side of the world telling an audienc e that inc luded Parliamentarians and other gover nm ent officials what they ha d bee n wa nting to hear. A c lear, c onc is e and quotable denou ncem ent of al-Q aeda's worldview. Canada-based Dr Q adri s poke for m ore tha n a n h our on his reas ons why the Koran fo rbids the murder and m ayhem of s uic ide bom bings .

If [the c hild ] he has reached the stage w here

"This fatwa is an abs olute

he is a te rr orist, t he pa re nts are d uty bo und

c ondem nation of terroris m.

acc or ding t o I slamic la w t o info rm the antiterror ist squad

Without any excus e, with out any pretext, wit hout a ny exc eptions , without creating a ny ways of

Dr Muhamm ad Tahir ul-Q adri

jus tific ation," he s aid. "This c ondemnation is in its totality, in its c om prehens ivenes s, its absoluteness , a total c ondem nation of every ac t of terrorism in every form which is being comm itted or has been c om mitted wrongly in the name of I slam." Cla ssi call y tra ine d Dr Q adri is a c lass ically- trained I slamic sc holar and his organisation, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational, has spent 3 0 years building a s trong following in P akis tan.

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He is also a former P arliamentarian who was very clos e to Benazir Bhutto, the form er Pakistani prim e m inis ter ass assinated by a s uicide bomber in 2 0 07 . Som e two years on, D r Q adri's vas t review of what I s lam says about terro rism comes down to the very s imple idea that there is no theologic al or moral cas e for a wronged party being allowed to s eek vengeanc e against the innocent. His fat wa m akes detailed obs ervations of t he p rinc iples of a j us t war and rules of engagement . And he goes further than some s cholars in stating that b ombers who us e an ideology to justify their ac tions have turned away fr om their faith . His arrival in the U K was a q uite deliberate attempt to shake thin gs up. The youth, he says, need m ore help to counter t he b rain was hers. But in s aying s o, the fatwa became political. I ts launch was notable not j ust for who was there from the c orridors of po wer , but who was n't from the M us lim c ommunities. Supporters from c om munities close to his own bac kground turned out. But the head o f t he M us lim Council of Britain, the um brella body representing 50 0 groups, s ent apologies . Some of the sc holars who had signed a fatwa led by the M C B against terroris m after the 7 J uly attacks , were not there either . Community f a ult li nes Dr Q adri's intervention in the UK has expos ed c om plic ated fault lines in the M uslim c om munities that often go unseen. Som e people i n the M CB are sus pic ious of his motives . O ne M us lim campaign group c los e to the M C B, iEngage, ac cus ed Dr Q adri of sec tarianis m. He denies trying to s tir things up . "I have never been s ectarian in my life . Never, ever," he s ays . "I have helped Chris tians to c elebrate C hris tm as. But that liberal point o f vie w is not ac ceptable to [s ome M uslim groups in t he U K] . "They talk about open nes s and integration but what do t hey really believe in? T he language of the heart and t he language o f t he m out h are different . " Dr Q adri goes on to c riticise s cholars whom he believes are

Hearts and m inds : C omm unit ies d ivide d over how to tackle ext rem ists

equivoc al over violenc e in I s rael or any other s ituation where they c laim there are exc eptions that make s uic ide bombing perm iss ible. He res erves s pec ial ire for s c holars who argue that there t he Wes t is part o f a "sphere of war ," c alling them "quac ks " who have unders tood neither I s lam ic history, nor ho w to interpret the pres ent. But the real ques tion is whether anyone is listening? C an a s on on t he edge of turning to alQ aeda be brought bac k by his family? "If he has reac hed the s tage where he is a terroris t, the parents are duty boun d ac cording to Islamic law to inform the anti-terrorist s quad," he says banging his point home on the table. "If he is at the stage where he c an be re formed , then they s hould take every pos s ible ac t to reform him ." Count e ri ng e xtre mi sm

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But alm os t five years on from L ondon's 7/7 attac ks, in whic h 52 people died, there is no s ettled view on ho w to do it. Government has put a lot of effort into bac king groups like the Q uilliam Foundation, a counterextrem ism think tank led by t wo former members of a legal I slamis t m ovement. There are s eparate p rogrammes involving the polic e and Sec urity Servic e whic h deal with people right on the c usp. It uses a variety of m ethods - but s om e experts believe the bes t res ults com e from deploying har dline Saudi-influenced c leric s who have the street credibility to mentor a youngs ter while demolishing al-Q aeda's arguments . T here is tens ion betwee n the two camps - because there are a great deal of people who s ee hardline clerics as part of the c onveyor belt that ultimately leads to terroris m . But both s ides at leas t agree that they need a proper "toolkit" of theologic al argum ents. "If s om eone is going to be a suic ide bomber, they have to be 10 0% convinc ed that they a re going to heaven," says M aajid N awaz, c o- direc tor of t he Q uilliam Foundation. "I f you c an put jus t 1% of doubt i n their minds , the n yo u c ould s top them . A nd you do that that by pres enting them with detailed evidences from I slam its elf. This fatwa helps ." That's not an argument that was hes with everyone . Azzam Tam im i, a Palestinian ac ademic bas ed in L ondon, infamously bec am e a tabloid hate figure by s uppo rting s uic ide bom bing in Is rael bec aus e it was the only m eans of s elf- defence available. H e is less well kno wn for t he c ritical role he played in helping the police bring down the no w-jailed preac her A bu Hamza. "People who resort to these bom bings do it bec aus e they believe it is j ustified, that it is c om mendable and re war dable," he s ays . "O therwis e they would not do it. For every fatwa there is a c ounter fat wa." Amid all this fatwa flas hing, many M uslims fear divide and rule - and s uspect that som eone, s om ewhere will us e D r T ahir ul-Q adri to fu rther that age nda . The sc holar s ees this as the s igns of paranoia bro ught on by a weaknes s - and his ans wer is to expand his organis ation's mission in the UK beyon d its 1 0 m osques and 5,0 00 members . So will Dr Q adri's fatwa do s ome good or end up on the great big pile o f sim ilar denounc em ents? An hour after he delivered his address , the former leader of al-M uhajiroun, a group rec ently banned for extrem ism , turne d u p at the doors tep of a ne ws c hannel an d as ked to go o n air to c ounter Dr Q adri. Would he have bothered if the s c holar was suc h an irrelevanc e in t he battle for hearts an d minds ?

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h ttp ://www.bb c .co .u k/worlds ervice /ne ws /2 0 10 /03 /1 00 3 02 _su ic ide _bomb in g_ fa twa_n h_s l .s htm l

BBC W orld (Audio) –Pakistani

cleric issues fatwa banning

suicide bombing Last Updated: 2 March, 2010 - 17:45 GMT

A n Islam ic scholar fr om Pakistan has issued a religio us ruling, o r fatw a, in which he co ndem ns s uicide bom bing a s cont rar y t o Muslim t eaching. D r M uhamm ad T ahi r ul-Q ad ri is the fou n de r of a n orga n isat ion c alle d M inha j ul -Q uran I nte rnat io na l , wh ic h works for peac e bet we en di ffe ren t fai ths and c om mu n it ies . H e is s ue d his fat wa in the UK , rat he r t han in P akis ta n . N e ws h ou r's Ro bi n Lus ti g as ke d h im why. Lis te n t o D r M uham ma d Ta hi r- ul-Q a dri h ttp ://www.bb c .co .u k/worlds ervice /ne ws /2 0 10 /03 /1 00 3 02 _su ic ide _bomb in g_ fa twa_n h_s l .s htm l

Islamic terrorism 'leads to hellfire' Aud io Interview at BBC News ht t p://new s.bbc.co.uk/t oday/hi /listen_agai n/new sid_854 4000/85448 43. st m 09 :1 6 GMT , Tues day , 2 M arc h 2 01 0 In wha t may be a s i g ni fic ant ac t fo r ma ny M us lims i n t h is c oun try, a lea di ng Is l amic sc hola r wi ll is s ue a reli gi ous dec ree , or fat wa, i n wh ich he a rgues th at s uic i de b om bi ngs a nd vi olen t att acks in the nam e o f Islam a re, fa r from bein g jus ti fi ed, acts that put the pe rpe t rat o rs b eyo n d t he fa ith a nd a re t o b e c ond em n ed . T he fa t wa , run ning to mo re t ha n 6 0 0 pages c omes from D r M uham mad T ahi r-al-Q adri , fou n de r of a Su fi M uslim group bas e d in Pa kist an c al led M in ha j u l Q ura n wh ich s ays tha t i t is c omm i tt ed t o ed uc atio n of y oun g M us lims i n t he p romot io n of p eac e. D r Q adri des c ri bes t he d ocum ent he is p ubl ish in g to da y

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htt p://n e ws.s k y.com/skyne ws/ Hom e/UK-Ne ws/Anti -Ter ror- Fat wa-Islamic-S chola r- To-Deno un ce- S uicideBombers -AsUnb elie ve rs/Arti cle/201003115564324?lpos=UK_Ne ws_ Top_ Sto ries_ Hea de r_4&lid=ARTICLE_15564324_AntiTerror_ Fat wa% 3A_Islamic_Scholar_ To_ Deno un ce_Suici de_B ombe rs_As_Unbelie vers

Islamic Scholar Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa 8:31am UK, T uesday March 02, 2010 Mark W hite, Hom e affairs correspon dent

A promi nent Isl amic schol ar will use a s peech in London to issue a 600 -page religious edict, denounci ng terrorists and suici de bombers as "unbelievers".

Scholar con dem ns terror attacks like 2005 London bombings which killed 52 people Muham mad Tahir ul Qadr i is a lea din g f igure who ha s prom oted pea ce and interfaith dialo gue for 30 years. He said he felt com pelled to issue the fat wa beca use of concern s abo ut the radic alisation of British Muslim s at univer sity cam puses and bec a use there ha d been a lack of condemnation of extrem ism by M uslim cler ics and scholars. Ul Qadri says his fatwa, which is a im ed at persua din g yo un g Muslims to turn their backs on extremism, goe s f urther than any previous denunc iation. "This is the fir st, m ost com prehensive fat wa on the subject of terrorism ever written," said ul Qadri, who ha s wr itten about 350 books on I slam ic scho lar ship. He is a scho lar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam which is widely seen a s foc usin g on p eac e, tolerance an d m oderation. The re ality is that whate ver the se te rrorists are doing it is not m artyrdom. All the se activitie s are taking them to he llfire. 24

Muhammad Tahir ul- Qad ri Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdul Mutalla b, a ccused of tryin g to bomb a US-bo un d plane on Christmas Day, studie d at a London university until 2008. Governm ent officia ls in Yemen, wh ere M utalla b began his jo urney, have sa id he wa s ra dic alise d while in Br itain. Ho wever, the British Gov ernm ent claims his intro duction to hardcore extremists h appene d after he left the UK. Government officials will be am ong those jo inin g ul Qa dr i for the launch of the fatwa in central London. The Muslim Co unc il of Britain, an um bre lla organisation repre senting som e 500 I slam ic group s, has welcom ed the fat wa. Mutalla b is acc use d of attempting to explode a bom b on board a transatlantic jet Ul Qadri will tell h is a udience: "T he reality is that whatever the se terrorists are do ing it is not martyrdom . All these activitie s ar e taking them to hellfire." The 59-year-old wa s born in Pakistan an d is h ea d of the glo bal Minhaj ul Qur an religio us and educational or ganisation which spr ea ds his Sufi ideas. A former Pakistani minister an d assoc iate of a ssassin ated pr ime minister Bena zir Bhutto, he de livers lectures worldwide promoting his messa ge of harmony and wa s one of the first Muslim le a der s to condem n the 9/11 attacks in the US. While ul Qa dri ha s followers aro und the glo be, it is in Pakistan wh ere he h as m illions of follo wer s and in the diaspora that his im pact is likely to be greate st. Britain h as abo ut 1.7 m illion Muslims, m ainly of Pakistani desc ent. The UK's security services say nearly all major terrorism plots since 2001, includin g the 2005 London bom bin gs wh ich kille d 52 people, h ave been link ed to Pakistan. Those who are alre ady hardliners will pay no attention at all but 'swing vote rs' poorly-e ducate d and angry Muslims who re spe ct m ainstre am scholars - will proba bly take note . Tim Winter, Islamic studies lec ture r at Cambridge Unive rsity Ul Qadri sa id he is conf ident his e dict will h ave a signific ant im pact bec ause he ha s dra wn on cla ssica l teachin gs and authorities accepta ble to all sects of I slam. "I will say more than 50% will change their way, they will be influence d," he sa id. "Of the rem aining 50% at least some of them , half of them, will be com e do ubtf ul a bo ut their life, their terrorist activity," he said. Tim Winter, a lecturer in I slam ic studies at Cambridge University, said while there ha d been similar fatwas in the past, ul Qadri did appear to have gone f urther than most. "To declare the miscr eants as unbe liev ers is unusual bec a use it is not rea lly clear that the rules allo w one sim ply to say that they are not Muslims." He a dde d: "Those who ar e alr eady har dliner s will pay no attention at all but 'swin g voters' - poorlyeducate d an d an gry M uslims who respect mainstream scholars - will pro ba bly take note. "Certain ly it is a helpf ul initiative." Ul Qadri's pronouncem ent will be welcom ed by a uthorities in the UK an d by other Western governm ents seek in g to stamp out extrem ism - but the respecte d scholar said their backin g is irrelevant to his vie ws. 25

http://english.aljazeera.ne t/news/e urope/2010/03/2010321321826236.htm l

Cleric issues anti-terror fatwa A leading I slam ic scholar has iss ued a fatwa in Britain condemning "terr oris ts" as the enemies of I s lam , in a bid to deter yo ung M uslims from extrem ism .

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said there was no place for violence or terrorism in Islam [AFP]

M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri, head of t he M inhaj ul-Q uran religious and educ ational organis ation, s aid suic ide bombers were destined for hell as he released his 60 0- page edict in L ondon on Tuesday. "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma [the wide r M uslim c omm unity], no, they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire," he said. "There is no plac e for any martyrdom and their ac t is never , ever to be considered Jihad," he s aid. ' No pl a ce i n Isl am' At a news c onfere nce, ul-Q adri s aid Is lam was a religion o f peac e that p rom otes beauty, "betterment", goodness and "negates all form of m is c hief and s trife". "Terrorism is terroris m, violenc e is violenc e and it has no plac e in I s lamic teac hing and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it, or any kind of exc uses or ifs or buts ," he s aid. A number of edic ts c ondemning extrem ism have been made by I slamic groups since the Septem ber 11 attacks on the United States , but ul-Q adri ins ists his is the m os t wide- reac hing. "This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written," he told the Reuters ne ws age nc y.

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"I have tried to leave not a s ingle s tone unturned on this partic ular s ubjec t and I have tried to addres s every single ques tion relevant to t his s ubjec t." Pakistan- born ul -Q adri, 5 9, has written about 3 50 books on I slam, and is a sc holar of Su fism , a M us lim branc h that foc uses on peace, tolera nce, and m oderation.

The Q uilliam Foundation, a U K c ounter- extrem ism think- tank, s aid the fat wa was "argua bly the mos t c omprehens ive" theologic al refutation of I slamic extrem is m . Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic studies at Cambridge University, s aid while ul-Q adri's s tep of dec laring "misc reants as unbelievers " was unus ual, it was unlikely extremis ts would take notice of his edic t. "Those who are already hardliners will pay no atte ntion at all. But 's wing voters ' - poorly educ ated and a ngry M uslims , who respect mains tream sc holars , will probably take note," he told Reuters. Ul-Q adri s aid he felt c om pelled to is s ue the edict bec aus e of c onc erns about t he ra dic alis ation of Britis h M uslims at univers ity c am pus es and bec aus e there had been a lac k of c ondemnation of extremis m by M uslim clerics and sc holars. The M inhaj-ul -Q uran movem ent, fou nded in P akis tan in 1 980 , wo rks aroun d the globe to promote peac e and interfait h dialogue.

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http://ww w.w orldj ew i shcongre ss.org/en/m ai n/show New s/id/9081

Islamic scholar issues global fatwa against terrorism 02 M arc h 2 010 An influential M uslim s cholar has iss ued a global r uling agains t terroris m and s uic ide bom bing. Dr T ahir ul-Q adri, from P akis tan, says his 600- page judgement , kno wn as a fat wa, completely dis mantles al-Q aeda's violent ideology. The sc holar desc ribes al-Q aeda as an "old evil with a new name" that has not been s uffic iently c hallenged. The sc holar's movem ent is growing in the U K and has attrac ted the inte res t of policym akers and sec urity c hiefs . I n his religious ruling, delivered in L ondon , Dr Q adri s ays that Is lam forbids the m ass acre of innocent c itizens and suic ide bombings . Although m any s c holars have m ade sim ilar rulings in the pas t, D r Q adri argued that his massive document goes muc h further by omitting "ifs and buts" added by othe r thinke rs . He s aid that it set out a point-by-point theological rebuttal of every argument used by alQ aeda ins pired rec ruiters . The populis t sc holar developed his doc ument last year as a respons e to the inc reas e in bom bings across P akistan by militants . 'Heroes of hellfire' The bas ic text has been extended to 60 0 pages to cover global is sues, in an attem pt to get its theological argum ents taken up by M us lims in Wes tern nations. I t will be p rom oted in the UK by D r Q adri's organis ation, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational. Dr Q adri s poke for more tha n ho ur to an audie nc e of M us lim s , c lergy, M Ps , police offic ers and other s ecurity offic ials .

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"They [terroris ts] can't c laim that their s uic ide bombings are martyrdom operations an d that they becom e the heroes of t he M us lim Um ma [global brother hood]. No, they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire," he said. "There is no plac e for any martyrdom and their ac t is never , ever to be considered jihad." Ac ts of vengea nc e The doc um ent is not the firs t to c ondem n te rroris m and s uic ide bom bing to be launched in the UK. Sc holars from ac ross the UK cam e together in t he wake of the 7 July L ondon attac ks to denounc e the bom bers and u rge comm unities to root out extrem ists . But som e s cholarly rulings in the M iddle E ast have argued that the c on flict between I s rael and the Palestinians is an exc eptional s ituation where "martyrdom " attac ks c an be j us tified. Dr Q adri s aid he rejec ted that view s aying the re were no situations under whic h ac ts of vengeance, suc h as attac ks on m arket plac es or c ommuter trains , c ould ever be c ons idered a jus tifiable act of war. Although D r Q adri has m any followe rs in P akis tan, Minhaj ul-Q uran I nternational remained largely unkno wn in the U K until relatively recently. I t now has 10 mos ques in c ities with s ignificant M uslim c ommunities and s ays it is targeting younger generations it believes have been let down by t raditional leaders. The organis ation is attrac ting the attention of polic ym akers and s ec urity c hiefs who are c ontinuing to look for allies in the fight agains t extrem is ts . The Department for C om munities, whic h r uns mos t of the government's P reventing V iolent Extrem ism strategy, has tried building bridges with a variety of liberal- minded gro ups , b ut often found that they have limited actual influe nc e at the grass roots .

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http://www.pre ss tv.ir/d etail.asp x?id=119921

London-based cleric issues anti-terror fatwa Wed, 0 3 M ar 2010 06 :39 :40 GM T

An influential M uslim s cholar in Britain has iss ued a fat wa banni ng terror attac ks and bom bings , ins isting that there is no j us tific ation for ter ror ac ts in the name of I slam. At a news c onfere nce attended by o ffic ers from L ondo n's M etropolitan P olic e, lawm akers , c haritable organizations and think- tanks , M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri said that acts of ter roris m c ut people off as tr ue followe rs of I s lam . "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Ummah. N o, they bec om e heroes o f hellfire, and they are leading towards the hellfire," he s aid. I n his 6 00- page decree, the founde r of the internationally popular M inhaj- ul-Q uran m ovement s aid there was no plac e for m artyrdom throug h ac ts of ter ror and that s uc h ac ts had not hing to do with jihad. The sc holar ruled o ut any exc us es or pretexts for jus tifying ac ts of te rror in suppos ed effo rts to "convert an evil into goo d." "Terrorism is terroris m," Q adri insis ted. "V iolence is violence and it has no plac e in Is lam ic teac hing and no justification can be provided for it , or any kind of excus es or ifs or buts." He reiterated that Is lam is a religion of peace that promotes beauty, "betterment," goodnes s and "negates all fo rm of mis c hief and s trife." The fat wa is not t he first by a s enior M uslim sc holar against extrem ism , but Q adri's is expec ted to c arry more weig ht as it will be one of the fe w available in E nglish and online.

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Muslim leader's edict decries terrorism BY: Nicholas Krale v M arch 3, 2010 The leader of a global M uslim movem ent Tuesday issue d a rare re ligious edict condem ning te rrorism and de nouncing suicide bom be rs as "he roe s of he llfire" in an e ffort to he lp pre vent the radicalization of young British Muslim s. The State Departme nt wel com ed the 600-page docume nt k nown as a fat wa, whi ch was rele ase d in London with the B ritish governm e nt's support, as a "ve ry important step" in "taking back Islam " from al Qae da and othe r ex tre m ist groups. M uhammad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a form er Pak istani lawm ake r and a le ading scholar of Islam , has issued sim ilar, shorter de cre e s in the past. But the ne w fat wa m ak es the m ost de tailed and com prehensive case against Islam ic extre m ism by a Muslim , diplom ats and analysts said. "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is viole nce , and it has no place in Islam ic teaching, and no justification can be provide d for it, or any kind of ex cuses or ifs or buts," M r. Tahir-ul-Qadri said at a ne ws confere nce in London. "Good inte ntions cannot convert a wrong into good; the y cannot conve rt an e vil into good." It was not cle ar how m uch influe nce the fatwa will have in the broad Muslim world or e ven outside the South Asian com m unity whose m em be rs are Mr. Tahir-ul-Q adri's m ost de dicate d followers. Tim othy R. Furnish, a historian of Islam, said the fat wa m ay not carry significant weight for m any Muslim s because Mr. Tahir-ul-Q adri is a Sufi Muslim , and not a Koranic lite ralist, as are such Sunni groups as the W ahhabis and the Salafis, who form the core of groups such as al Q ae da. "It would se em to be simply another ex ample of this ce nturies-long Sufi/W ahhabiSalafi spat ove r how to inte rpret the authoritative te x ts of Islam ," said M r. Furnish, who noted that he has not read Tue sday's fatwa. "For e ve ry such legal

pronunciam ento, the re is an antithe tical one from the literalist cam p …, whi ch justifie s such attack s with cle ar Koranic and Hadith [Traditions] citations." In re ce nt ye ars, Britain has cope d with g ro wing radicalization am ong its Muslim youths — a de ve lopm ent that also has attracte d young Muslim s from other countries to study at Bri tish schools. O ne of them is Umar Farouk Abdulm utallab, the 23-ye arold Nige rian who late r re ce ive d training from al Q aeda and is charge d with t rying to blow up a Detroit-bound airline r in Dece m ber. M r. Tahir-ul-Q adri, founde r of the Minhaj-ul-Q uran world wide movem ent prom oting a tole rant Islam , and his followe rs hope that his fatwa wil l show those youths an alte rnative to e xtrem ism , said Ghaffar Hussein, a spokesm an for the Q uilliam Foundation, a British governm ent-funde d think tank . The foundation's backing and prom otion of Tue sday's e vent dre w m uch m ore me dia and public atte ntion than it would have rece ive d othe rwise , according to British press re ports.

h t tp://www.n y tim es .c om /ap onli ne/2 0 10 /03 /0 2/world /A P -EU -Brit ai n-Ant i-Te rro rF atwa .htm l?_ r=2 &sc p =1 &s q =fat wa&s t=c se

Muslim Leader Issues Anti-Terror Fatwa By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: March 2, 2010

LON DON (A P) -- The leader of a global Muslim m ovem ent has issued a fatw a, or religiou s edict, that he calls an absolute con demnation of terrorism . Muhammad Tahir -ul-Qadri, a form er Pakistani lawmaker, say s the 600 -page fatwa bans suicide bom bing ''w ith out any excuses, any pretext s, or exception s.'' Tahir -ul-Qadri has issued sim ilar, short er decrees, but Tuesday 's ev ent in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a gov ernm ent-funded anti-extrem ism think tank and dr ew str ong m edia attention. The religiou s scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a worldw ide m ovem ent that prom ot es a nonpolitical, t olerant Islam . The gr oup has hundreds of thousan ds of follower sar ound the w orld, m ost of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other countries. A ver sion o f this ar ticle app eared in prin t on March 2, 2010, on 4 of th e N ew Yor k edition.

http: //new sw eek .wa shi ngtonpost.com/onfait h/panel i sts/john_esposit o/2010/03/i nf lue ntial _pak i sta ni _cle ri c_issue s_f atw a_a ga i nst_t e rrori sm.htm l

F O U N DIN G D IREC TO R , P R IN C E A L W A LEED B IN TA LA L CEN TER F O R M U S L IM - C HR ISTIAN U ND ERS TAN D IN G , G EOR G ETO W N U N IVER SITY

John Esposito P rofessor of religion , i nternational affairs an d I s lam ic s tudies .

Influential Pakistani cleric issues fatwa against terrorism A n influential P akis tani cleric issued a 600-page f atwa on M arc h 2 , described as an "abs olute" c ondemnation of terrorism without "any exc uses or pretexts." M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri declared that terro rists and s uicide bombers were unbelievers and that "terroris m is terrorism , violence is violenc e and it has no plac e in I s lam ic teac hing and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it , or any kind of excus es or ifs or buts." W hile domes tic politic s in M uslim countries , the pres enc e of foreign troops and the impac t W es tern foreign policies remain prim ary drivers in radic alization, a m ajo r, c omprehens ive fatwa like this - - along with les s-s weeping fatwas is sued by other religious authorities - - does c ons titute a major c hallenge to t he legitimac y of al-Q aeda and other terroris t groups. Qa dri' s f atw a is an exhaus tive, s ystematic theologic al and legal s tudy of the Is lamic tradition's teac hings on the us e o f force and arm ed res istanc e to s upport an abs olute c ondem nation of any fo rm of terroris m for a ny c aus e. I ts s ignific anc e will be felt in Pakis tan ,whe re Q adri over s everal dec ades has become a prominent s c holar and religious leader as well as a religious m edia s tar. I t will also have an im pac t in the West youn g M us lims in Britain, Sc andinavia and C anada, many o f whom are of Pakis tani bac kgrounds. Q adri is a Barelvi M uslim scholar (Barelvi and D eobandis, who claim to follo w a more pris tine vers ion of I s lam , are the t wo ma jor S unni M us lim groups or s c hools of thoug ht in the I ndian s ubc ontinent). T he Barelvi are es timated to be t he larges t M us lim group i n P akistan, I ndia and G reat Britain. Q adri, noted fo r his liberal and tolera nt views, p rom otes greater unity am ong M us lims and inter and intra faith dialogue , reac hing out to other theological sc hools like the D eobandi and to Shiah M uslim s and P akistani C hris tians. H e emphas izes Is lam's religious , s ocial, c ultural, teac hings of I s lam . T rained both in traditional mad ras as and at Punjab Univers ity whe re in 1 972 he earned an MA and P hD in I slamic Studies , Q adri appeals to a broad audie nc e of traditionalists and those that appreciate his integration o f traditional I s lam ic scienc es with moder n dis ciplines . Q adri's c areer took off in the m id- 19 80s with a popular national television program Fahm- e-Q uran (U nders tanding the Q ur'an), s peaking in do wn to earth pop ular idiom s and using analogies from everyday life.

Q adri is among a hand ful of prom inent popular preachers in P akistan (as els ewhere in t he M us lim world ) whos e prim ary medium for propagating their m es s ages is the electronic technology (cass ettes , videos , CD s, D VDs, and televis ion c hannels). Q adri's media career has been unprec edented in the modern religious his tory of Pakistan. Founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran I nternational, based in Lahore , an Is lam ic m ovement with centers in 90 countries, its public ation hous e c arries thousands of Q adri's C Ds and DV Ds Urdu, P unjabi, Arabic and E nglis h, delivered in P akis tan, India, the M iddle Eas t, E urope, the United States , and C anada. Q adri already has an es tablis hed trac k record in his denunc iation of terro ris m in the name of Is lam . O ne of the fe w religious leaders in Pakis tan who une quivoc ally condemned the September 1 1 terroris t attac ks , Q adri has c hallenged the I slamic legitim acy of thos e who approved the us e o f violence for religious or politic al ends . Thus, thou gh he studied in Saudi A rabia, he is a voc al c ritic of W ahhabi and Salafi I s lam's extremis t and violent tendenc ies . He has c ondem ned al-Q aeda and the Taliban as an outgr o wth of Wahhabi doctrines , deno unc ing al-Q aeda a "lethal threat to I s lam and M us lims ," whos e ac tions are antithetical to I slam's m ess age of peac e. I n a Decem ber 5 , 20 09 pres s c onferenc e, dra wing extens ively on I s lamic texts Q adri dec lared: "I slam does not permit, un der a ny c ircums tanc es, the mas sac re of innoc ent citizens , terroris t explos ions and s uicide bombings" whic h ac cording to Is lamic law are unac c eptable violations of hum an rights and constitute kufr, (unbelief). A t the s am e time, Q adri has als o been a s trong c ritic of the U.S. invas ion of A fghanis tan and I raq.

By John Esposito | March 5, 2010; 9:18 AM ET

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Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa T ues day, M arc h 2, 2 01 0; 9 :36 AM LO N DO N -- T he leader of a global M uslim m ovement has issued a fat wa , or religious edic t, that he c alls an abs olute condemnation of terroris m. M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri, a form er Pakistani lawm aker, s ays the 6 0 0- page fatwa bans s uic ide bombing "without any exc uses , any p retexts , or exc eptions." T ahir- ul-Q adri has iss ued s imilar, shorter dec rees, but Tuesday's event in L ondo n was public ized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a government- funded anti- extrem is m think tank and drew strong media attention. T he religious sc holar is the fou nder of M inhaj-ul-Q uran, a worldwide movem ent that prom otes a nonpolitic al, tolerant I slam. The gro up has hundreds of thousands o f followers aroun d the world, m os t of them in Pakis tan or P akis tanis living in other c ount ries .

http: //new sw eek .wa shi ngtonpost.com/onfait h/panel i sts/muqte da r_k ha n/2010/03 /a_f atw a_that _m ight_work_a _l oud_voi ce _f rom_the _si le nt_maj ority.html

D IREC TOR , ISLAMIC STU DIES, U. OF D EL AW AR E

Muq tedar Khan Associate profes sor, politic al science and international relations; Fellow o f the I nstitute of Social P olic y and U nderstanding

A fatwa against terrorism that might work D r. T ahir ul- Q adri's fatwa against t errori sm might ac tually have a n im pac t. I t is c omprehens ive, direct, and does not dodge any iss ue. I t has c om e at a time when t here is very s trong abhorre nc e for terrorism , specially in P akis tan, and it will strip terroris ts of what little legitim acy they m ight be still enjoying in the eyes of M uslims who fear that I s lam is under attac k by W estern powers . D r. Q adri is a prom inent m ega-I m am who enjoys a large popular following. He als o ha ppens to be well ens c onc ed in the traditional I s lamic heritage. H is is c learly a loud voice of t he hitherto s ilent majority. Those who are engaged in extremis t violence and those who sympathize with them belong to a m ore rec ent salafi trend. T his trend is a rec ent transplant in South A s ia and fortunately does not have deep roots in the region . Dr . Q adri and his large follo wing c ons titute the m ainstream of M us lim s in Pakistan and in the P akis tani diaspora. In principle they s hould be able to prevail easily over the extrem ist voic es now causing s uch turmoil in that lan d. D r. Q adri's 600- pages fatwa is ess entially an encyc lopedic compilation of the fiqh o f the us e of force. It bas ically ac cumulates all the various juris prudential pos itions advanced by M uslim sc holars and ju rists of diffe rent s c hools and provides a com prehe nsive overview of the various norm ative and ethic al limitations that derivatives from Is lamic s ourc es have placed on the legitimate us e of force. T here is nothing ne w in Dr. Q adri's tome and that is a good t hing . He is not advanc ing ne w interpretations of I s lam ic s ources , nor is he trying to reinvent the wheel . His c ontribution is to s how that not only does I s lam prohibit terro ris m , it condemns the terrorist to hell. He als o s hows ho w M uslims have long held s uic ide as a forbidden act. Is lam has always done this from the begin ning. T he c ollection of the various opinions of classic al scholars too demonstrates the extent and depth of Is lam 's prohibition of the us e of force agains t civilians, agains t women , and against c hildren . T he extremis ts and their s ympathetic sc holars, I am c onfident, will not be able t o p roduce a document that c ould tr ump D r . Q adri's Fatwa. T he extrem ist scholars in the M uslim world have

relied bas ic ally on two elements to adva nc e their radic al agenda. O ne, they have exploited the widespread theologic al illiteracy of M us lims to advanc e out of context and unp rec edented ne w interpretations and jus tifications for the principle of J ihad to legitimize their crusade against the Wes t and its allies . T wo, they have benefited from the a nger that M us lims have been feeling agains t the various m ilitary attac ks and oc c upations by W es tern arm ies of M us lim lands in the pas t two centuries . Add to this the endless s uffering of the Pales tinians , Iraqis , Afpak c ivilians at the hands of W es tern forces and you begin to com prehen d why so many o f the M us lim youth embrac ed the un- I slamic interpretations of Is lamic sourc es by radic als clerics. Is D r. Q adri's Fatwa a magic bullet that will ero de all anger, frus tration and res entment; c ertainly not. Will it enge nder a widespread loathing fo r the use of terro ris m as a tac tics , mos t c ertainly yes, if it is given sus tained attention by the media. I n P akis tan, D r. Q adri's reputation, the gro wi ng a nger against terroris ts for t heir indis criminate violenc e against mos ques and agains t M us lim s, will all c ombine to give the fat wa a c hanc e to m arginalize t he extrem ists . Hopefully their s uppo rters will either rethink their politic s or at leas t abstain from openly and ac tively s upporting the c ulture o f violence. The author and his ins titution als o hope that the perc eption held by som e in the W es t that Islam is the c aus e of terro ris m will be c orrected. I am ho wever less sanguine about t his. T hos e in the W es t who argue t hat m oderate M uslims are not op pos ing terroris m or thos e who insis t that terrorism is a consequence of I s lamic values are motivated by political interes ts and are c learly Islamophobic . They will n ot c hange their m ind . Ho wever thos e who are still unawa re that most M us lims condemn terroris ts and that there is nothing in I s lam that s upports terroris m m ay perhaps become enlightened as a result o f this fat wa. This fat wa is a goo d t hing. I t will advanc e the c aus e against terroris m. BY MUQTEDA R K HA N | MA R CH 5, 2010; 3:34 A M ET

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Suicide bombers 'enemies of Islam' UKPA 09 :15 GMT 02 M arch, 20 10 Suic ide bombers have been des c ribed as the "heroes of hellfire" by a leading M us lim scholar in a fat wa condemning terroris ts as the enem ies of I s lam. Pakistan- born Dr M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri s aid there were no "ifs or b uts " about terr oris m and suc h ac ts had no jus tific ation in the name of I slam. I n a ne ws c onference attende d by M Ps , repres entatives from the M etropolitan Polic e, c haritable organis ations , think- tanks and othe r groups , he c alled on Is lamic leaders to c onvey the message that acts of terroris m c ut people o ff as true follo wers of Is lam . "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma (the wide r M uslim c omm unity), no, they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire," he said. "There is no plac e for any martyrdom and their ac t is never , ever to be considered Jihad," he added. Dr Q adri, who spoke at lengt h in both E nglish and Arabic before his audienc e, s aid his fat wa a religious edic t or ruling - was an "abs olute" c ondem nation of te rrorism without "any exc us es or pretexts ". "Good intentions c annot c onvert a wron g into good , t hey cannot convert an evil into goo d," he s aid. "T erroris m is terrorism , violenc e is violence and it has no plac e in I slamic teaching and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it, or any kind of exc uses or ifs or buts ." He ins is ted that I s lam was a religion of peace that promotes beauty , "betterment", good nes s and "negates all fo rm of mis c hief and s trife". The 600 -page fatwa by D r Q adri, founder o f t he global M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent, whic h has thousands of s upporters across the world as well as in the U K, will be trans lated into E nglish in the com ing weeks . H is talk will also be made available online in an attempt to c ounte r extrem ist versions of I slam available on the i nternet . A fatwa , an edict iss ued by a learned M us lim sc holar, may c onc ern any as pec t of I slamic life. The term bec ame fam ous in the Wes tern world in 19 8 9 after the author Salman Rushdie was forc ed into hiding follo wing a "death fat wa" is s ued by Ayatollah Khomeni, then Suprem e L eader of I ran, on the groun ds that his book, T he Satanic Verses , had "ins ulted" Is la

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http://www. goo gle.com /hoste dne ws/ukpre ss/artic le/ALe qM5 jZ7oR3 qUnT 1sNZ Jm vv BV0 K9 KYI8 Q

Muslim leader to declare fatwa condemning terrorism (UKPA) – 5 day s a go The lea der of a worldwide Muslim m ovement with thousan ds of followers in the UK is to issue a fatwa - or Islam ic religious ruling - in Lon don condemning terrorism an d warning suicide bom ber s that they are "destined for hell". Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dr i, fo under of the glo ba l Minhaj- ul-Qur an m ovement, will make the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or re ligio us e dict, condemning terrorism an d suic ide bom bin g at a ne ws conference. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that "suicide bom bin gs and attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam, in other wor ds, to be un be lievers". Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj-ul- Quran UK, said: " He has hit hard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from consider in g suicide bom ber s as 'martyrs'. T his fatwa injects do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom ber s. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain recruit yo uth by brain washin g them that they will 'with certainty' be r e war de d in the next lif e an d Dr Qa dri's fat wa has rem oved this key intellect ual f actor from their minds." The fatwa h as been billed as " arguably the m ost com prehensive" theologica l ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by co unter extremism think tank the Quilliam foun dation. A Quilliam spokesman said: "Terrorist gro ups such as al- Qae da contin ue to justify their m ass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. "Fat wa s that demolish and expose such theolo gic al innov ations will con sign I slam ist terrorism to the dust bin of history." A fat wa, an edict issue d by a le arned M uslim scholar, m ay concern any asp ect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the western world in 1989 after the author Salm an Rushdie wa s force d into hiding follo win g a "death fat wa" issued by Ayatollah Khom eni, then Supr eme Lea der of Iran, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Verses h ad "in sulte d" Islam . Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserve d.

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http:// www.tim esonline.c o.uk /tol/ comm ent/fait h/art icle 7046487.ec e?t ok e n=null&offset= 0&pa g e= 1 From Times O nline M arc h 2, 2 01 0

Suicide bombers 'unIslamic' and going to Hell, says leading cleric

(M in haj- ul-Q u ran Int ern at io na l) D r T a hir ul-Q adri's 6 0 0 pa ge rep o rt aims at p reve nti ng radic alis a tio n in you ng M usl im m en

Rut h G ledhill, Religio n Correspondent A prom ine nt M uslim organisation in Britain has issued a fat wa on suicide bombings and terrorism — declaring them “un-Islamic”. M inhaj-ul-Q uran, a organisation based on Sufi principle s which advise s the Gove rnm e nt on how to com bat radicalisation in M uslim youth, launched its 600-page re ligious ve rdict in C e ntral London this m orning, condem ning the pe rpe trators of te rro rist ex plosions and suicide bombings. The fatwa condem ns suicide bombers saying that the y are destine d for Hell, countering ex trem ist propaganda that Islam ist te rrorists will e nte r paradise after death.

The docum e nt is writte n by M uslim scholar Dr Muhamm ed Tahir ul-Q adri, a forme r governme nt advise r in Pak istan and frie nd of the forme r Prime M inister Be nazir Bhutto, and the founde r of the incre asingly influe ntial M inhaj-ul-Q uran m ovem ent. In it, suicide bombings and te rrorism are prohibited as “totally un-Islam ic”. The fatwa, first launche d in Pak istan in De cem be r, uses te xts from the Koran and other Islam ic writings to argue that attack s against innoce nt citizens are “absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam does not pe rm it such acts on any ex cuse , re ason or prete xt”. Although the fat wa m ight carry little we ight am ong som e in Britain's m ajority Sunni Muslim comm unity, it will have an ove rall im pact be cause of Minhaj-ul-Q uran’s gro wing influe nce as a comm unity represe ntative body with hund re ds of thousands of followe rs in South Asia as we ll as the UK. It is a strong counte r to Islam ic schools of thought that condemn unbe lieve rs and call for the ir subjugation, and will contribute to a clim ate where all M uslims can speak out fre e ly against atrocitie s comm itte d in the nam e of their re ligion. Dr Tahir ul-Q adri, who is based in Canada and has wri tten m ore than 400 books on Islam ic law, is re cognised in Pak istan as an authority on Islam ic jurisprude nce . A spok esm an for the counter-ex tre m ist think tank Q uilliam said: “This fat wa has the potential to be a highly significant step towards e radicating Islam ist te rrorism . “Fat was by W ahhabi-influe nce d clerics and Islam ist ideologue s initiated mode rn terrorism against civilians. “Te rrorist groups such as al-Q aeda continue to justify their m ass killings with selfserving re adings of re ligious scripture. Fat was that dem olish and ex pose such the ological innovations will consign Islam ist te rrorism to the dustbin of history.” Shahid Mursalee n, spokesman for M inhaj-ul-Q uran UK, said: “He has hit hard on the terrorists as it preve nts Islam ists from considering suicide bom be rs as ‘martyrs’. This fat wa inje cts doubt into the m inds of pote ntial suicide bom be rs. “Ex t re m ist groups base d in Britain recruit youth by b rainwashing the m that they will — with ce rtaint y — be re warded in the ne x t life and Dr Qadri’s fatwa has re move d this ke y intelle ctual factor from their m inds.” Minhaj-ul-Q uran is an organisation base d in 80 countrie s that follows Sufi teachings of pe ace and m ode ration, gaining ground am ong M uslim groups eager to com bat the radicalisation of young pe ople . The group rece ive s no gove rnm e nt funding. The Minhaj-ul-Q uaran movem ent runs course s in com bating religious e x trem ism in educational centres throughout Britain including London, Birm ingham, Manche ste r, Ne lson, W alsall, Glasgow and Dunde e. A fatwa, an e dict issue d by a Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspe ct of Islam ic life . It becam e associate d with ex tre m ism afte r 1989 when the author Salm an Rushdie was force d into hiding following a fatwa calling for his death was issued by Ayatollah

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Khom eni, the n the Suprem e Leade r of Iran, on the grounds that his book, The Satanic Ve rses had “insulted” Islam . The C ommunities M iniste r Shahid Malik , whose De wsbury constituency was hom e to the 7/7 bom ber Moham mad Siddique Khan, welcom ed the ne w fatwa. “It is incum be nt on Muslim s to stand up for their faith — whe n 7/7 occurre d those four evil young m en k ille d themse lves and ove r 50 innocent pe ople be cause the y followe d a t wisted and pe rve rte d interpre tation of Islam whi ch told the m by doing so they would go to heaven,” he said. “A clear and une quivocal me ssage must go out that Islam teache s that the se four are not martyrs going to he aven but sinne rs going som e where ve ry diffe re nt inde e d. “He nce , I ve ry m uch welcom e the work of Dr Q adri in helping re inforce this m ost cru cial of me ssage to M uslim s and non-Muslims alik e.” An Islam ic scholar Shaikh Mohamm ed Hisham Kabbani, of the Ce ntre for Spirituality and C ultural Advancem ent, also we l com e d the fatwa. “This scholarship is a landmark in e nabling M uslims living in the UK to be able to sile nce the small m inority of people who think it is O K to commit violent acts in the nam e of Islam ,” he said. “We are happy and honoured to be wo rking with Dr Q adri and Minhaj-ul-Q uran to support the UK Muslim s in countering the radical Islam ist rhe toric in the world.”

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UK Muslim leader to put fatwa on Jihad By J onny Pa ul 02 /03/2010 04 :40 Ruling is m os t comprehensive theologic al refutation o f Is lam ist terroris m. LO N DO N – A revered mains tream M us lim scholar is s et to announc e in L ondon on Tuesday a fat wa (M uslim ruling) agains t ter rorism and suicide bombing in the nam e o f Is lam . Sheikh Dr. Tahir ul-Q adri, a widely rec ognized and res pec ted authority on I slamic juris prudence, will is s ue a c omprehens ive fatwa prohibiting terr oris m and s uic ide bom bing at a pres s c onference in W es tminster, c entral L ondon. The Pakis tani- born D r. Q adri has authored an u nprec edented , 6 0 0- page fatwa on why suicide bom bings and terroris m are u n- I slamic and sc ripturally forbidden . T he ruling is the m ost c om prehensive theologic al refutation of Is lamist terrorism to date. The fat wa will als o be pos ted on the Internet and in E nglis h, making it readily acc ess ible. It will als o set an im portant prec edent and allo w other s c holars to s imilarly c ondemn the ideas behind ter roris m. Dr. Q adri has used texts in the Koran an d othe r I s lam ic writings to argue that s uic ide and other terroris t attacks are “a bsolutely against the teac hings of I s lam ” and t hat “I s lam does not permit s uc h ac ts on any exc use, reason or pretext.” The fat wa c ondem ns s uic ide bom bers as destined for hell, re futing the c laim us ed by I slamis ts that suc h terroris ts will earn paradis e after death. “Today’s tragedy is that terroris ts, m urdere rs , mis chief- m ongers and rioters try to prove their c rim inal, rebellious , tyranno us, brutal and blas phemous activities as a right and a jus tified reac tion to foreig n ag gres sion under the garb of defe nse of I s lam and national interes ts,” he s ays about suic ide bombing. “It c an in no way be perm iss ible to keep fo reign delegates under unlawful c us tody and m urder them and other peac eful non- M uslim c itizens in retaliation fo r inter ference, un jus t ac tivities and ag gres sive advances of their c ountries ,” Q adri said, ass erting, “The one who does has no relation to I slam.”

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Dr. Q adri is the founder o f t he inter national M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent. Supporte rs s ay his fat wa is signific ant because he is iss uing it him self and his m ovement, a major grass - roots global organizatio n, has hundreds o f thous ands of followers in So uth As ia and the UK. The move has been welc omed by t he Q uilliam Foundation, a Londo n-based anti-extremism think- tank led by form er I slamis ts. “This fatwa has the potential to be a highly signific ant step towar ds eradic ating Is lam ist terroris m,” a Q uilliam spokes person said. “Fat was by Wahhabi- influe nc ed c lerics and I slamis t ideologues initiated m odern ter roris m against c ivilians . T erroris t groups suc h as al-Q aida c ontinue to jus tify their m as s killings with s elf- serving readings of religious sc ripture. “Fatwas that demolis h and expos e s uc h theologic al innovations will c ons ign Islamis t terroris m to the d us tbin of history.” L ondon’s C entre for Social C ohes ion think- tank has als o welc om ed the initiative. CSC direc tor D ouglas M urray believes that in recent years , a nd s inc e the J uly 2 00 5 terrorist attack in L ondon, M us lim leaders have failed to uneq uivoc ally c ondemn violenc e c ommitted in the nam e o f I s lam . “A s entenc e that may to many people s eem c lear, suc h as ‘T here c an be no jus tific ation for the killing of innoc ent people’ is filled with c aveats – what is an ‘innocent’ pe rs on? Who decides who is or is not ‘i nnoc ent’? “Too m any M uslim religious figures s ound as if they are c ondem ning violenc e whe n in fac t they are merely condemning violenc e in c ertain situations , agains t c ertain people,” he s aid. M urray said the fat wa takes a way the c aveats and will have far- reac hing c ons equenc es. However he s aid it wo n’t stop I s lamic terroris m ins tantaneously. “Dr. ul-Q adri is res pec ted for his ability to c ross s ome of the notable sec tarian bounda ries that abound in t he I slamic faith as in all others . Even M uslims who m ight dis like him will not be able to dis miss him out of ha nd. “Yet even if the c ontents of this fat wa are what people have long ho ped for , it will not, of c ourse, stop I slam ic terroris m s traight away. A single fat wa will n ot change the level o f de nial and lac k of self-c riticism inherent in so muc h of m odern I slam. N or will it s top every feve red young radic al eager to kill and m aim . But t he tric kle- down effec t is important. The most violent interpretations of I slam have indeed tric kled do wn to terr oris ts via learned sc holars,” he s aid.

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h t tp://blo gs .reut ers .c om /fai t h wo rld/2 01 0 /03 /02 /tah ir-u l-qad ri-a nd-t he- diffic ul ty-of- repo rt i ng-on-fa t was /

Tahir ul-Qadri and the difficulty of reporting on fatwas M AR 2, 2010 14:27 EST F ATW A| ISLAM | MEDIA | MUSL IM | PAK ISTAN | SUFI | SUICIDE BOMBING | TERR OR ISM

M uhamm ed Tahir ul-Q adri at a youth camp in C oventry, c entral E ngland, Augus t 9 , 2 009 /Kieran Doherty I t never was and m ay never be easy to report about fat was for a wo rld audienc e. T his point was driven hom e once again today when a prom ine nt I slamic sc holar presented to the media his new 6 00- page fatwa against terroris m and s uic ide bom bing. M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri is a P akis tani-born Sufi sc holar whos e youth works hops fos tering moderation and understanding in Britain had alrea dy caught our attention . His effort to knoc k down any and every a rgument in favour of violenc e is c ertainly welc om e. But the bac k s tory to this event is s o c omplic ated that it’s hard to repo rt o n the fatwa witho ut s imply ignoring many important parts o f this back s tory. P art of the problem was the P R drum roll leadin g up to ul-Q adri’s news c onferenc e. M inhaj-ulQ uran, his international network to s pread his Sufi teac hings , touted this fat wa in an email to journalis ts a week ago as a u nique event “b ecause at n o ti me i n hi story h as s uch an extensively r es earch ed an d evidenced w ork been p res ent ed by s uch a pr om inent I s lam ic auth ority.” H ype like t his usually prompts journalis ts to throw an i nvitation s traight into the tras h can.

Two days later, on Februa ry 25 , the pitc h was changed to present t his doc ument as “the firs t ever fatwa ag ains t terrorism which d ecl ares t er rorists as dis believers .” N ow, that ’s more likely to grab a bus y jou rnalist’s attention. But once it has acc omplished that, any hack with any experienc e covering I slam finds two big problems with t his desc ription. Firs t, it plays on a widely- held (and som etimes willful) misperception that M us lim leaders have not spoken out agains t I s lam ist violenc e. L arge n umbers of M us lim leaders have denounc ed violenc e, s uicide bom bs, 9/1 1, 7 /7 and many other bloody attac ks by Is lam is t radicals (c heck out a lo ng partial list here). But s inc e there is no real hierarc hy in I s lam , non-M us lims don’t know who has the aut hority to s peak o ut a nd M us lims often c hallenge the a uthority o f those who do . M any of thes e s tatements end up unreported , like the trees nobody hears falling in the forest. But if a ne ws s tory is written with the “firs t ev er” tag in the lead, it gives the fals e impress ion that no other M uslim leader has ever done anything s im iliar before . Sec ond, the c laus e “which d ecl ar es terr oris ts as disbeliev ers ” is diffic ult terrain . I t’s hard for a journalist to veri fy that this is the first s uc h fat wa as no c entral direc tory o f suc h edic ts wo rldwide exis ts. M oreover, who has the a uthority in I slam to declare s om eone a non- M uslim? Al-Q aeda has been c ritic is ed for dec laring its enem ies non-M uslims (an ac t kno wn as t akfir) and either killing them o r urging other M us lims to kill them. I n fact, an important grou p o f m ains tream M uslim sc holars got together in 20 0 4 to iss ue the Amman M ess age that denou nces the us e of takfir. O n the webs ite of the A mm an M ess age is a list of s cholars endors ing it. A mong thos e listed under Pakis tan is none other than al-Q adri… Another problem is that ul-Q adri is s ued an earlier, 15 0- page Urdu vers ion of his fatwa las t Dec em ber and got a tepid rec eption — P akistan’s I nterior Minis ter Rehm an M alik welc om ed it as “a p ositive d ev elopm ent” a nd Pakis tani media – s ee The N ews here — s eem to have given it only short routine coverage. M aybe they’re su fferin g from a fat wa overload there. Ass essing the fat wa’s signific ance is als o diffic ult when even M us lim views of it are quite divided. Chec k out these pos ts in the blogosphere — Q adri’s fatwa breaks no new grou nd (with lots about what his c ritic s think of him) … Shaikh D r T ahir ul-Q adri – A nti-T erroris m Fatwa Without Teeth … Fat was c an be a force for goo d … plus this G uardi an c omm ent Fatwa wars are not the solution. By this morning, the emails promoting the ne ws c onference took another angle : “Th e lau nch of th e fatw a is being r eg arded by m any cir cles as a s ignificant and historic s tep , t h e first time that such an explicit and un equiv oc al d ecr ee ag ainst the p erp etr ators of terror has been broadc ast s o widely.” The spin detec tors go out when jour nalists read “b eing r egar ded by many circl es” (and ho w m any s quares or triangles , o ne m ight as k). “His toric” is totally overus ed. But this statem ent at leas t m akes s ens e by the end, bec aus e it talks about the firs t tim e s uch a fat wa “h as b een br oadc ast so wid ely.” Mic hael Holden, a c orres pondent in our London bu reau , dealt with all t his by interviewing ulQ adri a day in advanc e (c lic k here for the s tory) to foc us on him and his fat wa rather tha n the hype around it. H e added us eful bac kground c omments from Tim W inter, a lec turer in Is lamic s tudies at Cam bridge Univers ity, who c alled the fat wa “a helpful initiativ e” and ad ded: “T o decl ar e th e mis creants as unbeli evers is unus u al, b ec aus e it is n ot r eally cl ear t hat th e rul es all ow on e s imply to s ay t h at they ar e n ot Mus lims … Th os e wh o ar e already hardlin ers will pay no att enti on at all. But ’s wing vot ers ’ — poorly ed ucat ed and angry Mus lims , who r es pect mainstream s chol ars , will pr obably t ake not e.” This fat wa s houldn ’t bec ome another un heard tree falling in the forest, but sc reening o ut all the surrou nding nois e about it is not eas y. What do you think about ul-Q adri’s fat wa a nd ho w the media c overed it?

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htt p://in.re ut ers.com/a rticle /w or ldNew s/idI NIndia-46566120100301

Prominent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatwa By Mi cha el Holde n Mon M ar 1 , 2010 9 :5 5 pm IST LO N DO N (Reuters ) - A prom inent I s lam ic scholar is to iss ue a 6 00- page religious edic t denounc ing ter rorism in L ondon on T ues day in what he s ays is a bid to pers uade young M us lims to turn their bac ks on extremis m. The fat wa from M uhamm ad T ahir ul-Q adri, a leading figure who has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years, echoes edic ts c ondem ning extremis m issued by a num ber of Islamic groups since the Sept. 1 1 attac ks on the U nited States. But Q adri s ays his fat wa, which dec lares terrorists and s uicide bombers to be u nbelievers , goes further tha n a ny p revious denunc iation. "This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written," said Q adri, who has written a bout 35 0 books on Is lam ic s c holars hip and is a sc holar of Sufism , a long tradition within I s lam that focus es on peac e, toleranc e and moderation . "I have tried to leave not a s ingle s tone unturned on this partic ular s ubjec t and I have tried to addres s every single ques tion relevant to t his s ubjec t," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Q adri, 5 9, who was bo rn in P akis tan, is head o f the global M inhaj ul- Q uran religious and educ ational organisation whic h s preads his Sufi ideas . A former P akis tani m inis ter and ass ociate of as sassinated Prime M inister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide prom oting his m es s age of harmony and was one of the firs t M uslim leaders to c ondem n the Sept. 1 1 attac ks. Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic studies at Cambridge University, s aid while t here had been s imilar fat was in the pas t, Q adri did appear to have go ne furt her than m os t.

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"To declare the m isc reants as unbelievers is unus ual, bec aus e it is not really c lear that t he rules allow one s imply to say that they are not M uslims," he told Reuters. "Those who are already hardliners will pay no atte ntion at all. But 's wing voters ' - - poorly educated and a ngry M uslims , who respect mains tream sc holars , will probably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative," he s aid. HEL LFI RE Q adri s aid he felt c om pelled to is sue the edict bec aus e of concerns about the radic alis ation of British M uslims at univers ity campuses and bec aus e there had been a lack of c ondem nation o f extrem ism by M uslim cleric s and s c holars . Nigerian U mar Farouk Abdulmutallab, acc used of trying to bomb a U .S.- bou nd plane o n Christm as Day, s tudied at a L ondon univers ity until 2 008 . Y emen, where A bdulmutallab began his journey , has s aid he was radicalised while in Britain. "The reality is that whatever these terro ris ts are doing it is not m artyrdom. All these activities are taking t hem to hellfire," Q adri s aid. He is c onfident that the edic t will have a s ignificant im pac t, s aying he had dra wn on c las sical teac hings and authorities ac c eptable to all sects of I slam . "I will s ay more than 50 perc ent will change their way, they will be influenc ed. O f the rem aining 50 perc ent at leas t s ome of them , hal f o f them , will become doubtful about their life, their terro ris t ac tivity," he s aid. While Q adri has followers ac ros s the globe, it is in Pakis tan, where he has millions of follo wers, and in the dias pora that his impact would be greates t, W inter s aid. Britain has about 1.7 million M us lims, m ainly of P akis tani descent, and the sec urity s ervic es say that nearly all major ter roris m plots s ince 2001, including the 2 005 London bombings whic h killed 5 2 people, were linked to P akis tan. Government offic ials will be among thos e joining Q adri for the launc h o f the fat wa in c entral London. T he M uslim C ouncil of Britain, a n umbrella orga nisation repres enting s om e 5 0 0 Islamic groups , s aid the fat wa was welc om e. "It is entirely laudable fo r sc holars s uc h as Tahir ul-Q adri to s peak out agains t terroris m," it said in a s tatement. Although his pronounc em ent will be goo d news for the a uthorities in Britain and other Western governments s eeking to win M uslim support to stamp out extrem is m, Q adri s aid their bac king is irrelevant to his views . (E diting by C harles D ick)

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Islamic scholar says suicide bombers will 'go to hell' By Jerome Taylor, Religio us Aff airs Correspondent Monday, 1 March 2010

Shaikh ul-Qadri is exp licit in his con dem nation of suicide bom bings, kidnappin gs and the killing of innocents which h e de scribes as ?a bsolutely a gain st the teachings of Islam?

A re specte d I slam ic scho lar will p ublish a seminal fatwa tomorrow that une quivo cally con dem ns terrorism and warn s suicide bombers that they will “ go to hell” for their attacks. Pakistani- born Shaikh Dr T ahir ul- Qa dri is la unchin g his fat wa in London as p art of a drive to com bat the po wer of jihadist rhetoric on the web an d provide En glish- speak in g Muslim s with an authoritative theolo gic al explanation detailin g why terrorism is not permitted. Although n umerous fat wa s con demning terrorism have been release d by scholars around the world sinc e 9/11, Shaikh Dr Qa dri’ s 600-pa ge r ulin g is both significant an d un usual beca use it is one of the few ava ila ble in En glish an d online. Those hopin g to combat terrorism have long spoken of their frustration at the traditional I slam ic hierarchy’ s ina bility to exert their influen ce on the internet wher e violent jihadists and Sa udiinfluenc e W aha bis have long reign ed supr em e. Until rec ently English speakin g M uslims could ea sily o btain fat wa s justifying suicide bom bin gs and terrorism, but m any wo uld hav e struggle d to loc ate the m uch m ore mainstream opinion that such attacks are not justifie d. 48

Shaikh Dr Qadri’s r ulin g is unlik ely to sway com mitted extremists who vie w any form of dissent from their uncomprom isin g theolo gic al o utlook a s takfir, a sign of unbe lief. But co unter terrorism officia ls an d m ainstream scholar s hope it will help p ersuade those who may be movin g to war ds a violent extremism but have yet to fully devote themselve s to terrorism. Within the British Pakistani comm unity Sha ikh Dr Qadr i - and his grassroots or ganisation Minha jul Quran – is well kno wn and respected. He is a "sh aikh ul-I slam ", one of the highe st position s in Islamic jurispr udence, and the UK branch of Minhaj bo asts som e 25,000 signe d up members, most of whom hail from the British Pakistani community. He learned I slamic jurispr uden ce under the guidance of T ahir Alla uddin, a glo bally admire d scho lar who was born in Ira q and migrate d to the Pakistani c ity of Quetta in the late 1950s. Although their teachin gs h ave Sufi leanin gs – like m uch of Pakistan’s Bar elwi school of I slam doe s – the Minhaj school of thought is very m uch considere d part of the Sunni mainstream . Fin ding fluent and approa cha ble Pakistani scholar s is im portant bec ause the m ajority of Britishborn extrem ists involve d in domestic or over seas plots have f am ily or c ult ural link s within the Pakistani comm unity.

In his fatwa Sh aikh Dr Qa dri, 51, is explic it in his condemnation of suicide bom bin gs, kidnapp in gs and the killing of innocents which he describe s a s “ absolutely a gain st the teachings of I slam”. “ Today’s trage dy is that terrorists, mur derer s, mischief-m on ger s an d rioter s try to prove their crim inal, re bellious, tyrannous, br utal an d blasph emous activitie s a s a r ight and a justified reaction to foreign a ggr ession under the gar b of defen ce of I slam an d nationa l intere sts,” he writes. “ It can in now way be permissible to keep foreign delegates un der unla wf ul custo dy an d m ir der them and other peacef ul non-Muslim citizen s in retaliation for interferen ce, unjust activitie s an d aggr essive a dvance s of their co untrie s. T he one who do es h as no relation to Islam.” Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj ul Quran’ s British win g, describe d the fatwa as an attempt to sow do ubt in the m inds of wanna be extrem ists. “ [Shaikh Dr Qa dr i] ha s hit har d on the terrorists a s it prevents I slam ists from considering suicide bom bers as ‘martyrs’. This fat wa injects doubt into the m inds of potential suicide bom ber s. Extrem ist groups base d in Britain r ecr uit the youth by brain washin g them that they will ‘ with certainty’ be r e war ded in the next lif e an d Dr Qa dri’ s Fat wa ha s rem ove d this k ey intellectual factor from their minds.” Unlike extremists, tra ditional I slamic authorities have be en notoriously slo w to catch on to the appeal of the web in sprea din g their m essa ge. Violent groups such as Al Qa’ida, an d f undamentalist Islamic schools such as Sa udi Ar a bia’ s W aha bism, have lon g used the net to propagate their uncomprom isin g m essa ge s. T heir fat was hav e been tran slate d into score s of lan gua ge s an d ar e rea dily acc essibly, de scribing suicide bom ber s a s “shahideen ” (martyrs) an d those com mitted to violenc e a s “m ujahideen” (ho ly warriors). In contrast, traditional I slamic exe gesis h as r emaine d stubbornly im penetrable to m ost of the world’ s one billion M uslim s. It is usually written in com plex re ligio us Ara bic and is rar ely acce ssible on the web. 49

But som e m ainstream scholar s ar e be ginn ing to play the extrem ists at their own cy ber gam e. In Novem ber the Indepen dent reveale d how Ca iro’s Al Azh ar, the Islamic wor ld’s oldest and most respected un iversity, ha d p ublishe d a serie s of fat was in En glish that explicitly deconstructed the more hardline r ulin gs from Sa udi Ara bia’s W aha bis cler ics. The 200-pa ge book of fat was, kno wn as The Re sponse, was published fre ely online both in English and Ur du, the language spoken most com monly in Pakistan. Shaikh Dr Qadri’s fat wa ha s been we lcom ed by a number of Muslim group s, m any of whom do not usually agre e with each other. The Quilliam Foun dation, an anti-extrem ist think thank com prised of former I slam ists, de scribed it as a “significant step” in co unterin g Saudi an d extremist rhetoric. “ Fatwas by Waha bi-influence d cleric s an d I slam ist ideologues in itiated mo dern terrorism against civilian s,” a spoke sper son said. “ T errorist gro ups such as al- Qae da continue to justify their mass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. Fat wa s that demolish and expose such theological innovations will consign I slam ist terrorism to the dustbin of history.” Inayat Bun gla wala, the former spokesman of the Muslim Co unc il of Britain who ha s frequently cla shed with Quilliam but has gon e on to foun d his o wn anti-extrem ist gro up “ Muslim s4UK”, also agr eed. "This a dds to the view of many Islam ic scholars internationally that terrorism and suic ide bom bin gs are unac ceptable in Islam," he sa id. "It is a po sitive initiative. Anything that helps move youn g people a way from violence an d from those who prom ote violenc e m ust be we lcom ed."

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http:// www.in dependent.co.uk/opinion /comm entators /alexander-m eleagrouhitchens -- houriyaahm ed - to - be - be- effec tive-this - fatwa -needs -to - find -popular- purc has e-1914779 .html

Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens & Houriya Ahmed: To be be effective, this fatwa needs to find popular purchase Wednes day, 3 Mar ch 2010

This is not the firs t time that suc h a condemnation has been iss ued by a s enior Is lam ic authority. Y et there a re t wo aspects to this one whic h set it apart from t he res t. I t is an unequivoc al denu nc iation of suic ide bombings and te rrorism . Dr Q adri c ritic is es others who condemn acts of terror , while at t he s ame tim e providing a c atalogue o f excus es for it. Address ing the audience at t he fat wa launc h in Westm ins ter he s aid: "A total c ondem nation s hould c om e from the M uslim world wit hout playing with ifs or buts . No pretext , no foreign polic y, no talk of occ upation." Previous c ondemnations have often refe rred to ter rorism as har am ( forbid den) . D r Q adri takes this a s tep furthe r by com paring today's terro rists to the 7th century Kharijites , who were exc ommunicated bec aus e they perm itted the killing o f anyone deem ed to be a n obstacle to 'the rule o f God'. D r Q adri insis ts that terroris m is not jus t a forbidden act, but one that leads to expulsion from I slam: "it is an ac t of kufr (disbelief)". Dr Q adri's message is expressly non-politic al. He rec ognis es that terrorism feeds on the politicis ation of religion, and he made this c lear in his pres entation. I t is als o important to note that Dr Q adri's fatwa is not t he produc t of his o wn ij tihad (inter pretation of religious texts ); rather he is relaying p revious edicts taken from ort hodox and class ic al I slamic texts - the authenticity of which no M us lim can dis pute. Minhaj ul-Q uran is bas ed in P akistan, and its decis ion to launch this fat wa in t he U K was c learly a s ymbolic one. B ritain is the European hub of international terror, wit h the majority of Britis h terroris ts being of Pakistani des c ent. T his c ountry sees high levels of extremis t traffic - Britis h c itizens travel to P akis tan to strengthen their ideology as well as rec eive terror training. T hey then ret urn to Britain seeking to comm it or fac ilitate acts of ter ror. Whether o r not this fatwa will be effective rem ains to be s een, however , this is an important doc ument and its real value lies in whether its intellec tual c apital is able to find popular purc has e. T he writer s are from the Centre for Social Cohesion

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Sheikh issues fatwa against all terrorists Muslim lea ders ur ged to deno unce suicide bombers as h ell- boun d 'unbelievers' By Jerome Taylor, Religio us Aff airs Correspondent Wednesday, 3 March 2010

Sheikh Tahir ul-Qa dri at the la unch of his fat wa in London yesterday

British imams must do more to condemn terrorism without any "if s or buts" an d should prono unc e suic ide bom bers as "un believer s" who ar e de stine d for hell, a lea din g I slam ic scholar declare d yesterday. The comm ents were m ade dur ing a remarka ble a ssa ult on the ideolo gy of v iolent Islam ist extremists by Pakistani-born Sheikh T ahir ul-Qa dri, a prom inent theolo gian who la unche d a seminal fat wa in London yester day con dem nin g terrorism in a ll its forms. The 59-year-old scholar, who has written more than 400 books on I slam ic jurispr udenc e, told f ello w Muslim s: "T errorism is terrorism, violen ce is vio lenc e an d it ha s no plac e in I slamic tea ching and no justification can be prov ide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s of ifs and buts. T he wor ld needs an absolute, uncon ditional, un qua lifie d and total con dem nation of terrorism ". He a lso denounce d those who try to justify suicide bombings by claimin g M uslims who carry out such operations ar e martyrs destined for p ara dise. "T hey can 't claim that their suicide bom bin gs ar e martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the M uslim umm a [Islam ic com munity]," he sa id. "No, they become the heroes of hellfire and they are lea din g to war ds hellfire. T here is no place for any m artyrdom and their act is n ever, ev er to be considere d jihad [ho ly str uggle]." 52

Although n umerous fat wa s con demning terrorism have been release d by scholars around the world sinc e 9/11, Dr Qa dri's 600-pa ge r ulin g is both signific ant and un usua l beca use it is on e of the few available in En glish an d onlin e. T hose hopin g to com bat terrorism have lon g spoken of their frustration at the traditional Islam ic hierarchy's in ability to exert their influence on the internet, where v iolent jiha dists an d Sa udi- influen ced Wahabis have lon g re igne d supreme. Dr Qadri's r ulin g also goe s further than m ost previous e dicts by describing terror acts a s so morally unjustifiable that they represent acts of "k ufr" (disbe lief). Mo st previous rulings only go a s far as calling terrorism "haram" (forbidden). Kufr acts are so serio us that those comm itting them essentially forfeit their right to call themselv es M uslims. A version of the fat wa in Urdu will a lso be la unched later this m onth in Pakistan, wher e le adin g scholars have been killed by the T aliban for spe akin g out. La st year Sarfraz Ahme d Naeem i, a respected cler ic an d clo se frien d of Dr Qa dr i, was assassinate d day s after issuin g a ver bal fat wa on national television con dem nin g terrorism . Dr Qadri's fat wa is un like ly to sway committed extremists. But counter-terrorism offic ials an d mainstream scholars hope it will help to persuade those who may be moving to war ds a violent extremism but have yet to devote themselve s fully to terrorist activities. Ra shad Ali, a form er Islam ist who no w r uns the counter-extrem ism think-tank Centri, said Dr Qa dri's vie w that a terrorist is an unbe liev er would ca use many wo uld- be extremists to think again abo ut the religious justifications that they use to rationalise their path towar ds violenc e. "[His] e ssential point is... som eone that se eks to make licit what is explicitly illicit in religious term s, and a gr eed to be so by M uslim doctors of scripture, would then be considere d to have permitted what Go d for ba de, and to do so wo uld take someone o utside the pale of I slam," he said. "This is som ething that will have an impact amongst Muslim comm unities both in the East an d in the West." Fin ding fluent and approa cha ble Pakistani scholar s is im portant bec ause m ost British- born extremists involve d in dom estic or overse as p lots have f amily or cultural links within the Pakistani com munity. Dr Qadri is a " she ikh ul-I slam ", one of the highe st positions in Islam ic jur ispr udence, and also the hea d of Minhaj ul-Qur an, a glo bal Islamic gro up with a bout 25,000 UK members, mostly from the British Pakistani comm unity. Although his teachings hav e Sufi leanings – like much of Pakistan's Bar elwi school of I slam – as an I slam ic scholar h e is con sidere d part of the Sunni main stream .

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Sheikh issues fatwa aga inst all terrorists P os ted by T he I ndep en dent We d nes d ay , 3 M arc h 2 0 10 a t 1 2 :1 6 am Aut h or: By J erome T ayl or, Reli gi ous A ffa irs Corres po nd ent

T he c om men ts we re m a de d uri n g a rem ark ab le as s aul t o n the ide olog y o f vio lent Islam is t ex t rem ists by P ak is ta ni -b orn Shei kh T ahi r u l-Q ad ri, a p romi nent the olog ian wh o la u nc he d a s emin al fa t wa in Lon don y es terday c ondem ni ng t erro ris m i n all i ts fo rms .

T he 59 -yea r-ol d s c hola r, who has writ ten mo re t han 40 0 bo oks on Islam ic ju ris pru de nc e, tol d fe ll ow M us lims : "T erroris m is terroris m , v iol e nc e is v io le nc e and it has no plac e i n Is l am ic te ach ing a nd no jus ti fic a ti on ca n be provi de d fo r it , or a ny k in d of exc us es of i fs a nd bu ts . The wo rld nee ds a n abs ol ut e, u nc ondi ti on al, u nqu ali fi ed a nd to ta l c on dem nat io n o f t e rro ris m" .

He a ls o de nou nc ed th os e who t ry t o just i fy s u icid e bom bi ngs by cl aimi n g M uslim s who c arry o u t s uch o pe rat io ns are ma rty rs d esti ned

for paradis e. "T hey c an't cl aim

that t heir s uic i de

bom bi n gs a re

ma rtyrd om ope rati ons a nd t ha t th ey b ecom e th e h eroes o f t he M uslim um ma [Is lam ic c omm uni ty ]," he s aid . "N o, t hey bec ome th e heroes of hell fire a nd they are l ea din g to wards he ll fire . T here is no pl ace for a ny m a rtyrdom and thei r ac t is neve r, ever to b e c o ns id ere d ji ha d [holy s tru gg le ]."

Alt ho ugh nume rous fat was c ond em nin g te rroris m h av e bee n rel eas ed by s c ho la rs a ro und t he world s i nce 9 /1 1 , D r Q adri 's 60 0 -pa ge ruli n g is bo t h s i g ni fic ant an d u nus ua l bec aus e i t is o ne of th e fe w ava il ab le in E ngl ish an d o nl ine . T h ose hop ing to c om bat te rroris m h ave lo ng s pok en o f t hei r frus trat ion at t he t rad itio nal Is lam ic hi era rchy 's i nab ili ty t o exert thei r i n fl ue nc e o n th e in ternet , wh e re vi ole n t jih ad is ts and Sau di- i n flue nce d W a ha bis ha ve long rei gned s u prem e.

D r Q ad ri 's rul i ng als o goes fu rthe r t ha n m os t pre vi ous e dic ts by des c ri bi ng te rror acts as s o mo rally u njust i fiable th at t hey rep rese nt ac ts o f "k u fr" (dis b el ie f). M os t p re vi ous ru li n gs on ly go as fa r as ca ll ing t erro ris m "h aram" (forbi dde n). Ku fr ac ts a re s o s e ri o us th at thos e c omm it ti n g t hem es s en ti al ly forfei t t hei r ri g ht to c al l t hems e lves M uslim s .

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A v ers io n o f th e fat wa i n U rdu wi ll a ls o be lau nche d l at er this m on th in P akis ta n, wh ere le ad i ng s c ho la rs h av e bee n ki lle d by t he Ta li ban for s pea ki ng o ut . Las t yea r Sarfraz Ahm ed N ae emi , a res pecte d c le ric and c los e frien d o f D r Q ad ri, was as s as s i na te d days aft e r is su in g a v e rbal fat wa on na ti onal tel evis ion c ond em n in g te rroris m.

D r Q ad ri 's fa twa is u nli kely to s way c om mit ted ext remis ts . B ut c ou n te r-t erro ris m o ffici als a n d m ains tream s ch olars ho pe it wi ll he lp to pe rs ua de t hos e who m ay be mov i ng towa rds a vi ol en t e xtrem is m b ut ha ve y et to d evo te t hems el ves ful ly to te rro ris t ac tiv it ies .

Ras had Ali , a fo rm e r Is l am ist wh o no w ru ns t he c oun te r-ext rem is m thin k-t ank C ent ri, s ai d D r Q ad ri's v ie w th at a terroris t is an unbe li ever wou ld c a us e ma ny wou l d-b e e xt rem is ts to thi nk a gai n ab out t he reli gi ous jus t ific a ti o ns t hat t hey us e to rati on al is e th ei r path to wards vi ol enc e.

" [H is ] es se nt ial po in t is ... s ome one that see ks to m ake lic i t wh at is ex plic it ly i ll icit i n relig io us term s , and a gre ed to b e s o by M us lim doc t ors of s c ri ptu re , wo uld the n be c o ns i dere d to ha ve pe rm i tted wh at God forba de , an d t o do s o wo uld ta ke s ome o ne outs i de the p al e of Is lam ," he s ai d. "T his is s om ethi n g t hat wil l h av e a n impac t amo ngs t M uslim comm u nit ies b oth in t he E as t a nd i n th e W es t ."

F in di ng flu ent a nd app roac ha ble P a kis t an i sc h ol ars is im p ort ant bec a us e most B ri tis h-b orn ex trem is ts i nv ol ve d in dom es tic or overse as p lo ts h ave fam i ly o r c u ltu ral l in ks wi t hi n th e P akis tani c om mun it y .

D r Q ad ri is a "s heik h ul-Isl am" , on e of t he h ighes t p os i tions in Is lam ic juris p rud enc e , a n d a lso the hea d of M inh aj ul-Q ura n , a gl o bal Is lamic g ro up wi t h a b ou t 2 5 ,00 0 U K m em bers , m os tly from the Bri t ish P ak is ta ni c omm unit y . A ltho ugh his t eac hi ngs h ave Su fi lea nin gs ? l ike m uc h o f P akis t a n's Ba re lwi sc hool o f Is lam ? as an Is lamic sc h ola r he is c o ns i dere d pa rt o f the Su nni m ains tream

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http://community.livejournal. com /ti_mr/15725.html

Rashad Ali: Why the latest fatwa condemning terrorism is a positive step forward Posted by Jerome T aylor Wedne sday, 3 March 2010 at 05:42 pm By Ra shad Ali Shaykh Dr Tahir ul-Qa dri (pictur e d) is a scholar of repute who h as follo win g a cross the Ea st and the West. He is a M uslim scholar who ha d the likes of the al- Azhar in stitution of Cairo a dvo catin g his scholarship an d kno wle dge. Al-Azhar in f act is se eking for the first tim e to have a colle ge in Pakistan un der Qa dri’ s auspice s. Ye sterday he la unche d his extensive fat wa - a religio us e dict addressin g all of the basic issues of terrorism, taking c ivilian life, tactics of terror but also details an d ancillary issues that relate to Islamist terror tactics such as takin g civilian hostage s, attacking people in “ occ upie d territories”, “resistance” an d for eign policy an d defining r ule s of con duct durin g warfar e. But the fatwa doe s not stop there. His ruling goes on to clearly declare that not only are the actions of a terrorist something antithical to bein g a M uslim (he quoted a n umber of Prophetic sayings stating that “A Muslim is som eone whom people ar e safe from his h an d an d tongue”), but moreover a terrorist believe s his or her a ctions ar e sanctione d and in fact, o bliged by Islam. T his is then som ething that contradicts the fun dam ental principle s of Islamic be lief and wo uld take someone o ut of the ambit of Islam. This theologica l point is strong an d po werful. The e ssential point is som eone that seeks to make licit wh at is exp lic itly illicit in re ligio us term s, an d a gree d upon to be so by M uslim doctors of scripture, would then be considere d to have perm itted what Go d for ba de an d to do so wo uld take som eone o utside the pa le of I slam . He then cite d Imam Abu Mansur al-M atur idi from the 4th century of Islam , a scho lar who is considered one of the t wo lea ding authorities in Sunni ortho dox cre e d. He clearly stated that those who permit spillin g the blood of inno cent people are com mitting "kufr" (disbe lief) an d are outside the pale of Islam. He then app lie d terrorists who justify the killin g of innocent people, wh ether women, men or children, as f allin g un der these cate gories. He expla ine d that there could also be no usa ge of lan gua ge for political purpo ses surro un din g the phrase “innocent people”. He em phasize d that all people by virt ue of their h umanity wer e innoc ent, with no buts or ifs. ( He was quite emphatic in making this point). He e la borated that the Prophet M uhamm ad and the four caliphs ha d ma de the I slam ic stance clear and beyon d dispute; killin g c ivilians, in fa ct choppin g do wn tree s, was a ga inst the rule s of con duct during war. He then went onto disc uss the various sayings of the prophet ela bor ating that the Kharijite tendency 56

wo uld exist within Muslim s. T he khar ijite s were a r eligious sectarian group, which wer e the first to use the slo gan of ‘only the rule of Go d’, as a politic al slo gan to justify killin g those again st the rule of God in their ey es. T hey were the group beh in d the assassination of the fo urth caliph Ali, the son in-la w of the Prophet Muham mad. Dr Qa dri, c ited jurists from all of the four main sunn i schools of religio us r ule s, an d in dependent authorities such a s Ibn Taymia in justifyin g all of the above points of v iew. He ackno wle dge d that som e scho lars of the past have fallen short of de scribing such people a s outside the pa le of Islam, but all a gree d that they sho uld fo ught. He con dem ned Islamists who seek to reje ct democra cy, liberty and hum an rights due to a warp ed interpretation of Islam , an d a dvoc ated that M uslims enga ge and reco gn ise that Islam was a faith which welcom e d democracy, h um an rights, liberty and modern states. He r efuted the idea of the nee d for a single ca liphate. Rather all states where there wa s justice were I slam ic. All states co uld claim to be caliphates if there was democracy an d justic e. In a Q and A after war ds he explic itly con dem ne d all sorts of terrorism without reserv e, an d explain e d that even if people have just ca use s, or per ceiv e that they have just ca use s, they cannot enga ge in terrorism . He condemne d suicide bom bin g an d terrorism in I srae l an d Palestine, an d any wher e else in the world. He ende d with a note that people, Muslim s an d non-M uslim s, should un ite in this fight aga inst the com mon enem y, the enem y of humanity, Islam and M uslim s, the terrorists. The power of these words am ongst M uslims is y et to be seen. As a scholar, his wor ds are h ea ded amongst M uslims. Fun dam entally as a scholar, who has following a cross diff erent se cts, differ ent schools of thought, sh afi’I in Yem en, Hanaf iya in Pakistan – in cluding som e deobandi as well as Bar ela wi schoo ls. T his is som ething that will have im pact amongst Muslim comm unities both in the East an d the W est. At least the scholar ly and well cite d writings, from vario us Qur’an exe gesis, ha dith collection s, an d authorities on medieva l an d po st mediev al I slam ic scriptura l exe gesis, sho uld at lea st make people take this ser io usly. Comm unities sho uld be embo ldened by h is stance. T hose justifyin g acts of terror or supportin g the ca use, sho uld be cha llen ged and on the back foot. T hose walk ing the trajectory towar ds terrorism, may or may not take up all of his wor ds, but it may go some way to produc ing elem ents of do ubt in the “ Islam ic ity” of their cause an d end point – not paradise. (The wr iter is a former non-violent Islam ist and mem ber of Hiz b-ut-Tahrir who no w r uns Centri, an organisation which works in the field of de-r a dic alization.)

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http:// www.expres s.c o.uk/posts /view/1 614 25 /Cleric - iss ues- fatwa- on- s uic ide- bom bers

UK NE WS

CLERIC ISSUES FATWA ON SUICIDE BOMBERS

Dr Qa dri deliv ers fatwa aga inst bom bers

W ednesday Mar ch 3,201 0

By Martyn Brown SU ICIDE bom ber s ar e g oing t o hell an d hav e no pla ce in Islam , a highly respected Mu slim lea der said yester day . Dr Muham m ad Tah ir-u l-Qa dri, w ho issu ed a fatwa, or religious ruling, on the fanatics, called on Islam ic lea der s t o convey th e m essage that act s of t error ism cut people off fr om their r elig ion. He t old MPs, r epresentativ es fr om th e police, charit ies, th ink -tanks and oth er grou ps: “Th ey can’t cla im tha t their suicide bom bing s ar e m arty rdom operat ion s and that they becom e th e heroes of th e Umm a, the wider Mu slim comm unity. No, they becom e her oes of hellfir e an d th ey are lea ding t owards h ellfir e." “Th er e is n o place for any m artyrdom an d th eir act is n ev er, ev er t o be consider ed jiha d (struggle).” Pa kistan-born Dr Qa dri, wh o spok e in English and Arabic, said h is fatw a w as an “absolu te” con dem nation of terr orism without “any excuses or pr etexts”. “G ood int en tion s cann ot convert an ev il int o g ood,” h e a dded.

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“Terror ism is t err or ism , violence is v iolence and it has no pla ce in Islam ic t each ing an d n o justification can be prov ided for it, or any kind of ex cu ses or ifs or buts.” He in sist ed that Islam was a religion of pea ce that prom ot ed beauty , betterm ent, g oodn ess and “n egat es all form of m ischief and str ife”. Th e 60 0-pag e fatwa by Dr Qadri, foun der of the Minha j-ul-Quran m ov em ent, which has thousands of support er s acr oss th e w orld, w ill be tran slat ed into Eng lish in th e com ing weeks. His talk w ill also be m ade available onlin e in an att em pt t o count er extrem ist ver sion s of Islam av aila ble on the int ern et. Th e fatwa ha s been billed a s “arguably th e m ost com prehensiv e” theological r efutation of Islam ic terrorism so far by the count er-extr em ism thin k-tank th e Quilliam foundat ion . Dr Qa dri’s Minhaj-ul-Quran m ov em ent run s courses in com bating r eligiou s ex trem ism in educat iona l centr es thr ough out Brita in in clu ding London, Birm ingham , Manch est er, Nelson, W alsall and Gla sgow. Sch olar Shaikh Mohamm ed Hisham Kabbani, of th e Centr e for Spir ituality an d Cu ltural Adv ancem ent, w elcom ed Dr Qa dri’s fatw a. “Th is scholar ship is a landm ark in ena bling Mu slim s living in th e UK t o be able t o silence the sm all m in ority of people w ho think it is O K t o comm it violent act s in th e nam e of Islam ,” he said. “We ar e ha ppy an d h on our ed t o be w ork ing with Dr Qa dr i to support th e U K Muslim s in count ering the ra dica l Islam ist rh etor ic.” Com m unities Minist er Shah id Malik, wh ose Dew sbury con stituen cy was h om e to Lon don suicide bom ber Mohamm ad Siddique Khan, said: “ It is in cum bent on Muslim s to stan d u p for their fa ith. I v ery m uch welcom e th e w or k of Dr Qa dri in h elping rein force this m ost cru cia l of m essag es t o Muslim s an d n on-Mu slim s alik e.” Th e word fatw a becam e kn own in the W est in 1 989 after Satanic Ver ses author Salm an Ru shdie received a death threat fr om Iranian leader Ay at ollah Kh om eni.

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Suicide bombers are the enemies of Islam: Muslim leader condemns terrorists with fatwa By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 11:51 AM on 03rd March 2010 The leader of a worldwide Muslim movement today issued a fat wa condemning terrorists and suicide bombers as the enemies of Islam. Pakistan-born Dr MuhammadTahir-ul-Qadri said there were no 'ifs or buts' about terrorism and such acts had no justification in the name of Islam. In a news conference today he calledon Islamic leaders to convey the message that acts of terrorism cut people off as true followers of Islam.

Muslim scholar, Dr MuhammadTahir-ul-Qadri, launches a fatwa - or Islamic religious ruling - that condemns suicide bombings today 'They can't claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umma (the wider Muslim community), no, they become heroes of hellfire, andthey are leading towards hellfire,' he said.

'There is no place for any martyrdom and their act is never, ever to be considere d Jiha d,' he said. Dr Qadri, who spok e at len gth in both English an d Arabic before h is a udien ce, said his fat wa, a religious e dict or rulin g, was an 'a bsolute' con dem nation of terrorism witho ut 'any exc use s or pretexts'. 'Goo d intentions c annot convert a wrong into goo d, they cannot convert an evil into good, ' he said. 'Terrorism is terrorism , violenc e is violence and it has no place in I slam ic teaching an d no justific ation can be provide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or if s or buts.'

7/7 bom ber Shehz a d T anweer in a jiha dist video r ecorde d before his de ath He insisted that Islam wa s a r eligion of peace that promotes bea uty, 'betterment', goodn ess an d 'negates all form of mischief and strife'. The 600-page f atwa by Dr Qa dri, foun der of the glo bal Minhaj- ul- Quran m ovement, which ha s thousan ds of supporters a cross the wor ld a s well as in the UK, will be translated into English in the com ing weeks. His talk will also be m a de availa ble on line in an attempt to counter extremist versions of I slam available on the internet. The fatwa h as been billed as 'argua bly the most com prehensive' theolo gica l ref utation of Islam ic terrorism to date by co unter-extremism think-tank the Quilliam foun dation. The Minhaj-ul-Qur an movem ent said it runs cour se s in com batin g re ligious extrem ism in educational centres throughout Britain including Lon don, Birmingham, Manche ster, Nelson, Walsall an d Gla sgo w. It curr ently has an offic e in Dundee. A fatwa, an edict issue d by a learn ed Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the W estern wor ld in 1989 after the author Sa lman Rushdie was force d into hiding follo win g a 'death fat wa' issue d by Ayatollah Khomeni, then Supreme Lea der of Iran, on the gro unds that his book, The Satanic Verse s, ha d 'insulted' Islam. 61

http:/ /ww w.thisisl ondon.c o.uk/standar d/ar ticle -238 10140 -is -this -a-tr ium ph-for-the -islam icpeacemake rs.do

Is this a triumph for the Islamic peacemakers? A llegr a M ostyn-Owen 26.02.10

Speaking against extremism: Allegra Mostyn-Owen meets Dr Tahir ul-Qadri

O n T ues day in L ondon , a revered M us lim sc holar will an nounc e a fat wa against s uic ide bombing in the nam e o f I s lam . H ere, Allegra M ostyn-O wen talks exc lus ively to Dr T ahir ulQ adri as he outlines his his toric vision... I meet D r T ahir ul-Q adri in a neat , ter rac ed hous e in Ba rking where he emerges from his s tudies res plendent in an elegant silk striped grey and white j uba and a blac k woollen hat . I am honoured to be in his presence bec aus e he is considered a living s aint by his follo wers. A ll Sunni an d m ainly P akis tani, they c elebrate his birthday and his photograph ador ns all the m os ques which are part o f M inhaj-ul-Q uran, the movement whic h he has s pent years rais ing into an i nternational o rganisation. It n ow operates in 3 3 c ountries and advis es the British G overnm ent on ho w to combat yout h ra dic alisation.

Minhaj- ul-Q uran welc omed, for example , the news las t m onth t hat plans to build E uro pe's bigges t mosque c los e to the O lympic s ite had been blocked. Weeks earlier, the group ur ged polic e to prevent I slamic extrem ists marching throug h Wootton Bas s ett. “T hes e kind of extrem ists do not repres ent the British M us lims ,” they said. D r ul-Q adri is impressively ecumenical in his relations with other faiths suc h as Shia and Chris tian. He gets a lot o f flak for this from thos e who do not agree with his views. O n Tues day, in central L ond on, D r ul-Q adri, friend of form er prim e minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto wh o was as sassinated in 200 7, will dec lare suicide bombings and terro rism un- Is lamic . Taken from a 6 00- page doc ument published in Pakis tan last month, Dr ul-Q adri will us e texts in the Koran a nd other I s lam ic writings to argue that s uic ide and terroris t attac ks are “abs olutely agains t the teac hings of Is lam and that I s lam does not perm it s uc h ac ts on any exc use, reason or pretext ”. I firs t m et Dr ul-Q adri five years ago at his headquarters in L ahore, where I was for a we dding. I was recently married m yself fo r the s econd time — as the form er wife of M ayor Boris J ohns on I 'd wed again in s ecret to my 23 -year- old M us lim lover, hims elf from L ahore. H is parents kne w nothing about it. Sinc e 2 0 05 , I have bee n giving art c las s es for wom en and children at the Minhaj- ul-Q uran m os que in Forest G ate. Today, in Barking , Dr ul- Q adri is foc us ing on the problem s of ho w m any yo ung British Pakistanis are being radic alis ed. Although the G overnment is wo rking hard , says D r ul-Q adri, they are working on the wrong lines . I n other words, he believes , that the G overnment has not kept abreas t of the m ulti- culturalis m of its own people . “E ngland is the hub of t he Wes tern wo rld. T here is a big c om munity here o f ar ound t wo m illion with a P akis tani background. The c om munities are in great numbe rs.” As Dr ul-Q adri s ees it, no te rrorists have emerged from a Sunni or Su fi bac kground: ins tead, t hey have c om e from t he Salafis (W ahhabis ) or D eobandis . The Deobandis are a Sout h A sian variant whic h is clos e to the G ulf- orientated Wah habis. “Every Salafi and Deobandi is not a terroris t but I have no hesitation in saying t hat everyo ne is a well- wis her of terrorists and this has not bee n ap preciated by the Wes tern gover nm ents ,” he s aid. Dr ul-Q adri, who has the authority o f a Sheikh– ul- Islam, a title given to those who have s uperior knowledge of the princ iples of the faith, is c oming out with his statem ent no w because the Wahha bis and Deoban dis have been s ilent in c ondem ning the killings in Pakis tan and abroad. They dominate much of the a pparatus o f s tate in P akistan — as well as mos t of the m osques in L ondon — whic h is why in the W es t we rec eive mixed mess ages : the m ilitary launc hes vast offensives while t he religious an d ed uc ation m inis tries say nothing. As a res ult, many in t he Wes t believe that the church in P akistan is not doing eno ugh to c ounter the violenc e. British-Pakistanis lured into extremis m pres ent a pec uliar pro blem bec aus e, when they go to Pakistan to furt her their mur derous am bitions , they have mixed loyalties. T hey do not feel British but nor do they feel wholly P akis tani and yet t hey are a diplomatic nightmare for both c ountries. T erroris m is , D r ul-Q adri s ays , an intellectual phenom enon as it applies to Britis hPakistanis . They have been groomed from an early a ge in their D eobandi- leaning mos ques where they are taught that they are living in a ka fir s ociety whe re they cannot integrate. I t is an “us and them” way o f thinking and the narrow- mindedness s tarts when children atten d mos que from the age of five. But , as D r ul-Q adri s ays : “is olation is not the I slamic model — integration was the prac tice of the H oly Prophet in the soc iety of M edina”.

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The maulvis (untutored c lerics) give a m is guided c onc ept of J ihad: “This is the burning is s ue of the whole world,” says D r ul-Q adri. O nc e thes e children have been groomed into intellec tual c ons ervatis m, they are very s us c eptible to extrem ism es pec ially if they are not attac hed to s oc iety by a job. “Those who still have c ontac t with [s uc h cleric s ], whether they ac t o ut their ideas or not, they will be well- wishers of the T aliban,” he s ays . Sinc e the governm ents and agencies working o n a nti- terroris m are not brought up i n M us lim culture, D r ul- Q adri believes they do not unders tand. “Still their polic ies are not on the right trac k.” I as k him about the role of art in children's education. It is c ommonly thought that Is lam is c ontrary to art. He has no quibbles : he s ees art as helping to s atis fy one aspect of the hum an pers onality. “I s lam wants a balanc ed pers onality,” he says. “We teach c hildren intellectually and ac ademic ally. T he fight agains t the darkness of ig noranc e, the fig ht for c harity: this is the true jiha d.”

Why this fatwa for peace matters so much to us all By D ou glas Murray , Direct or of the Centre for Soci al Coh esion The most c om monly asked ques tions s inc e the 9/11 and 7 /7 terroris t attac ks is “W here are t he M us lim clerics who c ondemn violent ac tions ? W here are t he voic es of oppos ition to violenc e being c ommitted by people i n the name of I slam? ” I t is no sm all point. I n rec ent years , when they have been neede d m os t, far to o fe w M us lim leaders have uneq uivocally c ondem ned violenc e c ommitted in the name of I slam. I n fact, weasel words and do uble- speak have been endem ic. So a s entence that m ay to m any pe ople seem clear, s uc h as “There can be no jus tific ation for the killing of innoc ent peo ple” is filled with c aveats . What is an “innoc ent” person? W ho dec ides who is or is not “innocent”? Too m any M uslim religious figures s ound as if they are condemning violenc e when in fact they are m erely c ondem ning violence in c ertain s ituations, agains t certain people. So there a re t wo potentially s ignific ant things about the fatwa being releas ed by T ahir ul-Q adri. The firs t is that the r uling is s aid, by those who have s een it in a dvanc e, to inc lude a c om prehensive c ondemnation of violenc e, taking a way a ny religious jus tific ation for attac ks without caveats for “grievanc es ” or other excus es . The s econd thing which makes this 60 0page r uling potentially im portant is that Dr ul-Q adri has a highly res pec ted sc holarly bac kground. His ruling has the pos sibility of being respected by a far wide r ra nge of people t han a ny o f thos e individual non- s cholarly M us lim voic es who have als o c ondem ned ter roris m without c aveat. Dr ul-Q adri has a large following, both here in the UK an d in Pakistan. H e is als o respected for his ability to c ross some of the nota ble s ec tarian boundaries that abound in the I s lam ic faith as in all others . E ven M uslims who might dislike D r ul-Q adri will not be able to dis miss him out o f hand. Yet even if the contents of t his fatwa a re what people have lo ng hoped for , it will not , of c ourse, stop I slam ic terroris m s traight away. A single fat wa will not change the level of denial and lac k of s elf- criticis m inherent in s o m uc h of m odern I slam. Nor will it s top every feve red yo ung radical eager to kill and maim. But the tric kle- down effec t is important.

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The most violent interpretations of I slam have indeed tric kled do wn to terroris ts via learned scholars . The clean- up operation will have to be dealt with by the s am e m eans. A nd we will have to hope, as ever, that t he peac eful M uslim sc holars in this m illennia-long battle within I s lam , c an indeed win thro ugh. For all our s ake

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http:// www.nationalpos t.com /ne ws /story.htm l?id=26 346 49

Top Islamic scholar issues 'absolute' fatwa against terror 'Heroes Of Hellfir e' Mich ael Hold en , Reu ter s; With Files Fr om Agen ce Fran ce-Pr esse Published: W ednesday , Marc h 03, 2010

Carl Court, AF P, Getty Images

Dr. Tahir ul-Qadr i h as issued an "ab so lu te" fatwa again st terro rism an d extr emism.

A pr om inent Islam ic sch olar denounced t err orism in Lon don, Engla nd, yester day , issuing a fatwa he hopes will per su ade young Mu slim s t o turn their back s on extrem ism . Dr . Tahir ul-Qadri sa id ther e w ere no "ifs or but s" a bout t err or ism , a dding h e w anted to convey the m essage that act s of terror ism cut people off a s tru e follower s of Islam . 66

"Th ey can 't cla im that th eir suicide bom bing s ar e m arty rdom operat ion s an d that they becom e th e heroes of th e Muslim Um m a [th e w ider Mu slim community ]. N o, they becom e her oes of h ellfire, an d th ey are lea ding t owar ds hellfir e," he sa id. "Th er e is n o place for any m artyrdom an d their act is nev er, ever t o be con sidered jihad." Yester day 's ev en t in Lon don w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a g ov ernm entfun ded anti-extrem ism think-tank , an d Dr. Qadr i a ddressed an audience that inclu ded Lon don 's Metropolitan Police, lawm aker s an d officials from charita ble organizations. His 600-page fatwa was an "a bsolute" condem nation of t error ism w ithout "any ex cuses or pr et ext s." "Good int ent ions cannot conv ert a wrong int o g ood, th ey cann ot convert an ev il int o g ood," added Dr . Qa dri, who ha s been liv ing in Southern Ontario for th e pa st four years. "Terror ism is t err or ism , violence is v iolence and it has no pla ce in Islam ic t each ing an d n o justification can be prov ided for it, or any kind of ex cu ses or ifs or buts." His w ords ech o edict s condem ning extrem ism issu ed by several Islam ic gr oups sin ce the 9/1 1 attack s. Bu t Dr. Qa dri say s h is fatw a, w hich declar es t err or ists and su icide bom ber s to be un believer s, g oes further than any pr evious denunciation. "Th is is the fir st, m ost com preh en siv e fatwa on the subject of t err orism ever w ritt en," sa id the sch olar , w ho ha s written a bout 35 0 book s on Islam ic scholar ship an d is a scholar of Su fism , a long tra dition within Islam tha t focuses on peace, t olerance an d m oderation. "I h av e tr ied t o leav e not a sing le st on e unturned on th is particular subject and I have tried t o addr ess ev ery sing le question r elev ant to this subject ." Dr . Qa dri, 59, who w as born in the Punja b city of Jhang , Pak istan , is hea d of th e global Minhaj ul-Quran religious and educational or ganization that spr eads his Su fiidea s. A form er Pak istani m inister an d a ssociat e of Benazir Bhut t o, the assa ssinated form er prim e m inister, h e deliv er s lectur es w or ldwide prom oting his m essag e of harm ony . Tim W int er, a lectur er in Islam ic studies at Cam bridge Un iversity , sa id while th er e ha d been sim ilar fatw as in th e past, Dr. Qa dri ha d g one further than m ost.

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"To declar e th e m iscreants as unbeliev er s is unu sua l, because it is n ot r eally clear that th e rules a llow on e sim ply t o say that they ar e n ot Muslim s," he said. "Th ose wh o ar e alrea dy hardlin er s will pay n o a ttention at all. But 'swing v oter s' -- poorly educat ed and angry Mu slim s, who respect m ainstream sch olars, will pr obably tak e n ote."

The Times of India UK htt p://t imesofind ia. ind iat ime s.c om /world/uk/ Pak -c le rics -600- pa ge -fatwa aga inst-terr or- attacks/art icle show/5634982. cms

Pak cleric's 600-page fatwa against terror attacks ASHIS RAY, T NN, M ar 3, 2010, 12.30am IST

LO NDO N: Influe ntial Pakistani Islam ic scholar, Tahir ul-Q adri, on Tue sday issued a 600-page fat wa condem ning terrorists and suicide bom be rs. The fatwa is a point by point the ological re buttal to fanaticism of al-Qaida and its offshoots. "The reality is that whate ver the se terrorists are doing isn't m artyrdom . All the se activitie s are tak ing them to hellfire ,'' Q adri said in a stateme nt on Tue sday. He said Islam forbids m assacre of innocent citize ns and de scribe d al-Qaida as "an old evil with a ne w nam e''. Policy-make rs and se curit y chie fs will follo w the im pact of the ruling wi th k e en intere st. "I'll say that 50% (of those prone to viole nce ) will change the ir way, the y will be influe nce d. O f the rem aining 50% at least some of them , half of them , will be com e doubtful about their life , their terrorist activi ty,'' said Cam bridge University Islam ic Studies le cture r, Tim W inte r, in his assessm ent to Sk y Ne ws. He said there have bee n similar fatwas in the past, but Q adri's edict had gone furthe r than m ost. The influential scholar has bee n at the fore front of promoting peace and inte rfaith dialogue and he ads an international re ligious and e ducational organisation Minhaj ul-Q uran.

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Fatwas can be a force for good htt p://ww w .guardian.co .uk/ comm ent isfree/belief/2010/f eb/26/f atw a-salman-rushdie t errorism By Ed Husain F ri da y 2 6 Fe bru a ry 2 01 0 1 1 .30 GM T Sad ly, we al l rem em be r t he dea th warra nt o n S alm a n R ush die but nex t mo n th a fat wa a ga i nst terro ris m wi l l be deliv e red

F ol lo wi ng t he S alma n R ush d ie a ffa i r, th e word fatwa bec am e c omm onpl ac e in o ur vernac ula r – it, l am e nt ably , bec ame as s oc i at ed wi th death , ki ll i ng, a nd c ens ors hip . But t o m os t M us lim s , th e wo rd fat wa is no t a pol it ical term , b ut a n u n bi n ding rel ig io us e dict is sue d by eru di te sc h ol a rs wh o take i nto c ons i de rati on t he ne eds of the m ode rn world . W hil e mos t o f us rem em ber t he I ran ia n c l eric Ayatol la h Khom ei ni's fat wa o f de at h, how ma ny remembe r t he ot her s ch ol ar, Za ki Ba dawi , wh o o ffe re d re fu ge an d s olac e to t he th en b ele agu ered Rus hdie? Sad ly, fa twas wi th deat h wa rra nts are s t il l d eem ed nec ess a ry by s ome . O nl y t his week , a le adi ng Saud i Wa h ha bi c le ric is s ue d a fat wa s ugges ti ng de at h for M us l ims wh o p ro pa gate fre e in te rac tion wi th m embe rs o f t he o ppos ite s ex . T his des truc tive c yc le o f jud gin g M uslim s' re li gi ous be lie fs , t he n is s uin g e xc omm unic ati ons o r t akfi r, fol lo wed by c al ls fo r th eir deat hs , l ies behi n d t he m od ern te rro rism of alQai da an d T ali ba n s lau ghte r of M us lims i n I raq o r P akis tan . Rig h tly , t he n , m an y as k wh e re a re prom ine nt M us l im vo ices who op pos e ex t rem is m an d t e rro ris m? Nex t week , here in B ri ta in, o ne s uc h ren owned M us lim o pi ni on- form er will deliv er a hard-hi ttin g fat wa a ga i ns t s uic i de bom bings an d te rro rism . Fo unde r o f th e vas t P ak is ta ni g ras s ro ots m oveme nt kn own as M inh aj ul Q ura n , D r Ta h iru l Q ad ri has au tho red an u np reced en te d 6 00 -page fa t wa o n why s uic i de b om bi ngs a n d t e rro rism are un-Islam ic and sc ri ptu rally forbi dd en. T his is l ikely to b e a powerful , p opu la r fat wa from a m uc h l ov ed , i nsp iri ng s ch ol ar o f Is lam .

E arl ier th is mo nt h, i nvi ta ti ons to at te nd t he lau nch o f th e fat wa wen t to m os t pa rl iame n tari ans . A l eadi ng Labo ur M P frien d wrote t he fol lo wi ng li nes i n a n em a il t o m e : Is this he lpfu l? D o we ne ed a fat wa to sa y s uic i de bom bing is wron g? S urel y i t sh o uld b e just part of b eing a hum an be ing? We ll , yes an d no . I f ou r pol it ici ans a nd o the rs i gno re t he v al ue o f m ode rat e M us l im lead ers com i ng out wi t h fat was aga i ns t terro ris m , not only do we c l ose do wn a n im port ant and em ergi n g pu bl ic space , we a ls o fo rg et our o wn his to ry o f p rog ress . Afte r a ll , Jo hn Loc k e's works o n to le ra nc e were no t hing m o re

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t han Ch rist ia n fa twas i n the m ids t o f 17 th c entu ry E uro pea n wa rs o f re li gi on . Loc ke wro te wi th referenc es t o th e B ible . H is arg ume nts we re roo te d in theo logy . M ore im po rta nt ly , ho weve r, a promi ne nt M us lim fat wa a gai ns t k il lin g in noce nt pe ople , c it i ng rel ig ious t exts , d oes th ree t hin gs . F irs t , it emb ol de ns o th er M uslim tho ug h t l ea de rs t o am pli fy thei r vo ices agai ns t ex t rem ism . Sec on dl y, it p reven ts ac t ivis t M us lim s from c ons ide ri ng s uic ide b om bers as "ma rtyrs ", a nd t hus rem oves th e he ro s tat us c u rre ntly at tac he d t o mu rde re rs . An d fin ally , a fat wa ch al leng ing pe rc eive d "ma rtyrdom o pe rat io ns " wil l i njec t d o ub t in to th e mi n ds of po te nt ia l s uic i de bom be rs . W h ere th e re is do u bt , i n Is lam ic reli gi ous be havi our, the re is avoi da nce . Suic i de bom be rs c u rre nt ly ki ll beca use t hey ha ve c e rta inty (yaq ee n ) o f bei n g re wa rded in t he next life (ak hi ra h ). Shai kh T a hir ul Q ad ri 's fa t wa rem ov es t his key i nte llec tu al i ng re di en t from t he m in ds o f ki ll ers . F in al ly, Shaikh T ahi r is n o ordin ary s cho lar. H e is th e head o f a glo bal s ocia l mo vem ent of m ai ns tre am M us lims , a teac her to t hous a nds , a nd a c om pas s io na te M us lim leade r who has dra wn m i ll io ns t o n orm ati ve Is lam . D o ub t me? T ak e a lo ok at pre parat io ns fo r t he mass c el eb rati o n o f remem beri ng t he b irt h day of t he p ro phet M oh am mad i n P akis tan . Th ose ma ins tream M us lims tha t bel ieve in love , c om pas s ion , s on g, m us ic , fireworks and birt hd ays don' t ten d to ki ll fel lo w h uma n be in gs . S haik h T a hi r is a le ade r of t ha t c ara va n of o rdi nary M us lim s , t ryin g to resc u e o u r Is lam from t he Sa ud i cle rics t ha t iss u e fat was o f de at h , and le adin g th e way fo r a n nou ncin g fat was aga ins t dea th . In t his batt le o f the fat was , we mus t not m ake t he m is ta ke of s u pp o rt i ng ou r oi l su p ply i ng al li es .

Dr . Qa dri said he felt com pelled t o issue the edict because of concern s a bout th e indoctrinat ion of Br itish Muslim s at univ er sity -- Um ar Farou k A bdulm utallab, th e accused Niger ian Chr istm as Day bom ber, ha s sa id he w as radica lized w hile stu dy ing in Lon don in 2008 -- an d the failure of Muslim clerics an d scholars t o con dem n such extr em ism . "Th e r eality is tha t w hatever th ese terr orist s ar e doing it is not m arty rdom . All these activities are tak ing them t o hellfir e," Dr . Qa dri said. He is confident h is edict will have a significant im pact , say ing it draw s on classica l t eachings and authorit ies accepta ble t o all sect s of Islam . "I w ill say m ore than 50% w ill cha nge their w ay , they w ill be influenced. Of the rem aining 50% a t lea st som e of th em , half of them , will becom e doubtful about their life, their t err or ist activ ity ."

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htt p://beta.thehind u.c om/ne ws /inter nat io na l/artic le125059.ece

Muslim scholar issues ‘fatwa’ condemning alQaeda terrorism L ondon, M arc h 2, 2010 A leading M us lim scholar with a lar ge following in Britain o n T ues day is s ued a fat wa — or Islamic religious ruling — condemning global terr oris m and s uic ide bom bings in a “direct c hallenge to al—Q aeda’s violent ideology.” Pakistan— born M uhamm ad T ahir— ul—Q adri, the founde r of t he global M inhaj—ul—Q uran m ovement, m ade his formal p roc lamation of a fat wa , or religious edict, at a ne ws c onfere nce in L ondon. The 600 —page fat wa says that “suic ide bombings and attac ks against civilian targets are not only condemned by I s lam , but render t he perpetrators totally out of the fold of Is lam , in other wo rds, to be unbelievers .” M r. Q adri des cribed the al—Q aeda movement as an “old evil with a new name ” an d s aid he believed that the over whelming m ajority of you ng M us lims in Britain had not yet been radic alized and wo uld “think again” on readi ng his proclamation. Those who had alrea dy been “totally brain was hed ” wo uld not lis ten, said M r. Q adri, but othe rs wo uld have “doubt ” s e wn in their m inds . “You don’t bec om e a terroris t overnight. I t is a journey ... M any are already o n that road but they have not yet arrived to bec ome s uicide bombers ,” M r. Q adri told journalis ts. He developed the doc um ent, which c hallenges the religious m otivation of s uic ide bom bers , in res pons e to the ris e in s uicide bombings in Pakistan. He s aid he hoped his arguments wo uld attract the attention of politic ians and s ec urity servic es in wes tern nations .

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http :// www.ic ej.o rg/a rtic le/prom inent_mus lim _sc holar_issues_fatwa _against_suic ide_terror

Prominent Muslim scholar issues fatwa against suicide terror By ICEJ Ne ws 03 Mar 2010 Sheik h D r. T ahir ul-Q ad ri, a pr om ine nt Pakis tani-born Muslim scholar who currently re sid es in C anada , is sue d a rare fatwa (re ligious r uling) agains t suic ide bombings and terror atta cks on Tuesday in Londo n. “T hey can't cla im that their suicide bom bings are m artyr dom o perations a nd tha t they bec ome the he roes of the Um ma (M uslim comm unity ). No, they becom e her oes of hellfire,” Qadri wro te. “Ther e is no place f or a ny martyrdom and their ac t is never, ever to be considere d Jiha d… Good intentio ns c anno t conve rt a wro ng into good, they ca nno t conver t an evil into go od. Terr orism is terrorism, violence is viole nce and it has no place in Islamic teaching a nd no justification can be provided for it, o r a ny kind of e xcuses or if s or buts." Q adri also noted that w hile his f atwa had been long hoped for in the West, it wo uld not s top Islamic terr orism s tr aig ht away. “But the trickle-down effec t is im por ta nt,” he added.

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http://blogs.te legraph.co.uk/news/ge orgepitcher/100028118/ we-nee d-m uslim -pe ace m ake rs-not-christian-soldie rs/

We need Muslim peace-makers, not Christian soldiers By George Pitcher U K March 2nd , 2010 A pretty co -incidence: Former Archbisho p of C anterbury, Lord C arey, spoke in Parliam ent yesterday of the ne ed f or C hristia ns to s tand up for the ir faith a nd “prevail on po liticians ” to spea k up f or the ir belie fs a nd to stop be ing treate d as “second-c lass citize ns ” to Muslims. Tod ay, Pakis tan-bor n Dr Muhamm ad Ta hir ul-Q adri, founder o f the highly sig nif ica nt and glo bal M inhaj -ul-Quran m ovem ent, is sue s a fa twa - a religious r uling for Muslims – agains t terrorism, declaring it an offe nce against I slam. As it happens, I agree with Lord C arey, in so far as a new bree d of authoritarian atheis ts and s ecularists are trying to f orce religion o ut of the public sphere . I agree even more with his s uc cesso r in the See of C anter bur y, D r Rowan Williams , that politicians te nd to see religion only as a p rob lem, prac tise d by weir dos and ex tremists. And of course I welcom e wha t D r Tahirul-Q adri has to say about the pro fane ra dicalisation of Islam. But it would be a s hame if C hristian lea ders wer e now to becom e a ggressiv e and co nfro nta tio nal, just as Islamic leaders are urg ing a mor e peacea ble and conc ilia tory a pproac h on Muslims . Espe cially in Lent.

ht tp ://www.m i n ha j.org /en g lish /oi d /99 8 1/D r.T a hir- ul-Q adri ’s - fat wa- dec l ares -M uslim - te rro ris ts - asdis b el iev ers - :- APP -P akis ta n .htm l

Dr.Tahir-ul-Qadri’s fatwa declares Muslim terrorists as disbelievers : APP Pakistan Dated: 04 Ma rch 2010

LO N DO N , M arc h 2 (A PP )- E min ent M us lim s c ho la r an d fo un der o f th e M i nh a j-u l-Q u ran Inte rna ti onal , D r. M uhamm ad Ta hi r- ul-Q ad ri T ues day l au nch ed fa t wa on s uic i de bomb i ngs an d te rro ris m a nd dec lared s uc h ac ts as o ut o f fo ld o f Is lam and thos e c a rry in g out th es e des pic able ac ti viti es as dis beli eve rs .D r.Q ad ri , wh o is c ons i de re d a rec ogn iz ed aut horit y o n Is lam , has aut hore d t he re li gi ous dec ree a t a time of i nc reas in g c o nc e rn a bo ut t he rad ic al izat ion o f y oun g Bri tis h M us lim s in u nive rs i ty c am p uses and t hei r rec ru itm en t by e xt rem is t organ iz at io ns t o c omm it ac ts o f te rro r. Q u ot in g e xt ens ive ly from t he H oly Q uran a nd t he had ith o f th e H ol y P rop het (Peac e Be u pon Him ) D r. Q adri hit h ard on t he te rroris ts des crib ing t hem as mis gui ded and brai n wash ed p ers ons who h av e no i de a what th e re al Is lam is . Sayi ng t ha t terro ris t ac ts ex pe l a M uslim from Is lam , th e 5 9 -yea r- ol d s c hola r a nnou nc e d c a tego ric a lly t hat s uic i de bom bi n gs a nd at tac ks agai nst c i vi lia n ta rge ts a re no t on ly c on dem ned b y Is lam , b ut ren de r t he p erp et ra tors to tally out of th e fo l d o f Is l am , to bec ome u nbelie vers i n th e d ivin e , p rist in e m ess age o f Islam . P oi n ting out tha t t e rroris ts c om mi t ac ts of s e lf and mas s m u rde r wit h t he fi rm c on vict io n th at t hey wi ll be rewa rd ed by Go d a n d t hat th ey are hea ven bo un d, D r.Q adri ’s fatwa co nvi nc ing ly a dvanc es s c ri ptu ra l e vi denc e to dem ons t rate t ha t th e p e rp et ra to rs o f s u icid e bomb i ngs are des ti ned fo r hel l , n ot he ave n . Ac c ord i ng to the sc h ol a r, m o de rn t e rro rists jus t i fy t heir i nd is crimin at e k illi ngs by c laim in g th at Isl am ic s crip ture a ll o ws suc h c amp ai gns in war. H o weve r, h e o pene d ne w g rou n d b y c i ti ng Isl amic s ou rces whic h p ro hi bi t kil li ng o f wome n , c hi ld ren, elde rs , relig ious lea ders , bus i nes s peopl e , no n-c om bata nts and e ve n s erv ice pers onn el no t e n ga ged i n ag gres sio n .

“C o ntra ry t o the m i nds e t o f t he pe rpet ra to rs o f t he 1 1t h o f Sep tem b er 2 00 1 a tt ac ks i n Ne w Yo rk o r the 7 th J ul y 20 0 5 t u be bom bs i n Lo n do n , dama g in g enemy prop erty o r ave ngin g a wro n g done by anot her is

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s tric tly p roh ibit ed b y s o und Islam ic s ch ol ars hip ,” D r.Q ad ri to ld t he aud ie nc e . H e sa i d t he P ro ph et M ohamm ad (peace be u po n him ) wa rne d his foll owers abo ut th e da ng e rs o f ext rem ism and te rroris m. T he wri t ten fat wa c ol lec ts ev ide nce from e arly Is lam ic h ist ory a bou t a g rou p o f viol ent rene gades k n own as t he K ha wari j, th e terroris t m ovem en t , em erged in t he nam e of Is lam ic ru le , un ivers a lly acc epte d as b ei n g o u ts id e t h e fo ld o f Is l am b y vi rtue of t he i r ext rem e b el ie fs , vi ole n t ac ts , a nd terro ris m an d c ons tan tl y l abeli ng o the r M uslim s as dis beli evers .

“A l-Q aed a a nd i ts a ffil ia tes not o nl y sh a re th es e ch a rac t er t raits , b ut s ha re a th eolo gic a l an d p ol itic al o utl ook t ha t is almos t i dent ic al ,” he sa id . D r.Q ad ri enl iste d i n t his fat wa c las s ic al s ou rc es t o i ll us t rate t ha t the vas t m a jo rit y o f M usl im sc hol a rs , p as t and p rese nt , c o ns id er t he K ha wari j, t he fo unde rs o f t e rro ris m , to be to tall y un-Is l amic .” T h e t erro ris ts a re th e K hawa rij o f o ur t im e, bas e d o n di rec t e vi denc e from t he Q ur’an a nd Sun na h.” He s aid Is lam is no t a rel ig io n o f sec l us i on o r d et ac hme nt. “Th os e who a re c om mit ti ng t erroris t ic ac ts from Pa kis t an a nd A fgha nis tan a nd c laim in g it is jih ad, t he y do not k no w wh at ji ha d is . I t is fo rb id de n. T here wil l no t b e ja n na (pa radis e) fo r t hem .” D r. Q ad ri who n ow lives in C an ada s ai d Isl am s u pp orts d em oc racy and form at io n o f all ia nc es wi th o the r reli gi ous gro ups fo r t he bet term ent and pros pe ri ty o f th e m a nki nd . He u rge d t he U m ma h t o st and up t o t he e nemi es of m an kind and Is l am a nd prom ot e mo de ra ti on , p eac e , i nc l us io n and unde rst a ndin g. T he Bri tis h J us tic e M inis ter S hah id M ali k ap prec iate d th e e fforts of D r.Q adri i n prom oti ng m ode rate Islam a nd his fat wa a gai ns t t h e m isg ui de d M us lim s . H e u rged ot h er M us lim s c hol a rs to c ome out a nd spe ak a ga i ns t radic ali zati o n a n d a tt em pts to d ivi de t he soc iet y th roug h n egat ive imp ress io n a bou t Is lam .

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http://www.app.com.pk/en_/in dex.php ?option=com_content&task=vie w& id=97598& Item id=2

Dr.Tahir-ul-Qadri’s fatwa declares Muslim terrorists as disbelievers LONDON, March 2 ( APP)- Eminent Muslim scholar an d fo un der of the M inha j- ul-Quran International, Dr. M uhammad Tahir- ul-Qa dr i Tue sday la unche d fat wa on suicide bom bin gs an d terrorism and declare d such a cts a s o ut of fold of Islam and those carry ing o ut these de spic able activities as disbeliever s. Dr. Qadr i, who is considere d a reco gn ized authority on Islam , has a uthored the religio us decr ee at a time of incre asin g conc ern a bo ut the radica liz ation of youn g British Muslim s in un iver sity cam puses and their recruitment by extrem ist organiz ations to comm it acts of terror. Quoting extensively from the Holy Quran an d the ha dith of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be upon Him ) Dr. Qa dri hit hard on the terrorists describin g them as m isguide d an d brain wa she d person s who have no ide a what the real Islam is. Saying that terrorist acts expel a M uslim from Islam , the 59-year-old scho lar anno unce d categor ica lly that suic ide bom bin gs an d attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but render the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam , to become un believers in the div ine, pristine messa ge of Islam. Pointing o ut that terrorists com mit acts of self an d m ass mur der with the firm conviction that they will be rewarde d by Go d and that they are heaven bo un d, Dr.Qa dri’ s fat wa convinc in gly a dv ance s scriptural evidence to dem onstrate that the perpetrators of suicide bombings are de stine d for hell, not heaven. Accor ding to the scholar, mo dern terrorists justify their indiscriminate killin gs by c laimin g that Islamic scr ipture allows such cam paigns in war. Ho wever, h e opene d n e w gro und by citin g Islam ic source s which proh ibit killing of wom en, ch ildren, elder s, re ligious lea der s, busine ss people, noncom batants an d ev en service per sonnel not en ga ged in a ggr ession. “Contrary to the m indset of the perpetrators of the 11th of September 2001 attacks in New York or the 7th July 2005 tube bom bs in Lon don, dam aging enemy property or aven gin g a wrong don e by another is strictly prohibite d by so un d Islamic scholarship, ” Dr. Qa dr i told the a udienc e. He said the Prophet M ohamm ad (peac e be upon him ) warne d his follo wers abo ut the dan ger s of extrem ism and terrorism. The wr itten fatwa collects ev idenc e from early I slam ic h istory a bo ut a gro up of violent renega de s kno wn a s the Kha war ij, the terrorist m ovement, emerge d in the nam e of Islamic r ule, universa lly accepte d a s be ing o utside the fold of I slam by virtue of their extrem e belief s, violent acts, and terrorism and constantly la beling other M uslims a s disbe liev ers. “Al-Qa e da and its affiliate s not only shar e these character traits, but sh are a theolo gical an d politic al outlook that is alm ost identic al,” h e said. 76

Dr.Qa dri en listed in this fatwa classical so urc es to illustrate that the vast m ajority of M uslim scholars, p ast and pre sent, con sider the Kha warij, the founders of terrorism , to be totally unIslamic. ” T he terrorists ar e the Khawarij of o ur time, based on dire ct evidence from the Qur’an an d Sunnah.” He said Islam is not a religion of sec lusion or detachment. “ Those who are comm itting terroristic acts from Pakistan an d Af ghanistan an d c laim in g it is jih ad, they do not kno w what jih ad is. It is forbidden. There will not be janna (p ara dise) for them.” Dr. Qa dri who no w lives in Cana da sa id Islam supports dem ocra cy and formation of alliances with other religio us gro ups for the betterm ent and prosperity of the m ankind. He ur ged the Um mah to stand up to the enemie s of mankin d an d I slam an d prom ote moderation, pea ce, inclusion and understanding. The British Justice Minister Sh ahid M alik appre ciate d the efforts of Dr.Qa dri in promoting moderate Islam an d his fat wa against the misguided M uslim s. He ur ge d other M uslim scho lar s to com e out an d speak a gain st radica liz ation an d attem pts to divide the soc iety through ne gative impression abo ut Islam .

http://aa wsat.com/english/n ews.a sp? se ction=1&id=20071

Muslim Leader Issues Anti-Terror Fatwa 02/ 03/ 2010

LONDON , (AP) — The leader o f a global M uslim movement h as issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnat ion of terrorism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri, a fo rmer Pakistani law maker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bo mb ing "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tah ir-ul-Qad ri has issued similar, sho rter decrees, but Tuesday's ev ent in London is being hosted by the Qu illiam Foundat ion, a govern ment-funded, ant i-extremism think tank. The relig ious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-u l-Quran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a nonpolit ical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis liv ing in other countries. 77

http:// www.e m asc.com /e n/conte ntdetails.asp?conte ntID=12771 &chk=1

Sa udi Ara bia to follow Ta hir U l Qadri fa twa to cu rb te rrorism 3/3/2010

Pakistan Christi an Post)- (PC P) Pakistan Christian Congress PC C welcomes religious ruling of Dr. Tahir Qadri on killing of n on-Muslims in nam e of Islam in of terro rism. PC C C entral Se cretariat h ere toda y issued a statem ent of Na zir S Bhatti, Presiden t of Pakistan Christian Congress in which he discussed 6 00 Fa twa issued b y Dr. Qadri in UK, in a press con ference.

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Dr. Na zir S Bha tti said “PCC highl y apprecia tes Islam ic verdict on terrorism by religious schol ar like Tahir ul Qadri bu t it falls short while Sunni sects waging w ar against non-Muslims do not fall in Su nni sects followed b y D r. Qa dri” It is on re cord that all Sun ni sects in Islam not a ccept terrorism in nam e o f Jihad except Wahabi sect w hich links back to Saudi Arabia . The Wah abi teachings o f Sunni sects gain ed momentum aroun d gl obe w hen billions of d ollars were pushed by Sau di Ara bia in Islamic coun tries in 1970 ,s to prea ch such teaching practiced in this Holy l and of Muslims. “We w itnessed emergen ce of Madaresses, religious scho ols in Pa kistan after 1970, and different color of turbans o n h eads o f Muslim you th on streets and it was claimed to be funde d by Saudi Arabia” said Na zir Bhatti The Saudi Arabia a nd Pa kistan were firs t and onl y coun tries to re cog ni ze Islam ic go vernment of Taliban in Afghanistan be cause Taliban cl aimed to re vive Wahabi sect arou nd world. It is on re cord that with petro-dollars Sau di Ara bia becam e successful to press upon go vernment of Pakista n a nd Eg yp t to legislate consti tutions of “Islamic R epublic o f Pakistan Consti tution of 1 973” a nd “Islam ic Republic o f Egypt C onsti tution of 1971” It is iro nic th at Pakista n and Eg ypt, both Islamic states endo rsed Article 2 , in i ts Islamic R epublic C onstitu tions declari ng “Sta tes formed for Muslim s only” 78

Nazir Bha tti said “Already an im portan t Sun ni leader w as martyred in Lahore b y suicide b omber du ring pra yers i n m osque a fter Fatwa issued like Tahi r ul Qadri and it is duty of government o f Pa kistan to ensure safe ty a nd se curi ty o f D r. Qadri and his follow ers” “I do not thin k Fatw a b y D r. Qad ri w ill create an end to killing of innocent nonMuslim s and follow ers of other Sun ni sects b y guns o r suici de bom bers b y Wa habi Muslim s but will be an issue in discussion forum s” said N azir Bha tti Dr. Na zir S Bha tti added “If Saudi Arabia issues only 6 pages Fatw a and denounces such Jihad inste ad of 600 pages Islam ic ruling o f D r. Tahir Qadri , there will be end to te rro rism around worl d” PC P ta ke pri vile ge to quote Dr. Qa dri,s one pa ragraph o f ruling which must be seconded by Saudi King and Im am of Khana -e-Kabba in Saudi Arabi a to end terrorism "Toda y’s traged y is th at terrorists, murderers , m ischief-m ongers and rioters try to pro ve thei r criminal, rebellious, tyrann ous, brutal and blasphem ous acti vities as a right and a justifi ed rea ctio n to foreign a ggression u nde r the garb of defense o f Islam and national i nterests. It ca n in no w ay be permissible to keep foreign delegates unde r u nlawful custody an d m urder them and o ther peaceful no nMuslim citize ns in retaliati on for interfe ren ce, u njust acti vi ties an d a ggressi ve ad van ces of their countries. The one who does has no relation to Islam." Pakistan Christi an Post

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http: //www.dailypress .com/news / national/s ns - ap- eu- britain - anti- terrorfatwa,0,4 92 374 3.s tory?track=rss &utm_s ource=feedb urner &utm_medium =fee d&utm_c am paig n =Feed% 3A +hrdailypres s%2 Fnews% 2Fnationworld +% 2 8Daily+P res s++National% 2FW orld+N ews % 29

Pakistan-born Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London.

Le ad i ng M us lims s cho lar D r M uh amm ad Tahi r- ul-Q a dri s p eaks at the UK launc h o f t he F at wa on s uic i de b omb i ngs an d te rroris m hel d by non- gov e rnm en tal o rga ni za ti on M in h aj-u l-Q ura n In terna ti on al (MQ I) in Lo ndo n, T ues d ay, M arc h 2 , 2 0 10 . T he fat wa is a n Is lamic dec ree t ha t co ndem ns s uic i de bom bi ngs an d t e rro ris t a troc i ti es al ong with the ir pe rpe t rat o rs .(AP P ho to /A ki ra Suemo ri ) (A kira Suemo ri , A P / M arc h 2 , 2 0 10 )

BY A ssoc iated P ress M arc h 2 , 201 0

LO N DO N (AP) — T he leader o f a global M us lim movem ent has iss ued a fat wa, o r religious edic t, that he c alls an abs olute c ondem nation of terrorism . M uham mad Tahir- ul-Q adri, a former Pakis tani lawmaker, s ays the 6 0 0- page fatwa bans s uic ide bom bing " without any exc us es, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tahir- ul-Q adri has iss ued sim ilar, shorter decrees , but Tuesday's event in L ondon was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gover nment- funded anti-extremis m think tank a nd dre w s trong m edia attention . The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran, a worldwide movem ent that p rom otes a nonp olitic al, tolerant I s lam . T he grou p has h und reds of thousands of follo wers ar ound the wo rld, mos t of them in P akis tan or P akis tanis living in other c ountrie

/ ht tp ://a rt ic le.wn.c om /v iew/20 1 0 /0 3/0 2 /Is lamic _s c ho la r_T ahi r_ ulQ adri _t o_ iss ue_ te rro rism _fa t wa

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa : Worldnews.com BBC N ews 20 10-03-02 An influential M uslim s cholar has iss ued a global r uling agains t terroris m and s uic ide bom bing. Dr T ahir ul-Q adri, from P akis tan, says his 600- page judgement , kno wn as a fat wa, completely dis mantles al-Q aeda's violent ideology. The sc holar desc ribes al-Q aeda as an "old evil with a new name" that has not been s uffic iently c hallenged. The sc holar's movem ent is growing in t he UK and has attrac ted the interes t of policymakers and sec urity c hiefs. I n his religious ruling, delivered in L ondo n, D r Q adri s ays that Is lam forbids the mas sac re of innoc ent citizens and s uic ide bom bings .

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http://www.abc3340. com/news/storie s/0310/711753.htm l

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwaposted 03 /02/10 10:2 8 am

LONDON - T he leader of a global Muslim movem ent has iss ued a fatwa , or religio us edict, tha t he calls an absolute co ndem na tio n of terror ism.M uham mad Tahir-ul-Qa dri, a former Pakis tani lawm aker , sa ys the 600-page fatwa b ans suic ide bombing "without a ny exc uses, any pre tex ts, or e xcep tions." Tahir-ul-Qa dri has iss ued similar, shorter de crees, but T ues day's eve nt in Londo n was publicized by the Quilliam Fo undation, a gover nment-funded a ntiextrem ism think tank a nd drew s tro ng media a ttentio n. The r eligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj -ul-Qura n, a wor ldwide moveme nt that prom otes a nonpolitica l, tolera nt Islam. The g roup has hundred s of thous ands o f fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakis ta n or Pakis tanis living in o ther co untries.

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http://www.alarabiya.net/views/2010/03 /06/102333.htm l [ Saturday, 06 March 2010 ]

My fatwa against the terrorists’ creed Dr. Tahir ul Q adri have been compelled to iss ue a fat wa – a c om prehens ive theologic al refutation of I s lamis t terrorism – because of what has been happeni ng in P akis tan over the pas t year. Terroris ts are bom bing m os ques during Friday praye rs , they are bur ning s c hools, killing wom en . They a re diggi ng bodies out of g raves , cutting off their heads and hanging the bodies from trees . My 600-page fat wa is bas ed on all four sc hools of juris prude nce: Hanafi , Shafii, H anbali and Maliki, and the Shia s chool of J afari. I have consulted hun dreds of c lass ical Is lamic texts , the scholars, fiqh and the Hadith . T he m ain theme is this : any ac t of ter rorism suc h as s uicide bom bing c annot be justified in a ny way . T here are no conditions , no pretexts or exem ptions . It is c ondem ned by the Q uran and the Sunna . " Some sc holars have said to me that we k no w suicide bombing is fo rbidden but to s ay that this is an act of an un believer is going far . I am n ot s aying anyo ne who kills is an unbeliever. I say one who is c omm itting acts of terroris m on the basis that it is s anc tioned and lawful by Islam is an un believer. "Killing M us lims and no n- M us lims through terrorist activities and using violent aggres s ion to impos e their m is taken and m is plac ed ideology is a fun damental rejection of faith. Such acts make the people carrying out the attac ks unbelievers , or ku fr. The Q uran says thos e who kill in mosques , bur n people, blo w them up , they will s uffe r the torments of hellfire. T his is one aspect. A s econd aspect I have exam ined is the jus tific ation that M us lim rulers in A rab countries or non- M uslim s are not enforc ing I s lamic law so there is an obligation to fight agains t them. This is abs olutely wrong. I n no c ontext is any organisation allo wed to take up a rms on their o wn and say we are de fendin g M uslim land or we are avengin g the aggress ion of no n- M us lim powers . T his is a matter for a s tate and its government. The holy P rophet M oham med told his c ompanions that bad rulers would come and the people wo uld c urs e them an d the rulers wo uld curs e their people. T he c om panions as ked should they not fig ht them with s words if this time c om es? And the holy P rophet said that no, they were not allo wed as far as they were M uslims . As for adoptin g the de fence that the attac ks are against foreign aggres s ion, this is the privilege and res ponsibility of the s tate to stand up a nd to fight ac c ording to inte rnational la w. I f groups and individuals s tart taking revenge it will c reate global ana rc hy and there will be no r ule of law, the re will be jus t killing of m ankind .

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There is a prophec y of the P rophet M oham med. H e m entioned t hat the Kharijites would em erge continuously in I s lamic his tory. The Kharijites believed that wh oever did not agree with their philos ophy was an u nbeliever and should be killed. T hey wanted to res olve everything through the s wor d and t hrough power . They rose up in the time of t he rightly guided Caliphs , Usm an and Ali, and fo ught against them . This hadith, whic h appea rs in do zens of books , says the holy Prophet M ohamm ed said they wo uld emerge again and again in di ffere nt centuries until the final time of the a nti- Chris t. They wo uld arrive m ore than 2 0 times . T hey wo uld keep c hanging names and appear fo r the last tim e as part of the a nti- C hrist’s arm y. T hey would slaughter people. Al Q a’eda is an old evil with a ne w nam e. T hey are the Khari jites with a ne w name. T hey are mis guided today like the Kha warij youth were mis guided at that tim e. T hey we re b rainwashed although t hey we re religious people who prayed and fas ted. Those who have already dec ided to bec om e s uicide bombers are totally brainwas hed. I exclude them from this dis cussion because they are blind . I am t rying to reach the majority who have not reac hed t hat s tage but have extrem is t tendenc ies and are p roc eeding in t hat direc tion.

" T here have been many other fatwas that condem n s uic ide bom bings and t here have bee n verbal res olutions agains t it. They were very b rief, maybe o ne o r t wo pages s igned by hundre ds of s c holars and they did not c ontain many referenc es . These brief declarations were not able to ans wer t he q ues tions or addres s all the c onc erns "T here are thous ands of extrem ists running webs ites and applying mis guided ideas. T he radicals who have no ac c ess to classic al authorities are m is guided and give the wron g c onc ept of jihad . This religious ruling is particularly im portant fo r Britain and the western world, where t he majo rity of M uslims are of south Asian origin. We have s een examples of extremis t groups targeting vulnerable young people fr om thes e com munities to c arry out their acts of violenc e – from traini ng t hem as suic ide bombers to brainwashing s tudents ac ros s Britis h universities . I am s ure that the hund reds of authorities I have quoted will allo w them to rethink, to s ee that whatever they were taught was wron g. The fat wa has ap peared in U rdu , and E nglis h and Arabic translations have been s tarted. I t will be trans lated into ma ny othe r lang uages and distributed through the internet acc ompanied by videos , summ aries and talks . W e will do whatever is pos s ible to reac h the yout h with the Alm ighty A llah’s help and grace. Already it is happening. We have been c ontac ted by the A fghan pres ident H am id Karzai’s office and they want a c opy to translate into P ers ian and Pashto. A nd s o it will go . There have been many ot her fat was that c ondemn s uicide bombings and t here have been verbal res olutions agains t it. They were very b rief, maybe o ne o r t wo pages s igned by hundre ds of s c holars and they did not c ontain many referenc es . These brief declarations were not able to ans wer t he q ues tions or addres s all the c onc erns . I thought there was a need to addres s every major c onc ern, every major and minor as pec t which has already been planted in people’s m inds . I n P akis tan, s ome religious scholars have c ondem ned the military ac tion in the Swat valley a nd North- Wes t Frontier P rovince, or they have said they already have c ondem ned suicide bom bings and ac ts of te rroris m. Some have felt t hey have fulfilled their duty. But by s im ply condem ning the P akis tani m ilitary action or staying s ilent they are c reating do ubt in the minds of the c om mon people a nd youth. While M us lims resist and fight terrorism and a re not ready to ac c ept its rem otest poss ible link with I s lam , there are som e who are als o s een supporting it. I ns tead of opposing a nd condem ning it openly they c onfuse the iss ue.

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After this fatwa m ore sc holars will bec ome courageous and s tand u p. A few are s cared. A frien d o f mine who rec ently c ondemned s uic ide bom bing in P akis tan was ass ass inated. This grand fat wa, when it is in the han ds of every body, will give people courage, c larity and motivation.

* Publi she d i n t he UA E' s THE NA TI O NA L on March 6. Dr. Tahi r ul Qa dri i s t he f oundi ng lea der of Mi nhaj ul Quran, established i n 1981 w ith hea dqua rters i n La hore.

http://townhall.c o m/news /world /20 10 /03 /0 2/muslim _leader_iss ues _anti- terror_fatwa

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Tuesday, Mar ch 02, 2010

The leader of a glo bal M uslim m ovement has issued a fat wa , or religious edict, that he c alls an abs olute c ondemnation of terrorism . M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri, a fo rmer Pakis tani lawmaker, says the 6 00 - page fatwa bans s uic ide bom bing " without any exc us es, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tahir- ul-Q adri has is s ued sim ilar, s horter decrees , but Tues day's event in L ondon was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a government- funded anti-extremis m think tank and dre w s trong m edia attention . The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran, a worldwide movem ent that prom otes a nonp olitic al, tolerant I s lam . T he group has hundreds of thousands of followe rs aroun d the wo rld, mos t of them in P akis tan or P akistanis living in other c ountries.

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http:// www.daily tim es.com .pk/default.asp?page =2010 \ 03 \03 \story_3- 3 2010_pg7 _21

Tahirul Qadri’s fatwa declares Muslim terrorists ‘disbelievers’ Noted s ch ol ar bans s uicide b ombing ‘without any exc uses , pr et exts , or exc epti ons ’ LO N DO N: E minent M uslim sc holar and founde r of t he M inhajul Q uran I nternational, D r Tahirul Q adri on Tues day iss ued a fat wa that c alls for an abs olute condemnation of terroris m and dec lares s uch acts as un- Islamic and those carrying o ut thes e despic able activities as dis believers . I n his dec ree D r Q adri desc ribed al Q aeda as an “old evil with a new name” that has not bee n s ufficiently challenged. H e s aid I slam forbids the m as s ac re of innoc ent c itizens and s uicide bom bings . Q uoting extensively from the holy Q uran and the hadis of the H oly P rophet (P eac e Be upon H im) Dr Q adri hit hard on the terroris ts, des c ribing them as m isguided and brain was hed people who ha d no idea about real Is lam. He said the 6 0 0- page fat wa bans s uic ide bom bing “without any exc us es, pretexts , or exceptions”. The 59- year- old s c holar announc ed categorically that suicide attacks agains t c ivilians were not only condemned by I s lam but render the perpetrators totally out of the fold of I slam. Acc ording to D r Q adri, m odern terr oris ts justify their indis criminate killings by c laiming that Islamic sc ripture allows s uc h campaigns in war. H o wever, he opened ne w grou nds by c iting Islamic sourc es, whic h p rohibit killing o f women, c hildren, elders , religious leaders , bus inessm en, non- combatants and even s ervic e pers onnel not engaged in agg res s ion. “Contrary to t he m indset of the perpetrators o f the September 1 1, 2 001 attacks in New York or the J uly 7, 20 0 5 bom bings in London, dam aging enem y p roperty or avenging a wr ong done by another is s tric tly prohibited by s ound I slamic scholars hip,” D r Q adri told the audienc e. “Those who are c omm itting terroris t ac ts from Pakistan and A fghanis tan and c laim ing it as jihad, do not kno w what jihad is . What they a re doing is for bidden. T here will not be ja nnat (paradis e) for t hem,” he adde d.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE62025B

Prominent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatwa Mon Mar 1, 20 10 11: 21am ES T

* Fatw a to declare terrorists to be unbelievers * Qadri seeks to persuade young Muslims to shun terrorism Michael HoldenBy:

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Aprominent Islamic scholar is to issue a 600-page religious edict denouncing terrorism in London on Tuesday in what he says is a bidto persuade young Muslims to turn their backs on extremism. The fatwa from MuhammadTahir ul-Qadri, a leading figure who has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years, echoes edicts condemningextremism issued by a number of Islamic groups since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United St ates. But Qadri says his fatwa, which declares terrorists andsuicide bombers to be unbelievers, goes further than any previous denunciation. "This is the first, most comprehensive fat wa on the subject of terrorism ever written," said Qadri, who has written about 350 books on Islamic scholarship and is a scholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam that focuses on peace, tolerance andmoderation. "I have tried to leave not a single stone unturnedon this particular subject andI have tried to address every single question relevant to this subject," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Qadri, 59, who was born in Pakistan, is headof the global Minhaj ul-Quran religious and educational organisation which spreads his Sufi ideas. A former Pakistani minister andassociate of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lectures worldwide promoting his message of harmony and was one of the first Muslim leaders to condemn the Sept. 11 attacks. TimWinter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Cambridge University, said while there had been similar fatwas in the past, Qadri didappear to have gone further than most. "To declare the miscreants as unbelievers is unusual, because it is not really clear that the rules allow one simply to say that they are not Muslims," he told Reuters.

"Those who ar e alr ea dy hardliner s will p ay no attention at all. But 'swin g voters' -- poorly educate d an d an gry M uslims, who re spe ct m ainstream scholars, will pro ba bly take note. "Certain ly it is a helpf ul initiative," he sa id. HEL LFI RE Qa dri sa id he fe lt com pelle d to issue the e dict because of concerns a bo ut the ra dic alisation of British Muslim s at un iver sity cam puse s and beca use there h a d been a la ck of condemnation of extrem ism by Muslim clerics and scholar s. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulm utalla b, accused of tryin g to bom b a U. S.-bo un d plane on Christm as Day, st udie d at a London university until 2008. Yem en, wher e Abdulm utallab began his journey, ha s said he wa s ra dica lise d while in Britain. "The reality is that whatever these terrorists are doin g it is not m artyrdom. All these activities are taking them to hellfire," Qadri said. He is conf ident that the edict will hav e a significant impact, say ing he had dra wn on classical teachin gs and a uthorities acc eptable to all se cts of Islam . "I will say more than 50 percent will chan ge their way, they will be influen ced. Of the rem aining 50 perc ent at least som e of them, half of them , will become doubtful abo ut their life, their terrorist activity," he said. While Qadr i ha s follo wer s across the glo be, it is in Pakistan, where he has million s of follo wers, and in the diaspora that his im pact wo uld be gre atest, W inter said. Britain has abo ut 1.7 m illion Muslim s, m ainly of Pakistani desc ent, and the sec ur ity services say that nearly all major terrorism plots since 2001, includin g the 2005 Lon don bom bin gs wh ich kille d 52 p eople, wer e link ed to Pakistan. Government officia ls will be among those joinin g Qa dr i for the launch of the fatwa in central London. T he M uslim Coun cil of Britain, an umbr ella or ganisation repr esenting some 500 Islamic gro ups, said the fat wa was we lcome. "It is entirely la uda ble for scholar s such a s T ahir ul- Qadri to sp eak o ut a gainst terrorism," it said in a statem ent. Although h is prono un cem ent will be goo d ne ws for the a uthorities in Br itain an d other Western governments seek ing to win M uslim support to stam p out extremism, Qadr i said their backin g is irrelev ant to his vie ws.

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2011229365_apeubritainantiterrorfatwa.html?sy ndication=rss

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa March 2, 2010 at 5:20 AM | Page modified March 2, 2010 at 1:21 PM T h e l eade r o f a gl ob al M uslim m ovem en t has iss u ed a fat wa , or rel i gious edic t, th at h e c alls an a bs ol ute c o nd emn atio n o f t erro ris m . T h e A ss oc iate d P res s LO N DON — T h e l eade r o f a gl ob al M uslim m ovem en t has iss u ed a fat wa , or rel i gious edic t, that he c al ls an a bs ol ute c o nd emn atio n o f t erro ris m . M uhamm a d T ahi r- ul-Q ad ri, a forme r Pa kist an i l a wma ke r, sa ys t he 6 0 0-p ag e fa t wa b ans s uic i de bom bi n g " with out a ny exc uses , a ny p rete xts , o r exce p tions ." T a hi r- ul-Q ad ri has is s ued s im ila r, sh o rt er dec rees , bu t T u es day's eve nt i n Lo nd o n was p ublic i ze d by the Q uill iam F ou n da tion , a go ve rnm ent- funde d anti- ext remis m t hink tan k a nd d rew s tro ng me di a a tt en ti on . T h e reli gio us s ch olar is t he fo under o f M in ha j- ul -Q uran, a wo rld wide mo vem e nt t ha t promot es a n o np olit ic al , t ol e rant Isl am . T he g rou p has hu nd reds of tho us an ds o f fo ll owe rs a rou n d t h e world , m ost o f t h em i n P akis tan or P akis t an is l ivi ng i n ot he r co u nt ries .

http: //www.tri - c ityherald.c om /2 010 /03 /02 /922452 /m uslim- leader- issues- anti - terror.html

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The Associ ated Press Tu es d ay , M ar . 02 , 20 10 L ONDON T he l ea der o f a g lo ba l M usl im m ovem en t has is s ued a fatwa , o r re li gious ed ict , t hat he cal ls a n a bso lu te c on dem nati on o f te rroris m. M uhamm a d T ahi r- ul-Q ad ri , a form er P akis tan i l a wma ke r, sa ys t he 6 0 0-p ag e fat wa b ans s uic i de bom bi n g " with out a ny exc uses , any p re te xts , o r exce p tions ." T a hi r- ul-Q ad ri has is s ued s im ila r, sh o rter dec rees , bu t T u es day's eve nt i n Lo ndo n was p ublic i ze d by t he Q uill iam F ou n da tio n, a go ve rnm ent- funde d an ti- ext remis m t hink tan k a nd d rew s tro ng m edi a a tt en ti on . T h e reli gio us s ch olar is t he fo unde r o f M in ha j- ul -Q uran, a wo rld wide mo vem e nt t ha t promot es a n o np ol it ic al, t ole ra nt Isl am . T he g rou p has hu nd reds of th ous an ds o f fo ll o we rs a rou n d t h e world , most o f t h em i n P akis tan o r P a kis t an is l ivi ng i n ot he r c ou ntries .

htt p://w ww.hera lds un.com.a u/ news/ brea king-new s/islamic-s c ho larmuhamm ad-tahir- ul- qa dr i- is s ue s-a nt i-te rror ism-fatwa/ sto ry- e6frf 7jx1225836314823

Islamic scholar Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri issues anti-terrorism fatwa By Ma rk W hite March 03, 2 010 1 :47AM A P RO M INENT Is lamic sc holar will us e a speec h in Londo n to iss ue a 600- page religious edic t denounc ing ter rorists and suicide bombers as "unbelievers." M uham mad T ahir ul Q adri is a leading figure who has promoted peac e and interfaith dialogue for 3 0 years, Sky Ne ws reports. He s aid he felt compelled to iss ue the fatwa bec aus e of c onc erns about the radicalisation of British M uslims at univers ity cam pus es and bec aus e there had been a lack of c ondem nation o f extrem ism by M uslim clerics and sc holars. Ul Q adri s ays his fat wa, whic h is aim ed at pers uading you ng M uslims to turn t heir bac ks on extrem ism , goes further than any previous den unc iation. "This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written," said ul Q adri, who has written a bout 35 0 books on Is lam ic s c holars hip. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of s idebar . End of s idebar . Return to start o f s idebar. He is a sc holar of Sufism , a lo ng tradition within I s lam which is widely s een as foc using on peac e, toleranc e and moderation . Nigerian-born Um ar Farouk A bdulmutallab, ac c us ed of trying to bom b a US- bound plane o n Christm as Day, s tudied at a L ondon univers ity until 2 0 08 . Government offic ials in Y emen, whe re M utallab began his journey, s aid he was ra dicalised while in Britain .

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However, the British G overnment c laim s his introduc tion to hardc ore extremis ts happened after he left the U K. Government offic ials will be among thos e joining ul Q adri for the lau nc h of the fat wa in c entral L ondon. The M uslim C ouncil of Britain, an um brella organis ation representing some 50 0 Is lam ic groups, welc om ed the ne w position. Ul Q adri will tell his audienc e, "T he reality is that whatever thes e terrorists are doing it is not martyrdom . A ll these ac tivities are taking t hem to hellfire." The 59- year- old was born in Pakistan and is head of the global M inhaj ul Q uran religious and educ ational organisation, which s preads his Sufi ideas . A former P akis tani m inis ter and ass ociate of as sassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide prom oting his m es s age of harmony and was one of the firs t M uslim leaders to c ondem n the 9 /1 1 attac ks in the US.

http://www. goo gle.com /hoste dne ws/ap/article/ALeqM5iwz1 gRdaDGwSXQGhE6spvdtstp wD9 E6I5084

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa (AP ) – 5 days ago LO N DO N — T he leader of a global M uslim movem ent has iss ued a fatwa, or religious edic t, that he c alls an abs olute c ondem nation of terrorism . M uham mad Tahir- ul-Q adri, a former Pakis tani lawmaker, s ays the 6 0 0- page fatwa bans s uic ide bom bing " without any exc us es, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tahir- ul-Q adri has iss ued sim ilar, shorter decrees , but Tuesday's event in L ondon was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gover nment- funded anti-extremis m think tank a nd dre w s trong m edia attention . The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran, a worldwide movem ent that p rom otes a nonp olitic al, tolerant I s lam . T he grou p has h und reds of thousands of follo wers ar ound the wo rld, mos t of them in P akis tan or P akis tanis living in other c ountries

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http:// www.in diancric ketfans .c om/s howthread.php?t =21 063 4

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa 03 /03 /2010 An influential M uslim sc holar is to issue in L ondon a global ruling agains t terrorism and s uic ide bom bing. Dr T ahir ul-Q adri, from P akis tan, s ays his 600- page judgement , kno wn as a fat wa, c ompletely dis mantles al-Q aeda's violent ideology. The sc holar desc ribes al-Q aeda as an "old evil with a new name" which has not been sufficiently challenged. The sc holar's movem ent is growing in the U K and has attrac ted the inte res t of policymakers and sec urity c hiefs . I n his religious ruling, Dr Q adri s ays that I slam forbids the m as s ac re of innocent c itizens and suic ide bombings . Although m any s c holars have m ade sim ilar rulings in the pas t, D r Q adri's followers ar gue that the mas sive document being launc hed in L ondon goes m uch further . They s ay it sets out point-by- point theological arguments agains t the rhetoric used by alQ aeda ins pired rec ruiters . The fat wa als o challenges the religious motivations of would- be s uic ide bom bers who are ins pired by promis es of an afterlife . The populis t sc holar developed his doc ument last year as a respons e to the inc rease in bom bings across P akistan by militants . The bas ic text has been extended to 6 0 0 pages to cover global is sues, in an attem pt to get its theological argum ents taken up by M us lims in wes tern nations. I t will be prom oted in the UK by D r Q adri's organis ation, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational. Shahid M ursaleen, s pokesm an for M inhaj- ul-Q uran in the UK, s aid the fatwa was hard-hitting. "This fatwa injects doubt into the m inds of potential s uic ide bom bers ," he s aid. "Extremis t groups bas ed in Britain recruit t he yout h by brain was hing them t hat they will ' with certainty' be re warded in the next life. "Dr Q adri's fatwa has rem oved t his key intellec tual fac tor from t heir minds ." Religious rulings

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The doc um ent is not the firs t to condem n terroris m and s uic ide bom bing to be launched in the UK. Sc holars from ac ross the UK came together in t he wake of the 7 July L ondon attac ks to denounce the bom bers and u rge comm unities to root out extrem is ts . But some s cholarly rulings in the M iddle E ast have argued that the c on flic t between I s rael and the Palestinians is an exc eptional s ituation where "martyrdom " attac ks can be j us tified. Although D r Q adri has a large follo wing in P akistan, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational rem ained largely unkno wn in the U K until relatively recently. I t now has 10 mos ques in the Britis h c ities with s ignificant M uslim c om munities and s ays it is targeting you nger generations it believes have been let down by traditional leaders . The organis ation is attrac ting the attention of polic ym akers and sec urity c hiefs who are continuing to look for allies in the fight agains t extrem is ts . The Department for C om munities, whic h r uns mos t of the gove rnment's "P reventing V iolent Extrem ism" s trategy, has tried b uilding bridges with a variety o f liberal- minded groups , but often found t hat they have limited actual influe nc e at the grass roots .

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http: //www.itv.c om /ne ws / fat wa- c ondem ns - terror5 212 8/

Fatwa condemns terror By : A ngus W a lke r

1.45PM Tue M ar 2 2010 T he head of a world wide M uslim movem ent whic h has tho usands of follo wers in Britain has issued an I s lam ic religious ruling - known as a 'Fat wa' - c ondemning terroris m. P akis tan born D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri wa rned s uicide bombers that they are 'des tined fo r hell'. The fou nder of the global M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent s aid attac ks agains t civilian targets were condem ned by I s lam . Shahid M urs aleen, from M inhaj-ul-Q uran UK, s aid: "He has hit ha rd o n t he terr oris ts as it prevents Islamis ts from c ons idering s uic ide bom bers as 'm artyrs'. This fatwa injec ts doubt into the m inds of potential s uic ide bom bers."

http:// www.i tv.com /ne ws/cle ric- condem ns -bom bers91720/

Cleric condemns bombers 6.30PM Tue Mar 2 2010 A res pec ted M us lim leader has iss ued a religious ruling condemning terror attac ks . D r M uhamm ad T ahir- ul-Q adri has made a formal fat wa, warning bom bers that t hey are 'des tined for hell'. H e added: "T hey c an't claim that their s uicide bom bings are m artyrdom operations and t hat they bec ome the he roes of the M uslim U mm a (the wider M us lim c om munity), no, t hey bec om e heroes of hellfire, and they are leadin g to wa rds hellfire."

htt p://w ww.a lert net.or g/t he ne ws /ne ws de sk/ LD E62025B.htm

Prominent Muslim to issue antiterrorism fatwa 01 M ar 20 10 16:21:3 1 GMT Source: Reuters (By M ic hael Holden)

* Fatwa to de clare terrorists to be unbe lie vers * Q adri seek s to pe rsuade young M uslims to shun te rrorism LO N DO N, M arc h 1 (Reuters) - A prominent Is lamic sc holar is to iss ue a 60 0-page religious edic t denounc ing terro ris m in L ondon on T ues day in what he says is a bid to pe rs uade you ng M us lims to turn their bac ks on extremis m. The fat wa from M uhamm ad T ahir ul-Q adri, a leading figure who has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years, echoes edic ts c ondem ning extremis m issued by a num ber of Islamic groups since the Sept. 1 1 attac ks on the U nited States. But Q adri s ays his fat wa, which dec lares terrorists and s uicide bombers to be u nbelievers , goes further tha n a ny p revious denunc iation. "This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written," said Q adri, who has written a bout 35 0 books on Is lam ic s c holars hip and is a sc holar of Sufism , a long tradition within I s lam that focus es on peac e, toleranc e and moderation . "I have tried to leave not a s ingle s tone unturned on this partic ular s ubjec t and I have tried to addres s every single ques tion relevant to t his s ubjec t," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Q adri, 5 9, who was born in P akis tan, is head o f the global M inhaj ul-Q uran religious and ed ucational organisation which s preads his Sufi ideas .

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A former P akis tani m inis ter and ass ociate of as sassinated Prime M inister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide prom oting his m es s age of harmony and was one of the firs t M uslim leaders to c ondem n the Sept. 1 1 attac ks. Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic studies at Cambridge University, s aid while t here had been s imilar fat was in the pas t, Q adri did appear to have go ne furt her than m os t. "To declare the m isc reants as unbelievers is unus ual, bec aus e it is not really c lear that t he rules allow one simply to say that they are not M uslims," he told Reuters. "Those who are already hardliners will pay no atte ntion at all. But 's wing voters ' - - poorly educ ated and a ngry M uslims , who respect mains tream sc holars , will probably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative," he s aid. HELLF I RE Q adri s aid he felt c om pelled to is sue the edict bec aus e of concerns about the radic alis ation of British M uslims at univers ity cam pus es and bec aus e there had been a lack of c ondem nation o f extrem ism by M uslim clerics and sc holars. Nigerian U mar Farouk Abdulmutallab, ac cus ed of trying to bomb a U .S.- bou nd plane o n Christm as Day, s tudied at a L ondon univers ity until 2 0 08 . Y emen, where A bdulmutallab began his journey , has s aid he was radicalised while in Britain. "The reality is that whatever thes e terro ris ts are doing it is not m artyrdom. All these activities are taking t hem to hellfire," Q adri s aid. He is c onfident that the edic t will have a s ignificant im pac t, s aying he had dra wn on c las sical teac hings and authorities ac c eptable to all s ects of Islam . "I will s ay more than 50 perc ent will change their way, they will be influenc ed. O f the rem aining 5 0 perc ent at leas t s ome of them , half o f them , will become doubtful about their life, their terro ris t ac tivity," he s aid. While Q adri has followers ac ros s the globe, it is in Pakistan, where he has millions of follo wers, and in the dias pora that his impact would be greates t, Winter s aid. Britain has about 1 .7 million M us lims, m ainly of P akis tani descent, and the sec urity s ervic es s ay that nearly all major ter roris m plots s ince 2001, including the 2 0 05 London bombings whic h killed 5 2 people, were linked to P akis tan.

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G overnm ent officials will be among thos e joining Q adri for the launc h of t he fat wa in c entral L ondon. The M uslim C ounc il of Britain, a n umbrella organis ation representing s ome 50 0 Is lam ic groups , said the fat wa was welc ome. "I t is entirely laudable for s cholars s uch as T ahir ul-Q adri to s peak out against terroris m," it s aid in a statem ent. A lthough his pronou nc ement will be goo d ne ws for the authorities in Britain and other Wes tern governm ents s eeking to win M uslim s upport to s tamp out extrem ism , Q adri said their bac king is irrelevant to his views.

http://ab cne ws. go.com /Int er nat io nal/ wireStor y?id= 9985869

Muslim Leader Issues Anti-Terror Fatwa LO NDO N Mar ch 2, 2010 (A P)

Le adi ng Musli ms schol a r Dr Muha mm ad Ta hi r-ul -Qa dri hol ds his F atwa on sui cide bombings a nd... (A ki ra Su emo ri/A P P h ot o )

The leader of a glo bal Muslim movem ent has iss ued a fatwa , or religious ed ict, that he calls a n absolute condemnation of terr orism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adr i, a form er Pakistani lawm aker, say s the 600-p age fatwa bans s uicide bom bing "witho ut any excuses, any pretexts , or exceptions ."

http://www.c hannel4 .c om/news /artic les/uk/s uic ide% 2 0 bombers % 2 0 enemies% 20 of% 20 islam/ 3 56 6 68 7

Suicide bombers 'enemies of Islam': Channel 4 U pdated on 0 2 M arc h 2 01 0 Suic ide bom bers have been desc ribed as the "heroes of hellfire" by a leading M uslim sc holar in a fat wa c ondem ning te rrorists as the enemies of I s lam . P akis tan- born D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri said there were no "ifs or b uts " about terr oris m and s uc h ac ts had no justification in the nam e o f I s lam . I n a news c onferenc e attende d by MP s, representatives from the M etropolitan P olic e, c haritable organisations, think-tanks and other groups , he called on I slamic leaders to convey the m ess age that ac ts of terroris m c ut people o ff as true follo wers of I slam.

http://www.channe l4.com/ne ws/articles/society/religion/fatwa+against+the +bombings/108975

Fatwa against the bombings

By Be njamin C ohen Up da te d on 15 J uly 2 00 5

"We need the M uslim community to se ize the m om ent" The wor ds of L ondon's top P olic e c hief, in a direct appeal to Britis h mus lims to "ac tively engage" with the p olic e to root o ut extremists . This evening, some M us lim leaders iss ued a fat wa - condem ning the attac kers and the L on don suic ide bombings . But who are t hes e leaders - and can they really repres ent Britain's largest and mos t diverse minority? O ur foreign affairs corres pondent Jonathan M iller reports .

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htt p://w ww.upi.c om /Top _Ne ws /Spec ia l/2010/03/ 02/Fatwa-c ondem nsterr or ism /UPI- 95591267541853/

Fatwa condemns terrorism March. 2, 2010 at 9:57 AM LO NDO N, March 2 (UPI) -- A Sufi Islam ic cleric re le ase d a 600-page fatwa Tue sday in Bri tain de scribing suicide bom bings and te rrorism as contrary to the te achings of Islam . Muham me d Tahir ul-Q adri, a Pak istani Islam ic scholar, wrote the fat wa for his Sufi Minhaj-ul-Q uran organization, which offers an alternative to radical Islam ic pre aching, reports The Tim es of London. The fatwa, ci rculate d in Pakistan in De cem be r, draws on the Koran to describe suicide bom bings and te rrorism as "absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam doe s not perm it such acts on any e x cuse, reason or pre te x t." Radical Islam ic teaching alludes to phrase s in the Koran, the Islamic holy book , that equate the principle s of holy war wi th viole nce against so-called infidels.

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Shahid Mursalee n, a spok e sm an for Minhaj-ul-Q uran, told The Time s the fatwa strik e s at the he art of the principle of m artyrdom used to advocate suicide terrorism . "This fatwa inje cts doubt into the m inds of potential suicide bombers," he said. Minhaj-ul-Q uran is a non-governm ent Islamic organization with affiliate s in 80 countries. The group's London branch teache s courses offe ring a counte r vie wpoint to m isguide d Islam ic perceptions of jihad, said the Pak istani scholar.

http:// www.upi. com /Top_Ne ws/US/2010/03/03/UPI-Ne wsTrack-TopNe ws/UPI42801267622269/

Cleric condemns terrorism LONDON, March 3 ( UPI) -- A Pakistani M usli m scholar , in a lengthy theologic al r uli ng against ter r orism, r ejected al-Qaid a's phi losop hy, saying Islam for bids the massacre of i nnoc ents. Appear ing i n London, T ahir ul-Qadr i told a gr oup of Muslims, c ler gy, political leader s and polic e officer s his 600-page fat wa rejects vi olence and called al-Qaida an "old evi l with a new name, " t he BBC reported. Qadr i's mov ement, c alled Minhaj ul-Q uran I nt ernational, i s gr owing in Br itain, dr awi ng the i nter est of policymaker s and law enf or cement heads, the repor t said. Q adr i said hi s st udy, r esulti ng fr om t he esc alati on of mi litant vi olence in Pakistan, is a d etai led t heologi cal r ebuttal of ever y poi nt mad e by al-Qaida inspir ed r ecr uiter s. "They (t err orists) can't c lai m t hat their sui cide bombi ngs are mar tyr dom oper ations and that they become the her oes of t he Musli m Umma (global br ot her hood)," he told his audience. "No, t hey become her oes of hellfire, and they ar e leadi ng towar ds hellfire. "T here is no p lace for any mar tyr dom and their act i s nev er , ever to be consider ed jihad." Rejecti ng some sc holar ly r ulings on martyr dom as it r elat ed t o t he Palesti ni an-Isr aeli confli ct, Qadr i said ther e i s no situati on in which v engeful ac ts such as attacks on marketp laces or commut er tr ains can ever be consid ered a j ustifiab le act of war . The report said Qadri has many followers in P akist an but his Minhaj ul-Q uran Int ernational has become known i n Br itai n only r ecently. The mov ement, whi ch has 10 mosques in citi es wit h signific ant Musli m communiti es, is tar geting t he younger generati on, the BB C aid.

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Scholar to issue anti- terror fatwa Mar 02 , 2010 LO N DO N - A P RO M INE NT Is lamic sc holar is to iss ue a 60 0-page religious edic t denouncing terroris m in L ondon on T ues day in what he says is a bid to pers uade young M uslims to turn their backs on extrem ism . The fat wa from M uhamm ad T ahir ul-Q adri, a leading figure who has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years, echoes edic ts c ondem ning extremis m issued by a num ber of Islamic groups since the Sept 1 1 attac ks on the U nited States . But Dr. Q adri s ays his fatwa, which dec lares terrorists and s uicide bombers to be u nbelievers , goes furthe r than any previo us denunc iation. 'This is the firs t, m os t comprehens ive fatwa on the subjec t of ter rorism ever written,' s aid Dr. Q adri, who has written a bout 35 0 books on Is lam ic s c holars hip and is a sc holar of Sufism , a long tradition within I s lam that focus es on peac e, toleranc e and moderation . 'I have tried to leave not a single stone untur ned on t his partic ular s ubjec t and I have tried to add res s every s ingle ques tion relevant to this s ubject,' he told Re uters in a telephone intervie w. Dr. Q adri, 5 9, who was born in P akis tan, is head o f the global M inhaj ul-Q uran religious and educ ational organisation whic h s preads his Sufi ideas . A form er P akistani m inis ter and ass ociate of as sassinated Prime M inister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wi de promoting his mes sage of harmo ny an d was one of the first M us lim leaders to c ondem n the Sept 1 1 attac ks. Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic studies at Cambridge University, s aid while t here had been s imilar fat was in the pas t, D r . Q adri did appear to have go ne furt her than m os t. 'T o declare the misc reants as unbelievers is unusual, because it is not really clear that t he r ules allow one s im ply to s ay that they are not M us lims ,' he told Reuters . 'T hos e who are alrea dy hardliners will pay no attention at all. B ut 's wing voters' - poorly educated and ang ry M us lims , who res pec t mains tream scholars , will probably take note.' – REUTE RS

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Muslim anti-terror fatwa issued LO N DO N - TH E leader of a global M uslim m ovement has issued a fat wa , or religious edic t, that he c alls an abs olute c ondem nation of terrorism . M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri, a fo rmer Pakis tani lawmaker, says the 6 00 - page fatwa bans s uic ide bom bing ' without any exc us es, any pretexts, or exceptions.' M r T ahir-ul-Q adri has iss ued sim ilar, s horter decrees , but Tuesday's event in L ondon was publicis ed by the Q uilliam Foundation, a government- funded anti-extremis m think tank and dre w s trong m edia attention . The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran, a worldwide movem ent that prom otes a nonp olitic al, tolerant I s lam . T he group has hundreds of thousands of followe rs aroun d the wo rld, mos t of them in P akis tan or P akistanis living in other c ountries. - - AP

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Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa By Rob Welham 2010-0 3- 02 19 :41 :2 9

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Dr Tahir ul-Q adri, an influential Muslim scholar from Pak istan, is to issue a Fatwa against te rrorism and suicide bom bing. Dr Q adri says his 600-page judgem ent com plete ly dism antles al-Qaeda's viole nt ide ology and describes the organisation as an "old e vil with a ne w nam e ". Dr Q adri says that Islam forbids the massacre of innoce nt citizens and suicide bom bings and his m oveme nt, M inhaj ul-Q uran Inte rnational, has now d rawn the inte re st of policym ake rs and securit y chie fs. Shahid Mursalee n, spokesman for M inhaj-ul-Q uran in the UK, said the fatwa was hard-hitting and would "inject doubt into the m inds of potential suicide bombe rs." The docum ent is not the first to condem n te rrorism and suicide bom bing to be launched in the UK. Follo wing the terrorist attacks in London during July 2005 m any scholars cam e toge the r to de nounce the bom be rs and urge com m unities to root out ex trem ists. A fatwa, an e dict issue d by a learne d M uslim scholar, m ay conce rn any aspect of Islam ic life. The te rm becam e fam ous in the western wo rld in 1989 afte r the author Salman R ushdie was force d into hiding following a “death fatwa” issued by Ayatollah Khom eni, the then Suprem e Leade r of Iran, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Ve rses had “insulted” Islam .

Editor: Anne Tang

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Muslim scholar in Britain condemns terrorism 2010-0 3- 02 23 :50 :0 0 A leading M us lim scholar in Britain is sued a fat wa Tuesday c ondemning terr oris ts and suic ide bom bers, s aying they had no jus tific ation in the name of I slam. Pakistan- born Dr. Tahir ul-Q adri said there we re no "ifs or buts" about ter roris m, in a ne ws c onferenc e attended by o ffic ers from L ondo n's M etropolitan P olic e, lawm akers , charitable organis ations and think- tanks . He s aid he wanted to convey the mess age that ac ts of terrorism cut people off as true followe rs of Is lam . "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma (the wide r M uslim c omm unity). No , they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire. "There is no plac e for any martyrdom and their ac t is never , ever to be considered jihad," he added. Q adri s aid his 600 -page fatwa, or religious ruling, was an "absolute" condemnation of terroris m witho ut "any excus es or pretexts ". "Good intentions c annot c onvert a wron g into good , t hey cannot convert an evil into goo d," he s aid. "Terrorism is terroris m, violenc e is violenc e and it has no plac e in I s lamic teac hing and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it, or any kind of exc uses or ifs or buts ." He s aid Is lam was a religion of peac e that prom otes beauty, "betterment", goo dness and "negates all form of m is c hief and s trife". The fat wa will be trans lated into Englis h in the com ing weeks and m ade available o nline in a n attempt to counter extremis t versions of I s lam available on the I nternet. Q adri founded the M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent, which has thous ands of. suppo rters in Britain and ac ros s the world. I n Britain, it s ays it runs c ourses in com bating religious extremis m in educ ational c entres in London, M anc hes ter and Birmingham .

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Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa 2010-03-02 20:40:00

Leading Muslims scholar Dr Muhammad Tah ir-ul-Qad ri holds h is Fatwa on suici...Leading Muslims scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qad ri speaks at the UK launch ...Showing 1 of 2 The leader of a glob al Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or relig ious edict, that he calls an absolut e cond emn ation o f terro rism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri, a fo rmer Pakistani law maker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bo mb ing "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tah ir-ul-Qad ri has issued similar, sho rter decrees, but Tuesday's ev ent in London w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundat ion, a government-funded ant i-ext remism th ink tank and d rew strong med ia attention. The relig ious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-u l-Quran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a nonpolit ical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis liv ing in other countries.

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing 2010-03-02 15:00:00

De scribing Al-Qae da as an 'old ev il with a ne w nam e', influential Pakistani scholar Dr Tahir ulQa dri h as sa id he would soon issue a 'fat wa' a gainst terrorism and suicide bom bin g. Qa dri sa id the Al- Qae da ha s not been suffic iently cha llen ge d an d that his global r ulin g aga inst terrorism completely dism antles the banned terror or ganisation's violent ideolo gy. In his 600-page ruling, Qa dri said Islam for bids the massacre of innocent citiz ens and suicide bom bin gs. The fatwa also cha llen ges the religio us m otivations of would-be suicide bombers who ar e inspire d by prom ises of an afterlif e, T he BBC r eports. The fam ous M uslim scho lar develope d h is do cument last year a s a r esponse to the sudden increase in suicide bom bin gs across Pakistan. The fatwa, which would be promoted in Britain by Qadri's organisation, M inha j ul- Quran International, would cover glo bal issues in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslim s in we stern nations. Terming the fatwa as 'har d hitting', M inhaj ul-Quran International's spokesp erson Shah id Mur saleen said the ruling wo uld inject do ubt into the m inds of potential suicide bom bers. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain r ecruit the youth by brain wa shin g them that they will with certainty be re war ded in the next life. Dr Qa dri's f at wa has remove d this k ey intellectual a ctor from their m inds," M ur saleen said. ( ANI)

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Top Pak Islamic scholar issues 600-page 'fatwa' against terrorism, suicide bombings 2010-03-19 13:20:00 Influential Pakistani scholar Dr Tahir ul-Qadri has issued a 600-page 'fat wa' against terrorism and suicide bombing. Speaking to reporters after releasingthe 'fatwa' here, Qadri said suicide bombers are 'destined for hell' and that Islam does not support violence in any form. "Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence, and it has no place in Islamic teaching andno justification can be providedfor it," The News quoted Qadri, as saying. Qadri saidthe Al-Qaeda has not been sufficiently challenged and that his global ruling against terrorism completely dismantles the bannedterror organisation's violent ideology. In his 600-page ruling, Qadri said Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citizens andsuicide bombings. The fatwa also challenges the religious motivations of would-be suicide bombers who are inspired by promises of an afterlife.The famous Muslim scholar developedhis document last year as a response to the sudden increase in suicide bombings across Pakistan. The fatwa, which is beingpromoted in Britain by Qadri"s organisation, Minhaj ul-Quran International, covers global issues in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslims in western nations. Terming the fatwa as 'hard hitting', Minhaj ul-Quran International's spokesperson ShahidMursaleen said the ruling wouldinject doubt into the minds of potential suicide bombers. "Extremist groups basedin Britain recruit the youth by brainwashing them that they will with certainty be rewardedin the next life. Dr Qadri's fatwa has removed this key intellectual factor from their minds," Mursaleen said. (ANI)

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Top Muslim cleric to issue antiterrorism fatwa Reut ers P ubl ishe d on Tue, Mar 02, 2010 at 22:38, U p date d o n Tue, Mar 02, 20 10 at 22:58 i n W orld s ec tio n

A prominent I slamic sc holar is to issue a 6 00- page religious edict denounc ing terrorism in L ondon o n T ues day in what he says is a bid to pers uade young M uslims to turn their bac ks on extrem is m . T he fatwa from M uham mad Tahir ul-Q adri, a leading fig ure who has prom oted peac e and interfaith dialogue for 3 0 years , ec hoes edic ts c ondemning extrem ism iss ued by a number of Is lamic groups s ince the Septem ber 1 1 attac ks on the U nited States . But Q adri says his fatwa, whic h declares terroris ts and s uic ide bom bers to be unbelievers, goes further tha n a ny previous denunc iation. "T his is the first, most c om prehens ive fatwa on the s ub jec t of ter roris m ever written ," s aid Q adri, who has written a bout 3 50 books on I s lamic s cholars hip and is a s c holar of Sufis m, a long tradition within Is lam that foc us es on peac e, toleranc e an d m oderation. "I have tried to leave not a single s tone untu rned on this partic ular s ubjec t and I have tried to addres s every single question relevant to this subjec t," he s aid.

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Q adri, 59 , who was born in Pakis tan, is head of the global M inhaj ul-Q uran religious and educ ational organis ation whic h spreads his Sufi ideas . A form er Pakistani minis ter and as soc iate of ass ass inated P rim e M inis ter Benazir Bhutto , he delivers lectures worldwide promoting his mess age of harm ony and was one of the firs t M uslim leaders to c ondemn the September 1 1 attac ks. T im W inter, a lec turer in I s lamic s tudies at C ambridge U nivers ity, s aid while t here had been s imilar fat was in the pas t, Q adri did appear to have gone further t han mos t. "T o declare the mis c reants as unbelievers is unus ual, because it is not really c lear that t he rules allow o ne s imply to s ay that they are not M us lims ," he s aid. "T hos e who are already hardliners will pay no attention at all. But 'swing voters ' - - poorly educ ated and angry M uslims, who res pec t m ains tream scholars , will p robably take note . "C ertainly it is a helpful initiative," he said. Hell f i re Q adri said he felt c ompelled to iss ue the edic t because of c onc erns about the radicalisation of British M uslims at university campuses and because there had been a lack of c ondemnation of extrem is m by M uslim c lerics and s c holars . N igerian Um ar Farouk A bdulmutallab, ac c us ed of trying to bom b a US- bound plane on C hristmas D ay, s tudied at a L ondon u nivers ity until 20 08. Y em en, where Abdulm utallab began his journey, has s aid he was ra dic alis ed while in Britain. "T he reality is that whatever thes e terrorists are doing it is not martyrdom . A ll thes e ac tivities are taking t hem to hellfire," Q adri s aid. H e is confident that the edic t will have a s ignific ant impact, saying he had dra wn on c lass ic al teac hings and authorities ac c eptable to all s ec ts of Is lam. "I will say m ore than 5 0 percent will c hange their way, they will be in fluenced. O f the remaining 5 0 percent at least s om e of them, hal f of them , will bec ome do ubtful about their life, their terroris t ac tivity," he said. W hile Q adri has followers ac ros s the globe, it is in P akis tan, where he has millions of followers , and in the diaspora that his im pac t would be greates t, W inter s aid. Britain has about 1 .7 m illion M us lims , mainly of P akistani desc ent, and the s ecurity s ervices s ay that nearly all m ajo r ter rorism plots s inc e 2 001 , inc luding the 20 05 L ondon bom bings whic h killed 5 2 people, were linked to Pakistan. G overnm ent offic ials will be am ong those joining Q adri for the launch of t he fat wa in central L ondon. T he M uslim Counc il of Britain, an um brella orga nis ation repres enting some 5 00 Is lam ic groups, s aid the fat wa was welcome. "I t is entirely laudable fo r s cholars suc h as T ahir ul-Q adri to s peak out agains t terrorism ," it s aid in a s tatem ent. A lthough his pronou nc ement will be good ne ws for the a uthorities in Britain a nd other W estern governments s eeking to win M uslim support to stamp out extrem is m , Q adri s aid their bac king is irrelevant to his views .

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Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa David Sap sted, For eign Corre spon dent ·

Last Up dated: March 03. 2010 12:49 AM UAE / March 2. 2010 8:49PM GMT

Muham mad Tahir ul Qadr i says h e felt compelle d to write the e dict bec ause of concerns a bout the radicalisation of yo un g Muslims. Ak ira Suem ori / AP Photo LONDON // A glo bal fat wa condemning terrorism and warn ing suicide bomber s that they were “ destine d for h ell” was issued yester day by the leader of an international M uslim m ovement. The 600-page r ulin g was issue d by M uhamm ad T ahir ul Qa dri, foun der of the glo bal M inh aj- ulQuran m ovement. Announce d at a conference in Lon don, the fat wa de cree s: “ Suicide bom bin gs and attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only condemne d by Islam , but ren der the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam – in other wor ds, to be un believer s.”

The Pakistani- born Mr ul Qa dri, who ha s promoted pea ce an d interfaith dialogue for 30 year s, describe s his declaration a s “ the m ost comprehensive fat wa on the subject of terrorism ever written”. He said that it probably wo uld have no effect on terrorists so bra inwash ed that they could no longer 111

think for themselves, but could inf luence those who were tempted to follow the teachin gs of extremists. “ The fatwa ha s been issue d to provide cle ar, cate gorical and com prehen sive injunction s that will dissuade conf used and impre ssionable yo ung Muslim s from em barking upon the path of extremism and r adicalism that eventually lea ds to the de a dly an d horrific o utcomes we have a ll tra gica lly com e to know,” h e said.

Mr ul Qadri sa id the fat wa com pletely dismantle d a l Qa’eda’ s violent ideolo gy, which he descr ibe d as an “ old evil with a new nam e”. “ I have tried to leav e not a sin gle stone unturned on this particular subject,” said M r ul Qa dri, a scholar of Suf ism who sa id he fe lt compelle d to issue the edict beca use of concern s abo ut the radicalisation of yo un g Muslims. “ The reality is that whatever these terrorists are doin g it is not martyrdom . All these activitie s are taking them to hellfire.”

Mr ul Qadri sa id he ha d dr awn on cla ssic al teach ings an d a uthorities acc eptable to all sects of Islam to compile his fat wa. Shahid Ma lik, Britain’ s comm unities’ minister, yesterday we lcome d the fat wa. “It is incum bent on Muslim s to stan d up for their faith,” he sa id. “ When 7/7 occ urre d [the Lon don transport bombings in 2005], those four evil yo un g m en kille d themselve s an d ov er 50 innoc ent people be cause they follo we d a t wisted and perverted interpretation of Islam wh ich told them by doing so they wo uld go to heaven.

“ A clear an d unequivo cal me ssage must go o ut that Islam teache s that these four are not m artyrs goin g to heaven but sinner s going som ewhere very different inde ed.” Shahid M ur saleen, the spokesman for Minha j-ul- Quran UK, added that the fatwa “ has hit har d on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from con siderin g suicid e bomber s as martyrs”. He said: “T his fat wa in jects do ubt into the m inds of potential suicide bom bers. Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain re cruit youth by brain wa shin g them that they will ‘ with certainty’ be r ewarde d in the next life. M r Qa dri’ s fatwa ha s removed this key intelle ctua l factor from their minds. ”

A spok esm an for the Quilliam Fo undation, a Lon don-ba sed counterterrorism think tank, haile d the fatwa a s “argua bly the most comprehensiv e” theolo gical ref utation of Islam ist terrorism. “ Terrorist gro ups such as al Qa’ e da continue to justify their mass k illin gs with self-servin g r eadin gs of religious script ure,” h e said. “ Fatwas that demolish an d expose such theolo gical innovations will con sign I slam ist terrorism to the dust bin of history.” 112

Tim Winter, a lecturer in Islam ic studies at Cam bridge Univ ersity, said although there ha d been sim ilar f at was in the pa st, Mr ul Qadri appear ed to have gone f urther than m ost. “T o declare the miscreants as unbelievers is un usual beca use it is not really cle ar that the rules allo w on e simply to say that they are not M uslims,” he told Re uter s. “ Those who are already h ardliners will pay no attention at all. But ‘swin g voters’ – poorly educated and an gry Muslims, who r esp ect mainstream scho lar s – will pro ba bly take note. Certainly it is a helpful initiative.”

Minhaj- ul- Quaran r un s co urse s in com bating religio us extremism in educational centres througho ut Britain. Shaikh Moham med Hisham Kabbani, an Islamic scholar at the Centre for Spirit uality and Cultura l Advanc ement, said: “ T his scholarship is a lan dm ark in enabling M uslim s livin g in the UK to be able to silence the small m inority of people who think it is OK to comm it violent acts in the name of Islam ,” he sa id.

“ We are happy and honour ed to be workin g with Mr Qa dri and Minha j- ul- Quran to support the UK Muslim s in co untering the ra dical Islamist rhetoric in the world. ”

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My fatwa against the terrorists’ creed Dr T ahir ul Qa dri

Pep Montserrat for The National I have been compelled to issue a fatwa – a comprehensiv e theolo gic al refutation of Islamist terrorism – beca use of what has been happ ening in Pakistan over the pa st year. Terrorists are bom bin g m osques during Friday prayers, they are burnin g schoo ls, k illing wom en. They are digging bo dies out of grave s, c utting off their he a ds and han gin g the bo dies from trees.

My 600-page f atwa is base d on all fo ur schoo ls of jurispr udenc e: Hanaf i, Sh afii, Hanbali and Maliki, and the Shia schoo l of Jafari. I have con sulte d h undreds of c lassica l Islamic texts, the scholars, f iqh and the Hadith. The main them e is this: any act of terrorism such as suicide bom bin g cannot be justified in any way. There are no con ditions, no pretexts or exem ptions. It is condemne d by the Qur an an d the Sunn a.

Killing M uslim s an d non-M uslim s through terrorist activitie s an d using violent aggre ssion to impose their m istaken and mispla ced ideology is a f undamental reje ction of faith. Such acts m ake 114

the people carry in g out the attacks un believers, or k ufr. Som e scho lars have sa id to m e that we know suicide bom bin g is for bidden but to say that this is an act of an un believer is goin g f ar. I am not saying anyone who k ills is an un believer. I say one who is com mitting acts of terrorism on the ba sis that it is san ctione d an d la wf ul by Islam is an un believer. The Qur an says those who kill in mosque s, burn people, blo w them up, they will suffer the torments of hellfir e. This is one asp ect. A secon d a spe ct I have examined is the justification that Muslim r uler s in Ara b co untries or nonMuslim s ar e not enforcing Islamic la w so there is an obligation to fight against them. T his is absolutely wron g. In no context is any or ganisation a llo wed to take up arm s on their o wn and say we are defendin g M uslim lan d or we are aven gin g the a ggr ession of non-M uslim powers. This is a matter for a state and its governm ent.

The holy Prophet Mohammed told his companion s that bad r uler s would come an d the people wo uld c ur se them and the ruler s would c urse their peop le. T he com panion s asked sho uld they not fight them with swords if this tim e comes? And the holy Prophet said that no, they were not allowed as far as they were M uslim s. As for a dopting the def ence that the attacks are a gain st foreign a ggre ssion, this is the priv ilege an d respon sibility of the state to stand up and to fight accor ding to international la w. If gro ups an d individuals start taking rev en ge it will create glo bal anarchy an d there will be no r ule of la w, there will be just killing of m ankin d.

There is a proph ecy of the Prophet M ohamm ed. He mentioned that the Kharijites would emer ge continuo usly in Islamic history. T he Kharijites be liev ed that who ever did not a gre e with their philosophy wa s an un believer and sho uld be kille d. T hey wanted to resolve everythin g through the swor d and through po wer. They rose up in the time of the rightly guide d Caliph s, Usm an and Ali, and fought a ga inst them.

This ha dith, which appears in dozens of book s, says the holy Prophet M ohamm ed said they wo uld emerge again and a ga in in diff erent centur ie s until the final time of the anti-Chr ist. They would arrive m ore than 20 tim es. They would ke ep chan gin g names an d appe ar for the la st time as part of the anti-Christ’s army. They would sla ughter people. Al Qa’e da is an old evil with a ne w name. They are the Kharijites with a ne w name. T hey are misguided today lik e the Kha war ij yo uth wer e m isguide d at that tim e. T hey wer e brain wa she d although they were re ligio us peop le who prayed and fasted.

Those who hav e alr ea dy de cided to becom e suic ide bom bers are totally brainwa she d. I exclude them from this disc ussion bec a use they are blind. I am trying to reach the m ajority who h ave not reache d that sta ge but have extrem ist tendencies and are pro cee din g in that dir ection. 115

There are thousan ds of extrem ists runnin g we bsites and app lyin g m isguide d ideas. The ra dicals who have no ac cess to classical authorities ar e misguided an d giv e the wron g concept of jihad. This religious r ulin g is particularly important for Britain and the we stern world, where the majority of Muslim s ar e of so uth Asian origin. We have se en exam ple s of extrem ist gro ups targetin g v ulnerable yo un g people from these com munities to carry o ut their acts of vio lenc e – from training them as suicide bom ber s to bra inwashin g st udents across British universitie s. I am sure that the hundr e ds of a uthorities I hav e quoted will allo w them to rethink, to see that whatever they were ta ught wa s wron g. The fatwa h as appear e d in Ur du, and English an d Ara bic translations have been started. It will be translate d into many other langua ges and distributed thro ugh the internet accom panie d by videos, sum maries and talk s. We will do whatever is po ssible to reach the youth with the Alm ighty Allah’s help an d gra ce. Alre ady it is h appenin g. W e have been contacted by the Af ghan pre sident Ham id Karzai’s office and they want a copy to translate into Persian an d Pa shto. An d so it will go. There have been m any other fatwa s that condem n suicide bombings an d there have been verba l resolutions aga inst it. T hey were v ery brief, m ay be one or t wo page s signe d by hun dr e ds of scholars and they did not contain m any reference s. These brief declarations wer e not able to answer the que stions or a ddre ss all the con cerns. I thought there wa s a n ee d to a ddress every m ajor concern, every m ajor an d m inor aspect wh ich has a lrea dy been planted in people’s m in ds. In Pakistan, some religious scholars h ave con dem ned the military a ction in the Swat valley an d North-West Frontier Province, or they have sa id they alre ady have con dem ned suicide bombin gs and acts of terrorism. Som e have felt they have fulfilled their duty. But by simply con dem nin g the Pakistani m ilitary a ction or stayin g silent they are creatin g doubt in the minds of the comm on people and youth. While Muslims resist and fight terrorism and ar e not rea dy to accept its rem otest possible link with Islam, there are some who are also se en supportin g it. Instea d of opposing and con dem nin g it openly they confuse the issue. After this fatwa more scholars will be com e co ura geo us and stan d up. A fe w are sc are d. A friend of mine who re cently con dem ne d suicide bombing in Pakistan was assa ssinate d. This gr and fat wa, when it is in the han ds of ev ery bo dy, will give people co ura ge, c larity an d motivation. Dr Tahir ul Qadri is th e founding leader of M inhaj ul Qu ran, e stablish ed in 1981 with headquarte rs in Laho re. www.m inhaj.org

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http://www.the national.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100307/O PINIO N/703069960/1033

Fatwa exposes the lies of the terrorists ·

Last Up dated: March 06. 2010 7:47PM UAE / M arch 6. 2010 3:47PM GMT

The arm ed takeover of the Gr and Mosque in Mecca in 1979 wa s a pivotal point in modern extremism. Led by the former Sa udi nationa l guar dsman Juhaym an al Utaibi an d the false Mah di Moham med al Qahtani, the two- week occ up ation violate d the m ost ba sic princ iple s of Islam. While spilling the bloo d of fe llo w M uslims in I slam ’s holie st site, the rebe ls continue d to claim divin e justific ation for their acts. It was only after he was ca ught that al Utaibi adm itted he h a d been wrong. Terrorists far too often cloak their de e ds in a suppose d religious justification, ev en as those de eds aban don Islam. In the past 15 year s, the al Qa’eda franch ise’s trail of carna ge, from suicide bom bin gs to the m urder of innocents, ha s tim e an d a gain violated the explic it teachings of the Quran and the Ha diths. Al Qa’ eda ha s always been a theolo gica lly bankrupt or ganisation, owing more to the megalomania of Osam a bin L aden than even the writin gs of the discre dite d E gyptian scholar Sayyid Qutb. But the falsity of their claims m ust be expose d. Yesterday in the pa ges of T he National, the esteeme d M uslim scholar Dr T ahir ul Qa dir, the foun der of Minhaj ul Quran, explaine d the basis of his recent fatwa again st the terrorists. Comin g from a scholar of his stan din g an d dr awing deep ly upon the schools of Islamic jur ispr udence, Dr ul Qa dir’s fat wa is a strong blow to the false doctrines of the terrorists. He joins a gro win g n umber of religio us lea der s denouncin g al Qa’ eda an d its affiliates in recent year s, but the battle is not yet won. In M uslim com munities across the world, from Riya dh to Jakarta, Washin gton DC to Bagh da d, there are le gitimate grievance s that fue l the terrorists’ m isguide d ca use. Economic disp arities, racism and prejudice, geopolitics: many factors serv e to alien ate Muslim yo uth from the mainstream . T hese yo ung people – intelligent, comm itted an d e a ger to improve the world – ar e the targets of terrorist recr uitm ent, but also the greate st potential resourc e for their com munitie s. Al Qa’e da will f ail, not bec ause of defeats on the battlefield, but because of its bereft ideo logy. T he deceit that terrorists act in the nam e of Islam will be expo se d. Bin Laden an d his cron ie s cannot stand up a gain st scholars such as Dr ul Qa dir. Yo un g people are sim ply too intelligent to believe their lie s once they ar e expose d to light.

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http://www .nation.com.pk/pak i sta n- new s- new spa pe r -da il y -engli shonl i ne/Pol itics/03 - Ma r -2010/Q a dri -i ssue s-f atw a- a gai nst terrori sm? utm_source =f eedburner&ut m_me dium=f ee d& utm _campai gn= Fee d% 3A + pak ista n- new s- new spa pe r -da il y -engli sh- onl i ne%2F 24hours new s+ %28The+ Nation+%3A +Last +Tw e nty +F our+ Hours+New s%29

Qadri issues fatwa against terrorism P ubl ishe d: M arc h 0 3 , 2 0 10

Maula na Dr Tahir-ul-Qa dri has iss ued a global r uling a gains t terror ism a nd suic ide bombing, reporte d BBC on Tue sday. Dr Qadri, an influential P akista ni scholar, said his 600-page judgeme nt, know n as a f atwa, com ple tely dismantles Al-Q aeda’s violent ide olo gy. The scholar descr ibes Al-Qaeda a s a n 'o ld evil with a new name' that has not been suff icie ntly c ha llenge d. The sc holar’s m ov ement is gr owing in the UK and has attrac ted the inter es t of po licymaker s a nd security chiefs. In his religio us ruling, deliv ered in London, D r Q adri says that Islam for bids the massacre of innocent citizens and suicide bombings . Although many sc holars have made similar rulings in the past, Dr Qadr i ar gue d that his massive d oc ument goes m uch further by omitting “ifs and b uts” a dded by other thinkers. He said that it se t o ut a po int-by-point theologica l re buttal of every arg um ent used by Qaeda-insp ired recr uiters . The po pulis t sc ho lar develope d his doc ument las t yea r as a res po nse to the increase in bom bings across Pak istan by militants. ‘HERO ES OF HELLFIR E’ The basic text has been ex tende d to 600 pag es to cover glo bal iss ues, in a n attempt to get its theological a rg um ents take n up by Mus lim s in Wes ter n na tions. It will be promo ted in the UK by Dr Qadri’s organisatio n, Minhaj ul Quran International. Dr Qadri spoke for m or e than ho ur to a n a ud ience of Muslim s, clergy , MPs, police o ffic ers and o the r sec urity officials. “They [terroris ts] can’t claim tha t their suicide bom bings ar e m ar tyrd om opera tions and that they become the hero es of the Muslim Um ah [g lob al bro therho od ].

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http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan -ne ws - ne wspape r- daily - e nglish online /O pinions/Lette rs/31- Mar- 2010/Pro ven - at - last

Proven at last Publish ed: Mar ch 31, 2010

One agr ee s who leheartedly with the landmark fat wa of Dr T ahir ul Qadri a gain st terrorism , suicide bom bin g, m utiny or re bellion a gainst the state, all be ing tantam ount to creating divisions amon gst the Um mah. Dr Tahirul Qa dr i’s a uthoritative referenc es to h un dreds of Qur anic verses an d 17 major book s of T afse er, Aha dith (56 books, 12 sharahaat, 4 on asm a- ur-rijaal), Fiqh wa Usool (50 m ajor works by all schoo ls of tho ught), As- Seerah (2 book s), Al-Aqaae d (8 book s), Al-Fata was (6 book s), Al-T asa wwuf (2 m ajor books), History (8 by Islamic scholars & all major historians from Europe) and Encyc lope dias (6 book s, e ach work consisting tens and t wentie s of volume s) have ma de h is fatwa uncha llen gea ble. Without any do ubt, this recent effort by the so-far controver sia l and politically ambitious Dr Qadri, who starte d from be in g the Pesh-Imam of the mosque of Ho use of Ittefaq, saile d through m uddy waters of po litic s and is no w focused on the real job of interpreting I slam at la st, is la udable an d tim ely. I have gone through the book; it is re ally a h uge work an d removes a n umber of do ubts abo ut our war against the Taliban an d al- Qa e da terrorists. Other scholars in Pakistan and the Muslim wor ld at lar ge should jo in hands with him on the issue an d dec lare a war on terrorism , terrorists, extrem ists, conspir ators an d e lements of hate who are def acin g I slam . T his book is also im portant for those who have taken up arm s a gainst the terrorists, either in uniform or in civ il society, beca use this helps cle ar doubts in their min ds, if any. T he book helps unite the m asse s divided on lines of religious differenc es an d sects, an d if the com mon cause an d fight again st terrorism unite s us in o ur ranks an d f ile, why can’t it help us sh un o ur other petty differen ces and disp utes? -F. Z. KHAN, Islama bad, Mar ch 28.

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http:// www.nation.c om.pk/pakis tan -news - newspaper- daily- english online/O pinions/C olumns /10 - Dec -2009 /Fatwa - versus - terroris m

Monda y, M arch 08, 2010

Fatwa versus terrorism Published: D ecem ber 10, 2009

Azam Khalil Faith is the continuation of rea son – William Adams The menace of terrorism has struck the very heart of this co untry and it no w seems that the country’s interior minister ha s ac cepte d the dom inance of these sav age s who h ave contin ued to strike at will at any and all tar gets they con sider gam e. T he country’s interior m inister ha s issued an app eal to the religio us scho lar s asking them to issue a f at wa a gain st the insur gents who are carrying out suicide attacks with impunity. T he first to oblige has been none other than Dr T ahir ul Qadr i who h as issue d a fat wa terming suicide attacks a s un-I slam ic. The fat wa was issued to, a s Dr Qa dr i explained, enlighten the M uslim Um mah and the entire world a bout the truth of terrorism and to m ake Islam’s stance pr ecise ly evident in the light of the Holy Quran an d Sunnah. Mr Rehman Malik, instea d of devisin g a better and effective modality that wo uld c ur b the increasing activitie s of the terrorists, sho uld hav e also by no w stren gthene d the intelligenc e net work to a de gree wh ere the governm ent could have ma de life misera ble for a ll those who in dulged in the acts of terrorising the people of this co untry. Ho wever, the decision by Mr Malik to seek fatwas on this issue h as not only expo se d his we akness, but ha s also cr eate d serio us doubts amongst a lar ge num ber of Pakistanis a bo ut the resolve of the government to effectively go the who le hog after a ll those who indulge in acts of terrorism or sabota ge. It m ust be under stood that there is a binding r ule that saves the fatwa anno uncements from creatin g judicial havoc, wh ether within a p artic ular M uslim co untry or the Islam ic world in general. Secondly, the fatwa m ust meet the following con ditions in or der to be v alid. Ø T he fatwa is in line with relevant le ga l proofs, de duce d from Qur anic verses an d Ah adith. Ø It is issue d by a p erson or a boar d havin g due kno wle dge and sinc erity of heart. Ø It is free from individua l opportunism, and not dep en ding on political servitude. Ø It is a de quate with the needs of the contem porary world. It m ust also be understood that the Islamic Fiqah Aca demy of Sa udi Ara bia, a s early a s April 12, 2006, de clar ed that the fatwa is bin din g on no one, whether indiv iduals or state. Similar ly the Sheikh of Al-Azhar in Ca iro, who is the leading r eligious a uthority in the Sunn i Muslim esta blishment, declare d that fatwa s ar e not bin din g, but they are not just whistling in the wind either. T herefore, it is not e ssential that any fatwa wo uld be r eligio usly bin ding on the M uslim s of the nation that issues a sin gle or several f atwa s. As far as the issue of suicide bombing is conc erne d, it was declared har am and for bidden by the In dian Ulem a. T his was also supporte d by Sa udi scholars such as Sheikh M uhamm ad bin Saleh Al-Uthaymeen, who also issue d a f atwa saying that suic ide bom bin gs are har am and those who commit such acts are not sh ahee d. 120

/ http://a11news.com/2928/islamic- sh eik - issue s- fatwa- a gain st- terrorism

Islamic Sheik Issues Fatwa Against Terrorism 03.03.2010 Islamic Sheik I ss ues Fatw a Against Terr oris m – A prominent I slamic sc holar has issued a religious fatwa condemning terroris m as “kufr ” or an act of disbelief so s evere that that t hos e who believe in it fo rfeit t heir rig ht to call them s elves M us lims .

“The world needs an abs olute, unconditional, unq ualified and total c ondemnation of terro rism ,” Sheikh Tahir ul-Q adri, a p rom inent L ondon- bas ed I slamic sc holar s aid in his fat wa , or religious edic t. Mos t previous fatwa rulings only go as far as c alling terroris m “haram” or forbidden, whic h does not excomm unic ate them from M uslim . Dr Q adri is a “s heikh ul- I slam ”, one of the highes t pos itions in I s lam ic juris prudenc e, and als o the head of M inhaj ul-Q uran, a global I s lam ic group whos e m em bers are m os tly from the Pakistani c ommunity. The 59- year- old sc holar, who has written m ore tha n 4 00 books on I slamic juris prudence, told fellow M uslims : “T erroris m is terrorism , violenc e is violence and it has no plac e in I slamic teac hing and no justification can be provided for it , or any kind of excus es of ifs an d b uts . The wo rld needs a n absolute, unc onditional, unqualified and total condemnation of terroris m”. He als o denounced those who try to jus tify suic ide bombings by claiming M uslims who carry out suc h operations are m artyrs des tined for para dis e. “T hey can’t c laim that their suicide bom bings are martyrdom operations an d that they becom e the her oes of t he M us lim umma

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[Is lamic c omm unity],” he said. “No, they become the heroes of hellfire and they are leading towards hellfire. T here is no plac e for a ny m artyr dom and their act is never, ever to be c ons idered jihad [holy struggle].” Although numerous fatwas c ondemning ter roris m have been releas ed by s c holars around the wo rld s inc e 9/1 1, Sheik T ahir ul-Q adri’s 600- page ruling is both s ignific ant and unusual bec aus e it is one of the fe w available in Englis h and online . Those hoping to c ombat terro ris m have long s poken of their frus tration at the traditional Islamic hierarc hy’s inability to exert their influenc e on the internet, where violent jiha dis ts and Saudi- influenc ed Wahabis have lon g reigned s upreme . And that’s the latest news on Islami c She ik I ssues Fatwa A ga inst Terrorism.

http://alkim ija.newsvine. com/_ne ws/2010 /03/03/3973976- top- islam ic- scho lar - issues- a bsolutefatwa- a gainst - terror

Top Islamic scholar issues 'absolute' fatwa against terror Dated: 04 M ar ch 2 010 Seeded on Wed M ar 3 , 2 0 10 1:22 PM E ST A prom inent I s lam ic scholar denounc ed ter roris m in L ondon, England, yes terday, iss uing a fat wa he ho pes will pe rs uade you ng M uslim s to turn their bac ks on extremism . Dr. Tahir ul-Q adri said there were no "ifs or buts" about terroris m, addin g he wanted to c onvey the mes sage that ac ts of terroris m c ut people o ff as true follo wers of I s lam . "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma [the wide r M uslim c omm unity]. No , they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire," he said. "T here is no plac e for a ny martyr dom and their ac t is never, ever to be considered jihad ."

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Pakistan-born Muslim leader issues 600page anti-terror fatwa in London : LexisNexis News Dated: 02 M ar ch 2 010

The C anadian Pres s(C P) March 2, 2010 Tuesd ay FOREIG N GENERA L NEW S LONDON _ T he leade r of a global Muslim movement has iss ued a f atwa , or religio us edict, tha t he calls an absolute co ndem na tio n of terror ism. Muhamm ad Ta hir -ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani lawmaker , says the 600-page fatwa ba ns s uicide bom bing ''without a ny exc uses, any pretex ts, or excep tions.'' Tahir-ul-Qa dri has iss ued similar, shorter de crees, but T ues day's eve nt in Londo n was publicized by the Quilliam Fo undation, a gover nment-funded a ntiextrem ism think-tank a nd drew s tr ong media a ttention. The r eligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj -ul-Qur'an, a worldwide movement tha t prom otes a nonpolitical, toler ant Is lam. The group has hundr eds of thousands of f ollowe rs around the wor ld, most of them in P akista n or Pakistanis living in other co untrie s.

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http://www. da wn.com /wp s/wcm/conn ect/da wn- content - library/dawn/ne ws/wor ld/16muslim +le a der +issue s+anti- terror+fat wa- hs- 02

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa T ues da y , 0 2 M a r, 2 0 10

M uhamm ad Ta hi r- ul-Q ad ri , foun de r of th e g loba l M inha j-ul-Q u ra n m oveme nt, s peaks a t a p res s c on ference i n Lo ndo n. — A FP

LONDO N: The l e ade r of a global Muslim m ove me nt has issue d a f atwa , or rel i gi ous edi ct, that he calls a n a bsolute condem nation of te rrori sm . M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri, a fo rmer Pakis tani lawmaker, says the 6 00 - page fatwa bans s uic ide bom bing “' without any excus es , any pretexts, or exc eptions .” Tahir- ul-Q adri has is s ued sim ilar, s horter decrees , but Tues day's event in L ondon is being hos ted by the Q uilliam Foundation, a governm ent- funded , anti- extremis m think tank. The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran, a worldwide movem ent that prom otes a nonp olitic al, tolerant I s lam . T he group has hundreds of thousands of followe rs aroun d the wo rld, mos t of them in P akis tan or P akistanis living in other c ountries. — A P

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http:// www6.lex isnex is.com /publisher/EndUser?Action =UserDisplayFull Docum ent&org Id=574&topicId =100007195&do cId=l:1137330806 &isR ss=true

Pakistan-born Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London March 2, 2010 Tuesd ay FOREIG N GENERA L NEW S 125 wor ds Pakista n-bor n M uslim lea der issues 600-pa ge anti-terr or fatwa in Londo n CP LONDON _ T he leade r of a global Muslim movement has iss ued a f atwa , or religio us edict, tha t he calls an absolute co ndem na tio n of terror ism. Muhamm ad Ta hir -ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani lawmaker , says the 600-page fatwa ba ns s uicide bom bing ''without a ny exc uses, any pretex ts, or excep tions.'' Tahir-ul-Qa dri has iss ued similar, shorter de crees, but T ues day's eve nt in Londo n was publicized by the Quilliam Fo undation, a gover nment-funded a ntiextrem ism think-tank a nd drew s tr ong media a ttention. The r eligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj -ul-Qur'an, a worldwide movement tha t prom otes a nonpolitical, toler ant Is lam. The group has hundr eds of thousands of f ollowe rs around the wor ld, most of them in P akista n or Pakistanis living in other co untrie s. March 3, 2010

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http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23811033- suicide-bombers- enemies-of-islam.do

Suicide bombers 'enemies of Islam' 03.0 3.10 Suicide bom ber s have been descr ibed as t he "heroes of hellfir e" by a leading M uslim scholar in a fatwa condem ning ter ror ists as the enemies of Islam .

D r M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Q adri launches a fa tw a condemning terrorist atrocit ies

P akistan-born Dr M uha mmad Tahir-ul -Qadri sai d t here we re n o "i fs or buts" ab out terroris m a nd su ch acts had no jus tif icatio n i n the na me of Isl am. In a n ew s conf erence atte nd ed by MP s, repre sen tativ es from the M etropoli tan Poli ce, charitable organ isa tio ns , think-t ank s and ot her g roup s, h e called on I slam ic leade rs to co nvey the me ssa ge that a cts of terro ri sm cut p eo ple off a s tru e fo llow e rs of Is lam. "They can' t claim t hat their s ui cid e bombin gs are marty rdom operation s a nd that t hey become t he he roes of the M usl im U m ma (t he w id er M usl im communi ty), no, t hey be com e h eroes of hel lfi re, a nd they are lead in g towards hellfi re," he said. "There is n o p lace fo r any martyrdom and the ir act is nev er, ev er to be con sid ere d Jiha d," he a dd ed. Dr Q adri, wh o spoke at le ngt h in bot h En gli sh an d Arab ic bef ore h is au die nce, s aid hi s fatw a - a reli gio us edict or ru ling - w as an " absol ute" con dem na tion o f te rro ris m with out "any excuses o r pret exts ". "G ood int entio ns cann ot co nv ert a wro ng into good, they can not co nv ert an ev il int o good," he sai d. "Terroris m is terrorism , v iolen ce is viol en ce a n d it has no p lace in Islamic t eachi ng and no j us tifi cat ion can be p rovid ed f or it, or any kin d of e xcus es or ifs or but s."

He insis ted that Islam w as a reli gi on of peace tha t p ro mo tes bea uty, "be tterm ent", g oodne ss and "neg ate s all f orm of mi schief and strife". The 600 -page fatwa by Dr Q adri, fou nd er of t he globa l M inhaj -u l-Quran mov eme nt, w hich has th ousan ds of supp ort ers a cros s t he w o rld as w el l a s in the UK, will be t ransl ate d i nt o E nglis h i n t he comi ng week s. H is talk will als o be made av ailab le o nline in an attem pt t o co unt er e xt rem ist v ersi on s of I sla m av ailab le on the inte rnet. A fatwa, an edict iss ued by a lea rned M uslim scho lar, may co n ce rn a ny aspect of I sla mic lif e. The term became fam ous i n t he West ern w orld in 1989 afte r t he a utho r Sal man Ru shdie w as fo rce d in to hi di ng foll owing a "deat h fa twa" is su ed by Ayatollah Kho me ni, t hen S upreme Le ader of Iran, on the g ro unds that his book, Th e S atani c V erse s, had " in su lte d" Isl am.

/http://www2.mac lea ns.ca/2010/03/02/fa twa -issued-ag ainst- terror ism

Fatwa issued against terrorism Isl amic s chol ar denounces s ui cide bombings Tues day, March 2, 2010 12: 24pm -

Muham mad T ahir ul-Qa dri, one of th e leading practit ioner s of Su fism , an Islam ic sect that focu ses on peace an d tolerance, ha s issued a 600 -page fatwa den ouncing t errorism an d suicide bom bing s. Th e Pakista ni-born sch olar sa id terr orists are dest in ed for hell—not heaven, a s th ey u sually believe—an d that he wa s m oved t o act ion becau se of th e radicalizat ion of Mu slim s a t Br itish un iv ersit ies. The Quilliam Foun dat ion, an a ntit err or ism think-tank, ca lled th e ju dgm ent “ the m ost com prehensive theolog ica l refutation of Islam ist terror ism to dat e.”

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http://www.ea lin gtim es.co. uk/uk_national_ne ws/5036431. Suicide_bom bers__enemie s_of_I slam _/

Suicide bombers 'enemies of Islam' 1 2:53pm Tuesday 2 nd M arc h 20 10 © P res s As s oc iat io n 20 1 0 »

Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri launches a fatwa condemning terrorist atrocities

Suic ide bombers have been des c ribed as the "heroes of hellfire" by a leading M us lim scholar in a fat wa condemning terroris ts as the enem ies of I s lam. Pakistan- born Dr M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri s aid there were no "ifs or b uts " about terr oris m and suc h ac ts had no jus tific ation in the name of I slam. I n a ne ws c onference attende d by M Ps , repres entatives from the M etropolitan Polic e, c haritable organis ations , think- tanks and othe r groups , he c alled on Is lamic leaders to c onvey the message that acts of terroris m c ut people o ff as true follo wers of Is lam . "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma (the wide r M uslim c omm unity), no, they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire," he said. "There is no plac e for any martyrdom and their ac t is never , ever to be considered Jihad," he added.

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Dr Q adri, who spoke at lengt h in both E nglish and Arabic before his audienc e, s aid his fat wa a religious edic t or ruling - was an "abs olute" c ondem nation of te rrorism without "any exc us es or pretexts ". "Good intentions c annot c onvert a wron g into good , t hey cannot convert an evil into goo d," he s aid. "T erroris m is terrorism , violenc e is violence and it has no plac e in I slamic teaching and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it, or any kind of exc uses or ifs or buts ." He ins is ted that I s lam was a religion of peace that promotes beauty , "betterment", good nes s and "negates all fo rm of mis c hief and s trife". The 600 -page fatwa by D r Q adri, founder o f t he global M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent, whic h has thousands of s upporters across the world as well as in the U K, will be trans lated into E nglish in the com ing weeks . H is talk will also be made available online in an attempt to c ounte r extrem ist versions of I slam available on the i nternet . A fatwa , an edict iss ued by a learned M us lim sc holar, may c onc ern any as pec t of I slamic life. The term bec ame fam ous in the Wes tern world in 19 8 9 after the author Salman Rushdie was forc ed into hiding follo wing a "death fat wa" is s ued by Ayatollah Khomeni, then Suprem e L eader of I ran, on the groun ds that his book, T he Satanic Verses , had "ins ulted" Is lam .

http:// www. wtop2. com /?nid=31&sid=1901297

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Marc h 2, 2010 - 9:36am

LONDON (AP) - The leader of a global Mus lim movement has issued a fatw a, or religious edict, that he c alls an absolute condemnation of terr oris m. Muhammad Tahir-ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani law maker, s ays the 600- page f atw a bans suic ide bombing "w ithout any exc uses , any pretexts , or exceptions." Tahir- ul-Qadr i has issued s imilar, s horter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London w as publiciz ed by the Quilli am Foundation, a gov er nment-funded anti- extremis m think tank and drew strong media attentio n. The religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul- Qur an, a w orldw ide movement that promotes a nonpolitic al, tolerant Islam. The group has hundr eds of thousands of follow ers around the w orld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other c ountr ies.

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http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/layout/set/print/content/view/full/87455 Britain

Muslim chief issues terror fatwa T u es day 0 2 M arc h 2 0 10 by P addy McGuffin

T he leader of a glo bal I slamic organis ation has us ed a pres s c onference in L ondon to is sue a fatwa condemning terroris m and s uic ide bombing. D r M uhamm ad T ahir- ul-Q adri, fo under o f the M inhaj- ul-Q uran movement, s tated that "suicide bombings and attac ks agains t civilian targets are not only condem ned by I s lam , but rende r the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Is lam, in other words , to be un believers." W hile the word fat wa is often ass ociated with the A yatollah Khom eni and his c all for the death of Salman R ushdie, a fatwa c an be an e dict iss ued by a leadin g M us lim scholar on any fac et o f Is lam ic life. M inhaj- ul-Q uran U K s pokesm an Shahid M urs aleen s aid: "E xtremis t groups bas ed in Britain recruit youth by brai nwas hing them that they will ' with certainty' be rewarde d in the next life and D r Q adri's fatwa has removed this key intellec tual fac tor fr om their minds." C om munities M inis ter Shahid M alik welc omed the p roc lam ation. "I t is inc umbent on M us lims to s tand up for their faith ," he said. "When 7 /7 (the London terro rist attacks of J uly 7 2 005 ) oc curred, those four evil young m en killed thems elves and over 50 innoc ent people bec aus e they follo wed a t wis ted and perve rted interpretation o f Is lam which told them by doing s o they would go to heaven ," he s aid. T he fatwa was des c ribed by c ounter- extrem ism think tank the Q uilliam foundation as "arguably the m os t comprehens ive" theological refutation of I slamic terroris m to date. A Q uilliam s pokesm an s aid: "T erroris t groups s uch as al-Q aida c ontinue to j ustify their mass killings with self- serving readings of religious s c ripture. "Fatwas that demolish and expos e s uch theological innovations will c ons ign I slamis t terrorism to the d ustbin of his tory."

http://au.news .ya hoo.com/thewes t/a/- / world /68 791 13/fatwa -in - uk - condemns -s uicide / bombings

Fatwa in UK condemns suicide bombings AAP March 3, 2010, 3:32 am

A leading M us lim scholar in Britain is sued a fat wa on T ues day c ondemning terroris ts and s uic ide bom bers, s aying they had no jus tific ation in the name o f Is lam. Pakistan- born Dr T ahir ul-Q adri s aid there were no "ifs or buts" about terroris m , in a news c onferenc e attended by o ffic ers from L ondo n's M etropolitan P olic e, M Ps , charitable organis ations and think- tanks . He s aid he wanted to convey the mess age that ac ts of terrorism cut people off as true followe rs of Is lam . "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma (the wide r M uslim c omm unity)," he said. "No, they bec ome heroes of hellfire , and they are leading to wards hellfire. "There is no plac e for any martyrdom and their ac t is never , ever to be considered jihad,." Q adri s aid his 600 -page fatwa, or religious ruling, was an "absolute" condemnation of terroris m witho ut "any excus es or pretexts ". "Good intentions c annot c onvert a wron g into good , t hey cannot convert an evil into goo d," he s aid. "Terrorism is terroris m, violenc e is violenc e and it has no plac e in I s lamic teac hing and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it, or any kind of exc uses or ifs or buts ." He s aid Is lam was a religion of peac e that prom otes beauty, "betterment", goo dness and "negates all form of m is c hief and s trife". The fat wa will be trans lated into Englis h in the com ing weeks and m ade available o nline in a n attempt to counter extremis t versions of I s lam available on the internet .

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Q adri founded the M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent, which has thous ands of supporters in Britain and ac ros s the world. In Britain , it s ays it runs cours es in combating religious extremism in educ ational c entres in London, M anc hes ter and Birmingham .

http:// www.wtop.c om /? nid=10 5 &s id=1 90 1296

Mus lim leader issues anti-terror fatwa: wTop Ne ws Dated: March 2, 2010 - 9:36am LO NDO N (AP) - The leade r of a global Muslim moveme nt has issued a fatwa, or religious e dict, that he calls an absolute condem nation of terrorism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a forme r Pakistani lawm ake r, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bom bing "without any e xcuse s, any pre te x ts, or ex ceptions." Tahir-ul-Q adri has issued sim ilar, shorter decree s, but Tuesday's eve nt in London was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gove rnm ent-funde d anti-ex trem ism think tank and dre w strong m e dia atte ntion. The re ligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Q uran, a worldwide m oveme nt that prom otes a nonpolitical, tole rant Islam . The group has hundre ds of thousands of followe rs around the world, m ost of them in Pak istan or Pakistanis living in other countries.

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing By A N I 2 M a rc h 2 01 0 LO NDON - D es c ri bing Al-Q ae da as a n ‘ol d evi l wit h a ne w name ’, in fl uent ial P akis ta ni sc h ol a r D r Tah i r ulQ adri has sai d he wo uld s oo n is s ue a ‘fat wa ’ a ga ins t t erro ris m a n d s u ic id e b omb ing .

Q adri s ai d th e Al-Q aeda h as n ot been s u ffic ie nt ly c ha lle n ged an d tha t his gl obal rul in g ag ai ns t te rro rism c om plete ly dis ma ntles th e b a nn ed te rro r org anis a tio n ’s vi ol en t i deol ogy . In his 60 0 -pa ge rulin g ,Q adri sai d Is l am forbi ds t he m as s ac re o f i nnoce n t c i ti ze ns a nd s uici de b omb ings . T h e fa twa als o c h alle nges the rel igio us m ot iv at io ns o f wo ul d- be s uic i de bom bers who a re ins pi re d by p rom is es of a n a ft erli fe, T he BBC re po rts .

T h e fam ous M us lim s c ho la r de vel ope d h is doc um e nt l as t yea r as a resp o nse t o t h e s udd en i ncrease in s u ici de bom bi ngs ac ross P ak is ta n . T h e fa twa , wh ich wo ul d be p romo ted i n B rit ai n by Q adri ’s organis ati on, M inh aj ul-Q u ran Int ern at io na l, wo ul d cov er g loba l is s ues in a n at tem pt to ge t i ts the ol og ical arg ume nts take n up by M us lim s i n wes t ern n a ti ons . T e rm i ng t he fatwa as ‘ha rd h it ti n g ’, M inha j u l-Q u ran Inte rna ti on al ’s s po kesp ers on Sh ah id M u rs al ee n sai d t h e ru lin g wou ld i njec t d oubt i nt o th e mi nds o f p ote nt ial s uic ide b om b ers .

“E xt remis t g ro ups bas ed i n B rita in rec rui t th e you th b y b rai n was h in g th em t hat t he y wil l wit h c e rtai n ty be re wa rded i n t he n ex t l ife . Dr Q ad ri ’s fatwa has rem oved this key i ntel lec t ual acto r from t hei r mi nds ,” M urs a lee n sa id. (A NI )

http:// www.b re akingne ws.ie / wo rld/m uslim - le ade r- to- declare - fat wa - conde m ning terrorism - 448302.htm l

Muslim leader to declare fatwa condemning terrorism 02/03/2010 - 08:45:01 The leade r of a worldwide Muslim m oveme n will today issue a fat wa – or Islam ic religious ruling – condem ning te rrorism and warning suicide bom be rs that the y are “de stined for he ll”. Pak istan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founde r of the global M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem e nt, will m ake the formal UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or religious e dict, condem ning terrorism and suicide bom bing at a ne ws confere nce in London. The 600-page fatwa announces that “suicide bombings and attacks against civilian targets are not only condem ned by Islam , but re nde r the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam , in other words, to be unbe lieve rs”. The fatwa has bee n billed as “arguably the m ost com prehe nsive ” the ological refutation of Islam ic te rrorism to date by counte r ex trem ism think tank the Q uilliam foundation. A Q uilliam spok esm an said: “Te rrorist groups such as al-Q ae da continue to justify the ir m ass k illings with se lf-serving readings of religious scripture . “Fat was that de molish and ex pose such theological innovations will consign Islam ist terrorism to the dustbin of history.” The M inhaj-ul-Q uaran movem ent runs course s in com bating religious e xtrem ism in educational centres throughout Britain including London, Birm ingham, Manche ste r, Ne lson, W alsall, Glasgow and Dunde e. A fatwa, an e dict issue d by a learne d M uslim scholar, m ay conce rn any aspect of Islam ic life. The te rm be cam e famous in the we ste rn world in 1989 after the author Salm an Rushdie was forced into hiding following a “de ath fatwa” issue d by Ayatollah Khom e ni, the n Suprem e Leader of Iran, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Ve rse s had “insulted” Islam .

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Muslim leader to declare fatwa condemning terrorism 02/03/2010 - 08:45:01 The lea der of a worldwide Muslim m ovemen will today issue a fat wa – or Islamic religio us r ulin g – condem ning terrorism and warnin g suicide bombers that they are “ destine d for he ll”. Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dri, fo under of the glo bal Minha j- ul- Quran movement, will make the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or re ligio us e dict, condemning terrorism an d suic ide bom bin g at a ne ws conference in Lon don. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that “ suic ide bom bin gs and attacks a gainst civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam, in other wor ds, to be un be lievers”. The fatwa h as been billed as “ arguably the m ost com prehensive ” theolo gic al ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by co unter extremism think tank the Quilliam foun dation. A Quilliam spoke sman said: “ Terrorist groups such as al- Qaeda contin ue to justify their m ass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. “ Fatwas that demolish an d expose such theolo gical innovations will con sign I slam ist terrorism to the dust bin of history.” The Minhaj-ul-Quaran movem ent runs co urses in combating religio us extremism in e ducational centres throughout Britain includin g Lon don, Birmin gham, Manche ster, Ne lson, W alsa ll, Gla sgo w and Dun de e. A fatwa, an edict issue d by a learn ed Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the western world in 1989 after the author Salm an Rushdie wa s force d into hiding follo win g a “ death fat wa” issued by Ayatollah Khom eni, then Supreme Lea der of Iran, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Ver ses had “in sulte d” I sla

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ht tp ://www.m i n ha j.org /en g lish /oi d /99 8 8/S heik h-is s ues - fa t wa - a gai nst- all- t e rro rists - :- Brit a nnia- Rad io.h tm

l Da ted : 04 M arch 2 0 10

Muslim leaders urged to denounce suicide bombers as hellbound 'unbelievers' By Jerome Taylor, Reli gious Aff airs Cor resp ondent Bri tis h imam s m us t do m ore to c on dem n te rroris m wi t hout any "i fs or buts " an d s h ould pronou nce s uic i de b om be rs as "un beli eve rs " who a re des ti ned for h el l , a le ad i ng Is l am ic s c ho la r decl a red yes te rday. T he c om men ts were ma de d uri ng a rem ark able as s ault on t he i deolo gy of vi ole n t Is lam is t ext remis ts by P ak is ta ni -b orn S heik h T a hi r ul -Q adri , a prom ine nt t heol ogia n who la unc hed a s emi nal fa twa in L on d on y es terday c ondem ni ng t erro ris m i n all i ts fo rms .

T he 59 -yea r- ol d sc h ola r, wh o has writte n m ore t han 40 0 b ooks on Islam ic juris pru denc e, to ld fe llo w M us lims : "T erro rism is terro ris m , vi ole nc e is vi ol enc e a nd it has no plac e i n Islam ic teac hin g a n d no jus ti fic a ti on c an be p rovi de d fo r i t, or a ny ki nd o f excus es o f i fs and buts . T he worl d nee ds a n abso l ute , u nc ondi ti on al, u nqu ali fi ed a nd to ta l c on dem nat io n o f t e rro ris m" . He also den ounc ed t hos e who t ry to jus tify s uic ide b om b in gs b y cla imi ng M usl im s who c arry ou t s uc h o pe rat io ns a re m arty rs des t ined fo r pa ra dis e . "T hey ca n' t c l aim that the ir s uic id e b omb ings are ma rtyrd om o pe rati o ns a nd t hat t he y b ec om e th e he roes o f t he M us lim umm a [Islam ic c om mu n ity ]," he s aid . "N o , t hey bec ome t he he roes o f he llfire a n d t hey a re l eadi ng t owa rds h el l fi re . T he re is no plac e fo r a ny m a rtyrdom an d th ei r ac t is neve r, eve r to b e c o ns id ere d ji had [ho ly s tru gg le]."

Alt ho ugh n ume rous fat was c on dem nin g te rroris m h ave bee n re leas e d by s c hol a rs a roun d th e worl d si nc e 9 /1 1 , D r Q adri's 60 0 -p age ruli ng is both s ig nific ant and unus ua l bec aus e i t is o ne o f the fe w av aila bl e i n E ngl ish a nd onli n e. T hos e ho pi ng t o com bat te rroris m ha ve lon g spo ke n of t he i r frus tra ti on at t he t rad itio nal Is lam ic h iera rc hy's in ab il it y t o e xert t he ir in fl uenc e o n t he i nt erne t, whe re vio le n t ji ha dis ts a nd Sau di- i n flue nce d W a ha bis ha ve long rei gned s u prem e. D r Q ad ri 's ru li ng als o g oes furt her t han mos t p re vi ous e dic ts b y des cri bi ng t erro r ac ts as s o mo rall y u njust i fiable tha t t he y re pres ent ac ts o f "k u fr" (dis belie f). M os t pre vi ous rul ings onl y g o as far as c a llin g

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t erro ris m " haram " (forbi dd en). K ufr ac ts a re so s erio us that thos e c omm itt i ng t hem es s ent ially forfeit t hei r ri g ht to c al l t hems e lves M uslim s . A ve rsio n o f th e fat wa i n U rd u will also be la unc hed late r th is m ont h in P ak is ta n , wh ere lead ing s ch olars h av e bee n k ille d by the Tal ib an for s pea ki ng out . Las t ye ar Sarfraz A hm ed N aeemi , a res pec ted c le ric a nd c los e fri end of D r Q adri , was as s as s ina te d days aft e r is s ui ng a v erba l fat wa on n at io na l t ele vis i o n c ond em n in g te rroris m.

D r Q ad ri 's fa twa is unli kely to s way c om mi tt ed ext remis ts . But c ou nter- terro ris m o fficia ls a nd m ai ns tre am s ch olars ho pe it wi ll hel p t o pe rs uad e t hose wh o ma y be mo vi ng t o wards a vio le nt ext remis m but have y et to d evo te t hems el ves ful ly to te rro ris t ac tiv it ies . Ras had Ali , a fo rme r Is lamis t who n ow runs the co u nt er- ex t rem ism thi nk-t ank C en tri, s ai d Dr Q ad ri's v ie w tha t a t erro ris t is a n un be li eve r wo ul d c aus e m any wo uld- be extremis ts to th i nk a gai n abo ut t he reli gi ous jus t ific a ti o ns t hat t hey us e to rati on al is e th ei r path to wards vi ol enc e. " [H is ] es sen tial poin t is ... s om eo ne t hat s eeks to m ake lic it wh at is expl ici tly i llic it i n rel igio us t e rm s , a nd a gre ed to be s o by M us lim doc t o rs o f s c rip t u re , wo ul d th en be c ons idered t o h av e p erm itte d what G od forba de , an d to do s o wo ul d ta ke s ome one o uts ide the p al e of Is lam ," he s ai d. "Th is is s om e thi ng t hat wil l h av e a n impac t amo ngs t M uslim comm u nit ies b oth in t he E as t a nd i n th e W es t ." F in di ng fluen t a n d a pproac hable Pa kist a ni s c hol ars is im po rt an t bec a us e mos t B ritis h-b o rn extremis ts i nv ol ve d in dom es tic or overse as p lo ts h ave fam i ly o r c u ltu ral l in ks wi t hi n th e P akis tani c om mun it y . D r Q ad ri is a "s heik h ul-Isl am" , one of t he hi ghest pos it ions in Is lam ic ju ris p ru denc e , a nd also t he head of M inh aj ul-Q u ra n , a glob al Is l am ic g rou p wit h ab out 2 5 ,0 00 U K m em be rs , m ost ly from t he B ritis h P ak is ta ni c omm u ni ty . A l thou gh his t eac hings ha ve S ufi l ea ni ngs – li ke m uc h o f P ak is ta n's B arel wi s c hoo l o f Is lam – as an Is l amic sc hola r he is c o ns id ere d p a rt o f th e Sun ni mai nst ream .

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http: //b uzz7 .com/ world /pakis tani -is lam ic -sc holar- to- issue -600 - page - fatwa - agains t -terrorism s uic ide- bom bing.html

Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600 -page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing M arc h 2 , 2 01 0 – 8 :4 3 am

London, M ar.2 (AN I): Describing Al-Qaeda as an ‘old evil with a ne w name’, in fluential P akis tani sc holar D r Ta hi r ul -Qa dri has said he would soon is sue a ‘fat wa’ agains t terroris m and s uic ide bom bing. Q adri said the A l-Q aeda has not been suffic iently c hallenged and that his global ruling agains t terrorism c ompletely dism antles the banned terror organis ation’s violent ideology. I n his 6 00- page ruling , Q adri s aid Is lam forbids the mass acre of innocent c itizens and s uic ide bombings . T he fatwa als o c hallenges the religious m otivations of would- be s uic ide bom bers who are inspired by prom is es of an afterlife, T he BB C reports. T he famous M us lim sc holar developed his document las t year as a res ponse to the sudden increase in s uic ide bom bings across P akis tan. T he fatwa, whic h wo uld be promoted in B ritain by Q adri’’s organis ation, Mi nhaj ul-Quran I nte rnational, would c over global is sues in an attempt to get its theologic al argum ents taken up by M uslims in western nations . T erm ing the fat wa as ‘hard hitting ’, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational’s s pokes pers on Shahid M urs aleen s aid the ruling would in jec t doubt into t he m inds o f potential s uic ide bom bers. “E xtremist groups bas ed in Britain rec ruit t he yout h by brainwas hing them t hat they will with c ertainty be rewarded in the next life . D r Q adri’’s fatwa has removed this key intellectual fac tor from their m inds ,” M urs aleen said. (A NI )

http://en.trend.az/regions/world/europe/1647577.html

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa 02.0 3.2010 1 1:46

An influential Muslim scholar is to iss ue in Londo n a globa l r uling aga ins t terro rism a nd suicide bombing , BBC repor ted . D r Tahir ul-Q adri, fr om Pakis ta n, says his 600-page judgement, know n as a fatwa, com ple tely disma ntles al-Q ae da's violent ide olo gy. The scholar des cribes al-Qaeda as an "o ld evil with a new name" which has not been suffic iently challenged . The scholar's moveme nt is growing in the UK and has attr ac ted the interes t of policym akers and security chiefs. In his religious r uling, Dr Qadri says tha t Is lam forbids the m assacre of innocent citizens a nd suicid e b ombings. Altho ug h many scholars have made s im ilar rulings in the pas t, Dr Qadri's follower s argue tha t the massive d oc um ent b eing launc hed in London goes m uch further. They say it se ts out p oint-by -p oint theological arguments against the rhetoric used by al-Qaeda inspire d re cruite rs. The fatwa also c hallenges the religio us mo tiva tions of would-be suicid e bom bers who are inspire d by p romises of an afterlife. The po pulist scholar developed his document las t year as a res ponse to the incre ase in bomb ings across Pakistan by m ilitants.

The basic text has been ex tende d to 600 pag es to cover glo bal iss ues, in a n attempt to get its theological a rg um ents take n up by Mus lim s in wes ter n na tions. It will be promo ted in the UK by Dr Qadri's organisatio n, Minhaj ulQuran International. Sha hid Mur saleen, sp okesm an for Minhaj-ul-Quran in the UK, s aid the f atwa was hard-hitting. "This f atwa injects do ub t into the minds of po tential s uic ide bomb ers," he s aid . "Ex tremis t gro ups ba sed in Brita in r ecr uit the youth by br ainwashing them that the y will 'with cer tainty' be rewar de d in the nex t life. "Dr Qadri's fatw a has remove d this key intellectual fac tor from their minds." The document is not the first to condem n terror ism a nd suicide b ombing to be launc hed in the UK . Scholars from across the UK cam e together in the wak e of the 7 July London attacks to d eno unce the bombers and urge com munities to root out extrem is ts. But some scholar ly r ulings in the Middle East ha ve ar gue d that the conflict between I srael and the Palestinia ns is a n exc ep tional situation wher e "martyrdom" a tta cks can be justifie d. Although Dr Qadri has a large following in Pakis tan, Minhaj ul-Quran International rema ine d largely unknown in the UK until rela tive ly recently. It now has 10 mosques in the Britis h c ities with sig nificant Mus lim communitie s and says it is ta rgeting younger generatio ns it believes have been let down by tra ditional leaders. The orga nisa tio n is a ttr acting the attention of policym akers and se curity c hief s who are continuing to lo ok for allies in the fig ht ag ains t extrem ists . The D epa rtm ent for C omm unities , whic h runs m ost of the government's "Preve nting Violent Extr em ism " s trategy, ha s tried building bridges with a variety of liberal-minde d gr oups, but of te n fo und that they hav e limited ac tual influe nce at the gras sroo ts .

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English Online : Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa 20 :01, M arch 0 2, 20 10 Dr T ahir ul-Q adri, an influential M us lim sc holar from P akis tan, is to iss ue a Fatwa agains t terroris m and s uic ide bom bing. Dr Q adri s ays his 600- page judgem ent c om pletely dis mantles al-Q aeda's violent ideology and des c ribes the organis ation as an "old evil with a ne w nam e". Dr Q adri s ays that Is lam forbids the mass acre of innoc ent citizens and s uic ide bom bings and his movem ent, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational, has no w drawn the interest of polic ymakers and s ec urity c hiefs . Shahid M ursaleen, spokes man for M inhaj- ul-Q uran in the UK, said the fatwa was hard- hitting and wo uld "inject doubt into the minds of potential s uicide bombers ." T he doc ument is not the firs t to c ondem n terroris m and s uic ide bom bing to be lau nched in the U K. Followin g the terroris t attac ks in London duri ng J uly 2 00 5 m any sc holars c ame together to denounc e the bom bers and urge comm unities to root out extrem ists . A fatwa , an edict iss ued by a learned M us lim sc holar, may c onc ern any as pec t of I slamic life. The term bec ame fam ous in the wes tern wo rld in 1 989 after the author Salman Rushdie was forc ed into hiding follo wing a “death fat wa ” is s ued by Ayatollah Khomeni, the t hen Supreme L eader of I ran, on the groun ds that his book, t he Satanic Verses had “insulted” Is lam .

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Sina English : Islamic scholar Tahir ulQadri to issue terrorism fatwa 2010-03-02 13:34:39 GMT2010-03-02 21:34:39 (Be ijing Time ) BEIJI NG, M arch 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Dr Tahir ul-Q adri, an influe ntial Muslim scholar from Pak istan, is to issue a Fatwa against terrorism and suicide bom bing. Dr Q adri says his 600-page judgem e nt com ple tely dism antles al-Q aeda's viole nt ideology and describe s the organisation as an "old e vil with a ne w nam e ". Dr Q adri says that Islam forbids the massacre of innoce nt citize ns and suicide bom bings and his m oveme nt, Minhaj ul-Q uran International, has now d rawn the inte rest of policym ak ers and se curit y chiefs. Shahid Mursaleen, spokesm an for Minhaj-ul-Q uran in the UK, said the fatwa was hard-hitting and would "inje ct doubt into the m inds of potential suicide bom be rs." The docume nt is not the first to condem n te rrorism and suicide bom bing to be launche d in the UK. Following the te rrorist attack s in London during July 2005 many scholars cam e toge the r to de nounce the bombers and urge comm unitie s to root out e xtrem ists. A fat wa, an edict issued by a le arned Muslim scholar, may concern any aspe ct of Islam ic life . The term be cam e fam ous in the we ste rn wo rld in 1989 afte r the author Salm an Rushdie was forced into hiding following a “death fatwa” issued by Ayatollah Khom eni, the the n Suprem e Le ader of Iran, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Verse s had “insulted” Islam .

http:// www.t hem uslimweekly.c om/(S(jtx1 fual1 0ldmd45 dwfhms rw)) /D etailView.as px? NE WSID =T W0 0014230

themuslimweekly.com : Muslim group issues fatwa against terrorists A M uslim organ is at io n in Brit ai n has is s ued a fat wa to g o a lo ng wi t h the bul k o f pre vious re li gio us verdic ts iss ue d ove r t he pas t dec ade th at d ec la res s uic i de bom bi ngs an d te rroris m to be fo rbidd en i n Is lam . M inh aj- ul-Q u ra n , a S ufi orga nis a ti on b as ed i n E ast L on don whic h h as be en allo wed by the G ov e rnm en t t o b e one o f i ts ad vise rs , on h o w to c omba t ra dic alis at ion o f M usl im yo uth , lau nc h ed t he 6 00 -page rel igio us v erd ict .

It c ondem ns the pe rpe t rato rs o f te rroris t ex plos ions and s uic ide bomb in gs . T he doc ume nt , writ ten by D r M uham me d T a hi r- ul-Q ad ri , a form er m in is ter of P akis tan and frie nd o f Ben azi r Bhu tto , dec lares su ic ide bom bi ngs and terro ris m as "to tall y un-Isl amic " . It is one of t he mos t det ai le d a nd c omp rehe ns iv e docum en ts o f its kind to b e pu bl is hed in B ri ta in. T he fat wa, whic h was rel eas ed in P a kis t an las t mo nt h, uses tex ts from the Q ur’a n a nd o the r Is lam ic wri t ings to a rg ue th at at tac ks ag ai ns t in noc ent c iti ze ns a re "abs ol u tely a ga ins t t he t eac h ings o f Is lam a nd t hat Is l am d oes no t pe rmit s uc h ac ts o n an y exc us e , reaso n or p re te xt" . D r T ahi r- ul-Q ad ri, who is bas ed i n C ana da and has writ ten mo re t ha n 4 0 0 b ooks on Is l amic la w, s ai d: "All t hes e ac ts a re g rav e vio lat io ns o f h uma n ri g hts an d co ns tit ute k ufr, dis belie f, u n de r Is l amic la w." M inh aj- ul-Q u ra n is a n o rga nisa ti on b as ed i n 80 c ou n tries th at fo llo ws S u fi te ac hi ngs .

It is gai nin g i nflu enc e i n Britai n as th e G ove rnm en t s ee ks t o water d own a re as o f Is l am it c o ns id ers "Is lam is t" It als o wan ts t o gai n g ro un d am on g M us lim gro ups e ag e r t o com ba t the rad ical isat io n o f y oun g peo pl e . T he grou p rece iv es n o g ove rnm e nt fun di ng but i ts a ge nda is c om pa rabl e t o th e offic ial P rev en t s tra tegy , u nde r whic h c om muni ty organis at io ns a re enc ou raged to wo rk t og et he r to c ou nt er ext remis m .

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T he fat wa is in li ne wit h ot he r Is lam ic g rou ps a nd s ec ts t ha t hol d s uici de bom bi n gs of al l ki n ds c arried o ut a ny whe re in the wo rl d to be Is l amic ally forbi dd en. T he Sa la fi groups in Brit ai n , wh o ad here to a s trict inte rpre tat io n o f Is lam ic law, are als o k n own to v oc al ly o ppose t his prac tic e . "Ex t rem ist g rou ps s tart brai nwas hi n g t he yo ung s t uden ts from B ri tis h univ ers it ies a nd even t ua lly c onv inc e t hem to op pos e i nt eg ratio n i n Brit is h s oc iet y," sa i d Sha hi d M u rsa leen , a s p okes ma n fo r M i nh a ju l-Q ura n . T he fat wa wou ld hel p fig ht ext remis t rec rui tme nt o f yo u ng M us lims an d was "o ne o f th e most c om preh ens ive verdicts on t his topic i n t he his t o ry o f Is lam " , h e ad ded . Inay at Bung lawa la , form er s pokesm an o f th e M usl im C ounc il o f Brit ain a nd fou n de r of t he n ew gro up M us lims 4U K, s e t up to c oun ter the radic al m es s age of t he n ewl y ba nned Is l am4 UK and ot he r ex tremis t g ro ups , we lc om ed t he fatwa .

"Th is a dds to t he v ie w o f m any Islam ic s ch ol ars int erna ti ona lly t ha t te rroris m a n d s uic id e b omb ings are u nac cep tabl e i n Islam ," he s ai d . "It is a p os it ive i ni ti ative . A nyth ing that hel ps m ove yo u ng peo ple a way from vi olenc e a nd from th os e wh o promot e v io le nc e m us t be welc ome d."

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'Suicide bombers destined for hell', says Pakistani cleric

Pak istan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founde r of the global M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent, holds a copy of a 600 page Fat wa, writ te n in Arabic and Urdu as he spe ak s during a pre ss confere nce in ce ntral London, on March 2, 2010. The le ade r of a worldwide Muslim m ovem ent with thousands of followe rs in the UK on Tue sday issue d a fatwa - or Islam ic re ligious ruling - condemning te rrorism and warning suicide bom be rs that they are "de stined for he ll". Dr Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri m ade the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or religious e dict, condem ning te rrorism and suicide bom bing at a news confe rence in London. [AFP] Rac hael Bro wn, Lond on Last Updated: W ed, 3 Mar 2010 08:07:00 +1100 A le ading Pak istani cle ric has issued a religious ruling in Britain condem ning te rrorism , saying suicide bombers are destine d for he ll. Dr Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri's 600 page religious ruling, or fatwa, is a ve ry diffe rent me ssage to the inte rpretation of Islam in whi ch m artyrs go to he ave n.

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Dr Q adri says there is nothing writte n in the Koran that could be use d to justify suicide bom bings, rather, he wa rns, Islam condemns such acts. "These kind of activitie s will le ad them to hellfire , and the y are not involve d in any kind of martyrdom ope ration� rathe r the y are doing an act whi ch is an act of disbelief," he said. Dr Q adri pre ache s in Pakistan, but says he wante d to spre ad his me ssage in the we ste rn world whe re youth are being brain washe d, and m isguide d on the concepts of Islam .

http:// www.ac hgut.c om/dadgdx /index .php /dad gd/article/fat wa_agains t_terror

achgut.com : Fatwa against terror Fundstück 01 .0 3.2010 23 :27 Sheikh Dr. Tahir ul-Q adri, a widely rec ognized and res pec ted authority on I slamic juris prudence, will is s ue a c omprehens ive fatwa prohibiting terr oris m and s uic ide bom bing at a pres s c onference in W es tminster, c entral L ondon. The Pakis tani- born D r. Q adri has authored an u nprec edented , 6 0 0- page fatwa on why suicide bom bings and terroris m are u n- I slamic and sc ripturally forbidden . T he ruling is the m ost c om prehensive theologic al refutation of Is lamist terroris m to date. The fat wa will als o be pos ted on the Internet and in E nglis h, making it readily acc ess ible. It will als o set an im portant prec edent and allo w other s c holars to s imilarly c ondemn the ideas behind ter roris m.

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philstar.com : Muslim leader issues antiterror fatwa March 03, 2 010 12 :0 0 AM

LONDON (AP) — T he leade r of a global Muslim movem ent has iss ued a fatwa , or religious edict, that he calls an a bso lute condem na tion of terrorism. Muhamm ad Ta hir -ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani lawmaker , says the 600-page fatwa ba ns s uicide bom bing "without a ny ex cus es, any pretexts, or excep tions." Tahir-ul-Qa dri has iss ued similar, shorter de crees, but T ues day's eve nt in Londo n is b eing hoste d by the Quilliam Found ation, a gov ernm ent-f unded, anti-e xtr emism think ta nk. The r eligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj -ul-Qura n, a wor ldwide moveme nt that prom otes a nonpolitica l, tolera nt Islam. The g roup has hundred s of thous ands o f fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pa kis ta n or Pakistanis living in o ther co untries.

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SHEIKH TAHIR UL-KADRI ISSUED ANTI TERROR FATWA A leading I slamic scholar has publis hed, on Tuesday 0 3/02/2 010 , a fat wa in Britain c ondem ning "terroris ts" as the enem ies of I slam, in a bid to deter yo ung M us lims from extrem ism . Muham ma d Tahi r ul-Q a dri, head of t he M inhaj ul-Q uran religious and educ ational organization , said s uic ide bom bers were des tined for hell as he releas ed his 6 00- page edict in L ondons tan. "T hey c an't c laim that their s uic ide bombings are m artyrdom operations and that they bec ome the her oes of the M uslim U mm a [the wider M us lim c ommunity], no, they bec ome heroes of hellfire, and they are leadin g to wa rds hellfire," he said. "T here is no plac e for a ny martyrdom and their act is never , ever to be c ons idered J ihad," he s aid. At a ne ws conferenc e, M uhamm ad Tahir ulQ adri said Is lam was a religion of peac e that promotes beauty , "betterm ent", good nes s and "negates all form o f mis chief and s trife". A number of edic ts c ondemning extrem ism have been made by I slamic groups since T he 9/1 1, but M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri insis ts his is the most wide-reaching. "T his is the first, mos t c om prehensive fatwa on t he s ubjec t of ter roris m ever written ," he told the Reuters ne ws agency. Pakistan- born M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri, 5 9, has written abo ut 3 50 books on I slam, and is a scholar of S ufis m, a M us lim branch that foc us es on peac e, tolera nc e, and m oderation . The Q uilliam Foundation, a U K c ounter- extrem ism think- tank, s aid the fat wa was "argua bly the mos t c omprehens ive" theologic al refutation of I slamic extrem is m . T im Winter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Cambridge University, s aid while M uhamm ad T ahir ul-Q adri’s s tep of dec laring "misc reants as unbelievers " was unus ual, it was unlikely extremis ts would take notice of his edic t. "Those who are already hardliners will pay no atte ntion at all. But 's wing voters ' - poorly educ ated and a ngry M uslims , who respect mains tream sc holars , will probably take note," he told Reuters. The M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent, fou nded in P akis tan in 1 980 , works aroun d the world to promote peac e and interfait h dialogue.

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Islamic Scholar To Issue a Fatwa T ues da y M a rch 0 2 , 2 01 0 0 6 :30 :00 E ST (RT T Ne ws ) - A m uc h res pec t ed Is lamic s ch olar is t o iss ue a "Fa t wa" (e dic t ) Tu es da y a ga ins t t erroris m a nd su ic ide bom bi ngs c a rri ed o ut in the nam e o f Is lam . P ak is ta n-bo rn T ahi r ul-Q ad ri , a n au t ho ri ty o n "S ha ri at la w" (Is l amic ju ris prudenc e), wi l l prono unce t he ruli n g c o nd emn ing the v iole nce at a ne ws c o nfe renc e i n Wes tm i ns t e r, c e nt ral L ondo n. Com pris ing 6 00 pa ges , t his is a st ro ng t heol ogic al re fut atio n o f Islamis t te rroris m . Q ad ri who us es tex ts from t he ho ly Ko ra n to b ut tres s his c laim s s aid t he orgy of viole nc e was "a bso lu tely ag ai ns t the teac hi n gs o f Is lam " an d th at "Islam d oes not perm it s uch acts on any exc use , reas on or p rete xt ."

He has arg ued t hat t he perp et rators of s uic i de attac ks were des t in ed fo r he ll , whic h di rect ly co n trad ict ed "Jih ad" (Hol y W a r) s up porte rs' c l aim th at s uic id e b omb ers woul d be re warde d i n a fterli fe. Qad ri wh o s t at ed t ha t s u ic i de bom bi ngs an d te rroris m had b ec ome a c o nve n ie nt g uise for c rim i nals , mis c hie f-m onge rs a n d ri ot ers was s c at hi ng i n his at tac k . "It c an i n no way be perm is s ib le to kee p fo reig n del egat es u nd e r un lawful c us to dy and mu rder them a nd o the r peac e ful non-M us lim c iti ze ns i n re talia tio n fo r i nte rfe re nc e , u n jus t ac t ivit ies a n d a gg ress ive a dv anc es o f th ei r c o unt ries . Th e one wh o do es h as n o relat ion to Is l am ," he as s erte d.

Sup p orte rs o f Q adri , the fo unde r o f the i nte rnat ion al M in ha j- ul-Q ura n m oveme n t, s a id t he fat wa was s ign i fic ant s i nc e he h im s el f was iss u ing it a nd t he orga n izat ion c om ma nded a la rge foll o win g bo t h i n Sou t h A s ia a nd Brit ai n. It was also poi nted out that al t houg h m a ny s im il ar fat was were iss u ed agai nst terro ris m ea rlie r, t he on e b y Q ad ri we nt m uc h furt he r. Th e fat wa will b e p ost ed on the Int e rn et a nd c o uld we ll "t urn t he ti de" in t he fi ght a ga i nst reli gi ous ext rem is m worl d wid e.

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2010-0 3 A promine nt I sla mi c schol ar wi ll use a spe ech i n London to i ssue a 600-pa ge reli gi ous e di ct, denounci ng t e rrori sts a nd sui cide bombers a s "unbel ie vers". M uham mad T ahir ul Q adri is a leading figure who has promoted peac e and interfaith dialogue for 3 0 years. He s aid he felt compelled to iss ue the fatwa because of c onc erns about the radicalisation of British M uslims at univers ity cam pus es and bec aus e there had been a lack of c ondem nation o f extrem ism by M uslim clerics and sc holars. Ul Q adri s ays his fat wa, whic h is aim ed at pers uading you ng M uslims to turn t heir bac ks on extrem ism , goes further than any previous den unc iation. "This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written," said ul Q adri, who has written a bout 35 0 books on Is lamic s c holars hip. He is a sc holar of Sufism , a lo ng tradition within I s lam which is widely s een as foc using on peac e, toleranc e and moderation . Nigerian U mar Farouk Abdul M utallab, acc used of tryin g to bomb a U S- bound plane o n Christm as Day, s tudied at a L ondon univers ity until 2 0 08 . Government offic ials in Y emen, whe re M utallab began his journey, have said he was radicalis ed while in Britain. However, the British G overnment c laim s his introduc tion to hardc ore extremis ts happened after he left the U K. Government offic ials will be among thos e joining ul Q adri for the lau nc h of the fat wa in c entral L ondon. The M uslim C ouncil of Britain, an um brella organis ation representing some 50 0 Is lam ic groups, has welcom ed the fat wa .

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Ul Q adri will tell his audienc e: "T he reality is that whatever thes e terrorists are doing it is not martyrdom . A ll these ac tivities are taking t hem to hellfire." The 59- year- old was born in Pakistan and is head of the global M inhaj ul Q uran religious and educ ational organisation whic h s preads his Sufi ideas . A former P akis tani m inis ter and ass ociate of as sassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide prom oting his m es s age of harmony and was one of the firs t M uslim leaders to c ondem n the 9 /1 1 attac ks in the US. While ul Q adri has followers arou nd t he globe, it is in Pakistan where he has m illions of followe rs and in the dias pora that his im pac t is likely to be g reatest. Britain has about 1 .7 million M us lims, m ainly of P akis tani descent. The UK's s ecurity servic es s ay nearly all m ajor ter roris m plots s ince 20 01, inc luding the 2 00 5 L ondon bombin gs which killed 5 2 people, have been linked to P akis tan. Ul Q adri s aid he is confident his edic t will have a s ignific ant impact bec aus e he has dra wn on c lassic al teac hings and authorities acc eptable to all s ects of I slam. "I will s ay more than 50% will c hange their way, they will be influenced," he s aid. "O f the rem aining 50 % at least s om e of them, half of them, will bec om e doubt ful a bout t heir life, their terro ris t ac tivity," he s aid. Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic studies at Cambridge University, s aid while t here had been s imilar fat was in the pas t, ul Q adri did appear to have gone further than m ost. "To declare the m isc reants as unbelievers is unus ual bec aus e it is not really c lear that the rules allow o ne s imply to s ay that they are not M us lims ." He added: "Thos e who are alrea dy hardliners will pay no attention at all but 's wing voters ' poorly- educ ated and a ngry M uslims who respect m ainstream sc holars - will pro bably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative." Ul Q adri's pronouncement will be welcomed by authorities in the UK and by other Wes tern governments s eeking to s tam p out extremism - but t he respected s c holar s aid their backing is irrelevant to his views .

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Islamic Scholar Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa D ated: 0 2 M arc h 2 010 A promi ne nt I sla mi c schol a r w ill use a spe e ch in London to issue a 600-pa ge reli gi ous e dict, de nouncing te rrorists a nd sui ci de bombers as "unbel ievers". M uhamm ad Tahir ul Q adri is a leading figure who has p romoted peac e and inter faith dialogue for 3 0 years . H e s aid he felt c om pelled to is sue the fat wa bec aus e of concerns about the radicalisation of Britis h M uslims at univers ity c am pus es and bec aus e there had been a lac k of c ondemnation o f extremism by M uslim clerics and sc holars. U l Q adri says his fat wa, whic h is aim ed at pe rs uading you ng M uslims to turn t heir bac ks on extremism, goes fu rther than any previous den unc iation. "T his is the firs t, m ost com prehensive fatwa on the sub jec t of ter roris m ever written," said ul Q adri, who has written about 35 0 books on I slamic sc holarship. H e is a scholar of S ufis m, a lo ng t radition within I s lam which is widely s een as foc using on peac e, toleranc e and m oderation . Nigerian U mar Faro uk A bdul M utallab, ac c us ed of trying to bomb a U S- bound plane on C hris tmas D ay, studied at a L ond on univers ity until 20 08. G overnm ent officials in Y emen, whe re M utallab began his jour ney, have said he was radic alis ed while in Britain. H o wever, the Britis h G overnm ent c laims his introduction to hardc ore extrem is ts happened a fter he left the UK. G overnm ent officials will be among thos e joining ul Q adri for the lau nch of the fat wa in central L ondon. T he M us lim Council of Britain, an um brella organis ation repres enting some 5 00 Is lamic groups , has welc om ed the fat wa. U l Q adri will tell his audience: "T he reality is that whatever these terroris ts are doing it is not m artyrdom. All thes e activities are taking t hem to hellfire."

The 59- year- old was born in Pakistan and is head of the global M inhaj ul Q uran religious and educational organisation whic h s preads his Sufi ideas . A form er P akis tani m inis ter and as s ociate of as sassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide prom oting his mes sage of harmony and was one of the firs t M uslim leaders to c ondem n the 9 /1 1 attac ks in the US. While ul Q adri has followers arou nd t he globe, it is in Pakistan where he has m illions of followe rs and in the dias pora that his im pac t is likely to be g reates t. Britain has about 1.7 million M us lims, m ainly of P akis tani descent. The UK's s ecurity servic es s ay nearly all m ajor ter roris m plots s inc e 20 01, inc luding the 2 00 5 London bombin gs which killed 5 2 people, have been linked to P akis tan. Ul Q adri s aid he is confident his edic t will have a s ignific ant impact bec aus e he has dra wn on classic al teac hings and authorities acc eptable to all s ects of I slam. "I will s ay more than 50% will c hange their way, they will be in fluenced," he s aid. "O f the rem aining 50 % at least s om e of them, half of them, will bec om e doubt ful a bout t heir life, their terro ris t ac tivity," he s aid. Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic studies at Cambridge U niversity, s aid while t here had been similar fat was in the pas t, ul Q adri did appear to have gone further than m ost. "To declare the m isc reants as unbelievers is unus ual bec aus e it is not really c lear that the rules allow o ne s imply to s ay that they are not M us lims ." He added: "T hos e who are alrea dy hardliners will pay no attention at all but 's wing voters ' poorly- educated and a ngry M uslims who respect mainstream sc holars - will pro bably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative." Ul Q adri's pronouncement will be welc omed by authorities in the UK and by other Wes tern governments s eeking to s tamp out extrem ism - but t he respected s c holar s aid their backing is irrelevant to his views .

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Fatwa pronounced against terrorists Thursday, Mar ch 4, 2010

by Fr. Orthoduck

Is lamabad, P akistan (CNN ) — A fatwa, or religious ruling, iss ued this week is roiling theologic al waters after it took aim at those notorious for targetin g others : terro ris ts . The anti- terrorism fatwa by re nowned M uslim scholar M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri pulled no punc hes , dec laring that terrorism was “haraam,” or forbidden by the Q uran, and that s uic ide bom bers would be re warded not by 72 virgins in heaven, as many terroris t recruiters promis e, but with a s uite in hell. Q adri, the fou nder o f the M inhaj-ul-Q uran International, an I slamic m ovement with c enters in 90 countries , told a news c onferenc e in L ondon, E ngland, on T ues day that his dec ree c ategorically c ondem ns terroris m and s uicide bom bings in the name of I slam. “Until now, sc holars who we re c ondem ning terrorism were c onditional and qualified what they s aid,” Q adri s aid in a phone interview, noting that his 600- page ruling left no room for interpretation. “I didn’t leave a s ingle, minor aspect that, in the mind of radic als or extremis ts, c an take them to t he direction o f martyr dom.” . . . Father O rthoduck was glad to s ee the ac tion above. It s hould have a good effec t among the non- jihadis ts, and make rec ruiting signific antly harder for the terrorists . P leas e notic e that this was iss ued by a leading sc holar from Pakistan, a c ountry full of jihadists . A nd, please do go and read the res t of the article on CNN. Father O rthoduck would like to ec ho another pos ter and say to t he Im an:

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To M us lim scholar M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri: Ass alamu A lilkum Wa Rahm atulah Wa Barakatuh (meaning peac e, merc y, and bles sings be upon from A llah) A nd thank you! Frankly, the terrorists have done it to themselves and helped us to redeem a mis taken ac t. We had and have signific ant world support for the invasion of Afghanis tan. At the tim e of that invasion, there was n o gene ral Is lamic s upport for the Taliban or the A l Q aeda. But, when Pres ident Bus h (s on) decided to invade I raq, we los t s ome signific ant support from the A rab wo rld. A nd we did not jus t lose support from outs ide the U SA. I have cited in other pos ts the s trong opposition of the US Conferenc e of Catholic Bishops to the invasion of Iraq. Both they and the Pope went on rec ord s aying that I raq did not qualify as a just war . But that is not my point. After the invas ion of Iraq, A rab support was on the side of Al Q aeda. From terroris t in 2001, they quickly went to being alm ost heroes . T heir oppos ition to what was unanim ous ly s een in the Arab world as an illegal A meric an invas ion started looking like the underdog fighting an evil bully. Suic ide bombing direc ted against USA troops was seen as a heroic s elf-s acrifice to permit the self-determination of an oc c upied people. IE D ’s were s een as the only way to fight an empire with over whelming firepower. I f you read t he s tories from back then, there were even plac es were Al Q aeda was providing food a nd infrastructure to villages in outer pa rts of I raq. H ad they kept o n t his c ours e, the current situation in I raq would be m uc h more difficult. But Al Q aeda made a m ajor m istake. C.S. L ewis has pointed out that evil often m akes the mis take of over- reac hing its elf, of getting greedy for more and more gain an d po wer , t hereby ruining their plans . A l Q aeda began to treat everyone who was not actively helping them as though they were enem ies . They thor oughly applied the idea of, “he who is not wit h us is agains t us .” T hey began to s uic ide bom b fello w M us lims . I t did not matter whether or n ot the pers ons killed had any involvem ent with the A meric ans . The idea was to s ow suc h terror that the populac e itself would ris e up agains t the invader jus t to get relief from the bombers . But, it did not work that way . I nstead, the people began to turn agains t Al Q aeda. The fatwa above is a sign of what is slowly bec oming a general rejec tion of Al Q aeda among your average M us lim . T his is not to s ay that M us lims are now in agreement that the U SA invasion was c orrect. You would be quite m istaken if you thought that was true. Rather, we are being s een m ore and m ore as the less er of two evils. I f we are fortunate , we m ay someday make it all the way to no lo nger being perceived as evil, but rather being pe rceived as good. I ns ha’Allah.

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http://www.rocketnews.com/2010/03/fat wa- flashing/

Fatwa flashing W ri tt en on M arc h 1 0th , 20 10 by Edi t or

B y Dominic Casciani

BBC Ne ws An Islam ic scholar turne d up in Lon don la st we ek to de liver a religio us r ulin g deno uncin g terrorism in all its forms – but wh at wa s it abo ut him that m ade ev eryone sit up an d listen

He’ s a ma n on a mi ssi on – a mi ssion t o state the obvi ous. But for Dr M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri it is the obvious fac ts that need s tating loudest. L as t week the P akis tani-born c leric took to a stage in L ondon to declare his I slamic religious ruling, or fatwa, against terroris m. There was a m an from t he othe r side of the world telling an audienc e that inc luded Parliamentarians and other gover nm ent officials what they ha d bee n wa nting to hear. A c lear, c onc is e and quotable denou ncem ent of al-Q aeda’s wo rldview. Canada-based Dr Q adri s poke for m ore tha n a n h our on his reas ons why the Koran fo rbids the murder and m ayhem of s uic ide bom bings. "If [the child] h e h as r eached th e s t age wh ere he is a terr oris t, the p ar ents ar e duty b ound acc ording t o I s lam ic law t o inform th e anti-t er r oris t s quad" Dr Muhamma d Tahi r ul -Qa dri "This fatwa is an abs olute condemnation of terroris m. Without any exc use, without any pretext, wit hout a ny exc eptions , without c reating any ways of j ustification," he said.

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"This c ondemnation is in its totality, in its c om prehens ivenes s, its absoluteness , a total c ondem nation of every ac t of terrorism in every form which is being comm itted or has been c om mitted wrongly in the name of I slam." Cla ssi call y tra ine d Dr Q adri is a c lass ically- trained I slamic sc holar and his organisation, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational, has s pent 3 0 years building a s trong follo wing in Pakis tan. H e is als o a form er Parliam entarian who was very c los e to Benazir Bhutto, the former Pakistani prim e m inis ter assassinated by a s uic ide bom ber in 2 00 7 . Some two years on , Dr Q adri’s vas t review o f what I slam s ays about terro ris m c omes down to t he very s imple idea that there is no theological or mo ral c as e for a wron ged party being allo wed to s eek vengeanc e against the innocent. His fat wa m akes detailed obs ervations of t he p rinc iples of a j us t war and rules of engagement . And he goes further than some s cholars in stating that b ombers who us e an ideology to justify their ac tions have turned away fr om their faith . His arrival in the U K was a q uite deliberate attempt to shake thin gs up. The youth, he says, need m ore help to counter t he b rain was hers. But in s aying s o, the fatwa became political. I ts launch was notable not j ust for who was there from the c orridors of po wer , but who was n’t from the M us lim c ommunities. Supporters from c om munities close to his own bac kground turned out. But the head o f t he M us lim Council of Britain, the um brella body representing 50 0 groups, s ent apologies . Some of the sc holars who had signed a fatwa led by the M C B against terroris m after the 7 J uly attacks , were not there either . Community f a ult li nes Dr Q adri’s intervention in the UK has expos ed c om plic ated fault lines in the M uslim c om munities that often go unseen. Som e people i n the M CB are sus pic ious of his motives . O ne M us lim campaign group c los e to the M C B, iEngage, ac cus ed Dr Q adri of sec tarianis m. He denies trying to s tir things up . "I have never been s ectarian in my life . Never, ever," he s ays . "I have helped Chris tians to c elebrate C hris tm as. But that liberal point of view is not acc eptable to [som e M uslim groups in the U K] . "They talk about open nes s and integration but what do t hey really believe in T he language o f the heart and the language o f the m outh are diffe rent . " Dr Q adri goes on to c riticise s cholars whom he believes are equivoc al over violenc e in Is rael or any other s ituation where they c laim there are exc eptions that m ake s uicide bombing permiss ible. H e res erves spec ial ire for s cholars who argue that there the W es t is part of a "sphere of wa r," c alling them "qu ac ks" wh o have unders tood neither Is lam ic history, nor h ow to interpret the present.

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But the real ques tion is whether anyone is listening C an a son on the edge of turni ng to alQ aeda be brought bac k by his family "If he has reac hed the s tage where he is a terroris t, the parents are duty boun d ac cording to Islamic law to inform the anti-terrorist s quad," he says banging his point home on the table. "If he is at the stage where he c an be re formed , then they s hould take every pos s ible ac t to reform him ." Count e ri ng e xtre mi sm But alm os t five years on from L ondon’s 7/7 attac ks, in whic h 52 people died, there is no s ettled view on ho w to do it. Government has put a lot of effort into bac king groups like the Q uilliam Foundation, a c ounter- extremis m think tank led by t wo former members of a legal Islamis t m ovement. There are s eparate p rogrammes involving the polic e and Sec urity Servic e whic h deal with people right on the c usp. It uses a variety of m ethods – but s om e experts believe the bes t res ults com e from deploying har dline Saudi-influenced c leric s who have the street credibility to mentor a youngs ter while demolishing al-Q aeda’s arguments . CHA NNEL PR OJ ECT · · · · ·

Special programm e to tur n around people identified as ‘potentially vulne rable to violent extrem ism ’ 228 referrals A pril 07 – D ec 0 8 Youngest s even- years -old O ldest 50- years- old Mos t between 15 and 24

Source: Home O ffice/Hansard There is tension between the two c amps – bec aus e there are a great deal o f people who s ee hardline c lerics as part of the conveyor belt that ultim ately leads to terroris m. But both s ides at leas t agree that they need a proper "toolkit" of theologic al argum ents. "If s om eone is going to be a suic ide bomber, they have to be 10 0% convinc ed that they a re going to heaven," says M aajid N awaz, c o- direc tor of t he Q uilliam Foundation. "I f you c an put jus t 1% of doubt i n their minds , the n yo u c ould s top them . A nd you do that that by pres enting them with detailed evidences from I slam its elf. This fatwa helps ." That’s not an argument that was hes with everyone . Azzam Tam im i, a Palestinian ac ademic bas ed in L ondon, infamously bec am e a tabloid hate figure by s uppo rting s uic ide bom bing in Is rael bec aus e it was the only m eans of s elf- defence available. H e is less well kno wn for t he c ritical role he played in helping the police bring down the no w-jailed preac her A bu Hamza. "People who resort to these bom bings do it bec aus e they believe it is j us tified, that it is c om mendable and re war dable," he s ays . "O therwis e they would not do it. For every fatwa there is a c ounter fat wa." Am id all this fatwa flashing , many M uslims fear divide a nd rule – an d s us pec t that s omeone, s omewhe re will use Dr Tahir ul-Q adri to furt her t hat age nda. The sc holar s ees this as the s igns of paranoia bro ught on by a weaknes s – and his ans wer is to expand his organis ation’s mission in the UK beyon d its 1 0 m osques and 5,0 00 members .

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So will D r Q adri’s fatwa do some good or end up on the great big pile of sim ilar denounc ements A n hour a fter he delivered his addres s, the form er leader of al-M uhajiroun, a group rec ently banned for extremis m, turned up at the doorstep of a news c hannel and as ked to go o n air to c ounter D r Q adri. W ould he have bothered if the sc holar was s uc h an irrelevanc e in the battle for hearts and m inds

http://ca.ne ws.yahoo.com /s/capress/100302/wo rld/cda _britain_anti _te rro r_fatwa

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London T ue M ar 2, 2:43 P M

By Th e Associat ed Pr ess

LONDON - A former Pakistani legis lator w ho lives in Canada and leads a global Mus lim movement has issued a fatw a, or r eligious edict, condemning terr oris m. Muhammad Tahir- ul- Qadr i s ays the 600- page fatw a bans s uicide bombing "w ithout any excus es, any pr etexts, or exc eptions." He is the founder of Minhaj- ul-Qur'an, a w orldw ide mov ement that pr omotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Is lam. A spokes man for the group told The Canadian Press that Tahir-ul- Qadri has been living in souther n Ontar io for almost four years. The spokes man w ould not rev eal the ex act location. Tahir- ul- Qadri has issued similar, s horter decr ees, but Tues day 's event in London w as public iz ed by the Quilliam Foundation, a gover nment-funded anti- extr emism think-tank. The group has hundr eds of thousands of follow ers ar ound the w orld, most of them in Pakis tan or Pakistanis living in other c ountries.

Bomb-news.newslib.com htt p://bom b- news. new slib. com /story /8009- 11642/

Suicide bombers 'unIslamic' and going to Hell, says leading cleric March 2, 2010 A prom ine nt Muslim organisation in Britain has issued a fat wa on suicide bombings and te rrorism — de claring them “un-Islam ic”.

M inh aj- ul-Q u ra n , a o rga nis at io n bas ed o n S ufi p rinc iples whic h a dv is es t he G ove rnm ent on ho w to c om bat rad ic alis ati on i n M us l im yo u th, l aunc hed its 60 0 -pag e rel igio us v erd ict i n C e nt ra l L ondo n th is mo rnin g , c o ndemn in g th e pe rp et rat ors o f te rro ris t exp losi ons an d s u ic i de bom bi ngs . T he fat wa c o nd emns s u ici de bom be rs s ayi n g t h at t hey a re des t i ned fo r He ll , c o unte rin g ext rem ist p ro paga nd a tha t Is l amis t te rro rists wi ll e nte r p arad is e a fter deat h. T he doc ume nt is writ te n by M us lim s ch olar D r M uh amm ed T ahi r ul-Q ad ri, a fo rme r gove rnm ent advise r in P ak is ta n an d fri e nd of th e fo rme r P rime M in iste r Be nazi r Bh utto , a nd t he fo unde r o f th e inc reas i ngl y i nflu ent ial M inha j-u l-Q u ran mov ement . In i t , s u ici de bom bi ngs and terro ris m are prohi bi te d as “to ta lly u n-Is lam ic”. T he fat wa, fi rs t l aunc he d i n Pak ista n in D ec emb er, us es te xts from t he Kora n a n d o t he r Is lam ic wri ti ngs t o argue th at a tt ac ks ag ai ns t i nn oc ent c i ti ze ns a re “abs olu te ly a ga i nst th e t eac h i ngs o f Islam an d th at Islam do es n ot perm it s uch ac ts on any exc use , re as on or p retext ”.

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Alt ho ugh t he fat wa m ig ht c arry l ittl e wei gh t am ong s om e i n Bri tain 's m a jo rit y S un n i M us lim com mu ni ty , it wi l l hav e a n ove rall imp act bec a us e of M inh a j- ul-Q u ran ’s g ro wi ng i n flue nce as a com mu nit y rep rese ntat ive b od y wit h hu nd reds o f th ous ands o f foll o we rs i n So ut h A s ia as well as t he U K . I t is a s tron g c ou nter to Is lam ic s c hoo ls o f th o ught tha t c o nd emn u nb eliev ers and ca ll for thei r s ub ju gatio n , a nd wi l l c ont rib ut e to a c lim ate whe re al l M uslim s c an s pea k ou t fre ely a gai nst at roc ities com mi tted i n t he n am e o f th ei r re ligi o n. D r T ahi r ul-Q ad ri , who is bas ed i n C ana da and has writ ten m ore tha n 4 0 0 b ooks on Is lamic l aw, is rec o gnis ed i n P akis t an as a n au tho ri ty on Is l am ic juris p rud enc e . A s pok es man fo r th e c o unte r-ext rem is t t hi nk ta nk Q uil liam s aid : “T h is fat wa h as t he po tent ial t o be a h igh ly s igni fica nt s te p t o wards e rad icat in g Is lam ist terro ris m . “Fat was by Wa h ha bi-in fl ue nc ed c le rics a nd Islam is t i de ol og ues init ia te d mo dern te rroris m a ga ins t c iv il ians . “Te rroris t g rou ps s uc h as al-Q ae da c on ti nu e to jus t i fy th ei r mas s k il li ngs wi th s el f-s e rvi ng readi ngs of reli gi ous sc ri pt u re. Fat was th at dem ol is h an d e xpos e s uc h th eol ogic al i n nov atio ns will c o ns ig n Is lam ist t erro ris m to th e dus t bin of his to ry.” Sha hi d M ursa le en , s po kes ma n for M in haj- u l-Q uran UK , s ai d: “H e h as h it hard on t he t erro ris ts as it p reve nts Isl amis ts from c ons i de ri ng s uic i de bom bers as ‘ma rtyrs ’. T his fat wa in jec ts d o ubt i nto the mi nds o f po tent ial s uic id e bomb ers . “Ex t rem ist g rou ps b ased i n Bri ta in recrui t y o ut h by brai n was hin g th em t ha t th ey wil l — wi th c ertai nty — b e re wa rde d in the n ex t li fe and D r Q ad ri’s fat wa has remo ved t his key i nt el lec t ua l fac to r from t he i r mi n ds.” M inh aj- ul-Q u ra n is a n o rga nisa ti on b as ed i n 80 c ou n tries th at fo llo ws S u fi te ac hi ngs of peac e a n d mo dera ti on , ga in in g gro un d am o ng M us lim gro ups eage r t o com ba t the rad ical is atio n o f yo ung peo p le . T he grou p rece iv es n o g ove rnm e nt fun di ng . T he M i nh aj-u l-Q uara n m oveme n t ru ns c ou rs es i n c omb atin g re li gi o us ex tremis m i n ed uc at io na l ce nt res t hroug ho ut Brit ai n incl u din g Lo n do n , B i rmi ngham , M anc hes ter, N els on , W als all , Gl as go w a n d D u ndee. A fat wa , an edic t is s ued by a M uslim s c hola r, m ay c onc e rn a ny asp ect o f Is lam ic li fe . It bec ame ass oci at ed wit h ext remis m a fte r 19 8 9 whe n the aut hor Salm an Rus hdie was forc ed into hid i ng fol lo wi ng a fat wa c a llin g for his dea th was is sue d b y A yatol lah K hom en i , th en t he S up reme Lea de r of Iran , on the g ro unds tha t his bo ok, T he S at anic Vers es had “i ns ulte d ” Is lam . T he Com munit ies M inis ter S ha hi d M alik , wh ose D e ws bu ry c ons ti tu ency was hom e t o t he 7 /7 bom be r M ohamm ad Si d diqu e K han , we lc om e d t he new fat wa. “It is i nc um bent on M us lims to s tan d u p fo r t he i r fa i th — wh en 7 /7 occ u rre d th ose fou r evi l you ng m en k il le d t hems elves an d over 5 0 i n noc en t peo ple b ec aus e t he y fo ll owed a t wis ted and pe rvert ed i nte rpret at io n o f Is lam whic h to ld t hem by doin g s o they wo ul d go to h eav en,” h e s a id . “A c lea r an d une qu iv oc al m ess a ge m us t go out t hat Is lam t eac hes t ha t thes e four a re not m art y rs g oi ng t o he ave n bu t s i nne rs g oin g som ewhere very d i ffere nt in de ed. “He nce , I ve ry m uc h we lcom e th e work of D r Q adri in h elpi ng rein forc e t his mos t c ruc i al o f mes sa ge to M us lims and non-M uslim s a li ke .” An Is lam ic s c hol ar S ha ik h M ohamm ed H ish am Kabb an i , of the C en t re fo r S piri t ual it y a n d C ult ural Adva nc eme n t, a lso welc om ed t he fat wa . “Th is s c hola rsh ip is a la n dm ark in e nabli ng M us lims livi ng i n th e UK to be a b le to s i lenc e th e s m al l mi no rit y of peo ple who thi nk it is O K to c om mi t vio le nt acts in t he nam e o f Isl am ,” he s aid . “We are ha p py and hono ure d to be wo rk in g wi th D r Q a dri a nd M inh aj- ul-Q u ran to s up po rt t he U K M us lims in c oun terin g th e ra dic a l Is lam is t rh et o ric i n t he wo rld .”

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Bomb-news.newslib.com http://bom b- news.ne wslib.com/story/8007 - 11127/

Fatwa in UK condemns suicide bombings March 3, 2010 AFP A le adin g M uslim scho lar in Britain issue d a fat wa on T uesday con dem nin g terrorists and suicide bom bers, sayin g they had no justification in the nam e of Islam. Pakistan-born Dr T ahir ul-Qa dri said there were no "ifs or buts" abo ut terrorism , in a news conference attende d by off icer s from Lon don's M etropolitan Police, MPs, charitable or ganisations and think-tanks. He said he wanted to convey the m essage that acts of terrorism c ut people off a s true follo wer s of Islam. "They can't claim that their suicide bom bings are martyrdom operation s an d that they become the heroes of the M uslim Umma (the wider M uslim com munity)," he sa id. "No, they become heroes of he llfire, and they are lea din g to war ds h ellf ire. "There is no place for any martyrdom and their a ct is nev er, ever to be con sidered jiha d,." Qa dri sa id his 600-pa ge f at wa, or religio us r ulin g, was an "a bso lute" condemnation of terrorism without "any ex cuses or pr etexts". " Good intentions c annot convert a wrong into good, they cannot convert an evil into good," he sa id. "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is violence and it has no place in Islam ic teach in g an d no justific ation can be provide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or if s or buts." He said Islam was a re ligion of p eace that promotes bea uty, "betterment", goodness an d "n egates all form of mischief an d strife". The fatwa will be tran slate d into English in the coming weeks an d m ade ava ila ble online in an attempt to counter extremist versions of I slam ava ila ble on the internet. Qa dri fo un ded the Minhaj- ul- Quran m ovement, which h as thousan ds of supporters in Britain and across the wor ld. In Britain, it say s it run s co ur se s in combatin g re ligio us extremism in e ducational centres in London, Manchester an d Birm ingham . 162

rediff NEWS http: //ne ws .rediff.c om /report/20 10/mar/02 /terror- has -no -place - in- is lam-anti - terror- fatwa .htm

Terror has no place in Islam, says new fatwa Last update d on: March 02, 2010 22:29 IST The leader of a global Muslim m oveme nt on Tue sday issued a fatwa ( religious e dict) against acts of viole nce and terror in the nam e of Islam , calling the perpetrators of viole nce and their m e ntors as "he roe s of he llfire". M uhammad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a form er Pakistani diplomat who is the founde r of form idable Minhaj-ul-Q uran m oveme nt, unrese rve dly conde m ned te rrorist attack s and suicide bom be rs and urge d the M uslim world to tak e a firm stand against those who bring Islam to disrepute . "Terrorism is te rrorism , violence is viole nce and it has no place in Islamic te aching. Islam is a religion of peace . It prom ote s goodwill, beauty, be tte rm e nt, goodness and negate s all form s of m ischie f, strife and division," he said. Delivering a le cture in London, Q adri frequently re ferre d to the holy book of Q uran, C om panions of the Prophe t, Hadith and le ading M uslim im ams to prove his point that Islam did not allow indi viduals and non-state groups to launch attack s on civilians and opposition targets. "Islam absolutely condem ns viole nce and terrorism in all its form s and manifestations and it is our Islam ic duty to conde m n acts of te rrorism without any ifs or buts, without any e xcuse s, pre tex ts and selfish justifications. Those who pe rpe trate viole nt attack s and target humanity act outside of the am bit of Islam , the y are the e nem ies of Islam ," he said. Q adri was joined at the fatwa launch e vent b y gove rnm e nt m iniste rs Jim Fitzpatrick, Shahid Malik, Muham mad Sarwar M P, Dom inic Grie ve MP, re pre se ntative s of various M uslims organisations, governm ent departm e nts and se curity think-tank s. The 600-page 'Fatwa on Suicide Bom bings and Te rrorism ' has bee n extracted from Q adri's late st rese arch work title d 'Dehshe t Geri aur Fitna-e-Kha wa ri j', in a re fe rence to those re be ls who had tak en uparmsagainst Im am Ali(AS). The launch of the fat wa is being regarde d by m any circles as a significant and historic

ste p, the first tim e that such an ex plicit and unequivocal de cre e against the pe rpe trators of terro r has bee n broadcast widely. The fatwa is considere d arguably the m ost com prehe nsive the ological refutation of Islam ist terrorism

as demonstrate d by Taliban, Al-Q aeda and the ir lik e -m inded

sectarian groups. To those who laud suicide bom be rs and praise their acts, Q adri said the y are in unison with "heroes of hellfire ". "They can't claim that the ir suicide bom bings are m artydorm ope rations and that the y be com e the heroes of the Muslim Umm a. "No, they indee d become he roe s of hellfire , and the y are leading to wards he llfire. The ir actions have nothing to do with Jihad," Q adri, who has a sizable following in Europe said.

http://cnews.canoe.ca /CNEW S/W orld/2010/03/02/13078661-ap.htm l

Muslim leader issues fatwa on terrorism By T he Associated Pre ss

LONDON (AP) — The le a der of a glo bal M uslim m ovement has issue d a fatwa, or religio us e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muham mad Tahir- ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani la wm aker, says the 600-pa ge fat wa ban s suicide bom bin g “ without any ex c uses, any pretexts, or exc eptions.” Tahir-ul-Qa dr i ha s issued sim ilar, shorter decrees, but T uesday’ s ev ent in Lon don is being ho sted by the Quilliam Fo undation, a gov ernment-funde d, anti-extremism think tank. The religio us scholar is the fo under of Minh aj-ul- Quran, a wor ldwide m ovement that prom otes a nonpolitical, toler ant Islam . T he group h as h undr eds of thousan ds of fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other co untries. 164

http://australianconservative.com/2010/03/muslim-leader-condemns-terrorism/

Muslim leader condemns terrorism

Cory Bernardi Muslim scholar, Dr MuhammadTahir-ul-Qadri, launches a fatwa that condemns suicide bombings It’s about time. I am referringto reports in the UKnewspapers yesterday that a Muslim leader has finally condemnedthe acts of terrorism conducted in the name of Islam. Pakistani-born Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri said there were no ‘ifs or buts’ that acts of terrorism cut people off as true followers of Islam. In issuing his fat wa, or religious edict concerning Islamic life, he said“There is no place for any martyrdom and their act is never, ever to be consideredjihad.’ He further called on Islamic leaders to convey the message to all their followers. Dr Qadri’s comments are a welcome change to the equivocation of many self-styled imams and Islamic religious leaders who refuse to condemn suicide bombings andother atrocities committed in the name of their religion. In Australia, one supporter of a convicted terrorist plotter blamed the Australian social security system for the extremist behaviour. In the face of great adversity, there has been a great deal of tolerance extended to those of the Islamic faith by the western world. Such tolerance has been wearing thin by the refusal of so many Islamic scholars to unequivocally condemn terrorism, in all its forms, as evil. In a further departure from the intolerance, hate and barbarism preached by radical Islamists, Dr Qadri was quotedas saying; ‘Goodintentions cannot convert a wronginto good, they cannot convert an evil into good. Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence andit has no place in Islamic teachingand no justification can be providedfor it, or any kind of excuses or ifs or buts.’

Three cheer s for Dr Qa dr i.

http://defen seoftherep ublic.com/fatwa-a gain st -terrorism .htm l/ Wedne sday, M arch 3r d, 2010 | Poste d by defen seoftherepublic

Fatwa Against Terrorism

From London Leader Speaks Out Ag ainst Terrorists I found this on a CBC ( Canadian Broa dca sting) link. It’s not eno ugh to deno un ce terrorism . W e must promote those who believe the religion of I slam is bein g used for politica l purposes. Giv ing sunlight to those who believe stron gly in the Faith an d deno unce political is our best hope in the war against terror.

Islamic scholar issues fatw a against terrorism ‘Whatever thes e terr or ists ar e doing, it’s not martyrdom ’ Last Updated : Tuesday , March 2 , 2010 | 9:47 AM ET

CBC Ne ws 166

A prom inent Islam ic scho lar issue d a r eligio us r ulin g again st terrorism and suicide bom bin gs at a spee ch in London T ue sday. Muham mad Tahir ul- Qadr i, a lea ding scholar of Sufism, the tradition within I slam that focuse s on peace an d toleranc e, isn’t the first Islamic tea cher to denounce acts of terrorism . But Qa dri’s 600-p a ge judgment, or fat wa, is among the harsh est denouncem ents of the theological arguments use d by militant gro up s like a l-Qae da. “ Whatever these terrorists are doin g, it’s not martyrdom ,” said Qadri on T uesday. U.K.-base d anti-extrem ism think-tank the Quilliam Foun dation, wh ich sponsor ed the spe ech, c alle d the Pakistani- born Qa dri’ s fat wa “ ar guably the m ost com prehensive theolo gica l ref utation of Islamist terrorism to date.”

It’s Not Martyrdom

http://america break in gne ws. com/2010 /03/islamic-scholar -tahir - ul- qadri- issue s- terrorism - fatwa/

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri issues terrorism fatwa

Islamic sc holar T ahir ul- Qadr i issues terrorism fat wa.

An influential M uslim scholar issues a global ru ling in London against terrorism and suicid e bo mb ing .

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http://ekk lesia.co.uk/node/11415

Muslim scholar demolishes religious justifications for terror and violence By staff writers 4 Mar 20 10

"Violence is violenc e. It has no place in Islamic teaching", s ays a leading Muslim scholar in a fatwa, an extended religiously- bas ed argument, dir ected at those w ho jus tify hatred and terror in the name of fait h. Muhammad Tahir ul- Qadr i Ul-Qadr i's 600-page analysis is "ar guably the most comprehens iv e theological r efutation of Is lamist terr oris m to date," according to the Quilliam Foundation, the London-based c ounter-terroris m think tank. "Terr or is m is terrorism," Ul- Qadr i, founder of Minhaj- ul- Quran, an or ganisation c laiming hundreds of thous ands of follow ers in South Asia and the United Kin gdom, dec lared. Muhammad Tahir ul- Qadr i is regar ded as a mainstr eam Muslim sc holar w ho is a "w idely recognis ed and res pec ted authority on Islamic jur isprudence." At a press c onferenc e ear lier this w eek, he cr iticis ed Muslims w ho, in justif ying terr oris m, say it fur thers the goal of corr ecting w rongs done to Muslims. "No good intention - even one thous and good intentions put together -- c annot justify a w rong and for bidden act," Ul- Qadri said. "Good intentions c annot conver t a w rong into good." Perpetr ation of murder and violenc e in the name of Islam s eparates people from A llah and from the destiny of par adise, the fatwa says.

http://www.examiner.com/x-22966-Chicago-Islam-Examiner~y2010m3d3-Top-Muslim-clericissues-fat wa-against-violence?#comments

'Top' Mu slim cleric issues fa twa aga inst violence Marc h 3, 7:41 AM

C hic ago Is lam Ex aminer

Qasim Ras hid

Mullah Tahir ul Qadri

M ullah T ahir ul Q adri, who vis its C hic ago regularly, rec ently is sued a 60 0 page fat wa (edic t) c ondemning violenc e in the name of I slam for any reas on. For this act, M uslim and nonM us lim m edia alike are hailing him as a revolutionary. Alas, nothing could be furt her from the truth. T his prais e for M ullah ul Q adri is mis plac ed and unj ustified for several reasons. First, for nearly a decade now some s o c alled M uslims have ac tively engaged in suic ide bombings and ot her at roc ities . W hy did it take M ullah ul Q adri a full dec ade to realize that perhaps violenc e in the name of I slam is wrong? I magine the lives that could have been s aved if he expres s ed this feature o f Is lam in 2 00 0 , instead of 2 0 10 . Second, his toric ally, M ullah ul Q adri has ac tively pers ec uted and s poken out agains t religious m inorities, particularly M us lim minorities . H ow can a m an who has no tolera nc e for a diffe rent religious point of be trusted to stop violence agains t them? P akis tan's blas phemy laws we re enac ted in his time and wit h his kno wledge and suppo rt, and as a res ult, thous ands of religious m inorities have been beaten up, harass ed, and even m urdered. M ullah ul Q adri has not offere d even a s ingle s tatement of c onc ern or rebuke. T hird, M ullah ul Q adri believes the punis hment for apos tas y in Is lam is death. A side from the fact that this is not true, M ullah ul Q adri ins ists that a peac eful I s lam can c o-exist with an Is lam that kills thos e who c hoose to acc ept a different faith . H e is a prim e example o f a walking c ontradiction. T he last and most c ruc ial point is that I m am Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of India dec lared over 1 00 years ago that violenc e has no place in I s lam. M uslims who follo w M irza Ghulam A hm ad provide a 10 0 plus year his tory of abs olute non- violenc e. N ot a s ingle exam ple c an be foun d to the c ontrary. M ullah ul Q adri considers Imam A hm ad a heretic fo r this peac eful interpretation of Jihad . Now, it s eem s that M ullah ul Q adri has boarded the wagon . H o w unfortu nate that he does not give c redit where it is d ue.

I f M ullah T ahir ul Q adri is sincere about his beliefs in a peac eful I slam, let him truly ac t. T o do this , he must firs t apologize for not iss uing the fat wa s ooner and allo wing t hous ands to pe ris h in the m eantim e. Next, he m us t ac tively work to revoke t he blas phemy la ws he e ndorsed either by ac tion o r with his s ilenc e. Third, he mus t ac knowledge that his s o c alled profou nd unders tanding of J ihad is in fac t the very un derstanding for whic h he c alled Im am Ahmad a heretic . O nc e M ullah ul Q adri c an take thes e steps , he c an be trus ted. A s long as he prom otes his beliefs of death for a pos tasy and the s upp ress ion of the rights of non-M us lims , he should not be allowed in our nation, let alone o ur c ity. He is j ust another politic ian trying to get s upport by telling people what he thinks they wa nt to hear .

http://thetyee.ca/Cana dianPress/2010 /03/02/Cda- Britain - Anti- T error -Fatwa /

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London 2 M ar 2 01 0 LO N DO N - A form er P akis tani legislator who lives in C anada and leads a global M uslim movem ent has iss ued a fatwa, or religious edic t, c ondem ning ter rorism . M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri s ays the 600 -page fatwa bans suic ide bombing " without any exc uses , any pretexts , o r exc eptions ." He is the foun der o f M inhaj- ul-Q ur'an, a wo rld wide movement t hat p rom otes a non-politic al, tolerant Is lam . A s pokesm an for the gro up told The Canadian Pres s that Tahir- ul-Q adri has been living in s outhern O ntario for almost four years . The spokes man would not reveal the exac t loc ation. Tahir- ul-Q adri has is s ued sim ilar, s horter decrees , but Tues day's event in L ondon was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a government- funded anti-extremis m think- tank. The group has hu ndreds o f thous ands of followers around the wo rld, most of t hem in P akistan or P akis tanis living in other c ount ries.

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http: //www.examiner .c om /x- 3 2569-P akistan-H eadlines-E xam iner~y2 010m3 d2-Pakis tan- bornM us lim-scholar- iss ues- edic t- against- alQ aeda

Pakistan born Muslim scholar issues edict against al-Qaeda Marc h 2, 8:36 AM

Pak istan H eadlines Ex aminer

Ibrahim Sajid Malick

issued an I s lamic edic t condemning terroris m and s uic ide bom bings and challenged “al—Q aeda’s violent ideology.” P akis tan born M us lim scholar with a large followi ng in Britain made his form al proc lam ation of a fat wa, or religious edict, at a ne ws conferenc e in L on don . T he 6 00 page fatwa des cribed the al-Q aeda movem ent as an “old evil with a ne w nam e.” M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri believes that the ove rwhelm ing maj ority of young M uslims in Britain have not yet been radic alized and would “think again” after readin g his proc lam ation. M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri said that “suic ide bombings and attac ks against c ivilian targets are not only c ondem ned by Is lam , but rende r t he perpetrators totally out of the fold of Is lam, in other wo rds , to be unbelievers .” Q adri said thos e who have already been “totally brain was hed” would not lis ten, but others would have “doubt ” se wn i n their minds . “Y ou don ’t become a terrorist overnig ht. It is a jour ney ... M any are already on that road b ut they have not yet arrived to become suic ide bombers ,” M r. Q adri told journalis ts. H e developed the document, whic h c hallenges the religious m otivation of s uicide bombers , in respons e to the ris e in s uic ide bombings in P akistan. H e s aid he hoped his arguments would attrac t the attention of politic ians and s ecurity servic es in western nations . D r Q adri says that I slam forbids the mas sac re of innoc ent citizens and s uic ide bom bings and his m ovement, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational, has now dra wn the interes t of polic ymakers and s ecurity c hiefs. Shahid M urs aleen, s pokes man for M inhaj-ul-Q uran in the U K, said the fat wa was ha rd- hitting and would "injec t do ubt into the minds of potential suic ide bombers ." T he doc ument is not the first to c ondemn te rrorism and s uicide bombings. Follo wing the terrorist attacks in L ondon duri ng July 2 0 05 many scholars c ame together to denou nc e the bombers and urge c om munities to root out extremists . A fatwa, an edic t is s ued by a learned M uslim sc holar, m ay concern any aspect of I s lamic life. T he term bec am e famous in the wes tern wo rld in 1 989 after the author Salman Rus hdie was

forc ed into hiding follo wing a “death fat wa ” is s ued by Ayatollah Khomeni, the t hen Supreme L eader of I ran, on the groun ds that his book, t he Satanic Verses had “insulted” Is lam .

http:// www.3 news .c o.nz /M uslim -leader-A bsolute -condem nation - ofterroris m/tabid/9 7 3/artic leI D /14 446 8/D efault.as px

Muslim leader: Absolute condemnation of terrorism WE D, 0 3 M AR 2010 1 0:02A .M .

Muhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a f ormer Pak istani lawmak er

The leader of a glo bal M uslim m ovement has issued a fat wa , or religious edict, that he c alls an abs olute c ondemnation of terrorism . M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri, a fo rmer P akis tani lawmaker, says the 6 00 - page fatwa bans s uic ide bom bing " without any exc us es, any pretexts, or exceptions". Tahir- ul-Q adri has is s ued sim ilar, s horter dec rees , but the event in L ondon was public ised by the Q uilliam Foundation, a governm ent- funded anti- extremis m think tank and dre w s trong media attention. The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran, a world wide movement that prom otes a non- political, tolerant I s lam. The group has hu ndreds of thous ands of follo wers around the wo rld, m ost of t hem in Pakistan or P akis tanis living in other c ountries.

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http://www.nigerianne ws.net/story/607422

Islam leader condemns terrorists in fatwa Nigeria N ews.Net Tues day 2nd Marc h, 2010

A Muslim l ea de r in th e U K h as an nou nce d a speci al r eli gious r uli ng, ot he r wis e kn o wn as a fatwa, agai nst terr orism in the n ame of Islam. The wi d ely resp ected aut ho rity on Islamic la w, Dr Tah ir Q adri, has issued t he f atwa, whic h co ndem ns terr orism an d suicid e bombin g. Dr Q ad ri has address ed a pr ess conf erence i n W estminst er, central Lond o n, to talk a bout why suicide bom bi ngs an d ter ror ism a re un-Islam ic a nd scri ptural ly f orbid d en. His the ologic al r efutatio n of Islamist terr orism is likely to be discusse d wi dely amon gst the worl ds Muslim populati on a nd will be poste d on the Inter net i n E nglish an d A rabic, makin g it read ily accessib le. Dr Q ad ri has us ed texts f rom th e Koran to a rg ue t hat Isla m do es n ot p ermit s uch acts "on any excuse, reas on or pretext" r ef erin g to a pass age in t he Qu ra n in whic h the de ath of on e in noc ent is ali gned wit h th e death of all h um anity . His f atwa co ndemns su icide bom be rs as destine d f or hell, ref uting th e cl aim us ed by extemists th at such terr orists wil l ea rn pa radise af ter de ath. In his p ostin g o n ter rorism h e say s: "Today’s trag edy is that terro rists, mur dere rs, mischief -mo ngers an d riote rs try to prov e thei r crim inal, reb elli ous, ty ran nous, br utal an d bl as ph emous activ ities as a right an d a justif ied r eaction to f ore ig n a ggressi on un de r the garb of def ense of Islam an d nation al int erests. It can in n o way be p ermiss ible to ke ep f oreig n d eleg ates un der unla wful cust ody an d mu rder them a n d other p eacef ul non- Muslim citi ze ns in r etaliatio n for interf ere nce, unj ust activ ities and ag gressive adv a nces of their cou ntri es. The on e who d oes has no r el ation to Islam." Dr Q ad ri's int ern ati on al o rgan isati on, the Mi nh aj- ul-Q uran mov ement, has ma ny supp orte rs thr ou ghout th e worl d.

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http://www. ex ami ner.com/x-39 682 -San -Di ego-Non partisa n- Ex ami ner~y 201 0m 3d3-Ne w-fat wa -could un de rmi ne -ter ror ism-s uici de-b ombi ng -a nd -extr em e-Isl amists

New fatwa could undermine terrorism, suicide bombing, and extreme Islamists Marc h 3, 6:38 PM

Sa n Dieg o No np artis an Examiner

Br ian St. Clair

Muh amma d Tahir ul- Q adr i ann ou nces fat wa co ndemni ng terr orism. AP / Akira Su emori O uts iders to the faith tradition can feel baffled by the c ac ophony o f c onflicting voic es and opinions that is s ue from the m ouths of different Is lam ic cleric s . U nlike m any C hris tian denominations fam iliar to the Wes t, religious autho rity in I slam's many varieties tends to be m uc h more diffuse. T his week, an I s lam ic scholar and fo rmer Pakis tani lawmaker, M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri, decried s uicide bom bings as unwort hy o f as s ociation with the M uslim faith. Ac c ording to C NN , T ahir ul-Q adri s tressed that while other fat was (religious rulings bas ed o n I s lam ic law) c ontained qualifications that s eem ed to hedge their bets, his "didn't leave a single, minor as pec t that, in the mind o f radicals and extremists , can take them to the direc tion of m artyrdom." T ahir ul-Q adri c ame down hard on oppo nents, emphas izing his belief that I s lam rejec ts terroris t violenc e no m atter the m otivation. Als o important to one c ommentator was that the a rgument was bas ed pu rely on theological groun ds, whic h c ould make it m ore pers uas ive to the devout. San Diegans paid c los e attention when, subsequent to the s hooting at Fort H ood in T exas, more and more inform ation bec ame available about M ajor N idal Has an's c orrespondenc e with a radical cleric in Y emen nam ed A nwar al-A wlaki. I t turne d o ut A nwa r alA wlaki was bor n in New M exic o, lived in San Diego, and s tudied educ ation at San D iego State U niversity. W hen leaders ac ros s the I slam ic world m ake intentionally c harged , freq uently belligerent s tatements , they tend to receive heavy news c overage. For exam ple, L ibyan leader M uam mar el-Q addafi's declaration of jihad against Switzerland in retaliation for a ban on m inarets des ignated as too tall has been given perhaps a little more atte ntion than its wort h. A fter all, attrac ting attention is probably t he main m otive for the dec laration in the firs t place. W hen M uslim religious leaders , often taken to task for not speaking out a gains t terroris m public ly, dec ide to c om e out s trongly with denunciations, they des erve b road s upport from people all over t he wo rld. I n o rder fo r anti- terroris t M uslim leaders to undermine t he c urrents of extrem is m , they need help getting their m es s age out. L et's not let their voic es be drowned

out by the lou des t and viles t of t heir counterparts , who p reac h hate . E veryone can do their part. L isten to the voices of reas on; pas s on what yo u hear.

http://europenews.d k/en/node/30361

Yes, There Are Moderate Muslims and Here Is One Da vi d H o ro wit z's N e ws R eal 5 M arc h 20 1 0 By Ryan M au ro

I c an’t tell you ho w m any tim es I ’ve gotten an gry e-m ails from people c ondem ning all one billion mem bers of the faith of I s lam , s aying the religion is s o evil that all o f its followers mus t be hos tile to democracy and clos et jihadis ts fighting for world wi de theoc rac y. A ny moderate M us lim whom I res pec t or even have a friends hip wit h is prac tic ing al- taqiyya and I’m a dupe , jus t another pa wn in their s ic k gam e of conquest. L uc kily, those on my s ide can point to groups like the Free M uslims Coalition, Q uilliam Foundation, the A merican-Islam ic C ongress and the A meric an-Is lam ic C ongress . A nd now, we c an point to S heikh M uhamm ad Tahir ul-Q adri in the U nited Kingdom, who has publis hed a 6 00 page fat wa agains t ter rorism bas ed on the I slamic holy texts . T he J erus alem P ost des cribes it as the "most c om prehens ive theologic al refutation of I slamis t terrorism .” "Today’s tragedy is that terroris ts, m urdere rs , mis chief- m ongers and rioters try to prove their c rim inal, rebellious , tyranno us, brutal and blas phemous activities as a right and a jus tified reac tion to foreig n ag gres sion under the garb of defe nse of I s lam and national interes ts,” ulQ adri s aid. What’s mos t important to note here is that he s ays s uch actions are not pe rmis sable even when facing "foreign aggres s ion.” O ften, fake moderates would c ondem n A l-Q aeda but prais e thos e fighting non- M uslim s oldiers in M uslim lands and groups like H am as . Ul-Q adri s hould be applauded for s aying there is no exc eption, and he s ays s uic ide bom bers are going to go to hell. Frankly, I would have thoug ht t hat the ongoing pro-democrac y upris ing in I ran wo uld deb unk the notion that devout M uslims c annot be s een as allies. And these moderate M us lim forc es are making signific ant progress agains t the forc es of extremis m. Clic k here for an a rtic le I wrote las t summ er s ummarizing s ome of thes e decis ive vic tories. Update: N RB readers have m ade me a ware that I may have jum pe d the gu n in calling ul-Q adri a m oderate. O n the webs ite of his orga nization , they boas t of his role in creating P akis tan’s anti- blasphem y law ( whic h I som ehow miss ed), a nd t his artic le rais es further is sues that ulQ adri m us t address. I have s ent an em ail in to his organization asking for a res ponse ( ...)

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http://europenews.d k/en/node/30363

Anti-terror fatwa to de-radicalise students T he As ian N ews 5 M arc h 20 10

The historic fatwa on terror ism by a re now ned Islamic sc holar will be used as an ef fective 'tool' to d e-radicalise Muslim students at British campuses. Minhaj ul-Qur an will use this his toric Fa twa to de-ra dicalise youth at British universities in the UK. Dr Tahir -ul-Qadri has hit hard on the terr oris ts as it prevents I slamis ts from consider ing suic ide bombers a s ‘mar tyrs’ a nd it will create doub t in the minds of pote ntial rad ica ls. Sha hid Mur saleen, sp okesm an for Minhaj-ul-Quran UK sa id : "This his tor ic doc um ent will p lay a vital role in the fig ht against terror and this f atwa ha s all the evidences from the cla ssic al s ources to refute the ideolo gies w hic h extrem is t group s in the UK use to brainwash the yo uth. "The fatwa will be tra nslate d into mains tream languages ." The fa twa rece ived m assiv e m edia a ttention due to its im porta nce in the fight agains t terro rism. Afghanis tan pre sid ent Ham id Karzai ha s re quested a copy of the fatwa from Minhaj-ul-Q ura n (...)

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http://www.mynews.in/News/Terror_has_no_place_in_Islam,_says_new_fat wa_N39685.html

Terror has no place in Islam, says new fatwa The l ea der of a gl oba l M us lim m ovement on T ues day iss ued a fat wa (religious edict) agains t ac ts of violence and terror in t he nam e of I s lam , c alling the pe rpetrators of violenc e and their m entors as "heroes of hellfire". M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri, a form er Pakistani diplomat who is the founder o f formidable M inhaj- ul-Q uran m ovement, unres ervedly c ondemned terroris t attac ks and s uic ide bombers and u rged the M us lim world to take a firm s tand a gains t thos e who bring I s lam to dis repute. "T errorism is terrorism , violence is violence and it has no plac e in Is lamic teac hing. Is lam is a religion of peac e. I t promotes goodwill, bea uty, betterment, goo dnes s and negates all forms of m isc hief, strife and division," he s aid. D elivering a lec ture in L ondon, Q adri frequently re ferre d to the holy book of Q uran, C om panions of the Prophet , H adith a nd leading M us lim im ams to prove his point that I slam did not allow individuals and non- s tate groups to lau nc h attac ks on c ivilians and oppos ition targets. "Islam absolutely c ondemns violenc e and terro rism in all its form s and m anifes tations and it is our I s lam ic duty to condem n acts of terroris m without any ifs or b uts , without any exc us es , pretexts and selfis h jus tific ations . Those who pe rpetrate violent attac ks and target hum anity ac t outs ide of the ambit of Is lam, they are the enemies of I slam," he said. Q adri was joined at the fat wa lau nch event by governm ent minis ters Jim Fitzpatric k, Shahid M alik, M uhamm ad Sar war M P , Dominic G rieve M P, repres entatives of various M us lims organisations, governm ent departments and sec urity think-tanks . T he 6 00 - page 'Fatwa on Suic ide Bom bings and T erroris m' has been extracted from Q adri's lates t res earch work titled 'Dehs het G eri au r Fitna- e-Khawarij', in a refe renc e to those rebels who had taken up arms agains t I mam Ali (A S). T he launc h of the fatwa is being rega rded by many circ les as a s ignificant and historic step, the first time that s uch an explicit and uneq uivoc al dec ree agains t the perpetrators of terror has been br oadc as t widely. T he fatwa is considered arguably the mos t c om prehens ive theologic al refutation of I slamis t terrorism as demonstrated by Taliban, A l-Q aeda and their like-m inded s ectarian groups . T o thos e who laud s uic ide bom bers and prais e their ac ts, Q adri s aid they are in unis on with "heroes of hellfire". "T hey c an't c laim that their s uicide bombings are m artydorm o perations and that t hey bec om e the heroes o f the M us lim U mm a. "N o, they indeed becom e heroes of hellfire, a nd they are leading towards hellfire. T heir ac tions have nothin g to do with J ihad ," Q adri, who has a s izable follo wing in Europe said.

http://www.nationalpost.c om/new s/story.html?id=2634649

Top Islam ic scholar issues 'absolute' fatwa against terror 'H er oes Of Hellfir e' Mich ael H old en , R euter s; W ith Files Fr o m Ag en ce Fr an ce-Pr esse Publis hed: Wednes day, Marc h 03, 2010

C arl C ourt, AF P, Getty Images D r. Tahir ulQadri has is sued an "abs olute"f atwa against terrorism and extremism .

A pr om inent Islam ic sch olar denounced t err orism in London, Engla nd, y ester day , issu ing a fatwa he h opes w ill per suade y oun g Mu slim s t o turn their back s on extr em ism . Dr. T ahir ul-Qa dri sa id ther e were n o "ifs or but s" a bout terror ism , a dding h e w anted t o conv ey the m essag e that act s of t err or ism cut people off as tru e follow er s of Islam . "T hey ca n't cla im that th eir suicide bom bing s ar e m arty rdom operat ions an d that they becom e the her oes of the Mu slim Umm a [the wider Mu slim community ]. N o, th ey becom e h er oes of h ellfir e, and th ey are leading tow ar ds h ellfire," he sa id. "Th ere is n o place for any m artyrdom an d th eir act is n ev er, ever to be con sidered jihad."

Yester day 's ev en t in Lon don w as publicized by the Quilliam Fou ndation, a g ov ernm entfun ded anti-extrem ism think-tank , an d Dr. Qadri a ddressed an audience that included Lon don's Metropolitan Police, lawm aker s an d officials fr om charita ble organizations. His 600-pag e fatwa was an "a bsolut e" condem nation of t error ism w ith out "any ex cu ses or pr et ext s." "Good int ent ion s cannot conv ert a wron g int o g ood, th ey cann ot convert an ev il into g ood," added Dr . Qa dri, who ha s been liv ing in Southern Ontario for th e pa st four years. "Terror ism is terr or ism , violence is v iolence an d it has no pla ce in Islam ic t eaching an d n o justificat ion can be prov ided for it, or any kind of ex cu ses or ifs or buts." His w ords ech o edict s condem ning extrem ism issu ed by several Islam ic gr oups sin ce the 9/1 1 attack s. Bu t Dr. Qa dri say s h is fatw a, w hich declares terr or ists and su icide bom ber s to be un believer s, g oes further than any pr evious denunciation. "Th is is the fir st, m ost com preh en siv e fatwa on the su bject of terr orism ev er w ritt en," sa id the sch olar , w ho ha s written a bout 35 0 book s on Islam ic sch olar ship an d is a scholar of Su fism , a long tra dition within Islam tha t focuses on peace, t olerance an d m oderation. "I h av e tr ied t o leav e not a sing le ston e unturned on th is particular subject and I hav e tried t o addr ess ev ery sing le question r elev ant to this subject ." Dr . Qa dri, 59, who w as born in the Punja b city of Jhang, Pak istan , is hea d of th e global Minhaj ul-Quran religious and educational organization that spr eads his Su fiidea s. A form er Pak istani m inister an d a ssociat e of Bena zir Bhut to, the assassinated form er prim e m inister, h e deliv er s lectur es w or ldwide prom oting his m essage of harm ony . Tim W int er, a lectur er in Islam ic studies at Cam bridg e Un iversity , sa id while ther e ha d been sim ilar fatw as in th e past, Dr. Qa dri ha d g one further than m ost. "To declar e th e m iscreants as unbeliever s is unu sua l, because it is n ot r eally clear that th e rules a llow on e sim ply t o say that they ar e n ot Muslim s," he said. "Th ose wh o ar e alrea dy hardlin er s will pay n o a ttention at all. But 'swing v oter s' -- poorly educat ed and angry Mu slim s, who respect m ainstream sch olars, will pr obably tak e n ote."

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Dr . Qa dri said h e felt com pelled t o issue the edict because of concern s a bout th e indoctrination of Br itish Muslim s at univ er sity -- Um ar Farou k A bdulm utalla b, th e accused Niger ian Christm as Day bom ber, ha s sa id he w as radica lized w hile stu dy ing in Lon don in 2008 -- and the failure of Mu slim clerics an d scholar s to con dem n such extr em ism . "Th e r eality is tha t w hatev er th ese terrorist s ar e doing it is not m arty rdom . All these activities are tak ing them t o h ellfir e," Dr . Qa dri said. He is con fident h is edict will have a sign ificant im pact , say ing it draws on classica l t eachings and authorit ies accepta ble t o all sect s of Islam . "I w ill say m ore tha n 50% w ill cha nge their w ay , they w ill be influenced. Of the rem aining 50% a t lea st som e of th em , half of them , will becom e dou btful about th eir life, their t err or ist activ ity ."

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing London, Mar.2 : Describing Al-Q ae da as an 'old e vil with a ne w name ', influe ntial Pakistani scholar Dr Tahir ul-Q adri has said he would soon issue a 'fatwa' against te rrorism and suicide bom bing. Qa dri sa id the Al- Qae da ha s not been sufficiently cha llen ge d an d that his global r uling aga inst terrorism completely dism antle s the banne d terror or ganisation's violent ideolo gy. In his 600-page ruling, Qa dri said Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citiz ens and suicide bom bin gs. The fatwa also cha llen ges the religio us m otivations of would-be suic ide bombers who are inspire d by prom ises of an afterlif e, The BBC r eports. The fam ous M uslim scho lar develope d h is do cum ent last year a s a r esponse to the sudden increase in suicide bom bin gs across Pakistan. The fatwa, which would be promoted in Britain by Qadri's or ganisation, Minha j ul- Quran International, would cover glo bal issues in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslim s in we stern nations. Terming the fatwa as 'har d hitting', M inhaj ul-Qur an International's spok esp erson Shah id Mur saleen said the ruling wo uld inject do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom bers. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain recruit the youth by brain wa shin g them that they will with certainty be re war ded in the next life. Dr Qa dr i's f at wa ha s remove d this key intellectual fa ctor from their m inds," M ur saleen said.

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Islamic scholar Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri issues anti-terrorism fatwa A PRO MI NENT I sla mi c schola r w ill use a spe e ch i n L ondon to issue a 600-pa ge reli gi ous e di ct denouncing te rrorist s a nd sui ci de bombers as "unbe li ev ers." M uham mad T ahir ul Q adri is a leading figure who has promoted peac e and interfaith dialogue for 3 0 years, Sky News reports. He s aid he felt compelled to iss ue the fatwa because of c onc erns about the radicalisation of British M uslims at univers ity cam pus es and bec aus e there had been a lack of c ondem nation o f extrem ism by M uslim clerics and sc holars. Ul Q adri s ays his fat wa, whic h is aim ed at pers uading you ng M uslims to turn t heir bac ks on extrem ism , goes further than any previous den unc iation. "This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written," said ul Q adri, who has written a bout 35 0 books on Is lam ic s c holars hip. He is a sc holar of Sufism , a lo ng tradition within I s lam which is widely s een as foc using on peac e, toleranc e and moderation . Nigerian-born Um ar Farouk A bdulmutallab, ac c us ed of trying to bom b a US- bound plane o n Christm as Day, s tudied at a L ondon univers ity until 2 0 08 . Government offic ials in Y emen, whe re M utallab began his journey, s aid he was ra dicalised while in Britain . However, the British G overnment c laim s his introduc tion to hardc ore extremis ts happened after he left the U K. Government offic ials will be among thos e joining ul Q adri for the lau nc h of the fat wa in c entral L ondon. The M uslim C ouncil of Britain, an um brella organis ation representing some 50 0 Is lam ic groups, welc om ed the ne w position. Ul Q adri will tell his audienc e, "T he reality is that whatever thes e terrorists are doing it is not martyrdom . A ll these ac tivities are taking t hem to hellfire." The 59- year- old was born in Pakistan and is head of the global M inhaj ul Q uran religious and educ ational organisation, which s preads his Sufi ideas .

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A former Pakis tani minister and as soc iate of as s ass inated prim e m inis ter Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide promoting his m ess age of harm ony and was one of the firs t M uslim leaders to c ondemn the 9 /11 attacks in the US.

http://www.news889.com/news/world/article/31569--muslim-leader- issues-600-page-anti-terrorfatwa-in-london

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London TH E ASSOCIATED PRESS Mar 02, 2010 14:46:16 PM

LO ND ON - A f orm er P akist ani l eg islat or who l ives in Cana da and le ads a gl obal Musl im m ovement has issue d a f atwa, or r eli gi ous ed ict, con demni ng terr oris m. Muhamma d Ta hir -ul - Qadri say s the 60 0- pa ge f atwa b ans s uici de bombi ng "wit hout any excus es, a ny pretexts, or excepti ons." He is the f ou nd er of Minha j-u l- Qu r'an, a wo rld wide mov eme nt that p rom otes a n on -political, tol erant Islam. A sp okesm an f or the gr oup tol d Th e C anadia n Pr ess th at Tah ir- ul- Qad ri h as b een living in south er n Ontar io f or almost four years. The spokes man wo ul d n ot reveal the ex act location. Tahi r- ul- Q adr i has issu ed simil ar, shorter d ecre es, but Tues day 's event in Lond on was pub lici zed by the Qu illi am F ou nd atio n, a gov ern me nt-f unde d anti -extr em ism thi nk-ta nk. The grou p has hu n dre ds of thous ands of f ollowers ar ou nd the worl d, most of them i n P akistan or Pakistan is liv ing in other countries.

http://www.ne wser.com/tag/50045/1/she ikh - tahir - ul- qa dr i.html

Sheik Issue s F atwa Against Te rrorists

SUICIDE BOMBERS ARE HELL-BOUND, WARNS ISLAMIC SCHOLAR all its forms as un-Islam ic. "Terr orism is terro rism, violence is violenc e and it has no place in Is lam ic tea ching and no justifica tion can be pro vid ed for it," Sheik Ta hir ul-Qadri wr ote in his 600-page f atwa ruling a gains t terrorism. He warned that suicide bom bers a re no t m artyrs but "he roes of hellfire" whose actions ca n never be consid ered par t of holy war. Qadri is far from the firs t I slamic sc hola r to c ondemn terr orism , b ut he goe s fur the r than most by decla ring terr oris ts unbeliever s ins tead of mer ely declar ing terro rist acts for bidden, the I nde pe nde nt notes. His r uling is one of the few available both o nline a nd in Englis h, and ex perts ho pe it may sway Wester n-bor n Muslim s leaning toward extr em ism. An Urd u-language versio n will so on be iss ued in Pakis tan, whe re a clos e friend of Q adri's was assass inate d last year af ter iss uing a similar fatwa .

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing 3/2/2010 2:41:00 PM

London, M ar.2 (ANI): Describing Al-Q aeda as an 'old e vil with a new nam e ', influe ntial Pak istani scholar Dr Tahir ul-Q adri has said he would soon issue a 'fatwa' against terrorism and suicide bom bing. Qadri said the Al-Q aeda has not bee n sufficie ntly challe nge d and that his global ruling against te rrorism com ple tely dismantle s the banned te rror organisation's violent ide ology. In his 600-page ruling, Qadri said Islam forbids the massacre of innoce nt citizens and suicide bom bings. The fatwa also challenges the re ligious m otivations of would-be suicide bom be rs who are inspire d by prom ises of an afte rlife , The BBC re ports. The famous Muslim scholar deve loped his docum ent last year as a re sponse to the sudde n incre ase in suicide bombings across Pak istan. The fatwa, which would be prom ote d in Britain by Q adri's organisation, Minhaj ulQ uran International, would cove r global issue s in an attem pt to get its the ological argum ents take n up by M uslims in western nations. Te rm ing the fatwa as 'hard hitting', Minhaj ul-Q uran International's spoke spe rson Shahid M ursalee n said the ruling would inje ct doubt into the m inds of pote ntial suicide bom be rs. Ex trem ist groups base d in Britain re crui t the youth by brainwashing them that they will with certaint y be re wa rde d in the nex t life . Dr Q adri's fatwa has re moved this k e y inte lle ctual actor from the ir m inds, Mursalee n said. (ANI)

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The Muslim Militant Tendency Tuesday, 2n d March 2010 The fatwa issue d to day by the respecte d I slam ic scho lar Sheikh Dr T ahir ul- Qa dri, ruling that terrorism again st anyone is a violation of Islamic pre cepts, is of cour se we lcom e a s far as it goes. Unfortunately, that’s not like ly to be v ery far when other fat wa s by diff erently respecte d scholars have validated such attacks a s be in g justified an d even m an date d un der Islamic la w. The real pro blem in the UK, m oreover, lie s not simply in the fact that jiha d is bein g wa ge d in and against Britain, but even m ore cr ucia lly in Br itain’s spin ele ss an d in dee d suicidal r esponse to it. Con sider, for exam ple, the rea ction to last night’s Channel Four Dispatche s pro gramm e which expose d the inf iltration of the La bour party in ea st London by m ilitant Islam ists of the Islamic For um for Europe, an d whose fin dings were extensiv ely reporte d in the Sun day Telegr aph. As the La bour MP for Poplar and Cannin g T own observ es, the I FE ha s be com e, in effe ct, a se cret party within Labo ur and other political parties: ‘They are actin g almost a s an entryist organisation, plac ing people within the political parties, recr uitin g m em ber s to those political parties, trying to get in dividuals selected and elected so they can exer cise political influence an d po wer, whether it’s at local gov ernment level or national leve l,’ he sa id. ‘T hey are com pletely at odds with La bo ur’s pro gram me, with our support for sec ularism.’ Mr Fitzpatrick, the MP for Poplar and Cannin g T own, said the I FE had infiltrated and ‘corr upted’ his party in east London in the sam e way that the far-Left M ilitant T endency did in the 1980s. Leaked La bour lists show a 110 per cent rise in party membership in on e constituency in t wo year s. When Militant infiltrated Labo ur in the 1980s, the party effectively went to war a gain st it. It took a heroic effort an d iron determination to expel Militant from its ranks, an d the m edia cov ere d the battle extensively. Yet following the Sun day Tele gr aph story an d the Disp atches progr amme, there has been virtual silence from the rest of the m edia an d from the politicians. This time, a s Britain’ s govern ing party is once a gain suborne d by forces determ ined to overturn Br itish society, both the media and the Labo ur party appe ar to be looking the other way. Sheikh ul-Qadri is therefore not just at odds with the fanatic s in his own religion, but even worse is fatally undermine d by the cowar dice and paralysis of the British gov erning cla ss.

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Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The Associated Pre ss Updated 9:41 AM T uesday, M arch 2, 2010 LONDON — T he lea der of a glo bal M uslim movem ent has issued a f at wa, or religious e dict, that he calls an a bsolute condemnation of terrorism. Muham mad T ahir- ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani la wm aker, says the 600-pa ge fatwa ban s suicide bom bin g " without any exc use s, any pr etexts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qa dr i ha s issued sim ilar, shorter decrees, but T uesday's ev ent in Lon don was public ized by the Quilliam Fo un dation, a government-funde d anti-extremism think tank and dre w strong me dia attention. The religio us scholar is the fo under of Minh aj-ul- Quran, a wor ldwide m ovement that promotes a nonpolitical, toler ant Islam . T he group h as h undr eds of tho usan ds of fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other co untries.

Leading Musli ms s chol ar Dr Muham mad Tahir-ul -Qadri hol ds hi s F at wa on s uicide bombings and terroris m, as he s peaks at its UK l aunch hel d by non-governmental organization Mi nhaj -ul-Quran Int ernational (MQI) in London, Tues day, March 2, 2010. The fat wa is an Isl amic decree that condemns s ui cide bombi ngs and terrorist atrociti es along with their perpetrat ors.(AP Photo/Aki ra Suem ori)

Leading Musli ms s chol ar Dr Muham mad Tahir-ul -Qadri speaks at t he UK launch of the F atwa on sui ci de bombi ngs and t errori sm hel d by non-government al organi zation M inhaj-ul -Quran International (M QI) in London, Tuesday, M arch 2, 2010. The fat wa is an Isl ami c decree that condem ns s uicide bombings and terrorist atrociti es along with their perpetrat ors.(AP Photo/Aki ra Suem ori)

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UK M US LIM LEAD ER TO ISSUE FA TWA AGAINS T J IHAD

BY JONNY PAUL THE JE RUSALEM POST Ruling is m ost com prehensiv e theolo gic al ref utation of Islamist terrorism. Talkba cks (11) LONDON – A revere d mainstream M uslim scholar is set to announ ce in London on T uesday a fatwa (Muslim ruling) aga inst terrorism and suic ide bom bin g in the nam e of Islam . Sheikh Dr. Tahir ul-Qa dr i, a wide ly reco gnize d and respecte d a uthority on Islamic jurispr uden ce, will issue a com prehen siv e fat wa proh ibiting terrorism and suic ide bom bin g at a press conference in Westm inster, centralLondon. The Pakistani- born Dr. Qa dr i has authore d an unpre cedente d, 600-page fat wa on why suic ide bom bin gs and terrorism are un-I slam ic an d script urally for bidden. T he r ulin g is the m ost com prehensiv e theolo gic al ref utation of Islam ist terrorism to date. The fatwa will also be posted on the Internet and in English, makin g it rea dily acc essible. It will also set an important prece dent an d allow other scholars to similarly condemn the idea s behin d terrorism. Dr. Qa dri has use d texts in the Kor an an d other Islam ic writings to argue that suicide and other terrorist attacks are “a bso lutely a gainst the teachings ofIslam ” and that “Islam doe s not permit such acts on any ex c use, rea son or pretext.” The fatwa con dem ns suic ide bom bers as destine d for hell, r efuting the c laim used by Islam ists that such terrorists will earn par adise after de ath. “T oday’s trage dy is that terrorists, murderer s, mischief-mon ger s an d rioter s try to prove their crim inal, re bellious, tyrannous, br utal an d blasph em ous activitie s a s a r ight and a justified reaction to foreign a ggr ession under the garb of defen se ofIslam and national intere sts,” he says a bout suic ide bom bin g. 188

“It can in no way be perm issible to keep for eign dele gate s under unlawf ul c ustody an d m urder them and other pe aceful non-Muslim citizens in retaliation for interferen ce, unjust activitie s an d aggr essive a dvance s of their countrie s,” Qadri sa id, a sserting, “ T he one who do es h as no r elation toIslam .” Dr. Qa dri is the fo under of the international Minh aj- ul- Quran m ovement. Supporters say his fatwa is signif icant beca use he is issuin g it him self and his movem ent, a m ajor gra ss-roots globa l organization, ha s h un dreds of thousan ds of follo wers in South Asia and the UK. The move has been welcomed by the Quilliam Fo un dation, a London- base d anti-extremism thinktank led by former Islamists. “T his fatwa has the potential to be a high ly significant step towards era dicatin g Islamist terrorism ,” a Quilliam spokesper son said. “Fatwas by Wahha bi-influenced cler ics and I slamist ideolo gue s initiated mo dern terrorism against civilian s. T errorist gro ups such as al- Qaida continue to justify their m ass killin gs with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. “Fatwas that demolish an d expose such theological innovations will con sign I slam ist terrorism to the dust bin of history.” London’ s Centre for Social Cohe sion think-tank ha s also welcomed the in itiative. CSC director Douglas M urray be liev es that in rec ent years, and since the July 2005 terrorist attack in Lon don, Muslim lea der s have faile d to un e quivoc ally con dem n violence com mitted in the nam e of Islam . “A sentence that m ay to m any people seem clear, such a s ‘T here c an be no justific ation for the killing of innocent people’ is fille d with cave ats – wh at is an ‘innocent’ per son? W ho decides who is or is not ‘innocent’? “T oo m any Muslim religio us figures soun d a s if they are con demnin g violence when in fact they are merely con dem nin g violence in certain sit uations, a gain st certain peop le,” h e said. Murray said the fat wa takes a way the caveats an d will have f ar-rea chin g conse quen ce s. Ho wever he said it won’t stop Islam ic terrorism instantaneously. “Dr. ul- Qa dri is re spected for his a bility to cross som e of the notable sectarian boundaries that abo und in the Islam ic faith as in a ll others. Even M uslim s who might dislik e him will not be a ble to dism iss him o ut of hand. “Yet even if the contents of this fatwa are what people h ave lon g hope d for, it will not, of course, stop Islamic terrorism straight away. A single fat wa will not change the level of denial an d lack of self- criticism inherent in so m uch of mo dern I slam. Nor will it stop every f evered youn g r a dic al eager to kill an d m aim . But the trickle-do wn effect is im portant. The m ost violent interpretations of Islam have indeed trick le d do wn to terrorists via learne d scholar s,” he said.

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http://www.st udentne wsda ily.com /da ily- news -article/printer - friendly/m uslim - leaders- e dict - decr ie sterrorism/ Daily News Arti cle - March 3, 2010

Muslim leader’s edict decries terrorism (by Nicholas Krale v, WashingtonTimes.com) - The leader of a glo bal M uslim m ovement Tuesday issue d a rare religious e dict condem ning terrorism and denounc in g suicide bombers a s "heroes of h ellf ire" in an effort to help prevent the radicalization of young British Muslim s. The State Departm ent we lcom ed the 600-pa ge docum ent kno wn as a f at wa, which wa s re lease d in London with the Br itish government's support, as a "very im portant step" in "taking back I slam" from al Qae da and other extremist gro up s. Muham mad Tahir- ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani la wm aker an d a lea ding scholar of Islam, has issue d sim ilar, shorter decr ee s in the past. But the ne w fatwa m akes the most detailed and com prehen sive case aga inst Islamic extrem ism by a M uslim, diplom ats and analysts said. "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is violence, and it has no place in Islamic teachin g, an d no justific ation can be provide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or if s or buts," M r. T ahir-ul- Qa dri said at a ne ws conf erence in Lon don. "Good intentions c annot convert a wron g into good; they cannot convert an evil into goo d." It wa s not clear ho w m uch inf luence the fatwa will have in the broa d M uslim world or ev en o utside the South Asian comm unity who se m ember s are Mr. Tahir-ul-Qadri's m ost de dicate d follo wers. Tim othy R. Furnish, a historian of Islam, said the fat wa may not carry sign ific ant weight for m any Muslim s be ca use M r. T ahir-ul- Qa dri is a Suf i Muslim, and not a Koranic litera list, as are such Sunni group s a s the W ahhabis an d the Sa lafis, who form the core of gro up s such a s al Qae da. "It would se em to be simply another exam ple of this centuries- long Suf i/Wahha bi- Salafi spat over how to interpret the authoritative texts of Islam," sa id M r. Furnish, who noted that he has not rea d Tuesday's f atwa. " For every such lega l prono uncement, there is an antithetical one from the literalist cam p ..., which justifies such attacks with clear Koranic and Ha dith [T raditions] citations." In recent year s, Britain ha s cop ed with gro win g ra dicaliz ation among its M uslim yo uths - a dev elopment that also has attracted yo un g Muslims from other countrie s to study at British schoo ls. One of them is Um ar Faro uk Abdulm utallab, the 23-year-old Niger ian who later re ceiv ed trainin g from al Qae da and is ch ar ged with trying to blow up a Detroit-boun d air liner in Decem ber. Mr. Tahir-ul-Qa dri, fo under of the Minhaj-ul- Quran worldwide movem ent promoting a tolerant Islam, and his follo wers hope that his fat wa will sho w those yo uths an a lternative to extremism, said Ghaff ar Hussein, a spokesman for the Quilliam Foundation, a British governm ent-fun de d think tank. 190

The foundation's backing and promotion of T uesday 's event dr e w m uch more m edia an d p ublic attention than it wo uld have re ceiv ed otherwise, accordin g to British pre ss r eports. "This fatwa ha s the potential to be a highly significant step towar ds era dic ating Islamist terrorism ," Mr. Hussein sa id. "Terrorist groups, such as al Qaeda, contin ue to justify their mass killin gs with self- serv in g rea din gs of r eligio us scr ipture. Fatwas that dem olish an d expo se such theological innovations will consign I slam ist terrorism to the dustbin of history." In a disp lay of officia l support for Mr. Tahir-ul-Qadri's teachings, his ne ws confer ence wa s attended by m em ber s of Parliam ent and repre sentatives of Lon don's Metropolitan Police. He spoke in both English an d Ara bic, an d an En glish translation of the fat wa is expected in the coming week s, said people who attende d the ev ent. Mr. Tahir-ul-Qa dri sa id that terrorism should never be "considered jiha d," or ho ly war. "They can't claim that their suicide bom bings are martyrdom operation s, an d that they become the heroes of the M uslim Umma," he said in ref erence to the wider Muslim comm unity. "No, they become heroe s of hellfire, an d they are lea din g to war ds h ellf ire." ... Mr. Tahir-ul-Qa dri's fat wa echoe d efforts by anti-extrem ist Muslim s to use their re ligion to co unter terrorists. In October, a senior M uslim cleric, gr and mufti Ali Gom aa of E gypt, told e ditors and reporter s at The Washington T imes that one strategy has been to try to declare terrorists "un-Islam ic." But he also warne d that going too far co uld prom pt gre ater division s rather than persua de radicals to chan ge. Juan Zarate, senior adv iser at the Center for Strategic an d International Studie s an d a form er counterterrorism officia l at the National Sec urity Co uncil in the George W. Bush White House, said the new fat wa is im portant because it "adds to the gro win g list of rejection s of al Qae da's ideology" and is a "p ublic recogn ition" of the group's "declinin g popularity an d le gitimacy." Ro b Satloff, exe cutive dire ctor of the Washington Institute for Near Ea st Policy, said the fatwa undo ubtedly will have "a usef ul, positive impact among Pak istanis and other So uth Asian s," who form the base of M inh aj- ul-Quran's m em ber ship of h un dr eds of tho usan ds. Ho wever, globally, "any one partic ular fat wa, esp ecially by an imam known pre dominantly in a sin gle ethnic an d linguistic gro up, is proba bly not too conse quential," M r. Satloff sa id. "It's all very po sitive an d very welcom e, but there remain lo ud and influential voice s ar guin g the opposite vie w - that 'inva ders,' 'Cr usa der s' an d 'Zion ists' are all le gitimate targets, some wh erever they may be fo und," he added. "It is important to am plify the voices of mo deration an d margin alize the voices of r a dic alism ."

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Muslim leader to condemn terrorists Mar 2 2010 The lea der of a worldwide Muslim m ovement with thousan ds of followers in the UK is due to issue a fat wa - or Islamic religio us r ulin g - con dem ning terrorism and warnin g suicide bombers that they are " de stine d for hell". Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dri, fo under of the glo bal Minha j- ul- Quran movement, will make the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or re ligio us e dict, condemning terrorism an d suic ide bom bin g at a ne ws conference in Lon don. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that "suicide bom bin gs and attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam, in other wor ds, to be un be lievers". Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj-ul- Quran UK, said: " He has hit hard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from consider in g suicide bom ber s as 'martyrs'. T his f at wa in jects do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom ber s. Extremist gro up s ba sed in Britain re cr uit youth by bra inwashin g them that they will 'with certainty' be re war de d in the next life an d Dr Qa dr i's f at wa has rem ove d this k ey intellectual factor from their m inds." The fatwa h as been billed as " arguably the m ost com prehensive" theolo gic al ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by co unter extremism think tank the Quilliam foun dation. A Quilliam spoke sman said: "Terrorist group s such a s a l Qaida continue to justify their m ass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. Fat wa s that demolish and expose such theological innovations will consign I slam ist terrorism to the dustbin of history." Com munitie s M inister Shahid Malik, who se De wsbury constituency wa s home to 7/7 bom ber Moham mad Siddique Khan, welcome d the fat wa. "It is incumbent on M uslims to stan d up for their faith - when 7/7 occ urred those fo ur evil youn g m en kille d them selves and over 50 innocent people beca use they follo wed a t wisted an d perverte d interpretation of Islam which told them by doin g so they wo uld go to heaven," he said. "A clear an d un equivoc al message m ust go o ut that Islam teaches that these fo ur are not m artyrs goin g to heaven but sinner s going som ewhere very different inde ed. Hence, I v ery much welcome the work of Dr Qa dri in helpin g reinforce this most cr uc ial of m e ssa ge to M uslims an d nonMuslim s a like."

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The Minhaj-ul-Quaran movem ent runs co urses in combating religio us extremism in e ducational centres throughout Britain includin g Lon don, Birmin gham, Manche ster, Ne lson, W alsa ll, Gla sgo w and Dun de e. A fatwa, an edict issue d by a learn ed Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the we stern world in 1989 after the a uthor Salm an Rush die wa s force d into hiding follo win g a "death fat wa" issue d by Ayatollah Khom eni, then Supr eme Lea der of Iran, on the gro unds that his book, the Satanic Ver se s ha d "insulted" I slam.

http://www.sunnim uslimsn ews.co. cc/2010/03/m uslim - leader - issue s- fat wa- a ga inst.htm l

Muslim leader issues fatwa against terrorists London: Influential Pakistani Islamic scholar,Shakul Islam Dr. Tahir ul-Q adri, on Tue sday issued a 600-page fatwa condem ning te rrorists and suicide bom be rs. The fatwa is a point by point theological rebuttal to fanaticism of al-Q aida and its offshoots. "The re ality is that whate ver the se te rrorists are doing isn't m artyrdom. All the se activitie s are taking them to hellfire ,'' Q adri said in a statement. He said Islam forbids massacre of innoce nt citizens and describe d al-Q aida as "an old e vil with a ne w name ''. Policymake rs and security chiefs will follow the im pact of the ruling with kee n intere st. "I'll say that 50% (of those prone to viole nce ) will change their way, they will be influenced. Of the rem aining 50% at le ast some of them, half of them , will become doubtful about their life , their terrorist activity,'' said C ambridge University Islamic Studies le cturer, Tim W inte r, in his asse ssme nt to Sky Ne ws. He said the re have been similar fatwas in the past, but Q adri's e dict had gone furthe r than most. "Those who are already hardline rs will pay no atte ntion at all but swing voters — poorly-educate d and angry Muslim s who respect mainstream scholars — will probably take note ,'' he said. "Certainly it's a helpful initiative .'' The influe ntial scholar, who be longs to Sufism 's Q adri orde r, has bee n at the fore front of promoting pe ace and inte rfaith dialogue and heads an inte rnational religious and educational organisation — Minhaj ul-Q uran. He said he was compelle d to issue the fatwa be cause of the radicalisation of British Muslims on university cam puses and the absence of criticism of this phenom enon by Islam ic clerics. Shahid Mursalee n, spoke sm an for Minhaj-ul-Quran in the UK, said the fatwa was hardhitting and would "inje ct doubt into the minds of potential suicide bom be rs''. The docume nt isn't the first to condemn te rrorism and suicide bombing to be launche d in the UK. Following the terrorist attacks in London during July 2005, many scholars came toge the r to de nounce the bombe rs and urge communitie s to root out e xtremists 193

http://www.sun - sentine l.com/news/nation wor ld/sns- ap- e u- britain- anti- terror- fatwa,0,980121.story

Pakistan-born Muslim leader issues 600-page antiterror fatwa in London

Leading Mus lims s cholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri speaks at the U K launch of the Fatwa on suic ide bom bings and terrorism held by non-gov ernmental organization Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) in London, Tuesday , March 2, 2010. The fatwa is an Islamic decree that c ondem ns suic ide bombings and terroris t atroc it ies along with their perpetrators.(AP Photo/Ak ira Suem ori) (Akira Suemori, AP / March 2, 2010)

LONDON (AP) — The le a der of a global M uslim m ovement has issue d a fat wa, or r eligio us e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muham mad T ahir- ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani la wm aker, says the 600-pa ge fatwa ban s suicide bom bin g " without any exc use s, any pr etexts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qa dr i ha s issued sim ilar, shorter decrees, but T uesday's ev ent in Lon don was public ized by the Quilliam Fo un dation, a government-funde d anti-extremism think tank and dre w strong me dia attention. The religio us scholar is the fo under of Minh aj-ul- Quran, a wor ldwide m ovement that promotes a nonpolitical, toler ant Islam . T he group h as h undr eds of tho usan ds of fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other co untries. 194

http://www.taipein ews.net/story/607422

Islam leader condemns terrorists in fatwa Taip ei N ews .N et Tues d ay 2 nd M arch , 20 10

A M uslim leader in the UK ha s anno unc e d a spec ial r eligio us r ulin g, other wise kno wn as a fat wa, against terrorism in the name of Islam . The widely resp ected a uthority on Islamic la w, Dr T ahir Qa dri, has issued the fat wa, which condem ns terrorism an d suicide bombing. Dr Qadri ha s a ddr esse d a pre ss conference in We stm inster, central Lon don, to talk abo ut why suic ide bom bin gs and terrorism are un-I slam ic an d script urally for bidden. His theolo gical ref utation of Islam ist terrorism is lik ely to be discussed widely amongst the worlds Muslim population an d will be po sted on the Internet in En glish an d Ar abic, m akin g it rea dily acce ssible. Dr Qadri ha s used texts from the Koran to argue that Islam does not permit such a cts "on any exc use, rea son or pretext" referin g to a pa ssa ge in the Quran in which the death of one innocent is aligned with the death of all h umanity. His fat wa condemns suicide bombers as destine d for hell, r ef uting the c laim use d by extem ists that such terrorists will earn par adise after de ath. In his po sting on terrorism he says: "T oday’ s tra gedy is that terrorists, m ur derer s, m ischief-mongers and r ioters try to prove their criminal, rebellio us, tyranno us, br utal and blasphemous activitie s as a right an d a justifie d rea ction to foreign a ggre ssion un der the gar b of def ense of Islam and national interests. It can in no way be perm issible to keep fore ign delegates under unla wful custody an d murder them and other pea cef ul non-M uslim citiz ens in retaliation for interferenc e, unjust activities and aggressive adv ance s of their countrie s. T he one who doe s ha s no relation to Islam." Dr Qadri's international or ganisation, the Minhaj- ul- Quran m ovement, has many supporter s throughout the world.

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Muslim leader to condem n terrorists The lea der of a worldwide Muslim m ovement with thousan ds of followers in the UK is due to issue a fat wa - or Islamic religio us r ulin g - con dem ning terrorism and warnin g suicide bombers that they are " de stine d for hell". Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dri, fo under of the glo bal Minha j- ul- Quran movement, will make the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or re ligio us e dict, condemning terrorism an d suic ide bom bin g at a ne ws conference in Lon don. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that "suicide bom bin gs and attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam, in other wor ds, to be un be lievers". Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj-ul- Quran UK, said: " He has hit hard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from consider in g suicide bom ber s as 'martyrs'. T his f at wa in jects do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom ber s. Extremist gro up s ba sed in Britain re cr uit youth by bra inwashin g them that they will 'with certainty' be re war de d in the next life an d Dr Qa dr i's f at wa has rem ove d this k ey intellectual factor from their m inds." The fatwa h as been billed as " arguably the m ost com prehensive" theolo gic al ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by co unter extremism think tank the Quilliam foun dation. A Quilliam spoke sman said: "Terrorist group s such a s a l Qaida continue to justify their m ass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. Fat wa s that demolish and expose such theological innovations will consign I slam ist terrorism to the dustbin of history." Com munitie s M inister Shahid Malik, who se De wsbury constituency wa s home to 7/7 bom ber Moham mad Siddique Khan, welcome d the fat wa. "It is incumbent on M uslims to stan d up for their faith - when 7/7 occ urred those fo ur evil youn g m en kille d them selves and over 50 innocent people beca use they follo wed a t wisted an d perverte d interpretation of Islam which told them by doin g so they wo uld go to heaven," he said. "A clear an d un equivoc al message m ust go o ut that Islam teaches that these fo ur are not m artyrs goin g to heaven but sinner s going som ewhere very different inde ed. Hence, I v ery much welcome 196

the work of Dr Qa dri in helpin g reinforce this most cr uc ial of m e ssa ge to M uslims an d nonMuslim s a like." The Minhaj-ul-Quaran movem ent runs co urses in combating religio us extremism in e ducational centres throughout Britain includin g Lon don, Birmin gham, Manche ster, Ne lson, W alsa ll, Gla sgo w and Dun de e. A fatwa, an edict issue d by a learn ed Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the we stern world in 1989 after the a uthor Salm an Rushdie wa s force d into hiding follo win g a "death fat wa" issue d by Ayatollah Khom eni, then Supr eme Lea der of Iran, on the gro unds that his book, the Satanic Ver se s ha d "insulted" Islam.

http://www.the atlantic.com/inte rnational/archive /2010/03/worldwide-fatwa-issue d-againstterrorism/36913/

Worldwide Fatwa Is Issued Against Terrorism Mar 2 2010, 1:30 PM ET Pakis tani re ligio us scho lar Dr. Muhamm ad Tahir ul-Qadr i prese nted the 600 page docum ent at an ex tremely we ll-covered news conf erence in Lo ndon tod ay. Dr. ul-Q adri prom ised tha t ac cording to I slamic princ iple s, suicid e bombers would go to he ll. He hopes the fa twa will help Muslim s, esp ecially young men, sta y away from extrem ist gro ups that use v iole nce . Dr. Tahir ul-Qadr i has been a long-time advo ca te for peace and inte rfaith dialog ue and founded the gr oup Minhaj- ul -Quran.

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Fatwa to condemn terrorism to be issued The leader of a worldwide Muslim movement with thousands of foll owers i n the UK will today i ssue a fatwa - or Islamic religious ruli ng condemni ng terrori sm and warning suicide bombers that they are "desti ned for hell". Publishe d: 9:11 AM GMT 02 Mar 2010 Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dri, fo under of the glo bal Minha j- ul- Koran movement, will make the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or re ligio us e dict, condemning terrorism an d suic ide bom bin g at a ne ws conference in Lon don. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that "suicide bom bin gs and attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam, in other wor ds, to be un be lievers". Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj-ul- Koran UK, said: " He has hit hard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from consider in g suicide bom ber s as 'martyrs'. T his f at wa in jects do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom ber s. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain recruit yo uth by brain washin g them that they will 'with certainty' be r e war de d in the next lif e an d Dr Qa dri's fat wa has rem oved this key intellect ual f actor from their minds." The Quilliam foun dation, the counter-extrem ism think-tank, de scribed the fat wa as "ar gua bly the most comprehensive" theological r ef utation of Islam ic terrorism to date. A Quilliam spoke sman said: "Terrorist group s such a s a l-Qaeda contin ue to justify their m ass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. "Fat wa s that demolish and expose such theolo gic al innov ations will con sign I slam ist terrorism to the dust bin of history." The Minhaj-ul-Quaran movem ent runs co urses in combating religio us extremism in e ducational centres throughout Britain includin g Lon don, Birmin gham, Manche ster, Ne lson, W alsa ll, Gla sgo w and Dun de e. A fatwa, an edict issue d by a learn ed Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the western world in 1989 after the author Sir Salm an Rushdie wa s forced into hiding follo win g a "de ath fatwa" issue d by Ayatollah Khom ene i, then Supreme Leader of Iran, on the gro unds that his book, the Satanic Verses ha d "in sulted" I slam. 198

Shahid Ma lik, the Com munities M in ister, whose De wsbury con stituen cy was hom e to the lea d 7/7 bom ber Moham mad Siddique Khan, welcom e d the fatwa. "It is inc um bent on Muslim s to stand up for their faith – wh en 7/7 oc curred those fo ur evil yo ung men killed them selves an d over 50 innocent people beca use they followed a t wiste d an d perv erted interpretation of Islam which told them by do ing so they wo uld go to heaven," he said. "A clear an d un equivoc al message m ust go o ut that Islam teaches that these fo ur are not m artyrs goin g to heaven but sinner s going som ewhere very different inde ed. "Hence, I very much welcome the work of Dr Qa dri in h elping r einforc e this m ost crucial of message to Muslim s an d non-M uslim s alike." Islamic scho lar Shaikh Moham med Hisham Kabbani, of the Centre for Spirituality and Cultura l Advanc ement, also welcomed the fat wa. "This scho larship is a landmark in en a blin g M uslims living in the UK to be able to silence the sm all minority of people who think it is OK to com mit violent acts in the nam e of Islam," he sa id. "We are happy an d honoured to be workin g with Dr Qa dri an d Minh aj- ul- Koran to support the UK Muslim s in co untering the ra dical Islamist rhetoric in the world."

http://www.the star.co.z a/index.php?fArticleId=5375419 Marc h 03, 2010 Edition 3

Fatwa bans suicide bombing LONDON : The leader of a g lobal Muslim movement h as issued a religious edict that he calls an absolute condemnat ion of terro rism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri, a fo rmer Pakistani law maker, said the fatwa bans suicide bomb ing "without any excuses, any pretexts or exceptions". He w as hosted in London by the Quilliam Foundation , a govern ment -funded ant i-extremism th ink-

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Anti-terrorism fatwa launched in London

O n 2 M arc h, the reno wned, mainstream M uslim sc holar Shaikh D r T ahir ul-Q adri issued a com prehensive fatwa (religious r uling) pro hibiting terr oris m and suic ide bombing at a press conferenc e in Wes tm ins ter, L ondon. Founder of the international M inhaj- ul-Q uran movem ent, his fat wa is s ignificant because: - M inhaj-ul-Q uran is a m ajor grass - roots organis ation with hu ndreds o f tho us ands of follo wers in South A sia and the UK. - Shaikh D r T ahir ul-Q adri is a widely recognis ed and res pec ted authority o n I s lam ic juris prudence. - T he fatwa c ondemns s uicide bombers as des tined for hell, whic h helps remove extremis ts ’ certainty of earni ng paradis e after death. - T he 6 00 - page fatwa is arguably t he m os t comprehensive theologic al refutation o f I s lam ist terroris m to date. - D r Tahir ul-Q adri’s fatwa will s et an im porta nt p rec edent and will allow other sc holars to similarly c ondemn the ideas behind terroris m. A Q uilliam spokes pers on said: “This fatwa has the potential to be a highly signific ant step towar ds eradic ating I s lam ist terroris m. Fatwas by Wahha bi- influenc ed c lerics and I slamis t ideologues initiated modern terroris m against civilians . T erroris t groups suc h as al-Q aeda continue to justify their mas s killings with s elf- s erving readings of religious s cripture. Fatwas that dem olis h and expos e suc h theological innovations will c ons ign I slamis t terrorism to the dus tbin of his tory.” Q uilliam is Britain's first c ounter- extrem ism think tank . I t is an inde pendent organization.Fo r further inform ation, pleas e c all Q uilliam's media line on 0 207 18 2 7 286 or 07590 229 91 7 or

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em ail media@ quilliamfoundation.or g.

http://www.thaindian. com /ne wsportal/so uth - asia/pakistani- islam ic- scho lar - to- issue-600- p a gefatwa- a gainst - terrorism -suicide- bombing_100328463.html

Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing London, Mar.2 (ANI): De scribin g Al-Qae da as an ‘old ev il with a ne w nam e’, influential Pakistani scholar Dr T ahir ul-Qa dri has said he wo uld soon issue a ‘fat wa’ a gain st terrorism and suicide bom bin g. Qa dri sa id the Al- Qae da ha s not been sufficiently cha llen ge d an d that his global r ulin g aga inst terrorism completely dism antle s the banne d terror or ganisation’ s violent ideolo gy. In his 600-page ruling, Qa dri said Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citiz ens and suicide bom bin gs. The fatwa also cha llen ges the religio us m otivations of would-be suic ide bombers who are inspire d by prom ises of an afterlif e, The BBC r eports. The fam ous M uslim scho lar develope d h is do cum ent last year a s a r esponse to the sudden increase in suicide bom bin gs across Pakistan. The fatwa, which would be promoted in Britain by Qadri’s organisation, M inha j ul- Quran International, would cover glo bal issues in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslim s in we stern nations. Terming the fatwa as ‘har d hitting’, M inh aj ul-Quran International’s spoke sper son Shahid Mursale en said the ruling wo uld inje ct do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bombers. “ Extrem ist groups base d in Br itain recruit the youth by brain washin g them that they will with certainty be re war ded in the next life. Dr Qa dr i’s fat wa has remove d this k ey intellectual factor from their minds,” M ursale en said. ( ANI)

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Muslim leader to condemn terrorists The lea der of a worldwide Muslim m ovement with thousan ds of followers in the UK is due to issue a fat wa - or Islamic religio us r ulin g - con dem ning terrorism and warnin g suicide bombers that they are " de stine d for hell". Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dri, fo under of the glo bal Minha j- ul- Quran movement, will make the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or re ligio us e dict, condemning terrorism an d suic ide bom bin g at a ne ws conference in Lon don. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that "suicide bom bin gs and attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam, in other wor ds, to be un be lievers". Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj-ul- Quran UK, said: " He has hit har d on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from consider in g suicide bom ber s as 'martyrs'. T his f at wa in jects do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom ber s. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain recruit yo uth by brain washin g them that they will 'with certainty' be r e war de d in the next lif e an d Dr Qa dri's fat wa has rem oved this key intellect ual f actor from their minds." The fatwa h as been billed as " arguably the m ost com prehensive" theolo gic al ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by co unter extremism think tank the Quilliam foun dation. A Quilliam spoke sman said: "Terrorist group s such a s a l Qaida continue to justify their m ass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. "Fat wa s that demolish and expose such theolo gic al innov ations will con sign I slam ist terrorism to the dust bin of history." The Minhaj-ul-Quaran movem ent runs co urses in combating religio us extremism in e ducational centres throughout Britain includin g Lon don, Birmin gham, Manche ster, Ne lson, W alsa ll, Gla sgo w and Dun de e. A fatwa, an edict issue d by a learn ed Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the we stern world in 1989 after the a uthor Salm an Rush die wa s force d into hiding follo win g a "death fat wa" issue d by Ayatollah Khom eni, then Supr eme Lea der of Iran, on the gro unds that his book, the Satanic Ver se s ha d "insulted" I slam.

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Anti-terror fatwa to de-radicalise students March 04, 2010 The historic fat wa on te rro rism by a re nowne d Islam ic scholar will be used as an effe ctive 'tool' to de -radicalise M uslim students at British cam puses. Minhaj-ul-Q uran will use this historic Fatwa to de -radicalise youth at Bri tish universitie s in the UK. Dr Tahir-ul-Q adri has hit hard on the te rrorists as it pre ve nts Islam ists from conside ring suicide bom be rs as ‘martyrs’ and it will cre ate doubt in the minds of potential radicals. Shahid Mursalee n, spokesman for M inhaj-ul-Q uran UK said: "This historic docum e nt will play a vital role in the fight against te rror and this fatwa has all the evide nce s from the classical sources to refute the ide ologie s which e x tre m ist groups in the UK use to brainwash the youth. "The fatwa will be translated into m ainstre am language s." The fatwa re cei ved m assive m e dia atte ntion due to its importance in the fight against terrorism . Afghanistan pre side nt Hamid Karzai has re que sted a copy of the fatwa from M inhaj-ulQ uran. Some extraxts fr om t he Fatw a Ter ro r ist acts e xp el a Mus lim fr om I slam W hile m ost M uslim scholars denounce terrorism , Shayk h-ul-Islam Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Q adri goes that crucial ste p forward and announce s cate gorically that suicide bom bings and attacks against civilian targe ts are not only condem ne d by Islam, but rende r the pe rpe trators totally out of the fold of Islam , to becom e unbe lie vers in the divine , pristine me ssage of Islam . This em powering, unpre cedented fat wa stre ngthe ns troops and civil society bodie s that are engaged in counte r te rrorism operations, and ex pels te rrorists from within Islam . Hell, not hea ve n

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Te rrorists comm it acts of self and m ass m urder with the firm conviction that they will be re warded by God; that the y are heave n bound. For the first tim e in contem porary Muslim discourse , this fatwa convin cingl y advances scriptu ral evidence to dem onstrate that the perpetrators of suicide bom bings are de stined for he ll, not heaven. This bold Islam ic vie w, am plified prope rly, will in ject doubt into the m inds of aspiring suicide bom be rs and the re by pre vent them from this he inous crim e. No ter ro r ism , eve n in war tim e Modern te rro rists justify their indiscrim inate k illings by claim ing that Islam ic scripture allows such cam paigns in war. This fat wa ope ns ne w ground by citing Islam ic source s whi ch prohibit k illing of wom e n, childre n, e lde rs, re ligious leaders, business pe ople, non-com batants and e ven se rvice personnel not engage d in aggression. C ontrary to the m indset of the perpetrators of the 11th of Se ptember 2001 attacks in Ne w York or the 7th July 2005 tube bom bs in London, dam aging enem y prope rty or ave nging a wrong done by anothe r is strictl y prohibite d by sound Islamic scholarship. A l-Qaeda, o ld e vil wit h a new name The Prophet Moham mad (pe ace be upon him) wa rne d his followe rs about the dange rs of extrem ism and te rrorism . This fatwa collects e vidence from early Islam ic history about a group of viole nt re ne gades known as the Khawarij, the te rro rist m oveme nt, em erged in the nam e of Islam ic rule , unive rsally accepted as be ing outside the fold of Islam by virtue of their ex tre me be liefs, viole nt acts, te rro rism and constantly labelling other Muslim s as disbe lievers. Al-Qaeda and its affiliate s not only share the se character t raits, but share a the ological and political outlook that is alm ost ide ntical. This fatwa enlists classical source s to illustrate that the vast m ajority of Muslim scholars, past and pre sent, conside r the Khawarij, the founde rs of te rrorism , to be totally un-Islam ic. The te rrorists are the Kha wari j of our tim e , based on direct evidence from the Q ur’an and Sunnah."

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Islamic scholar Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri issues anti-terrorism fatwa A P RO MINENT Islamic scholar will use a speech in London to issue a 600-page religious e dict de nouncing terrorists and suicide bombe rs as "unbelie ve rs." M uham mad T ahir ul Q adri is a leading figure who has promoted peac e and interfaith dialogue for 3 0 years, Sky News reports. He s aid he felt compelled to iss ue the fatwa because of c onc erns about the radicalisation of British M uslims at univers ity cam pus es and bec aus e there had been a lack of c ondem nation o f extrem ism by M uslim clerics and sc holars. Ul Q adri s ays his fat wa, whic h is aim ed at pers uading you ng M uslims to turn t heir bac ks on extrem ism , goes further than any previous den unc iation. "This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written," said ul Q adri, who has written a bout 35 0 books on Is lam ic s c holars hip. He is a sc holar of Sufism , a lo ng tradition within I s lam which is widely s een as foc using on peac e, toleranc e and moderation . Nigerian-born Um ar Farouk A bdulmutallab, ac c us ed of trying to bom b a US- bound plane o n Christm as Day, s tudied at a L ondon univers ity until 2 0 08 . Government offic ials in Y emen, whe re M utallab began his journey, s aid he was ra dicalised while in Britain . However, the British G overnment c laim s his introduc tion to hardc ore extremis ts happened after he left the U K. Government offic ials will be among thos e joining ul Q adri for the lau nc h of the fat wa in c entral L ondon. The M uslim C ouncil of Britain, an um brella organis ation representing some 50 0 Is lamic groups, welc om ed the ne w position. Ul Q adri will tell his audienc e, "T he reality is that whatever thes e terrorists are doing it is not martyrdom . A ll these ac tivities are taking t hem to hellfire." The 59- year- old was born in Pakistan and is head of the global M inhaj ul Q uran religious and educ ational organisation, which s preads his Sufi ideas . A form er Pakistani minister and ass ociate of as sassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide promoting his mes sage of harmo ny an d was one of the first M us lim leaders to condem n the 9/1 1 attac ks in the U S.

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Fatwa condemns terrorists LO NDO N: A leading Muslim scholar in Britain has issue d a fatwa condem ning te rrorists and suicide bombe rs, saying the y had no justification in the name of Islam. Pakistan-born T ahir ul- Qa dri said there were no "ifs or buts" abo ut terrorism, in a news confer ence attende d by officers from Lon don's M etropolitan Police, MPs, charitable or ganisation s an d think tanks. British imams sho uld pronounce suicide bom ber s as "un believer s" who are de stine d for he ll, Dr Qa dri declared, addin g that he wante d to convey the messa ge that acts of terrorism cut people off a s true followers of I slam . "T hey can't claim that their suic ide bom bin gs are m artyrdom operations and that they becom e the heroe s of the Muslim Umm a (the wider M uslim community)," he said. "No, they become heroes of he llfire, and they are lea din g to war ds h ellf ire. "There is no place for any martyrdom and their a ct is nev er, ever to be con sidered jiha d." Dr Qadri said h is 600-p age fat wa, or religious r uling, wa s an "a bsolute" con demnation of terrorism without "any ex cuses or pr etexts". " Good intentions c annot convert a wrong into good, they cannot convert an evil into good," he sa id. "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is violence and it has no place in Islam ic teach in g an d no justific ation can be provide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or if s or buts." Dr Qadri said I slam wa s a religion of peac e that promotes beauty, betterment, goodne ss an d "negates a ll form of m ischief and strife". The fatwa will be tran slate d into English and made availa ble online in an attem pt to counter extremist versions of Islam availa ble on the internet. AFP

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Pak Islamic scholar to issue fatwa against suicide bombing De scribing al- Qae da a s an 'old evil with a ne w n ame', influential Pakistani scholar Dr T ahir ulQa dri h as sa id he would soon issue a 'fat wa' a gain st terrorism and suicide bom bin g. Qa dri sa id the al-Qaeda ha s not be en suff iciently challen ged an d that his glo ba l ruling a gainst terrorism completely dism antle s the banne d terror or ganisation's violent ideolo gy. In his 600-page ruling, Qa dri said Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citiz ens and suicide bom bin gs. The fatwa also cha llen ges the religio us m otivations of would-be suic ide bombers who are inspire d by prom ises of an afterlif e, The BBC r eports. The fam ous M uslim scho lar develope d h is do cum ent last year a s a r esponse to the sudden increase in suicide bom bin gs across Pakistan. The fatwa, which would be promoted in Britain by Qadri's or ganisation, Minha j ul- Quran International, would cover glo bal issues in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslim s in we stern nations. Terming the fatwa as 'har d hitting', M inhaj ul-Qur an International's spok esp erson Shah id Mur saleen said the ruling wo uld inject do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom bers. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain recruit the youth by brain wa shin g them that they will with certainty be re war ded in the next life. Dr Qa dr i's f at wa ha s remove d this key intellectual a ctor from their m inds," M ur saleen said.

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UK Muslims will take fatwa against terrorism seriously

Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri 's edict bans all attack s on civilians and com es from a popular Islam ic movement By Jonathan Harwood LAST UPDAT ED 6:08 PM, MARCH 2, 2010

T

he fatwa against Islam ic te rrorists issue d by a London-base d M uslim organisation

on Tuesday has bee n hailed as a significant step forward in the fight against fundam entalism , and one that will have re pe rcussions in the UK and be yond. The 600-page e dict from Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, founder of the influe ntial Sufi movem e nt M inhaj-ul-Q uran, m ounts a "direct challe nge to al-Qae da's viole nt ide ology" and de clares "suicide bom bings and attack s against civilian targe ts are not only condem ne d by Islam , but re nder the pe rpe trators totally out of the fold of Islam , in othe r words, to be unbe lie vers".

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"They can't claim that the ir suicide bom bings are m artyrdom ope rations and that the y be com e the heroes of the Muslim Umm a [com m unity], no, they becom e he roe s of he llfire , and the y are heading towa rds he llfire ," he said. Pak istan-born ul-Q adri, a forme r associate of Be nazir Bhutto, pro claime d the fat wa at a news confe rence in London, where his popular Minhaj-ul-Q uran organisation is based. He says his e dict, whi ch is aime d at pe rsuading young Muslim s to turn the ir back s on ex trem ism , goes furthe r than any previous de nunciation. "This is the first, m ost com prehe nsive fatwa on the subject of te rrorism ever writ ten," said ul-Qadri, who has authored m ore than 350 book s on Islam ic scholarship. His Minhaj-ul-Q uran organisation is growing in popularity and advise s the Governm e nt on how to com bat radicalisation am ong M uslim youth. It has followe rs around the globe and is said to be particularl y popular among the Pak istani diaspora. The bulk of Britain's M uslim s have connections to Pakistan and nearly all m ajor terrorism plots since 2001, including the 2005 London bom bings which kille d 52 pe ople , have a Pak istani connection. Comm unities Minister Shahid Malik , whose De wsbury constituency was hom e to the 7/7 bom ber Moham mad Siddique Khan, said: "It is incum bent on M uslims to stand up for the ir faith – whe n 7/7 occurre d those four evil young m en killed themselve s and ove r 50 innocent pe ople because they followe d a twiste d and pe rve rted interpretation of Islam whi ch told the m by doing so they would go to heave n." A spok esm an for the counter-ex tre m ist think tank Q uilliam said: "This fat wa has the potential to be a highly significant step towards e radicating Islam ist te rrorism . "Groups such as al-Q ae da continue to justify the ir m ass k illings with se lf-serving readings of religious scripture . Fatwas that de m olish and e xpose such the ological innovations will consign Islam ist te rrorism to the dustbin of history." Tim W inte r, an Islam ic studie s le cturer at Cam bridge Unive rsity told Sk y Ne ws: "Those who are alre ady hardliners will pay no atte ntion at all but 'swing voters' - poorlyeducated and angry M uslim s who re spe ct m ainstream scholars - will probably tak e note." Douglas M urray, Di rector of the Ce ntre for Social Cohe sion also describe d it as "significant" saying it rem ove d "any re ligious justification for attack s". "His ruling has the possibility of be ing respected by a far wide r range of pe ople than any of those individual non-scholarly M uslim voices who have also condem ne d terrorism without cave at," he added.

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Tahir Qadri’s Fatwa for terrorists: Hell waits for you Wedne sday, M arch 03, 2010 By M urtaza Ali Shah LONDON: A highly influentia l Sufi Muslim scholar on Tue sday issue d a historic Fat wa (religious edict) a gain st acts of violence perpetrate d in the nam e of Islam, calling perp etrators of violenc e an d their m entors as de stined for hellfire. Dr Muh am mad Tahir ul Qa dri, the fo under of formida ble Minha jul Quran m ovement, use d a lectur e in Lon don to unre serv e dly con demn terrorist attacks an d suicide bombers and urge d the M uslim world to take a firm stand aga inst those who brin g I slam in disrepute. Dr Qa dri was join e d at the Fat wa launch event by government ministers Jim Fitzpatrick, Shahid Malik, Muh am mad Sar war, M P, Dom inic Griev e, M P, representatives of vario us M uslim organisations, governm ent departments and sec urity think tanks. T he 600-page Fat wa on Suic ide Bom bin gs and Terrorism has been extracted from Dr Qa dr i’s latest resear ch work title d Dehshet Geri a ur Fitna-e-Kh awarij, in a ref erence to those re bels who ha d taken up arm s a gain st Hazr at Ali (RA). Speakin g at len gth in English and Ar a bic, Dr Qa dri fr equently referr ed to Quran, Com panion s of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Ha dith and lea din g Muslim Im am s to prove his point that Islam doe sn’t allo w in dividua ls and non-state groups to la unch attacks on civilian s an d oppo sition targets. Islam a bsolutely condemns violence and terrorism in all its form s an d m anifestations and it’s o ur Islamic duty to condem n acts of terrorism without any if s or buts, without any exc use s, pretexts an d self ish justifications. T hose who p erpetrate violent attacks an d target h umanity act outside the am bit of Islam , they are the enem ie s of I slam, he said, openin g his speech. The launch of Fat wa is be ing regar de d by many circ les a s a significant and historic step, the first tim e that such an explicit and une quivoca l decree again st perpetrators of terror has been broa dca st so widely. The Fat wa is considere d ar gua bly the most comprehensive theologic al ref utation of Islam ist terrorism as demonstrated by Taliban, al- Qae da and their like-m inde d sectarian gro ups. T o those who la ud suicide bom ber s an d pra ise their acts, Dr Qadri sa id, they are in unison with “heroes of hellfir e”. “ T hey can’t claim that their suicide bombin gs are martyrdom operations and that they become heroe s of the Muslim Um mah. No, they inde ed become heroes of h ellf ire, an d they ar e lea ding towar ds hellfire. T heir actions hav e nothing to do with Jiha d,” Dr Qadr i said, who ha s a lar ge follo win g in Europe and many youn g M uslims are increasingly takin g to his me ssa ge. 210

He ma de it clear a tho usan d good intentions c annot convert a wron g into good, they cannot convert an evil into goo d. “ Terrorism is terrorism , violen ce is vio lence and it ha s no pla ce in I slam ic teachin gs. I slam is a r eligion of peace. It promotes goodwill, bea uty, betterment, goodness an d negates all form s of m ischief, strife an d division. Dr Qa dri told The Ne ws he wante d to connect with those Muslim s who wer e confuse d a bo ut the actual messa ge of Islam and those whose m inds were br ain washed by pre acher s with little knowle dge of Islam. He said his clear an d cate goric al injunction will dissua de im pressiona ble youn g M uslims from fallin g prey to ra dical group s. He a gr eed many religio us edicts a ga inst terrorism have r ecently be en issue d in Pakistan an d else wh ere but none of them comprehensively addre ssed the issue of terrorism. Dr Qa dr i said the latest Fatwa goes f urther than any previo us denunciation. He lamented that many religious an d political parties in Pakistan were providin g succo ur to terrorist elem ents. “I have be en un der threat for the last 20 year s. I kno w I am a target for the terrorists and they wo uld love to silence me but I am speak ing o ut against them in the service of my Cr eator,” Dr Qa dr i, who is spen ding most of his tim e outside of Pakistan, told The Ne ws, when a ske d a bout the threat to his life.

http://www.the me dialine .org/ne ws/ne ws_mide ast_daily.asp?Date=03/02/2010&category_id=8

Anti-Terror 'Fatwa' to be Issued in London A Pakistan-based Islamic scholar w ill issue a ru ling prohib iting terro rism and su icide bombing. Th e BBC is report ing that Dr. Tah ir u l-Qadri will issue the “fatwa”, which is intended to “d ismantle Al-Qaeda’s v iolent ideology.” In his 600-p age do cument, the killing of innocent citizens and the use of su icide bomb ings are sing led out as being unaccept able to Muslims. It repo rted ly presents a po int-by -po int refutat ion of Al-Qaeda’s philosophy using theological argu ments. 211

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Experts see Qadri’s Fatwa significant blow to terro rist recruiting Friday, March 05, 2010 ISLAMABAD: A Fatwa (religious decree) issued by Chief Patron of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, Tahir-ul-Qadri, in London a few days back, is beinghighly appreciated by experts who consider it a significant blowto terrorists recruiting. Accordingto CNN, the anti-terrorism Fat wa by Muslim scholar Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri declared that terrorism was “Haraam” (forbidden) by the Quran, and suicide bombers wouldnot be rewarded by 72 virgins in heaven, as many terrorist recruiters promise, but with a suite in Hell. Qadri, the founder of the Minhaj-ul-Quran International, an Islamic movement with centres in 90 countries, saidhis decree categorically condemns terrorism and suicide bombings in the name of Islam. Qadri saidhis 600-page ruling left no room for interpretation. He added “I didnot leave a single, minor aspect that, in the mind of radicals or extremists, can take them to the direction of martyrdom.” The 59-year-old Pakistani scholar calledhis Fatwa an “absolute” condemnation, going as far as to label the terrorists them “Kafirs,” a term in the Quran meaning“unbeliever”. “This Fat wa has the potential to be a highly significant step towards eradicatingIslamist terrorism,” Quilliam, a counterextremism think tank based in London, said in a statement. Mannan Ahmad, assistant professor of Islam in South and Southeast Asia at the Institute for Islamic St udies in Berlin, agreed, callingthe Fatwa “unprecedented”. “This is a landmark theological study —a careful and systematic treatment of a thousandyears of legal tradition dealing with armed resistance against the state, rules of engagement aspects. The Fat wa itself is categorically and comprehensively against terrorism in any form andfor any cause,” Ahmad said.Salman Ahmad, the leading singer of the Pakistani rock band“Junoon”, said it were the youngmen in the West who could be influenced the most by Quadri’s arguments.

http://www.the re vival.co.uk/blogs/muslim ahtrave lle r/update -historical -launching -fatwa against -te rrorism

Historical Launching of Fatwa Against Terrorism 5 M arch, 2010 - 12:02 — Historical Launching of Fatwa Against Te rro rism Date d: 02 March 2010 The image cannot be display ed. Your computer may not hav e enough memory to open the image, or the image may hav e been corrupted. Restart y our computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, y ou may hav e to delete the image and then insert it again.

Shaykh- ul-I slam Dr M uh amm ad T ahir-ul- Qa dri, the foundin g leader an d patron-in-ch ief of M inha jul- Quran Internationa l, ha s issue d his detaile d e dict (Fat wa) against terrorism which consists of more than 600 page s. T he launch ing cer emony of the Fat wa wa s held on M ar ch 2, 2010 in London (UK). M inh aj- ul- Quran Internationa l UK arr ange d a pr ess conf erenc e which was heavily attende d by repr esentatives of the international me dia be side s La bour party minister Sh ahid Malik, member s of EU and UK parliam ents Sajjad Karim, Muham mad Sarwar, Jame s Finter, am ba ssa dor s of Iraq, Germany an d other co untries, officials of the Home Office, Com monwe alth Office an d Metropolitan Police, Professor s an d M uslim and Christian community lea ders. Shaykh- ul-I slam Dr M uh amm ad T ahir-ul- Qa dri presented the anti-terror Fatwa in Ur du an d English lan gua ges befor e the international me dia. It should be kept in m ind that Sh aykh-ul-Islam had declar e d to issue a detaile d Fat wa aga inst terrorism and suic ide bom bin gs in Decem ber 2009, which wa s origin ally tho ught to consist of 300 page s, whose volum e later on increase d to 600 pa ges due to scholarly de alin g of the subje ct. T his Fat wa is the only one of its k in d in terms of its intellect ual value, pen etrating rese arch an d a uthentic allusion s. Henc e, it is a scholarly and historic doc um ent.

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Talking to the international m e dia on the oc ca sion, Shaykh- ul-I slam Dr Muham mad T ahir- ul- Qa dri said that ever in creasin g wav e of extremism and terrorism ha s destroyed the world pe ace. It is a matter of great misfortune that these terrorist activitie s of the m isguide d elements hav e been bra ckete d with Islam though the reality is other wise. He said that m ajority of the religious scholar s condem n terrorism but the condemnation is m erely rhetorical. No one h as com e for war d with an authentic an d intellectual response to terrorism in the form of a patent decree. Minh aj- ul- Quran International has told the wor ld in no unc ertain term s through issuance of this Fat wa that terrorists have nothing to do with Islam . It is a p eac ef ul re ligion, which not only con dem ns but also prohibits every kind of terrorism at every leve l un der any pretext. The image cannot be display ed. Your computer may not hav e enough memory to open the image, or the image may hav e been corrupted. Restart y our computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, y ou may hav e to delete the image and then insert it again.

He said that the suicide bombers are o ut of the pale of I slam . He hoped that the youth wo uld not become the fodder for the cannons of terrorist elements or extremist or ganizations after study ing the Fat wa. The terrorist elements brainwa sh the youth by invok ing wron g interpretations of the faith. The youth who advan ce the o bje ctives of the terrorists should re gar d themselve s o ut of the fold of Islam in accor dan ce with the teachin gs of the Holy Prophet . He sa id that terrorism is terrorism an d it cannot be justifie d un der any pretext through allusion to any real or alle ge d in stance s of injustic e and there is no spa ce for terrorism in Islam. He regr etted the fact that the Islam ic teachin gs, which ar e ba se d on lov e, peace an d welfare, ar e bein g m anipulated an d quote d out of contexts to serve the de signs of the veste d intere sts. He said that Islam spelled o ut a cle ar code of con duct dur ing the co urse of war and gav e complete 214

protection to the non-com batants includin g wom en, the old, an d childr en etc., so m uch so that trading centres, schools, ho spitals an d worsh ip place s were a lso declare d a s safe. Shaykh- ul-I slam Dr M uh amm ad T ahir-ul- Qa dri said that those who want to im pose the Islam ic order on other s by means of force an d naked po wer belong to the group of Kh a warij who, during the Caliphate of Hazrat Ali (ra), took up arm s an d initiated rebe llion a gain st the Islamic state in the nam e of enforcing the Divine Or der. T he terrorists of today also belon g to the sam e bre ed of Kha warij. T hey resem ble one another in their appear ance s, body demeanor s an d even workin g. He said that Islam doe s not approve of the killin g of inno cent people un der any ex c use. T here is a judicial system to indict the wron g-do ers an d brin g them to book. It is the responsibility of the Islamic state to im plem ent the system of justice and punishm ent through state-run mechan ism an d none can be allowe d to take la w in h is hands. He veh emently condemned those who perpetrate terrorism in the name of religion and brande d them as the greate st enem ies of I slam . He said that if at all these people hav e to wa ge Jiha d, they could do so against ignorance, corruption, dearn ess, poverty an d other socia l evils. He also bla ste d the opponents of democra cy and said that the Holy Prophet is the ch am pion of the dem ocratic an d consultative system . Shaykh- ul-Islam rem inded the Islamic governments of the fact that it is their national an d re ligio us duty to elim inate terrorism an d terrorist network s from their midst. They sho uld continue the m ilitary a ction till the complete elim ination of these groups. The image cannot be display ed. Your computer may not hav e enough memory to open the image, or the image may hav e been corrupted. Restart y our computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, y ou may hav e to delete the image and then insert it again.

In reply to a question, he said that the Islamic governments sho uld allo w democracy to flo urish an d strengthen political sy stem and processe s. If the enemie s of I slam an d Kha warij are totally annihilated, the roots of terrorism wo uld stand dismantle d. He deplore d that the M uslim youth happene d to be the first ca sua lty of terrorism , for they got trapped in the hands of the terrorist for the sake of religion. T he m ajor a dvantage of the Fat wa would be that the youth wo uld be a ble to kno w the reality of their actions whether they are choosing the path to hell or heaven. British cabinet minister, Sh ahid M alik, paid glo win g tribute to Shaykh- ul-Islam Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qa dr i an d said that he ha s alway s projecte d the real tea chin gs of Islam . His Fatwa wo uld have lon g-term positive an d r evolutionary im pact on the Muslim comm unity livin g in UK an d else wh ere and wo uld tran sform m indsets. He assure d his full cooperation at the governmental leve l. The media men asked Shaykh- ul-I slam Dr M uh amm ad T ahir-ul- Qa dri a n umber question s, wh ich he answer e d satisfa ctorily. The press conf erence contin ued well over three ho ur s. Shaykh- ul-I slam also gave short intervie ws to different media outlets on the occ asion.

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http:// www. the revi val.co.uk /forum /ge neral/6418

Shaykh Tahir ul Qadri issues terrorism fatwa Shaykh Tahir ul Qadr i issues terrorism fatwa

C: \ima ges\ dr- qa dr i

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C:\im age s\ dr - qa dri Islamic scho lar Tahir ul-Qa dr i to issue terrorism fatwa An influential M uslim scho lar is to issue in Lon don a glo bal ruling a gainst terrorism and suic ide bom bin g. Dr T ahir ul- Qa dri, from Pakistan, say s his 600-pa ge judgem ent, kno wn as a fat wa, com pletely dismantle s al- Qae da's violent ideolo gy. The scholar describes a l-Qaeda as an "old evil with a ne w n ame" which ha s not be en sufficiently cha llen ge d. The scholar's m ovement is gro win g in the UK an d h as attracted the interest of policym akers and sec urity chief s. In his re ligious ruling, Dr Qa dr i says that Islam forbids the m assacr e of innocent citizens and suic ide bom bin gs. Although m any scholars h ave ma de similar r ulin gs in the pa st, Dr Qadri's follo wer s ar gue that the massive do cum ent being launche d in Lon don go es m uch f urther. They say it sets out point-by-point theological ar gum ents a gain st the rhetoric used by alQae da inspired recr uiters. The fatwa also cha llen ges the religio us m otivations of would-be suic ide bombers who are inspire d by promise s of an afterlife. The populist scholar develope d h is do cum ent last year a s a r esponse to the incre ase in bom bin gs acro ss Pakistan by militants. The ba sic text has been exten ded to 600 page s to cover global issue s, in an attempt to get its theological ar guments taken up by M uslims in western nations. It will be prom oted in the UK by Dr Qadri's organisation, M inhaj ul- Quran International. Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj-ul- Quran in the UK, said the fat wa was har dhitting. "This fatwa in jects do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom ber s," he said. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain recruit the youth by brain wa shin g them that they will 'with certainty' be rewarde d in the next life. 216

"Dr Qa dri's fat wa h as r em oved this key intellect ual f actor from their m inds." Re ligio us r ulin gs The doc um ent is not the first to condemn terrorism and suic ide bom bin g to be launche d in the UK. Scholars from acro ss the UK cam e together in the wake of the 7 July London attacks to deno un ce the bomber s an d ur ge comm unitie s to root out extrem ists. But som e scholarly rulings in the Middle Ea st have ar gue d that the conflict bet ween I srae l and the Palestinians is an exc eptional situation wher e "m artyrdom" attacks can be justifie d. Although Dr Qa dri has a large following in Pakistan, Minhaj ul- Quran Internationa l rem aine d lar gely unkno wn in the UK until re latively recently. It now has 10 m osque s in the British citie s with sign ific ant Muslim com munities an d says it is tar geting yo unger generations it be liev es h ave been let do wn by traditiona l le ader s. The organisation is attracting the attention of policym akers and sec urity chief s who are continuing to look for a llies in the fight again st extremists. The Department for Comm unities, which run s m ost of the governm ent's "Preventin g Violent Extrem ism " strategy, has trie d buildin g bridge s with a variety of liberal-min de d gro up s, but often foun d that they have lim ited actual influence at the gra ssroots.

http://www.the state .com /2010/03/02/1182333/muslim -le ade r-issues - anti terror.html?RSS=untracke d Tue sday, Mar. 02, 2010

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The Associated Press

LONDON -- T he leader of a global M uslim movement has issue d a fat wa, or re ligious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muham mad Tahir- ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani la wm aker, says the 600-pa ge fat wa ban s suicide bom bin g " without any exc use s, any pr etexts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qa dr i ha s issued sim ilar, shorter decrees, but T uesday's ev ent in London was public ized by the Quilliam Fo un dation, a gov ernment-funde d anti-extremism think tank and dre w strong me dia attention.

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The religio us scholar is the fo under of Minh aj-ul- Quran, a wor ldwide m ovement that prom otes a nonpolitical, toler ant Islam . T he group h as h undr eds of thousan ds of fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other co untries.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/a rticle- 23811059 -m uslim -le ade r- suicide - bom be rs- arede stine d- for- hell.do 02.0 3.1 0

Muslim leader: Suicide bombers are 'destined for hell' Suic ide bom bers were de scribe d today as the "heroe s of hellfir e" by a leadin g M uslim scholar in a fatwa condemning terrorists a s the enemie s of Islam. Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dri said there wer e no "ifs or buts" a bout terrorism and such acts ha d no justification in the name of Islam. In a ne ws conf erenc e attende d by MPs, r epre sentatives from the Metropolitan Police, charita ble organisations, think-tanks and other group s, he c alle d on Islamic lea der s to convey the messa ge that acts of terrorism c ut people off as true followers of I slam . "They can't claim that their suicide bom bings are martyrdom operation s an d that they become the heroes of the M uslim Umma (the wider M uslim com munity), no, they become hero es of h ellf ire, and they ar e le a din g to war ds hellfire," he said. "There is no place for any martyrdom and their a ct is nev er, ever to be con sidered Jiha d," h e said. Dr Qadri, who spok e at len gth in both English an d Arabic before h is a udien ce, said his fat wa, a religious e dict or rulin g, was an "a bsolute" condemnation of terrorism without "any exc use s or pretexts". " Good intentions c annot convert a wrong into good, they cannot convert an evil into good," he sa id. "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is violence and it has no place in Islam ic teach in g an d no justific ation can be provide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or if s or buts." He insisted that Islam wa s a r eligion of peace that promotes bea uty, "betterment", goodne ss an d "negates a ll form of m ischief and strife". 218

The 600-page f atwa by Dr Qa dri, foun der of the glo bal Minhaj- ul- Quran m ovement, which ha s thousan ds of supporters a cross the wor ld a s well as in the UK, will be translated into English in the com ing weeks. His talk will also be m a de availa ble on line in an attempt to counter extremist versions of I slam available on the internet. The fatwa h as been billed as " arguably the m ost com prehensive" theolo gic al ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by co unter-extremism think-tank the Quilliam foun dation. The Minhaj-ul-Qur an movement said it runs cour ses in com batin g re ligious extrem ism in educational centres throughout Britain including Lon don, Birmingham, Manche ster, Nelson, Walsall an d Gla sgo w. It curr ently has an offic e in Dundee. A fatwa, an edict issue d by a learn ed Muslim scholar, m ay concern any aspect of Islam ic life. The term becam e famous in the W estern wor ld in 1989 after the author Sa lman Rushdie was force d into hiding follo win g a "death fat wa" issued by Ayatollah Khom eni, then Supreme Lea der of Iran, on the grounds that his book, T he Satanic Ver se s, ha d " insulted" Islam.

http:// www.tri -cityheral d.com/2010/03/02/922452/muslim-leader -issues- anti terror.html

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The Associ ated Press

Tuesday, M ar. 0 2, 2010

LONDON The lea der of a glo bal M uslim movem ent has issued a f at wa, or religio us e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muham mad Tahir- ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani la wm aker, says the 600-pa ge fat wa ban s suicide bom bin g " without any exc use s, any pr etexts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qa dr i ha s issued sim ilar, shorter decrees, but T uesday's ev ent in London was public ized by the Quilliam Fo un dation, a gov ernment-funde d anti-extremism think tank and dre w strong me dia attention. The religio us scholar is the fo under of Minh aj-ul- Quran, a wor ldwide m ovement that prom otes a nonpolitical, toler ant Islam . T he group h as h undr eds of thousan ds of fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other co untries. 219

http://www.turkishwe ekly.net/news/98701/clinton -uk -muslim -le ade r- to -put- fatwa -on - jihadsanctions -months - away.html

Clinton: UK Muslim leader to put fatwa on Jihad Sanctions Months Away Tue s day , 2 Ma rch 2 01 0

LO NDO N – A re vere d m ainstream M uslim scholar is se t to announce in London on Tue sday a fatwa (M uslim ruling) against te rrorism and suicide bom bing in the nam e of Islam . She ik h Dr. Tahir ul-Q adri, a wide ly recognize d and respected authority on Islam ic jurisprude nce , will issue a comprehe nsive fat wa prohibiting te rrorism and suicide bom bing at a press confe rence in W estm inste r, central London. The Pakistani-born Dr. Q adri has authored an unpre cedented, 600-page fatwa on wh y suicide bom bings and terrorism are un-Islam ic and scriptu rally forbidde n. The ruling is the m ost com pre he nsive the ological re futation of Islam ist terrorism to date . The fatwa wil l also be posted on the Internet and in English, mak ing it readily accessible . It will also set an im portant pre ce dent and allow othe r scholars to sim ilarly condem n the ide as be hind te rrorism . Dr. Q adri has used tex ts in the Koran and other Islamic writings to argue that suicide and othe r te rrorist atta ck s are “absolutely against the teachings of Islam ” and that “Islam does not pe rm it such acts on any excuse , re ason or prete xt.” The fatwa conde m ns suicide bom be rs as destine d for hell, re futing the claim used by Islam ists that such terrorists will earn paradise afte r death. “Today’s tragedy is that te rrorists, m urde rers, m ischie f-m ongers and riote rs try to prove the ir crim inal, re be llious, tyrannous, brutal and blasphemous activities as a right and a justified re action to fore ign aggre ssion unde r the garb of de fense of Islam and national inte re sts,” he says about suicide bombing. “It can in no wa y be pe rm issible to ke e p fore ign de legates unde r unlawful custody and m urde r them and othe r peace ful non-M uslim citizens in re taliation for inte rfere nce, unjust acti vities and aggre ssive advances of the ir countrie s,” Q adri said, asse rting, “The one who does has no re lation to Islam.”

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Dr. Q adri is the founde r of the inte rnational M inhaj-ul-Q uran m ovem ent. Supporters say his fatwa is significant be cause he is issuing it him self and his m ovem e nt, a m ajor grass-roots global organization, has hundreds of thousands of followers in South Asia and the UK. The m ove has bee n we l com e d by the Q uilliam Foundation, a London-base d antiex trem ism think -tank led by form e r Islam ists. “This fatwa has the potential to be a highly significant ste p towards eradicating Islam ist te rrorism ,” a Q uilliam spokesperson said. “Fat was by W ahhabi-influe nce d cle ri cs and Islam ist ideologue s initiate d m ode rn terrorism against civilians. Te rrorist groups such as al-Q aida continue to justify their m ass k illings wi th self-se rving readings of religious scripture . “Fat was that de molish and ex pose such theological innovations will consign Islam ist terrorism to the dustbin of history.” London’s Ce ntre for Social Cohe sion think -tank has also we lcome d the initiative. CSC director Douglas Murray be lieves that in re cent ye ars, and since the July 2005 terrorist attack in London, Muslim leaders have failed to unequivocally condem n violence com m itted in the name of Islam . “A sentence that m ay to m any people seem clear, such as ‘There can be no justification for the killing of innoce nt people ’ is fille d with caveats – what is an ‘innoce nt’ pe rson? W ho de cides who is or is not ‘innoce nt’? “Too m any M uslim religious figures sound as if they are condem ning viole nce whe n in fact they are m e re ly condem ning viole nce in certain situations, against ce rtain pe ople ,” he said. Murray said the fatwa tak e s away the cave ats and will have far-reaching conse que nce s. Howeve r he said it won’t stop Islam ic te rrorism instantane ously. “Dr. ul-Q adri is respected for his ability to cross som e of the notable se ctarian boundarie s that abound in the Islam ic faith as in all others. Even Muslim s who m ight dislike him will not be able to dismiss him out of hand. “Ye t e ven if the contents of this fat wa are what people have long hope d for, it will not, of course , stop Islam ic te rrorism straight away. A single fatwa will not change the leve l of de nial and lack of se lf-criti cism inhere nt in so m uch of m ode rn Islam . Nor will it stop eve ry fevere d young radical eager to k ill and maim . But the trick le-down e ffe ct is im portant. The m ost viole nt inte rpre tations of Islam have inde ed trick le d down to terrorists via learne d scholars,” he said.

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ht t p://ww w .t urkishw eekly.net /ot her-new s/837465/suicide -bombe rs-ap os- heroe s-ofhellf ire-apos-m uslim-scholar -t he-press-associ at ion.ht ml Tuesday, 9 March 2010

Suicide bombers 'heroes of hellfire': Muslim scholar - The Press Association Tim es O nlineSuic ide bom bers 'heroes of hellfire': M us lim sc holarThe Press Ass ociationSuic ide bom bers have been des c ribed as the "heroes of hellfire" by a leadin g M us lim sc holar in a fat wa iss ued in L ondon whic h c ondemned terroris ts as the enem ies of I slam. Pakistan- born Dr M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri s aid there were no "ifs or buts " about ...I slamic sc holar Tahir ulQ adri issues terroris m fatwa BBC N ews M us lim leader iss ues anti-terror fat wa T he Ass ociated Pres s I slam ic scholar says s uicide bombers will 'go to hell' I ndependent The Guar dian - C BC .c a -

http://www.wbay. com /G lobal/story.asp?S=12068093

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Posted: Mar 02, 2010 2:36 PM Updated: Mar 05, 2010 11:16 AM

LO NDO N (AP) - The leader of a global M uslim m ovement has iss ued a fatwa , or religious edic t, that he c alls an abs olute c ondemnation of terro rism . M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri, a fo rmer Pakis tani lawmaker, says the 6 00 - page fatwa bans s uic ide bom bing " without any exc us es, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tahir- ul-Q adri has iss ued s imilar, s horter dec rees, but T ues day's event in Londo n was p ublicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, agovernment- fun ded anti-extremism think tank a nd drew strong media atte ntion. The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj- ul-Q uran, a worldwide movem ent that prom otes a nonp olitic al, tolerant I s lam . T he group has hundreds of thousands of followe rs aroun d the wo rld, mos t of them in P akis tan or P akistanis living in other c ountries.

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http://www.islamidavet.com/english/tag/minhaj- ul-quran-movement/

London-based cleric issues anti-terror fatwa Postedon 03 March 2010 by İslâmi Davet

A n influential M uslim s c holar in Britain has is sued a fat wa banning ter ror attac ks and bombings , insis ting that there is no j ustification for ter ror acts in the name o f I s lam . A t a news c onferenc e attended by officers from Londo n’s M etropolitan P olic e, lawm akers, c haritable organizations and think-tanks , M uhamm ad T ahir-ul-Q adri s aid that ac ts of terroris m c ut people off as tr ue followe rs of Is lam. “T hey c an’t c laim that their s uicide bombings are m artyrdom o perations and that t hey bec om e the heroes o f the M us lim U mm ah. No, they bec ome heroes o f hellfire, and they are leading towar ds the hellfire ,” he s aid. I n his 6 00- page dec ree, the fo under o f the internationally popular M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent s aid there was no plac e for m artyrdom th rough ac ts of ter ror and that s uch ac ts had nothing to do with jihad . T he scholar ruled o ut a ny exc uses or pretexts for justifying ac ts of te rror in s uppos ed e ffo rts to “c onvert an evil into good.” “T erroris m is terrorism ,” Q adri ins isted. “Violenc e is violence and it has no plac e in I slamic teac hing and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it , or any kind of exc us es or ifs or buts . ” He reiterated that I slam is a religion of peac e that p romotes beauty, “betterment,” goodness and “negates all form of mis chief and strife.” T he fatwa is not the firs t by a senior M uslim sc holar agains t extremis m, but Q adri’s is expected to carry more weig ht as it will be one of the few available in E nglish and online

http://www.u.t v/articles/Article Print.aspx?cat=ne ws&guid=f d52d9 d8- 39d0 -4979 - b030f8531a358413

Fatwas can be a force for good Ed Husain: Sadly, we all rem em be r the de ath warrant on Salman Rushdie but ne xt month a fatwa against terrorism will be delivere d Friday, 26 Febr uary 2010 Following the Salm an Rushdie affair, the wor d fatwa becam e comm onplace in our vernac ular – it, lam entably, becam e a ssociated with death, killin g, an d censorsh ip. But to m ost Muslim s, the wor d fatwa is not a politica l term , but an un bin din g re ligio us e dict issued by erudite scholar s who take into consideration the nee ds of the modern world. W hile most of us rem em ber the Iranian cler ic Ayatollah Khomeini's fat wa of death, ho w m any rem em ber the other scholar, Zak i Ba dawi, who offered ref uge and solace to the then bele a guere d Rushdie? Sadly, f atwa s with de ath warrants are still de emed n ece ssary by som e. Only this week, a leading Saudi W ahhabi cleric issue d a fat wa suggesting death for M uslims who propa gate free interaction with members of the oppo site sex. This de structive cycle of judgin g Muslim s' religious belief s, then issuing excommunication s or takfir, follo we d by calls for their deaths, lies behind the modern terrorism of al-Qaida and T aliban sla ughter of M uslims in Iraq or Pakistan. Rightly, then, m any ask wher e are prominent Muslim voice s who oppo se extremism and terrorism ? Next we ek, here in Britain, one such r eno wn e d M uslim opinion-former will de liver a har d-hitting fatwa a gainst suicide bom bin gs an d terrorism . Fo un der of the va st Pakistani gr assroots movem ent kno wn a s M inhaj ul Quran, Dr Tahir ul Qa dri ha s authore d an unpr ecedented 600-p age fat wa on why suicide bombings an d terrorism are un-I slam ic and scriptur ally for bidden. This is like ly to be a powerf ul, popular fat wa from a m uch lov e d, inspirin g scholar of Islam. Earlier this month, invitations to attend the launch of the fat wa went to most parliamentarians. A lea ding La bour MP friend wrote the follo win g lin es in an em ail to m e: Is this he lpf ul? Do we nee d a fatwa to say suicide bombing is wron g? Sur ely it sho uld be just part of bein g a hum an bein g? Well, yes an d no. If o ur politic ian s an d others ignore the value of m oder ate Muslim le a der s comin g out with fat wa s against terrorism, not only do we clo se down an im portant and em ergin g p ublic spac e, we also for get o ur o wn history of pro gress. After all, John Locke's works on tolerance wer e nothing more than Christian fatwas in the midst of 17th century European war s of religion. Locke wrote with refer ences to the Bible. His ar gum ents were roote d in theolo gy. More importantly, however, a prominent Muslim fat wa a gain st killin g innocent people, citing religio us texts, doe s three things. 224

Fir st, it em boldens other M uslim thought lea ders to amplify their voice s aga inst extrem ism . Secondly, it prevents a ctivist Muslim s from considering suic ide bom bers as "m artyrs", an d thus rem oves the hero status c urrently attached to mur der ers. An d fin ally, a fat wa challenging p erceiv e d "martyrdom operations" will inject do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom bers. Where there is do ubt, in Islamic re ligio us behavio ur, there is avo idanc e. Suicide bom ber s c urrently kill because they have certainty (ya qeen) of being rewarde d in the next life ( akhirah). Shaikh T ahir ul Qadri's fatwa removes this key intellectual in gre dient from the m inds of killers. Fina lly, Shaikh Tahir is no or dinary scholar. He is the head of a glo bal soc ial m ovement of mainstream Muslim s, a tea cher to thousan ds, an d a compassionate Muslim lea der who ha s dra wn millions to normative Islam. Doubt m e? T ake a look at preparation s for the mass cele bration of rem emberin g the birthday of the prophet Moham mad in Pakistan. T hose m ain stream M uslims that believe in love, compassion, song, music, fire works and birthday s don't tend to kill fe llow hum an bein gs. Sha ikh Tahir is a leader of that carav an of or dinary M uslims, tryin g to resc ue o ur I slam from the Sa udi cler ics that issue fatwa s of de ath, and lea din g the way for anno uncin g f atwa s a gainst death. In this battle of the fatwas, we must not m ake the mistake of supporting our oil supp lyin g allies.

http://www.wopular.com /islamic-scholar-tahir-ul-qadri-issues-terrorism-fatwa-global-ruling

Islamic Scholar Tahir Ul-qadri Issues Terrorism Fatwa (global Ruling) Wed, 03/03/2010 - 6:47am — BBC

An influential Muslim scholar has issued a global ruling against te rrorism and suicide bom bing.Dr Tahir ul-Q adri, from Pak istan, says his 600-page judgem e nt, k nown as a fat wa, com plete ly dism antles al-Qae da's viole nt ide ology. The scholar describe s alQae da as an "old e vil with a new nam e " that has not been sufficie ntly challenged. The scholar's movem ent is gro wing in the UK and has attracte d the inte rest of policym akers and se curity chiefs.

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http://www. upiasia.com/T op_Ne ws/US/2010 /03/03/Cleric- con dem ns- terrorism /UPI24021267595515/

Cleric condemns terrorism LONDON, March 3 ( UPI) -- A Pakistani M uslim scholar, in a lengthy theological r ulin g a ga inst terrorism, rejected a l-Qaida's philosophy, say ing Islam forbids the m assacre of inno cents. Appear ing in London, Tahir ul-Qa dri told a group of M uslim s, c ler gy, political lea ders an d police officer s his 600-pa ge f atwa re jects violen ce and calle d a l-Qaida an "old evil with a ne w n ame," the BBC reported. Qa dri's movem ent, called Minhaj ul- Quran Internationa l, is gro win g in Britain, dr a win g the interest of policymaker s an d la w enforcem ent hea ds, the report said. Qa dri said his study, resultin g from the esc alation of m ilitant violence in Pak istan, is a detaile d theological rebuttal of every point made by al-Qaida inspire d re cr uiters. "They (terrorists) can't cla im that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations an d that they become the heroes of the M uslim Um ma (glo bal brotherhoo d)," he told his audien ce. " No, they become heroe s of hellfire, an d they are lea din g to war ds h ellf ire. "There is no place for any martyrdom and their a ct is nev er, ever to be con sidered jiha d." Re jectin g some scholarly r ulin gs on m artyrdom as it related to the Pale stinian-I srae li conf lict, Qa dri said there is no sit uation in which ven gef ul acts such as attacks on m arketplace s or com muter trains can ever be con sidere d a justifiable a ct of war. The report said Qa dri has many follo wer s in Pak istan but his Minh aj ul- Quran Internationa l ha s become kno wn in Britain only re cently. T he movem ent, which h as 10 m osques in citie s with significant Muslim comm unities, is tar geting the younger gener ation, the BBC aid.

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http://ne ws. guelphmerc ury.com/W ire/Ne ws_Wire/W orld/article/604425 Muslim leader issues 600-page anti -te rror fa tw a in London

March 02, 2010 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE CANADIAN PRESS, 2010

LO N DO N - A form er P akis tani legislator who lives in C anada and leads a global M uslim movem ent has iss ued a fatwa, or religious edic t, c ondem ning ter rorism . M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri s ays the 600 -page fatwa bans suic ide bombing " without any exc uses , any pretexts , o r exc eptions ." He is the foun der o f M inhaj- ul-Q ur'an, a wo rld wide movement t hat p rom otes a non-politic al, tolerant Is lam . A s pokesm an for the gro up told The Canadian Pres s that Tahir- ul-Q adri has been living in s outhern O ntario for almost four years . The spokes man would not reveal the exac t loc ation. Tahir- ul-Q adri has is s ued sim ilar, s horter decrees , but Tues day's event in L ondon was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a government- funded anti-extremis m think- tank. The group has hu ndreds o f thous ands of followers around the wo rld, most of t hem in P akistan or P akis tanis living in other c ount ries.

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Pak Islamic scholar to issue fatwa against suicide bombing W ednes day, M arch 3, 2 01 0 D esc ribing al-Q aeda as an 'old evil with a ne w nam e', influential P akistani s c holar D r T ahir ulQ adri has s aid he would s oon iss ue a 'fat wa' agains t terrorism and s uic ide bom bing. Q adri said the al-Q aeda has not been suffic iently c hallenged and that his global ruling agains t terrorism c ompletely dism antles the banned terror organis ation's violent ideology. I n his 6 00- page ruling , Q adri s aid Is lam forbids the mass acre of innoc ent c itizens and s uic ide bombings . T he fatwa als o c hallenges the religious m otivations of would- be s uic ide bom bers who are inspired by prom is es of an afterlife, T he BBC reports. T he famous M us lim sc holar developed his document las t year as a res ponse to the sudden increase in s uic ide bom bings across P akis tan. T he fatwa, whic h wo uld be promoted in B ritain by Q adri's organis ation, Minhaj ul-Q uran I nternational, would c over global iss ues in an attem pt to get its theologic al arguments taken up by M uslims in western nations . T erm ing the fat wa as 'hard hitting', M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational's s pokes pers on Shahid M urs aleen s aid the ruling would in jec t doubt into t he m inds o f potential s uic ide bom bers. "E xtremist groups bas ed in Britain rec ruit t he yout h by brainwas hing them t hat they will with c ertainty be rewarded in the next life . D r Q adri's fatwa has removed this key intellectual actor from their m inds ," M urs aleen said.

http://www.wibw. com /nationalnews/he adline s/86278707.html P osted: 5:19 PM M ar 3, 2010

Muslim Scholar Issues Fatwa against Terrorism LONDON, En glan d ( CNN) -- A Muslim scholar ha s issued a fat wa, or religio us r ulin g, that says suic ide bom bers are de stined for hell. Muham mad Tahir ul- Qadr i condemne d terrorism and criticized I slamic extrem ists who cite their religion to justify violence. Ul- Qadri's 600-pa ge fat wa is " arguably the m ost com prehensive theolo gical ref utation of Islam ist terrorism to date," accordin g to the Quilliam Foundation, a Lon don organiz ation that describe s itself as a co unter-terrorism think tank. "Terrorism is terrorism ," ul-Qa dri sa id at a ne ws conference ho sted by the foun dation. "Violence is violenc e. It has no place in Islamic teach ing, and no justific ation can be provide d to it..." Ul- Qadri is the founder of Minhaj- ul- Quran, an organization with hundreds of thousan ds of follo wers in So uth Asia an d the United Kingdom , ac cor ding to the Quilliam Fo un dation. The foundation refers to ul-Qa dri a s a mainstream M uslim scholar who is a "wide ly recogn ize d an d respected a uthority on Islamic jur ispr udence." He criticiz e d M uslims who justify terrorism by sayin g it furthers the goa l of corre cting wrongs done to M uslims. "No goo d intention -- even one tho usand goo d intentions put together -- cannot justify a wron g an d forbidden act," he said. "Goo d intentions c annot convert a wron g into good." Som e extremists have interpreted the Quran to sugge st that those who k ill in the name of Allah will be r e war de d after death with 72 virgin s an d a plac e in par adise.

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http://www.winnipe gfre e pre ss.com /canada/bre akingnews/muslim-le ade r-issue s-600-page anti-te rror-fatwa-in-london-85995062.html

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London By: THE ASSOCIATED PR ESS 2/03/2010 1:44 PM

LONDON - A fo rmer Pakistani leg islator who lives in Canada and leads a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, condemning terro rism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bo mb ing "w ithout any excuses, any p retexts, or except ions." He is the founder o f M inhaj-ul-Qur'an, a worldw ide movement that pro motes a non political, tolerant Islam. A spokesman fo r the group to ld The Canadian Press that Tah ir-u l-Qad ri h as been liv ing in southern Ontario fo r almost four years. The spokesman would not reveal the exact locat ion . Tah ir-u l-Qad ri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's ev ent in London w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundat ion, a government-funded ant i-ext remism th inktank. The group has hundreds o f thousands of fo llowers around the world , most of them in Pakistan o r Pakistanis liv ing in other count ries.

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http://www.wistv.com /G lobal/story.asp?S=12068093

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Posted: Mar 02, 2010 2: 36 PM U pdate d: Mar 05, 2010 11: 16 AM

LONDON (A P) - The leader of a g lobal M uslim movement h as issued a fatwa, o r religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnat ion of terro rism.

Muhammad Tahir-u l-Q adri, a former Pakistan i lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa b ans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, o r exceptions." Tah ir-u l-Qad ri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's ev ent in London w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundat ion, agovern ment-fund ed ant i-extremism thin k tank and d rew strong med ia attention. The relig ious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-u l-Quran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a nonpolit ical, to lerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other countries.

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http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa =PAG E. vie w&pageId=126808 TRA IL OF TERRO R Posted: March 03, 2010 10:50 p m Eastern

CAIR on violence? We opposed it years ago Responds to question about 'fatwa ' with 2005 sta tement decry ing 'war between faiths' The Washington- ba se d Co unc il on American-Islamic Relations, which has petitioned unsucc essf ully to remove its name from a list of unin dicted terrorist co-con spirators, to day pointe d to a nearly five-year-old statement to affirm it opposes terrorism and extrem ism . CAI R, which a lso unsucce ssf ully sought to censor the book "M uslim M afia" an d the internal doc uments it uncover e d, today respon de d to a W ND request for its per spe ctive on a ne w "fat wa," or Islamic r eligio us r ulin g, in Br itain that condemne d terrorism by e-m ailin g a copy of its announ cem ent from July 28, 2005. In CAI R's statement, Executive Director Nih a d Awa d sa id, "Un ited, we can confront the terrorists and frustrate their goal of sparkin g an apocalyptic war between faiths an d c ivilization s. "The presence here to day of American M uslim leaders in dic ates the willin gne ss of our comm unity to strengthen national sec ur ity and to work with policy-m akers to gain v ictory over this international m enace to h umanity," he sa id at the tim e. CAI R is re gar ded by U. S. counter-terrorism officials as a front gro up for the E gypt-based Muslim Brotherhoo d, the progenitor of most of the m ajor Islamic terrorist groups includin g al- Qa ida and Ham as. It's 2005 statem ent declar e d support for a "fat wa" issue d by the Fiqh Co un cil of North Am eric an that wa s backe d by dozen s of U. S. M uslim le ader s an d group s. It stated, "Islam strictly condemns re ligio us extremism and the use of v iolen ce a gainst innocent live s. T here is no justification in I slam for extrem ism or terrorism. T argeting civilians' life an d property through suic ide bombin gs or any other method of attack is har am – or forbidden – an d those who com mit these barbaric acts are cr iminals, not 'martyrs.'" The statem ent was e-m aile d in re sponse to a WND re quest for comment on a ne w report from the U.K. that a lea der of a glo bal M uslim movem ent had release d a 600-pa ge document condemning violenc e an d p urportin g to "take back" Islam from al-Qaida and other groups en ga ged in violence. The ne w fat wa has the support of the British gov ernment. 232

Get "Mu slim Mafia," th e book tha t exposed CAIR from the inside out, autographed, from WND's Supersto re! The U.K. statement, release d by M uslim scholar M uham mad Tahi- ul-Qadri, m ake s a c ase aga inst Islamic extrem ism . "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is violence, and it has no place in Islamic teachin g, an d no justific ation can be provide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or if s or buts," T ahi-ul-Qadri told a London ne ws conf erence. " Good intentions cannot convert a wrong into a goo d; they cannot convert an evil into goo d." The Washington T imes reporte d it wa s unclear ho w much im pact his statem ent wo uld carry, sinc e he is a le ader in the So uth Asian M uslim com munity and a Suf i Muslim , not a Qur anic literalist, a s are Wahha bi an d Sa lafi divisions of the religion. It is am ong those group s that support for al-Qaida is strongest, ana lysts said. Tim othy Furnish, a historian of I slam , said the other cam p typically issues an antithetical r ulin g to confuse the issue. The Washington Post reported in 2005 that the U. S. "fat wa" wa s a one-p age de cision that CAI R spokesm an Ibr ahim Hooper describe d as " another way to dr ive hom e the point that the Am erican Muslim comm unity rejects terrorism and extrem ism." The U. S. r ulin g said in 2005 it wa s "haram," or forbidden, for terrorism to target civilians and for Muslim s to cooperate with terrorism. It declared M uslim s h ave a r eligious duty to cooperate with law enforcement a uthorities. WND reported ye sterday CAI R's Chicago branch is play ing host to the first U. S. appearance of Tariq Rama dan, the grandson of the fo un der of the M uslim Brotherhoo d whose Bush a dm inistration ban for alle ged terrorist ties rec ently was lifted by Se cretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ram adan, a Swiss citiz en, is sche dule d to speak at CAI R-Chica go's sixth annua l banquet Apr il 10. In a promo for the event, first reported by the AtlasShrugs blog, CAI R c alle d his appe aranc e a "milestone for the Am eric an M uslim com munity since h e wa s bann e d from visitin g the Un ited State s almost six year s ago." Ram adan's maternal grandf ather, Ha san al-Bann a, fo un ded the Muslim Brotherhoo d in Egypt in 1928. His father, Said Ram adan, was an I slam ist lea der who fle d E gypt after a crackdo wn on the Brotherhoo d an d en de d up in Geneva in 1958. T ariq Ram adan was born in the Swiss c apital in 1962. In 2004, the Department of Homeland Se c urity revoked Ram adan's work visa under a law that den ies entry to aliens who have used a "po sition of prom inence within any country to endorse or espo use terrorist activity." The DHS did not rele ase its ev idence on Ram adan, but Middle E ast scholar an d anti-terrorism spec ialist Danie l Pipe s liste d at the time a number of like ly reasons for him to be denie d entry. Ram adan h a d been banne d from entering Fr ance in 1996 on suspicion of links with an Alger ian Islamist who initiated a terrorist campaign in Par is. He also had contacts with Ahm ed Brah im , an 233

Algerian in dicte d for al-Qa ida activities, and Djamel Be ghal, lea der of a gro up acc use d of plannin g to attack the American em bassy in Paris. Ram adan also has denied that there was "any certain proof" Osama bin La den was behind 9/11 an d praised the brutal I slam ist policie s of the Sudanese politician Ha ssan Al-Turabi, who in turn c alle d Ram adan the "f utur e of Islam." As WND ha s reported, CAIR is suin g a father-an d- son team that conducte d an un dercover pro be that cam e up with 12,000 page s of interna l docum ents confirmin g the Islam ic organ ization's role as a front for the Muslim Brotherhood an d Ham as in the U. S.

http://www. democratic un der groun d. com /disc uss/duboar d.php?a z=sho w_m esg&forum =102& topic_ id=4289749&m esg_id=4289749 http://www. democratic un der groun d. com /disc uss/duboar d.php?a z=v iew_all&addr ess=102x4289749

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa Source: B B C An influential M uslim sc holar is to issue in L ondon a global ruling agains t terrorism and s uic ide bom bing. Dr T ahir ul-Q adri, from P akis tan, s ays his 600- page judgement , kno wn as a fat wa, c ompletely dis mantles al-Q aeda's violent ideology. The sc holar desc ribes al-Q aeda as an "old evil with a new name" which has not been sufficiently challenged. The sc holar's movem ent is growing in the U K and has attrac ted the inte res t of policymakers and sec urity c hiefs . Read m ore: http:/ /ne ws .bbc .co.uk/2 /hi /uk_ne ws /85 445 31.s tm

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http://www.wreg.com /ne ws/nationworld/sns-ap-e u-britain-anti-terror-fatwa,0,4235062.story

Pakistan-born Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London By A ssociated Press 8:37 A M C ST, M arch 2, 2010

Leading M uslim s schola r Dr M uhamma d Ta hir-ul-Qadri speak s a t the UK launch of the F atw a on suicide bombings a nd terrorism held by non-governmental orga nization M inhaj-ul-Q uran I nternational (MQI ) in London, Tuesday , M a rch 2, 2010. T he fatw a is a n Islamic decree tha t condem ns suicide bom bings a nd terrorist atrocit ies along w ith their perpetrators.(A P Photo/Ak ira S uemori) (A kira Suemori, A P / Ma rch 2, 2010)

LONDON (AP) — The le a der of a glo bal M uslim m ovement has issue d a fatwa, or religio us e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muham mad Tahir- ul- Qadr i, a former Pakistani la wm aker, says the 600-pa ge fat wa ban s suicide bom bin g " without any exc use s, any pr etexts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qa dr i ha s issued sim ilar, shorter decrees, but T uesday's ev ent in London was public ized by the Quilliam Fo un dation, a gov ernment-funde d anti-extremism think tank and dre w strong me dia attention. The religio us scholar is the fo under of Minh aj-ul- Quran, a wor ldwide m ovement that prom otes a 235

nonpolitical, toler ant Islam . T he group h as h undr eds of thousan ds of fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other co untries.

http://www.ynetne ws.com/articles/0,7340,L-3857044,00.htm l

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Publishe d: 03.02.10, 23:31 Suicid e b om be rs heading t o hell, a l-Qaeda e vil, Pa kista ni- bor n sc ho lar says The leade r of a global Muslim moveme nt has issued a fat wa, or religious e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a forme r Pakistani lawm ake r, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bom bing "without any e xcuse s, any pre tex ts, or exce ptions."

"They can't claim that the ir suicide bombings are m artyrdom operations and that they be com e the heroes of the Muslim nation," Qadri told a pre ss confere nce in London. "“No, the y be com e he roe s of he llfire , and the y are heading towards he llfire .” Qadri also slam me d O sam a Bin Laden's al-Q aeda network , re fe rring to it as an "old evil with a ne w nam e" and saying it has not be challenged adequate ly thus far. "There is no place for any m arty rdom and their act is never, eve r to be conside red jihad," he said. Tahir-ul-Q adri has issued sim ilar, shorter decree s, but Tuesday's eve nt in London was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gove rnm ent-funde d anti-e x trem ism think tank and dre w strong m e dia atte ntion. The re ligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Q uran, a worldwide m oveme nt that prom otes a nonpolitical, tole rant Islam . The group has hundre ds of thousands of followe rs around the world, m ost of them in Pak istan or Pakistanis living in othe r countries.

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http://www. dailystar.co.uk /ne ws/vie w/124586/Le ading- M uslim s-issue- fat wa- a ga inst - suicidebom bers/

LEADING MUSLIMS ISSUE FATWA AGAINST SUICIDE BOMBERS 3rd March 2010 B y To m Sa vag e

LEADI NG M uslim s la st night issued a fat wa aga inst suicide bomber s, warnin g them: “ You are goin g to Hell. ” Furious religio us le ader s m ade the ruling against twiste d fanatic s, like those who c arrie d o ut the 7/7 bom bin gs in London in 2005, who use I slam as an ex cuse to carry o ut terrorism . The edict was delivere d by Dr M uham mad Tahir- ul- Qa dri, 59, the Pakistan- born le ader of glo bal Islamic movem ent Minhaj- ul- Quran. He said there wer e no “ ifs or buts” a bout terrorism, and such acts ha d no justification in the name of Islam. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that “ suic ide bom bin gs and attacks a gainst civilian targets are not only con demne d by Islam but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam , in other wor ds, to be un believer s”. During a ne ws conference, Dr Qa dri said: “ T hey can’t claim that their suic ide bom bin gs are m artyrdom operations and that they becom e the heroe s of the Muslim Umm a (the wider M uslim com munity). “ No, they become hero es of Hellfire, and they are lea din g to war ds Hellf ire.” Communities Ministe r Shahid Malik said: “I welcome the work of Dr Q adri in helping reinforce this crucial message.” 237

http://www. da ilystar.co. uk/po sts/v iew/124481/Suicide- bom ber s-enemie s-of-Islam-/

SUICIDE BOMBERS 'ENEMIES OF ISLAM' 2nd March 2010 Suic ide bombers have been des c ribed as the "heroes of hellfire" by a leading M uslim scholar in a fat wa condemning terroris ts as the enem ies of I s lam. Pakistan-born Dr M uhammad Tahir- ul-Q adri s aid there were no "ifs or buts " about terroris m and suc h ac ts had no jus tific ation in the name of I slam. I n a ne ws c onference attende d by M Ps , repres entatives from the M etropolitan Polic e, c haritable organis ations , think- tanks and other gro ups , he c alled on Is lamic leaders to c onvey the message that acts of terroris m c ut people o ff as true follo wers of Is lam . "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom ope rations and t hat they bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma (the wide r M uslim c omm unity), no, they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire," he said. "There is no plac e for any martyrdom a nd their ac t is never, ever to be c ons idered Jihad," he added. Dr Q adri, who spoke at lengt h in both E nglish and Arabic before his audienc e, s aid his fat wa - a religious edic t or ruling - was an "absolute" condemnation of terroris m without "any excus es or pretexts ". "Good intentions c annot c onvert a wrong into good , they cannot convert a n evil into good ," he s aid. "Terroris m is terroris m, violenc e is violenc e and it has no plac e in I slamic teaching and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it, or any kind of exc uses or ifs or b uts ." He ins is ted that I s lam was a religion of peace that promotes beauty, "betterment", goodnes s and "negates all fo rm of mis c hief and s trife". The 600 -page fatwa by D r Q adri, founde r o f t he global M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem ent, whic h has thousands of s upporters across the world as well as in the U K, will be trans lated into E nglish in the com ing weeks . H is talk will also be made available online in an attempt to c ounter extrem ist vers ions of I slam available on the inter net. A fatwa , an edict iss ued by a learned M us lim sc holar, may c onc ern any aspect of I s lam ic life. The term bec ame fam ous in the Wes tern world in 19 89 after the autho r Salman R ushdie was forc ed into hiding follo wing a "death fat wa" is s ued by Ayatollah Khomeni, then Su prem e L eader of I ran, on the grounds that his book, T he Satanic Verses , had "ins ulted" I slam .

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S3M-5854 - Anti-terrorism Fatwa (updated) S cottis h Motion Ta bled *S3M-5854 Bill Kidd: Anti-terr orism Fatwa That the Parliam ent note s the iss uing , o n 2 Mar ch 2010, of a comprehensive fatwa (religio us ruling) by the renowned mainstream scholar , S haikh Dr Ta hir ulQ adri, pro hib iting te...

This conte nt is available to DeHavilla nd subs cribers o nly

http://www.daylife.com/article/0eM38qUbA49o1?q=Top+News

Muslim scholar launches anti-terror fatwa

A n influent ial Muslim scholar is to issue in London a glob al ruling against terrorism and suicide bo mb ing. Dr Tahir u l-Qadri, fro m Pakistan, says h is 600-page judgement, known as a fatwa, co mp letely dis mantles al-Qaeda's violent ideo logy . The scholar describ es... Fu ll A rt icle at BBC News

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700013296/Muslim-leader-issues- anti-terror-fatwa.html

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Associated Pre ss Publishe d: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 7:18 a.m . MST

A kira Suemori, As s ociated Press L eading M uslims sc holar D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri holds his Fatwa o n s uic ide bom bings and ter roris m, as he s peaks at its UK launc h held by no n- governmental organization M inhaj- ulQ uran I nternational (M Q I ) in L ondon , Tues day.

LONDO N — T he lea der o f a glo bal Muslim movem ent has iss ue d a f atwa , or relig ious e dic t, tha t he ca lls an abs olute co ndem nation of terror ism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a f orm er Pak istani lawm aker, says the 600-page fatwa bans s uic ide bomb ing "witho ut any exc uses, a ny pretexts, or exceptions ." Tahir -ul-Q adri ha s issued simila r, s horter decrees , b ut Tuesd ay's event in London is being hos te d by the Quilliam Foundation, a gover nment-funde d, anti-extremism think tank. The r eligio us scholar is the f ounder of M inhaj -ul-Quran, a worldwid e movement that promo tes a no npo litica l, to lerant Islam . The gr oup has hundreds of thousands of follower s around the world, m os t of them in Pakistan or Pakis tanis living in other co untries.

The Columbus dispatch http://www. dispatch.co m/live/content/loc al_news/stories/2010/03/02/fatwa- terror.htm l?sid=101

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Tuesday , Mar ch 2, 2010 8:25 AM

LONDON (AP) -- T he leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatw a, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani law maker, says the 600-page f atwa bans suicide bombing "w ithout any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London is being hosted by the Q uilliam Foundat ion, a government-funded, anti-extremism think tank. The religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a w orldwide movement that promotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of follow ers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other count ries.

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http://www.earthtimes.org/artic le s/sho w/312082,muslim -scholar-issue s-fat wa- con dem nin g-alqae da-terrorism .html London - A lea din g M uslim scholar with a lar ge follo win g in Britain T ue sday issue d a f at wa - or Islamic re ligio us r ulin g - con dem nin g glo bal terrorism and suicide bom bin gs in a "dir ect challen ge to al-Qa eda's v iolent ideology."Pakistan- born M uhamm ad T ahir-ul-Qa dri, the founder of the glo bal Minhaj- ul- Quran m ovement, made his formal proclamation of a fatwa, or religio us e dict, at a news conferenc e in London. The 600-page fat wa says that "suic ide bom bin gs an d attacks a gainst civilian targets are not only condem ned by Islam, but render the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam, in other wor ds, to be unbelievers." Qa dri de scribe d the a l-Qae da movem ent as an "o ld evil with a new nam e" and said h e be liev e d that the over whe lm ing majority of yo un g M uslims in Britain had not yet be en ra dica liz e d and wo uld "think aga in" on rea din g h is proclamation. Those who ha d alrea dy be en "totally br ainwashe d" wo uld not listen, said Qa dri, but others wo uld have " doubt" se wn in their minds. "You don't be come a terrorist overnight. It is a journey ... Many are a lrea dy on that roa d but they have not yet arrive d to be com e suicide bom bers," Qa dr i told jo urnalists. He deve loped the doc um ent, wh ich cha llen ges the religio us motivation of suic ide bombers, in respon se to the rise in suicide bom bin gs in Pakistan. He said he hop ed his arguments wo uld attract the attention of politicians an d se curity services in we stern nations. Copyright DPA

Re a d m ore: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/312082,m uslim -scholar-issues-f at wacondem ning-al- qa e da-terrorism.html#ixzz0hcee Vd2 w

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http://www.earthtimes.org/artic le s/sho w/312128,muslim -scholar-issues-fat wa- a gain st-al- qa edaterrorism--sum mary.html London - An influentia l M uslim scholar with a lar ge following in Britain Tue sday issue d a fatwa or Islam ic religious ruling - which con demne d global terrorism and brande d suicide bombers as the "heroes of h ellf ire."The proclamation by Pakistan-born Muham mad Tahir-ul-Qa dri, the foun der of the glo bal Minhaj- ul- Quran movem ent, wa s im mediately welcom ed by government leaders and follo we d clo se ly by sec urity organizations, parliamentarian s an d M uslim groups. Qa dri told a ne ws conf erence in Lon don that the fatwa sho uld be seen as a "direct challenge to alQae da's violent ideolo gy" wh ich had no justification in the nam e of Islam. "Terrorism is terrorism, violence is vio lenc e and it has no pla ce in I slam ic tea chin g and no justific ation can be provide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or if s or buts," sa id Qadri. The 600-page fat wa says that "suic ide bom bin gs an d attacks a gainst civilian targets are not only condem ned by Islam, but render the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam, in other wor ds, to be unbelievers." "They can't claim that their suicide bom bin gs are m artyrdom operations ... they become heroe s of hellfire, an d they are leadin g towar ds hellfire," he sa id. Qa dri describe d the a l-Qae da net work as an "old ev il with a ne w nam e" and said he believe d that the over whe lm ing majority of yo un g M uslims in Britain had not yet be en ra dica liz e d and wo uld "think aga in" on rea din g h is proclamation. Those who ha d alrea dy be en "totally br ainwashe d" wo uld not listen, said Qa dri, but others wo uld have " doubt" planted in their m in ds. "You don't be come a terrorist overnight. It is a journey ... Many are a lrea dy on that roa d but they have not yet arrive d to be com e suicide bom bers," Qa dr i told jo urnalists. He deve loped the doc um ent, wh ich cha llen ges the religio us motivation of suic ide bombers, in respon se to the rise in suicide bom bin gs in Pakistan, where Qadr i ha s a large follo win g. His organiz ation c urrently ha s 10 mosques in Br itish c ities with large M uslim comm unitie s an d it hopes to target the younger generation who feel "let down by tra ditiona l le a der s," said Qa dri. Members of par liam ent, se curity chiefs an d M uslim representatives were present at the proclam ation. Qa dri said h e hope d his argum ents wo uld attract the attention of politician s an d secur ity services in we stern nations. Britain's Communitie s M inister, Shahid M a lik, we lcome d the fatwa a s a "cr ucial m essa ge to Muslim s an d non-M uslim s alike" because it ma de clear that martyrs were "not go ing to heaven but som ewher e very differ ent indeed." Fellow-I slamic scholar Shaikh M ohamm ed Hisham Kabbani, of the Centre for Spirit uality and Cult ural Advancem ent, sa id the fatwa wo uld he lp British M uslims to "co unter the ra dic al I slam ist rhetoric in the world." "This scho larship is a landmark in ena blin g M uslims living in the UK to be able to silence the sm all minority of people who think it is OK to com mit violent acts in the nam e of Islam," he sa id. Read mor e: http://www.earthti mes.o rg/articles/show/312128,musli m-scholar -issues- fatwa -against- al-qa eda-t erro rism- -

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summar y.ht ml#i xzz0hc ezP QXR

Ethiopian Review http://www.ethiopianrevie w.com/news/11838

Tahir ul-Qadri and the difficulty of reporting on fatwas T om Heneghan | March 2nd, 2010 at 2:27 pm

M uhamm ed Tahir ul-Qa dr i at a yo uth camp in Coventry, central England, August 9, 2009/Kieran D oher ty

It nev er was and m ay never be easy to re por t about fatwas f or a world aud ience. This point was dr iven hom e onc e again today when a prom inent Islamic s cholar presented to the media his new 600-page fatwa against terrorism a nd s uic ide bom bing. Muhamm ad Tahir ul-Qadr i is a P akista ni-bor n Sufi scholar whos e youth works ho ps f os tering mo deration and under sta nding in Britain had alr eady caug ht our atte ntio n. His effo rt to k nock d own any and 244

every ar gum ent in favo ur of v iolence is cer tainly we lcome. But the back story to this event is so com plicated tha t it’s hard to repor t on the fatwa without sim ply ig noring many im porta nt par ts of this back story. Part of the problem was the PR drumro ll lead ing up to ul-Qadri’s news conference. Minhaj-ul-Q uran, his international network to spr ead his S ufi teaching s, to uted this fa twa in a n email to jo ur nalists a week ago as a uniq ue event “beca use at no time in history ha s s uch an ex te nsively researc hed and evidence d work been prese nted by s uc h a prom ine nt Islamic a uthor ity.” Hype like this usually prom pts jo ur nalists to thr ow an invita tio n s traight into the tras h can. Two days la ter, on Februar y 25, the pitc h was changed to pres ent this doc um ent as “the fir st ever fa twa ag ainst terror ism which dec lares te rrorists as disb eliev ers.” Now, that’s m ore likely to gr ab a b usy j our na list’s a tte ntio n. But once it has accomplis hed that, a ny hack with any e xperience covering I slam finds two big problem s with this descrip tion. Fir st, it plays on a widely-held (and sometimes willful) m isperc ep tion that Muslim leaders have no t spoke n out against Islamist violence. Large numbers of Muslim leade rs have denounce d violence, suicide bombs , 9/11, 7/7 and many other bloody a ttacks by Islam ist radicals (check out a lo ng par tial lis t here). But since there is no real hier archy in Islam, non-Muslim s don’t k now who has the authority to s peak out and Muslims of ten challe ng e the authority of tho se who d o. Many o f these s tatem ents end up unrep orted, like the trees nob ody hea rs falling in the fores t. B ut if a news story is writte n with the “first ever” tag in the lead, it giv es the false imp ression tha t no o ther M us lim lea der has ev er done any thing sim iliar b efore . Second, the cla use “which dec lares terrorists as disbeliever s” is d ifficult te rrain. It’s hard for a jour nalist to ver ify that this is the first s uc h fa twa a s no central directory of such edicts worldwide exis ts. Mo reover, who has the a uthor ity in Islam to declar e someo ne a non-Muslim? Al-Qaeda has bee n c riticised for declar ing its enem ies no n-Muslim s (an act known a s takfir) and either killing them or urging other Muslims to kill them. In fact, a n imp ortant gro up of mains tream M uslim sc holars go t toge ther in 2004 to issue the Am man Mes sag e tha t denounces the use of tak fir. On the website o f the Am man Messa ge is a lis t of sc holars endorsing it. Amo ng thos e listed under Pakis tan is none o the r tha n a l-Q adr i… Ano ther problem is that ul-Qadr i issue d a n e arlier, 150-page Ur du version of his fa twa las t D ecember and got a tepid rece ptio n — Pak ista n’s Inter ior Ministe r Rehman Malik welcom ed it as “a positive development” a nd Pakis tani media – see The News here — seem to have giv en it only s hor t r outine coverage . May be they’re suffering from a fatwa overload there . Assess ing the fatwa’s sig nificance is also diff icult whe n even Muslim views of it are quite divided. C heck out these posts in the blogosphere — Qadri’s fa twa breaks no new gro und (with lo ts abo ut what his critic s think of him) … Sha ikh Dr Tahir ul-Q ad ri – A nti-Terror ism Fa twa W ithout Teeth … Fa twas can be a forc e 245

for good … plus this Guard ian comm ent Fatwa wars are not the s olution. By this m orning, the em ails prom oting the news co nfe rence took another ang le: “The la unc h of the fatwa is being regarded by ma ny circle s as a sig nificant and his toric s tep, the first time tha t s uc h a n explicit and unequivocal decree against the perp etr ators o f terror has been bro adcas t so w ide ly.” T he spin dete ctors go out when journalis ts r ead “being re gar ded by m any c ircles” (and how many sq uares or tr iangles, o ne might ask). “Historic” is to tally overused. But this stateme nt at leas t m akes sense by the e nd, beca use it talks abo ut the f irst tim e s uc h a fatwa “has bee n broa dcas t so widely.” Micha el Holden, a co rres ponde nt in our Lo ndon bureau, dealt with all this by interview ing ul-Qadr i a day in advance (click here for the story ) to focus o n him a nd his fatwa ra ther than the hy pe around it. He ad ded usef ul back gro und comm ents from Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic s tudies at C ambridge University, who called the f atwa “a helpful initiative” and adde d: “To decla re the miscreants as unbelievers is unusual, because it is no t really clear tha t the rules allow o ne simply to say tha t they are not Muslim s… Those w ho are alread y hardliners will p ay no attention at all. B ut ’swing vo ters ’ — poor ly educated and a ngry Mus lim s, who resp ec t mainstream sc ho lars , will pr oba bly take note.” This fa twa s ho uldn’t bec om e a no ther unheard tr ee fa lling in the fores t, but screening o ut all the surro unding noise about it is not easy. W ha t do y ou think abo ut ul-Qadri’s fa twa a nd how the media covered it?

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http://www.eur asiarev iew.com /2010/03/32118-uk-m uslim-leader-issue s-fat wa.htm l

U.K. Muslim Leader Issues Fatwa Condemning Terrorism Tue sday, March 02, 2010

The lead er of a Muslim movem ent with thousands of followers in the UK was Tuesday iss uing a fatwa - or Is lamic religio us ruling - condem ning terrorism and warning suicide bom bers tha t they ar e "des tined for he ll". Pakistan-born D r Muham mad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founder of the global "Minhaj-ulQuran" m ovement, was making the forma l UK proc lamation of a fatwa, or religio us edict, co ndemning terro rism a nd suicide bom bing at a news conference in London, a spokesm an for the group said. The 600-pa ge f atwa announces that "s uicide bombings and attacks against civilian ta rge ts are no t o nly co ndemned by Is lam, but re nder the per pe tra tors totally out of the f old of Islam, in other word s, to be unbelievers". Accor ding to Sky News, Ta hir-ul-Qadri said "he felt com pelled to issue the fatwa because of concer ns abo ut the ra dic alis ation of Britis h M uslims at university campuses and be ca use there had bee n a lack of condemnatio n of extrem ism by Muslim clerics and sc holars ." Sha hid Mur saleen, sp okesm an for Minhaj-ul-Quran UK , said , "He has hit hard on the terror is ts a s it prevents Islam ists from co nsidering suicide bombers as 'martyrs '." This fa twa a ims to injec ts doubt into the minds of potential suicid e b om bers. "Ex tremis t gro ups ba sed in Brita in r ecr uit yo uth by br ainwa shing them that the y will 'with cer tainty' be rewar ded in the nex t life and Dr Qadri's fatwa has rem oved this key inte llectual fac tor from the ir m inds." The fa twa ha s b een billed as "ar gua bly the m os t compre hensive" theolo gic al 247

refutation of Islamic terro rism to date by counte r ex tremism think tank the Q uilliam foundation. A Quilliam sp okesm an sa id, "Te rrorist groups s uc h as al-Q ae da continue to justify their m ass k illings with self -serving rea dings of religio us scripture . "Fatwas that demolish and e xpose such the olo gical innovatio ns will c ons ign Islamis t terrorism to the dus tb in of history." The Minhaj -ul-Q uaran moveme nt runs courses in comb ating religious extremism in ed uca tio na l ce ntres throug hout Britain including London, Birm ingham , Ma nches ter, G lasg ow and Dundee in Sco tland. The re are around 1.6 million Muslims in the UK, the majority from the India n s ub -co ntinent. Source: KUNA re porting inc luded in this re por t.

http://www.seattlepi.co m/national/1103ap_ eu_britain_anti_ter ror_fatwa .html

Last updated March 2, 2010 6:36 a.m. PT

Muslim leader issues anti-te rror fatwa T H E A S SOC IAT ED P R E SS

LONDON -- The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he c alls an absolute c ondem nation of terrorism. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former P akistani lawmaker, says t he 600-page fatwa bans suic ide bombing "wit hout any exc us es, any pret exts, or exc eptions." Tahir-ul-Q adri has iss ued similar, shorter dec rees, but Tues day's event in London w as publicized by t he Quilliam Foundation, a governm ent-funded anti-ext remism think t ank and drew strong media attention. The religious sc holar is t he founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a w orldwide movem ent t hat promotes a nonpolitical, t olerant Islam. The group has hundreds of t hous ands of followers around the world, most of t hem in P akistan or P akist anis living in ot her c ount ries.

http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:UKAiEbhf4t4J:www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/na tional/2010/mar/03/national-03-03-2010-14.htm+qadri+edict&cd=137&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk

‘Suicide bombers are enemies of Islam’ From Tony O sauzo, Benin W ednes day, M arch 3, 2 01 0 D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri, launc hes a fat wa or I slamic religious ruling that c ondem ns s uic ide bom bings yesterday T he leader of a worldwide M us lim movement yesterday iss ued a fat wa c ondemning terrorists and s uic ide bom bers as the enem ies of I slam. P akis tan-born Dr M uhammad Tahir- ul-Q adri s aid there were no ‘i fs or buts ’ abo ut ter roris m and s uc h ac ts had no j us tific ation in the nam e o f Is lam . I n a news c onferenc e yes terday he c alled on Is lam ic leaders to c onvey the mes sage that acts of terroris m c ut people o ff as true follo wers o f I s lam . ‘T hey can’t c laim that their s uicide bombings are m artyrdom o perations and that t hey bec om e the heroes o f the M us lim U mma (the wider M us lim community), no, they becom e heroes of hellfire, a nd they are leading towards hellfire ,’ he s aid. ‘T here is no plac e for a ny martyrdom and their ac t is never, ever to be c ons idered J ihad,’ he s aid. Dr Q adri, who spoke at length in both Englis h and A rabic before his audience, said his fatwa, a religious edic t or ruling, was an ‘abs olute’ c ondem nation of ter roris m witho ut ‘any excus es or pretexts ’. ‘G ood intentions c annot c onvert a wrong into go od, they c annot c onvert an evil into good ,’ he s aid. ‘T errorism is terroris m, violenc e is violenc e and it has no place in Is lam ic teac hing and no justification c an be provided for it, or any kind of excus es or ifs or buts . H e insis ted that I slam was a religion of peace that promotes beauty, ‘betterment’, goodness and ‘negates all form o f m isc hief and strife’. The 6 0 0- page fat wa by Dr Q adri, fo under of the global M inhaj- ul-Q uran movement, whic h has thous ands of s upporters acros s the world as well as in the UK, will be tra ns lated into E nglish in the c om ing weeks . H is talk will als o be made available online in an attempt to counter extremis t vers ions of I slam available on the internet. T he fat wa has been billed as ‘arg uably the mos t c omprehens ive’ theologic al refutation o f I s lam ic terroris m to date by c ounter- extrem ism think- tank the Q uilliam foundation . T he M inhaj- ul-Q uran m ovement s aid it runs cours es in combating religious extrem ism in educ ational centres throughout Britain including L ondon, Birm ing ham , M anc hes ter, Nelson, W als all and Glas gow. I t c urrently has an office in D undee . A fatwa , an edic t is sued by a learned M uslim sc holar, may concern any aspect of I s lamic life. T he term becam e famous in the Wes tern world in 1 98 9 after the author Salman Rushdie was forc ed into hiding follo wing a ‘death fat wa’ is sued by A yatollah Khom eni, then Sup rem e L eader of Iran, on the gro unds that his book, T he Satanic Vers es , had ‘insulted’ Is lam.

http://www.eveningsun.com/c i_14497322

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The Asso cia ted Press Posted: 03/02/2010 08:20:08 AM EST

LONDON—T he leader of a g lob al Muslim m ovem ent has issued a fatwa, or religio us edict, tha t he calls an absolute co ndem na tio n of terror ism. Muhamm ad Ta hir-ul-Qadri, a f ormer Pakistani lawm aker, sa ys the 600-page fatwa ba ns s uic ide bomb ing "without a ny exc uses, any pretexts, or excep tions." Tahir-ul-Q adri has is sue d s imilar, shorter dec rees, b ut Tuesd ay's event in Londo n was publicized by the Quilliam Fo undatio n, a gov ernme nt-funded antiextrem ism think tank a nd drew s tro ng media a ttentio n. The r eligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj -ul-Qura n, a worldwide movement that prom otes a nonpolitica l, tolerant I slam. The gr oup has hundreds of thous ands o f fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other co untries.

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http://www.forth2.com/Article.asp?id=1717246&spid=25211

Islamic Scholar Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa A prominent Islamic scholar w ill use a speech in London to issue a 600-page relig ious ed ict, denouncing terrorists and su icide bo mbers as "unbelievers". M uhammad Tahir ul Qadri is a leading figure who has promoted peace and interfaith d ialogue fo r 30 years. He said he felt co mpelled to issue the fatwa because of concerns about the radicalisation of Brit ish Muslims at university campuses and because there had been a lack of condemnat ion of extremism by M uslim clerics and scholars. Ul Qadri says his fatwa, which is aimed at persuading young Muslims to turn their backs on extremism, goes further than any previous denunciat ion . "This is the first, most comprehensiv e fatwa on the subject of terrorism ever written ," said ul Qadri, who has written about 350 books on Is lamic scholarship. He is a scholar of Su fism, a long t rad it ion with in Islam wh ich is widely seen as focusing on peace, to lerance and moderation. Nigerian Umar Farou k Abdul Mutallab , accused o f t rying to bomb a US-bound p lane on Christmas Day, studied at a London univers ity unt il 2008. Govern ment o fficials in Yemen, where Mutallab beg an his jou rney, have said he was radicalised wh ile in Britain . However, the Brit ish Government claims his introduction to hardcore extremists happened after he left the UK. Govern ment o fficials w ill be among those join ing ul Qadri fo r the launch o f the fatwa in central London.The Muslim Council of Britain , an u mbrella organ isation representing some 500 Islamic groups, has welco med the fatwa. Ul Qadri w ill tell his audience: "The reality is that what ever these terrorists are do ing it is not marty rdo m. All these act ivities are taking them to hellfire." The 59-year-o ld was bo rn in Pakistan and is head of the global M inhaj u l Quran

religious and edu cat ional organisation wh ich sp reads h is Sufi id eas. A former Pakistani min ister and associate of assassinated prime min ister Benazir Bhutto , he delivers lectures worldw ide pro moting h is message of harmony and was one of the first Muslim leaders to cond emn the 9/11 attacks in the U S. While ul Qad ri h as followers around the g lobe, it is in Pakistan where he has millions of followers and in the diaspora that h is impact is likely to be greatest. Britain has about 1.7 million Muslims, mainly o f Pakistani d escent. The UK's security serv ices say nearly all major terro rism p lots s ince 2001, in clud ing the 2005 London bo mb ings which killed 52 p eop le, have been linked to Pakistan. Ul Qadri said he is confident his ed ict will have a s ign ificant impact because he has drawn on classical teachings and autho rities accept able to all sects of Islam. "I w ill say more than 50% will change their way, they will be influenced," he said. "Of the remaining 50% at least some of them, half o f th em, will become doubtfu l about their life, their terro rist act ivity," he said. Tim W inter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Camb ridge Un iversity, said wh ile there had been similar fatwas in th e past, ul Qad ri d id appear to have gone fu rther than most. "To declare the miscreants as unbelievers is unusual because it is not really clear that the rules allow one simply to say that they are not M uslims." He added : "Those who are already hard liners will pay no attent ion at all but 'swing voters' - poorly-educated and angry Muslims who respect mainstream scho lars - will probab ly take note. "Certainly it is a helpfu l in it iative." Ul Qadri's pronouncement will be welcomed by autho rities in the UK and by oth er Western govern ments seeking to stamp out extremism - but the respected scholar said their backing is irrelev ant to h is views.

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http://www .forzion.c om/full- artic le.php?new s=8614

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa 03.0 3.2 010.1 0:0 6

The leade r of a global Muslim moveme nt has issued a fat wa, or religious e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of te rrorism . The image cannot be display ed. Your computer may not hav e enough memory to open the image, or the image may hav e been corrupted. Restart y our computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, y ou may hav e to delete the image and then insert it again.

he llfire .”

Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a forme r Pak istani lawm aker, says the 600-page fat wa bans suicide bom bing "without any ex cuse s, any pre te x ts, or ex ceptions." "They can't claim that the ir suicide bom bings are m artyrdom ope rations and that they be com e the heroes of the Muslim nation," Q adri told a press confe rence in London. "“No, they be com e heroes of he llfire , and the y are heading towards

Qadri also slamme d O sam a Bin Laden's al-Q aeda ne two rk , re ferring to it as an "old evil with a ne w nam e" and saying it has not be challenged adequate ly thus far. "There is no place for any m artyrdom and the ir act is neve r, e ve r to be considere d jihad," he said. Tahir-ul-Q adri has issued sim ilar, shorter decree s, but Tuesday's eve nt in London was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gove rnm ent-funde d anti-e x trem ism think tank and dre w strong m e dia atte ntion. The re ligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Q uran, a worldwide m oveme nt that prom otes a nonpolitical, tole rant Islam . The group has hundre ds of thousands of followe rs around the world, m ost of them in Pak istan or Pakistanis living in othe r countries. Yne t

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The latest in The White House and U.S. Politics http://www.fromthew estw ing.com/artic le/Mus lim% 20scholar%20in% 20Br itain% 20condemn s%20terr oris m/?k=j83s12y12h94s27k02

Muslim scholar in Britain condemns terrorism AFP Europe an Edition | 2010- 03- 02 18: 10: 35 A le ading M uslim scholar in Britain issue d a fatwa Tue sday condemning terrorists and suicide bom be rs, saying the y had no justification in the nam e of Islam. Pakistan-born Dr. Tahir ul-Q adri said the re were no "ifs or buts" about te rrorism , in a ne ws confe rence atte nded by officers from London's Me tropolitan Police , lawm ake rs, charitable organisations and think-tank s. He said he wante d to conve y the m essage that acts of te rrorism cut people off as true followe rs of Islam . "The y can't claim that their suicide bombings are m artyrdom ope rations and that the y become the he roe s of the M uslim Um ma (the wide r M uslim comm unity). No, they become he roe s of he llfire, and the y are leading towards he llfire . "The re is no place for any martyrdom and the ir act is ne ve r, e ver to be conside re d jihad," he adde d. Q adri said his 600-page fatwa, or re ligious ruling, was an "absolute" condem nation of te rro rism without "any e xcuse s or pre te x ts". "Good inte ntions cannot conve rt a wrong into good, the y cannot convert an evil into good," he said. "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is viole nce and it has no place in Islam ic te aching and no justification can be provide d for it, or any k ind of ex cuses or ifs or buts." He said Islam was a religion of pe ace that prom otes beauty, "betterm ent", goodne ss and "ne gates all form of mischief and strife ". The fatwa will be translate d into English in the com ing wee k s and made available online in an attem pt to counte r e x trem ist versions of Islam available on the Internet. Q adri founded the M inhaj-ul-Q uran m ovem ent, which has thousands of supporters in Britain and across the world. In B ritain, it says it runs courses in com bating re ligious e xtrem ism in e ducational centres in London, M anche ste r and Birm ingham .

Editing by Ch arles Dick

http://www .futurec onscience.com/anti-terr oris m-fatw a-to- be-issued- by-pr ominent- muslimleader /

Anti-terrorism fatwa to be issued by prominent Muslim leader Written on March 1, 2010 by RAGor don in L ife style & Society, Religion & Spirit uality

Moving away from the usual technology focus that we have he re at Future Conscience, ne ws has bee n going around that a prom inent Islam ic leader is going to issue a de taile d fatwa tom orro w in London that de nounces terrorism and suicide bom bing in the nam e of Islam. Muham mad Tahir ul-Qadri, a leading Sufi scholar and founde r of Minhaj-ul-Q ur’an Inte rnational, will issue the 600-page fatwa in an attem pt to provide a thorough and po werful e dict against terroris t acti vity – e ve n going so far as to argue that those who engage in such activity m ust be see n as unbe lie vers. The m onum e ntal wo rk se e ks to discredit, in great de tail, the m any justifications use d to persuade disaffe cte d M uslim s around the world to comm it acts of violence in the nam e of Islam .

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Dr. Q adri has state d that the fatwa is a re sponse to the growing leve ls of extre m ist education and pe rsuasion, particularly amongst British Muslim comm unities, and is hoping that the detaile d work will he lp inspire Muslim s around the world to continue to work against violent e x trem ism in all of its form s. Pacifist voice s such as Dr. Q adri’s are pivotal in the fight against Islam ic ex trem ism , as the y he lp demonstrate that the teachings of Islam are not in-line with the violent and de structi ve tacti cs use d by m any te rrorists and suicide bom be rs in the nam e of their religion. Hopefully this me ssage won’t just re ach M uslim com m unities around the world, but will also have a great im pact upon those who wish to blam e Islam as a religion for the actions of a small m inority of its adhere nts. The curre nt ‘ clash of civilisations’ has had a very long time in the making, and stem s from dee p-se ate d and long-running political turm oil and conflict that goes back ove r 1,000 years. Ho we ver, unlik e any othe r point in history, we are now at a tim e whe re a unifying outlook and philosophy can begin to em erge – this is a fact that cannot be ove rlooked nor underm ine d by the actions of a fe w despicable m urdere rs or viole nt crim inals. Understanding and co-ex iste nce will hope fully be the m ark er of the future global com m unity, and efforts such as this from Dr. Q adri are vital in he lping achieve such a goal. The unifying capabilities of m ode rn com m unication and social ne t works (and not just of the online k ind) me ans that this work could well have arri ved at the pe rfe ct tim e to have maxim um im pact well into the future. I’ll m ak e sure to ke ep an e ye on the re ception of the fat wa when it is prese nte d tom orrow, as it is sure to bring out a lot of opinion and de bate – discourse whi ch should be we l com ed wi th ope n arm s and embraced for the insight that it can bring to all parties involved. A future society base d on m assive te chnological and me dical advancem ent me ans little if we cannot m ove towards solving the social and political turm oil of our day; and any step forwa rds is som ething to be che rished and re ce ive d with e nthusiasm .

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http://www.geo.tv/12-5-2009/54142.htm

GEO Pakistan Tahir-ul-Qadri declares suicide attacks ‘unIslamic’ Updated at: 1708 PST, Sat urday, December 05, 2009

LAHORE: Su icide attacks and bomb b lasts are not allo wed in Is lam; these acts are ‘un-Islamic’. Head o f M inhaj-u l-Quran Internat ional Tah ir-ul-Qad ri said th is during a v ideo conference held with reference to his 150-p age ‘Fatwa’. “This Fatwa w ill b e released in th ree languages across the world,” he said. The Fatwa describes viewpoint on Is lam and terro rism in the light o f the ho ly Qu r'an and Sunnah. “Any armed struggle against an Is lamic state falls in the do main of rebellion,” he explained. He lashed at the military aggression in Kashmir, Palestine, Iraq and Afghan istan. “The butchering o f human beings belonging to any relig ion o r country, and terro rism in all its fo rms and manifestat ions are totally in clash w ith the teach ings of Is lam”. Tah ir-u l-Qadri said the terrorist elements are p lay ing in the hands of Pakistan’s enemies.

http://www. glo balgoo dne ws.com/wor ld-pea ce-a.htm l?art=126746489730589902

Prominent Muslim to issue antiterrorism fatwa by M ic hael Holden Re ute rs 1 M arch 20 10

LO NDO N (Re ute rs) - A prom inent Islam ic scholar is to issue a 600-page re ligious edict de nouncing terrorism in London on Tue sday in what he says is a bid to pe rsuade young Muslim s to turn the ir back s on extrem ism . The fatwa from Muham mad Tahir ul-Q adri, a leading figure who has promoted pe ace and interfaith dialogue for 30 ye ars, echoe s e dicts condem ning extrem ism issued by a numbe r of Islam ic groups since the Sept. 11 attack s on the Unite d States. But Q adri says his fatwa, whi ch declare s te rrorists and suicide bom bers to be unbelie ve rs, goe s further than any pre vious denunciation. 'This is the first, m ost com pre he nsive fatwa on the subject of terrorism eve r writ ten,' said Q adri, who has writte n about 350 books on Islam ic scholarship and is a scholar of Sufism , a long tradition within Islam that focuse s on peace , tole rance and m oderation. 'I have tried to leave not a single stone unturned on this particular sub ject and I have trie d to addre ss eve ry single que stion rele vant to this subject,' he told Reuters in a tele phone intervie w. Qadri, 59, who was born in Pakistan, is he ad of the global Minhaj ul-Q uran re ligious and e ducational organisation whi ch spre ads his Sufi ide as. A form er Pak istani m iniste r and associate of assassinate d Prim e Ministe r Be nazir Bhutto, he de live rs lecture s world wide prom oting his m essage of harmony and was one of the first M uslim leade rs to condemn the Sept. 11 attacks. Tim W inte r, a le cturer in Islam ic studies at Cam bridge University, said while there had be e n similar fatwas in the past, Q adri did appear to have gone further than m ost. 'To de clare the m iscreants as unbelieve rs is unusual, be cause it is not re ally clear that

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the rules allow one sim ply to say that the y are not M uslims,' he told Re ute rs. 'Those who are alre ady hardline rs will pay no atte ntion at all. But 's wing vote rs'— poorly educated and angry M uslim s, who respect m ainstre am scholars, will probably tak e note . 'Ce rtainly it is a he lpful initiative ,' he said. HE LLFIRE Qadri said he fe lt com pelle d to issue the edict be cause of concerns about the radicalisation of British Muslim s at university cam puses and because the re had been a lack of condem nation of e xtrem ism by Muslim cle rics and scholars. Nige rian Um ar Farouk Abdulm utallab, accuse d of trying to bomb a U.S.-bound plane on Christmas Day, studied at a London unive rsity until 2008. Yem en, whe re Abdulm utallab began his journe y, has said he was radicalised while in Britain. 'The re ality is that whateve r the se terrorists are doing it is not m artyrdom . All the se activi ties are tak ing them to hellfire ,' Q adri said. He is confide nt that the e dict will have a significant im pact, saying he had drawn on classical te achings and authoritie s acce ptable to all sects of Islam . 'I will say more than 50 pe rce nt will change their way, the y will be influenced. O f the rem aining 50 pe rce nt at le ast some of them , half of them , will be com e doubtful about the ir life, the ir te rro rist activit y,' he said. W hile Q adri has followe rs across the globe , it is in Pakistan, whe re he has millions of followe rs, and in the diaspora that his im pact would be gre ate st, W inte r said. Bri tain has about 1.7 m illion Muslim s, mainly of Pak istani descent, and the se curity service s say that ne arly all m ajor te rro rism plots since 2001, including the 2005 London bombings which k ille d 52 pe ople, were linke d to Pakistan. Governm e nt officials will be am ong those joining Qadri for the launch of the fatwa in central London. The Muslim C ouncil of Britain, an um brella organisation re pre senting som e 500 Islam ic groups, said the fatwa was we l com e . 'It is e ntirely laudable for scholars such as Tahir ul-Q adri to speak out against terrorism ,' it said in a statem ent. Although his pronouncem e nt will be good ne ws for the authoritie s in Britain and othe r We ste rn gove rnme nts see king to win M uslim support to stam p out extre m ism , Q adri said their backing is irrele vant to his views. (Editing by Charles D ick)

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iyNdffkPudYxyoibk176fnF732 Dg

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (CP)

LONDON—Aformer Pakistani legislator who lives in Canada and leads a global Muslim movement has issueda fat wa, or religious edict, condemning terrorism. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri says the 600-page fat wa bans suicide bombing"without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." He is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Qur'an, a worldwide movement that promotes a non-political, tolerant Islam. A spokesman for the group told The Canadian Press that Tahir-ul-Qadri has been living in southern Ontario for almost four years. The spokesman would not reveal the exact location. Tahir-ul-Qadri has issuedsimilar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a government-fundedanti-extremism think-tank. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other countries.

http://www.sand iego6.co m/news/world/story/Muslim- leader - issues -anti-t erro rfatwa/HTuC08eOM ke6fmW2Z1XI7g .csp x Last Upd ate: 3/02 5 :56 am

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa

Isla mic S cholar and spiritual le ade r Shaykh-ul -Isla m D r Muha mma d Tahir-ul Qadri delivers a ter roris m Fatwa at the Institution of Mech anical Engineers on M ar ch 2 , 2010 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood, G etty I mag es )

LONDON (A P) — Th e lead er of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnat ion of terrorism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri, a fo rmer Pakistani law maker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bo mb ing "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tah ir-ul-Qad ri has issued similar, sho rter decrees, but Tuesday's ev ent in London is being hosted by the Qu illiam Foundat ion, a govern ment-funded, ant i-extremism think tank. The relig ious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-u l-Quran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a non -po litical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis liv ing in other countries.

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Muslim leader to declare fatwa condemning terrorism W ed, 03 Mar 2010 LONDON: The lea der of a re portedly worldwide Muslim move ment wit h t housa nds of followers in the UK was Tuesday issuing a fat wa - or Islamic re ligious ruling - condemning terroris m a nd warning suicide bombers that t hey are "dest ined for he ll." Pa kista n-born Dr. Muha mmad Ta hir-ul-Q adri, founder of the globa l "Minha j-ul-Q uran" mov ement, wa s making t he forma l UK procla ma tion of a f atwa, or re lig ious edict, conde mning t errorism and suicide bombing at a ne ws confere nce in London, a spoke sman f or the group said. The 600-page f atwa announces that "suicide bombings and attacks a ga inst civ ilian ta rgets are not only conde mned by Isla m, but re nder the pe rpetrat ors totally out of the fold of Islam, in ot her words, to be unbelievers. " Shahid Mursale en, spokesma n for Minhaj-ul-Q ura n UK, said: "He has hit ha rd on t he terrorists a s it prev ent s Isla mist s f rom considering suicide bombers as 'martyrs'. This fat wa injects doubt into the minds of pote nt ia l suicide bombers. "Extremist groups based in Brit ain recruit youth by brainwa shing t he m t hat t hey will 'with certa inty' be rewarde d in the next life and Dr Qadri's fat wa ha s re moved this key inte llect ual fact or from t heir minds." The fat wa has bee n billed as "arguably the most comprehensiv e" the ologica l ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by counter extre mism t hink ta nk the Quillia m F oundat ion. A Quill ia m spokesman sa id: "Te rrorist groups such as A l-Qaeda cont inue to just ify t he ir mass killings with self-serving re adings of re ligious scripture. "Fat was that de molish and expose such theological innovat ions will consign Isla mist terroris m to the dust bin of hist ory." The Minhaj-ul-Quran movement runs courses in combat ing re ligious extremism in educational ce nters throughout Brit ain including London, Birmingham, Manche ster, Glasgow and Dundee in Scot land. There are a round 1. 6 million Muslims in t he UK, the majority from the Indian sub-co

http://www .breakingc hr istiannew s.com/artic les/display _ar t_pf.html?ID=7646

UK Muslim Group Issues Fatwa Against...Islamic Terrorists by Teresa Ne umann : Mar 5, 2010 : Jonathan Harwood - First Post News http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk /60373,ne ws-com ment,news-politics,uk-muslim s-will-take muhammad-tahir-ul-qadris-fatwa-against-te rrorism -se riously "T his fatwa has t he pot ential t o be a hi ghly sig nifica nt st ep t ow ar ds eradicati ng Islamist terroris m. Gr oup s s uc h a s al-Qa eda c ontinue t o justify t hei r mass killings wit h s elf-s ervi ng readi ngs of religi ous script ur e. F atwas t hat demolish and exp os e such theol ogical innov ati ons will c onsign I sla mist t err oris m t o t he dustbin of hist ory." (Unite d Kingdom )—A London-based Muslim organization led by Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, founder of the incre asingly popular Sufi m ovem ent Minhaj-ul-Q uran, has issue d a fatwa against...Islamic terrorists. The move, according to a First Post ne ws re port, is be ing "hailed as a significant ste p forward in the fight against fundam entalism , and one that will have re percussions in the UK and be yond." (Phot o: First Post. co. uk) As noted in the re port the 600-page edict m ounts a "dire ct challenge to alQaeda's violent ide ology" and declare s "suicide bom bings and attacks against civilian targe ts are not only condem ne d by Islam , but rende r the pe rpe trators totally out of the fold of Islam , in othe r words, to be unbe lie vers." Ul-Qadri was quote d as saying the edict, whi ch is aim e d at persuading young Muslims to turn the ir back s on extrem ism , goes furthe r than any previous de nunciation. "This is the first, m ost com pre he nsive fatwa on the subje ct of te rrorism e ver writ ten," he said. A spokesm an for the counte r-e x tre m ist think tank Quilliam said: "This fat wa has the pote ntial to be a highly significant ste p towards eradicating Islam ist te rrorism . Groups such as al-Q aeda continue to justify the ir m ass k illings with

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se lf-se rving readings of religious scripture . Fatwas that dem olish and expose such the ological innovations will consign Islamist te rrorism to the dustbin of history."

http://www. dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?e dition_id=10& cate g_id=5&article_id=112962#

A Pakistani scholar's fatwa against terrorism just might help By M uqtedar Khan Commentary by Saturday, M arch 20, 2 01 0 Tahir ul-Q adri, a P akis tani Is lam ic s cholar vis iting the United Kingdom , rec ently releas ed a 600 -page fatwa, o r non- binding opinion in I slamic law, against terro ris m. T his fatwa might ac tually have an impact. I t is c omprehens ive, direct and does n ot do dge a ny o f the is s ues . I t has come at a tim e when there is s trong abho rrence for ter roris m, especially in P akistan, an d it will strip terro rists of what little legitim acy they m ight be still enjoying in t he eyes of M us lims who fear t hat I slam is under attack by Wes tern po we rs. Q adri is a prominent imam who fou nded M inhaj ul-Q ur’an International , an or ganization with the stated aim of c reating un derstanding between comm unities . He is also som eone who enjoys a large pop ular following and happens to be well e ns c onc ed in the traditional I s lamic heritage. But thos e who a re engaged in extrem is t violenc e and thos e who s ym pathize with them belong to a more recent t rend within Salafis m – an ideology that aim s for the emulation of the prac tic e of I slam in its early days and a rejection of c enturies ’ wo rth of I slamic thought and doc trine in favor of literal inter pretation. Salafis m is a recent trans plant in South Asia and fortunately does not have deep roots in the region. Q adri and his large followin g constitute mains tream M uslims in Pakistan and in the Pakistani dias pora. I n principle, they s hould be able to prevail easily over the extremis t voic es no w causing s uch turmoil in that land. Q adri’s 60 0-page fat wa is es sentially an encyc lopedic compilation of Is lamic juris prudenc e on the us e of forc e. I t gathers the various j uris prudential pos itions advanc ed by M us lim scholars and jurists of different s c hools of thought and provides a com prehensive overview of the various normative and ethic al limitations that derivations from I s lam ic s ources – ethic al and legal pronounc em ents that M us lims have accumulated over c enturies – have plac ed on the legitim ate us e of forc e. There is nothing new in Q adri’s tom e and that is a good t hing . H e is not advanc ing ne w interpretations of I slamic sourc es, nor is he trying to reinvent the wheel . H is c ontribution is in showing that not o nly does I slam prohibit terroris m, it c ondemns the te rrorist to hell. He als o shows how M uslims have long c ons idered s uic ide a forbid den ac t an d that I slam has held this stance from the begin ning. T he c ollection of the various opinions of classic al sc holars , too, dem ons trates the extent and depth of I slam’s prohibition of the us e of forc e agains t c ivilians , agains t women and against c hildren.

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The extrem is ts and their sym pathetic sc holars will not be able to pr oduc e a doc um ent that could trum p Q adri’s fatwa . T he extremis ts in the M us lim world have relied bas ically on two elements to advance their radic al agenda: Firs t, t hey have exploited the wides pread theological illiterac y of M uslims to advance out-of- context and u nprecedented new interpretations and justifications for the princ iple of jihad (a s piritual and religious effort) to legitim ize their c rusade against the Wes t and its allies . A nd s ec ond, they have benefitted from the anger that M uslims have been feeling a gainst the various military attac ks and oc c upations by Wes tern armies of M uslim lands in the pas t two c enturies . Add to this the suffering o f P ales tinian, Iraqi, A fghan and Pakis tani c ivilians at the ha nds of Wes tern m ilitary forc es and you begin to c omprehend why s ome M uslim youth em brac e the un- I slamic interpretations of Is lamic s ourc es by extremis t c lerics . Is Q adri’s fatwa a magic bullet that will erode all ange r, fr us tration and res entment? C ertainly not. Will it engender a wides pread loathing for the us e o f ter roris m as a tac tic? M ost c ertainly yes , if the fat wa is given sus tained attention in media. U nfortunately, other fat was agains t suic ide bombing, s uc h as those iss ued by the Shiite G rand A yatollah Y ouss ef al-Sanei and Saudi s cholar Al- H abib A li al-Jifri, have go ne c omparatively unnotic ed by m ains tream media. I n P akis tan, Q adri’s reputation a nd t he gro wing anger agains t terro rists for their i ndis criminate violenc e against m os ques and against M uslims will c ombine to give t he fat wa a better chanc e to m arginalize extrem ists . H opefully supporters of extrem is t groups will either rethink their politics or at leas t abs tain from ope nly and ac tively s upporting a culture of violenc e. Q adri and his ins titution als o hope that the perception held by s ome in t he Wes t that I slam is the cause of terroris m will be c orrec ted. I am, ho wever, less sanguine about this. Those in the Wes t who argue that mains tream M us lims are not oppos ing ter roris m or those who ins is t that terroris m is a c ons equenc e of I s lam ic values are m otivated by politic al interes ts and are c learly “Is lamophobic ” in their outlook. They will not c hange t heir m ind . However, thos e who are s till una ware t hat mos t M uslims condemn terroris ts and that the re is nothing in I slam that supports terroris m m ay perhaps be enlightene d as a res ult of t his fatwa. M uqtedar Khan is an ass ociate profess or in the Department o f P olitic al Scienc e and I nternational Relations at the U niversity of Delaware. TH E DAILY STAR publis hes this com mentary, whic h appeared at the Washington P os t-News week’s O n Faith blog, in collaboration with the Comm on Grou nd Ne ws Service (c omm onground news .org ) by perm iss ion from the auth or. Read m ore: http:// www.dailys tar.com .lb/article.as p?edition_id=1 0 &c ateg_id=5 &article_id=11 29 62##ixz z0 k5 hVw3 e2 (T he D aily Star :: Lebanon N ews :: http:/ / www.dailystar.com.lb)

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Monday, M arch 08, 2010 http:// www.b re akingne ws.ie / wo rld/m uslim - le ade r- to- declare - fat wa - conde m ning terrorism - 448302.htm l

Muslim leader to declare fatwa condemning terrorism 02/03/2010 - 08:45:01 The leade r of a worldwide Muslim m oveme n will today issue a fat wa – or Islam ic religious ruling – condem ning te rrorism and warning suicide bom be rs that the y are “de stined for he ll”. Pak istan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founde r of the global M inhaj-ul-Q uran movem e nt, will m ake the formal UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or religious e dict, condem ning terrorism and suicide bom bing at a ne ws confere nce in London. The 600-page fatwa announces that “suicide bombings and attacks against civilian targets are not only condem ned by Islam , but re nde r the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam , in other words, to be unbe lieve rs”. The fatwa has bee n billed as “arguably the m ost com prehe nsive ” the ological refutation of Islam ic te rrorism to date by counte r ex trem ism think tank the Q uilliam foundation. A Q uilliam spok esm an said: “Te rrorist groups such as al-Q ae da continue to justify the ir m ass k illings with se lf-serving readings of religious scripture . “Fat was that de molish and ex pose such theological innovations will consign Islam ist terrorism to the dustbin of history.” The M inhaj-ul-Q uaran movem ent runs course s in com bating religious e xtrem ism in educational centres throughout Britain including London, Birm ingham, Manche ste r, Ne lson, W alsall, Glasgow and Dunde e. A fatwa, an e dict issue d by a learne d M uslim scholar, m ay conce rn any aspect of Islam ic life. The te rm be cam e famous in the we ste rn world in 1989 after the author Salm an Rushdie was forced into hiding following a “de ath fatwa” issue d by Ayatollah Khom e ni, the n Suprem e Leader of Iran, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Ve rse s had “insulted” Islam .

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing Tuesday, Marc h 2, 2010,9:11 [I ST Londo n, Mar.2 (A NI): D escrib ing Al-Q aeda as an 'o ld evil with a new name ', influe ntial P akis ta ni scholar D r Tahir ul-Q adri has said he would s oon iss ue a 'fatwa ' a gainst terror ism and suicide bombing. Qadri said the Al-Qaeda ha s not been sufficiently c hallenged and tha t his g lob al ruling ag ains t terrorism completely dismantles the banne d terr or or ganisation's violent id eology.

In his 600-page r uling, Qadri said I slam fo rbids the m ass acre of innoce nt citizens a nd suicide bom bings. The fa twa also challenges the re ligio us mo tivations of would-be suicide bombers who are ins pire d by promises of an af terlife, The BBC repor ts. The famous Muslim s cholar deve lop ed his do cume nt last year a s a re sponse to the sudd en increase in s uicide bomb ings a cross Pakistan. The fa twa, whic h wo uld be promote d in Br itain by Qa dri's or ganisatio n, Minhaj ul-Qur an Inter national, wo uld cover globa l issues in a n a ttemp t to ge t its the olo gic al arguments take n up by Muslim s in wes ter n natio ns. Terming the fa twa as 'hard hitting', Minhaj ul-Q uran Interna tio na l's spoke sperson Shahid Mursaleen said the r uling would inject do ub t into the minds of po tential suicid e bom bers . "Ex tremis t gro ups ba sed in Brita in r ecr uit the youth by brainwashing them that the y will with cer tainty be reward ed in the next life. D r Q adr i's fatwa ha s removed this k ey intelle ctual actor from their m inds," Mursalee n s aid . (ANI)

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http ://w ww.zeenews .com/ne ws 60 80 34.htm

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa W edn esd ay, Mar ch 03, 2010, 00:35 IST

London: The leader of a global Muslim movem ent on Tuesday issued a fatwa against acts of violence and terror in the nam e of Islam , calling the pe rpe trators of violence and the ir m entors as "heroes of hellfire ". M uhammad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a form er Pakistani diplom at who is the founder of form idable Minhaj-ul-Q uran m ovem e nt, unrese rve dly conde m ned te rrorist attack s and suicide bom be rs and urged the M uslim world to take a firm stand against those who bring Islam to disrepute . "Terrorism is terrorism , violence is viole nce and it has no place in Islam ic te aching. Islam is a religion of pe ace . It promote s goodwill, be auty, betterm ent, goodne ss and negate s all form s of m ischief, strife and division," he said. Delivering a le cture here , Q adri frequently refe rre d to the holy book of Q uran, C om panions of the Prophe t, Hadith and leading M uslim imam s to prove his point that Islam did not allow indi viduals and non-state groups to launch attack s on civilians and opposition targets. "Islam absolutely condem ns viole nce and te rrorism in all its form s and manifestations and its our Islam ic duty to conde m n acts of te rrorism without any ifs or buts, without any ex cuse s, pre tex ts and se lfish justifications. Those who pe rpe trate viole nt attack s and target hum anity act outside of the am bit of Islam , the y are the e nem ies of Islam ," he said. Q adri was joined at the fatwa launch event by governm e nt m inisters Jim Fitzpatrick, Shahid Malik, Muham mad Sarwar MP, Dom inic Grieve M P, represe ntatives of various M uslims organisations, governm ent departm e nts and se curity think-tank s. The 600-page 'Fatwa on Suicide Bom bings and Te rrorism ' has be e n extracted from Q adri's late st rese arch work titled 'De hshe t Ge ri aur Fitna-e -Khawari j', in a refe re nce to those re be ls who had tak en up arms against Imam Ali (AS). The launch of the fatwa is being regarde d by many circle s as a significant and historic step, the first tim e that such an e xplicit and unequivocal de cre e against the perpetrators of te rro r has bee n broadcast wide ly. The fatwa is conside red arguably the m ost com prehe nsive theological re futation of Islam ist te rrorism as dem onstrate d by Taliban, Al-Qaeda and the ir lik e-m inde d

se ctarian groups. To those who laud suicide bom bers and praise their acts, Q adri said the y are in unison with "heroes of hellfire ". "They can't claim that the ir suicide bom bings are m artydorm ope rations and that the y be com e the heroes of the Muslim Umm a. "No, they indee d be com e he roe s of he llfire , and the y are le ading towards hellfire . The ir actions have nothing to do wi th Jihad," Q adri, who has a sizable following in Eu rope said. PTI

Pal Talk News Ntwork http://palt alknewsnetwork. com/node /2446

Muslim Scholar Issues Fatwa Against Terrorism Tue, 0 3 /0 2 /2010 - 1 9 :23 People who argue that the m ajority of M us lims aren't terroris ts are ofte n m et by a counterargument t hat, if t his is the c as e, why don't m ore I slamic leaders s peak out agains t it? W ell now, a leading M uslim sc holar is . A nd he's spreading the wo rd to the W est. Dr. M uham mad T ahir- ul-Q adri, has taken his m es s age of no n-violence from P akistan to the U K - a nation where too many youn g people of Pakis tani origin have bee n involved in ter roris m. Q adri has - on British soil - issued a 600 page fat wa - condemning s uic ide bom bing - and dec laring that thos e who have blown thems elves up are n ot martyrs - but have been s ent to hellfire. Q adri s ays too many impres s ionable young M uslim m en have been brain washed about the true teac hings of I s lam . Q adri is the founde r o f M inhaj ul Q ur'an International, a non- governmental organization active in s ome 1 00 c ountries that prom otes peac e, unde rstanding and hum an rights .

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing Londo n, Tue, 02 Mar 2010 ANI Londo n, Mar.2 (ANI): D escribing Al-Qaeda as an 'old evil with a new name', influe ntial Pakistani schola r Dr Ta hir ul-Qadri has said he wo uld so on iss ue a 'fatwa ' a gainst terror ism a nd suicide b ombing. Qadri said the Al-Qaeda ha s not bee n s uf ficie ntly cha llenge d a nd tha t his global ruling aga inst terrorism comp letely disma ntles the banned terror org anisa tion's violent id eology. In his 600-page r uling, Qadri said I slam fo rbids the m ass acre of innoce nt citizens a nd suicide bom bings. The fa twa also challenges the re ligio us mo tivations of would-be suicide bombers who are ins pire d by promises of an af terlife, The BBC repor ts. The famous Muslim s cholar deve lop ed his do cume nt last year a s a re spo nse to the sudd en increase in s uicide bomb ings a cross Pakistan.

The fa twa, w hic h wo uld be promo te d in Br itain by Qa dri's or ganisatio n, Minhaj ul-Qur an Inter national, wo uld cover globa l issues in a n a ttemp t to ge t its the olo gic al arguments take n up by Muslim s in wes ter n natio ns. Terming the fa twa as 'hard hitting', Minhaj ul-Q uran Interna tio na l's spoke sperson Shahid Mursa lee n said the r uling would inject do ub t into the minds of po tential suicid e bom bers. "Ex tremis t gro ups ba sed in Brita in r ecr uit the youth by br ainwashing them that the y will with cer tainty be reward ed in the next life. D r Q adr i's fatwa ha s rem oved this k ey intelle ctual actor from their m inds," Mursalee n s aid . (ANI)

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http://www.uttoxe te radve rtiser.co.uk/Home/Muslim -leader- to - condem n- te rrorists14582.xnf?Fe e dSourceID=11&Fee dIm age ID=5250&BodyForm at=1&

Muslim leader to condemn terrorists The lea der of a worldwide Muslim m ovement with thousan ds of followers in the UK is due to

issue a fat wa - or Islamic religio us r ulin g - con dem nin g terrorism and warnin g suicide bombers that they are "de stined for hell". Pakistan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Qa dri, fo under of the glo bal Minha j- ul- Quran movement, will make the form al UK proclam ation of a fatwa, or re ligio us e dict, condemning terrorism an d suic ide bom bin g at a ne ws conference in Lon don. The 600-page f atwa anno unce s that "suicide bom bin gs and attacks a gain st civilian tar gets are not only con demne d by Islam, but ren der the perp etrators totally out of the fold of I slam, in other wor ds, to be un be lievers". Shahid M ur saleen, spoke sman for Minhaj-ul- Quran UK, said: " He has hit hard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from consider in g suicide bom ber s as 'martyrs'. T his f at wa in jects do ubt into the minds of potential suicide bom ber s. "Extrem ist gro ups base d in Britain recruit yo uth by brain washin g them that they will 'with certainty' be r e war de d in the next lif e an d Dr Qa dri's fat wa has rem oved this key intellect ual f actor from their minds." The fatwa h as been billed as " arguably the m ost com prehensive" theolo gic al ref utation of Islamic terrorism to date by co unter extremism think tank the Quilliam foun dation. A Quilliam spoke sman said: "Terrorist group s such a s a l Qaida continue to justify their m ass killings with se lf-servin g re adings of religious scripture. "Fat wa s that demolish and expose such theolo gic al innov ations will con sign I slam ist terrorism to the dust bin of history."

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The Minhaj-ul-Quaran movement runs courses in combating religious extremism in educational centres throughout Britain including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nelson, Walsall, Glasgow and Dundee. A fat wa, an edict issued by a learnedMuslim scholar, may concern any aspect of Islamic life. The term became famous in the western world in 1989 after the author Salman Rushdie was forced into hidingfollowing a "death fatwa" issued by Ayatollah Khomeni, then Supreme Leader of Iran, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Verses had "insulted" Islam.

http://www.littleabout.com/news/75963,pakistani-islamic- scholar-issue-600-page-fatwa-terrorismsuicide- bombing.html

Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing T ues day 02 M ar 20 10 L ondon, M ar.2 : Des cribing A l-Q aeda as an old evil with a new name , in fluential Pakis tani sc holar D r T ahir ul-Q adri has s aid he would s oon is s ue a fatwa agains t terroris m and s uic ide bombing. Q adri said the A l-Q aeda has not been suffic iently c hallenged and that his global ruling agains t terrorism c ompletely dism antles the banned terror organis ations violent ideology. I n his 6 00- page ruling , Q adri s aid Is lam forbids the mass acre of innoc ent c itizens and s uic ide bombings . T he fatwa als o c hallenges the religious m otivations of would- be s uic ide bom bers who are inspired by prom is es of an afterlife, T he BBC reports. T he famous M us lim sc holar developed his document las t year as a res pons e to the sudden increase in s uic ide bom bings across P akis tan. T he fatwa, whic h wo uld be promoted in B ritain by Q adri's organis ation, Minhaj ul-Q uran I nternational, would c over global iss ues in an attem pt to get its theologic al arguments taken up by M uslims in western nations . T erm ing the fat wa as hard hitting , M inhaj ul- Q uran Internationals s pokes person Shahid M urs aleen s aid the ruling would in jec t doubt into t he m inds o f potential s uic ide bom bers.

Extrem ist groups bas ed in Britain recruit the youth by brainwas hing them that they will with c ertainty be re warde d in the next life. D r Q adri's fatwa has removed this key intellec tual fac tor from their minds, M ursaleen said.

http://www.allvoic es. com /contribute d- ne ws/5329855 -lea din g- br itish - scholar- issues- antiterrorism fatwa

Muslim Leader issues Anti-terrorism Fatwa By Adla M a sso ud A le adin g British Islam ic scholar issue d a fat wa con dem nin g "terrorists" as the en emies of Islam, in a bid to deter yo un g M uslims from extrem ism . In his re ligious ruling, delivere d this morning in Lon don, Pakistan- born Dr Tahir ul-Qa dri, 59, said he felt com pelle d to issue the e dict bec ause of concerns a bo ut the radicalisation of Br itish M uslim s at univer sity camp uses an d bec ause there ha d be en a lack of con dem nation of extremism by M uslim clerics and scholar s. In his 600-page judgem ent, known a s a f atwa , Dr Qa dri said Islam forbids the massacr e of innoc ent citizen s an d suicide bombings, an d is not in line with Islam. He told reporters: "They [terrorists] can't claim that their suicide bombin gs are martyrdom operations and that they be com e the heroes of the M uslim Umm a [global brotherhood]. No, they become heroe s of hellfire, an d they are lea din g to war ds h ellf ire," he said. "There is no place for any martyrdom and their a ct is nev er, ever to be con sidered jiha d." Dr Qudr i ha s wr itten about 350 book s on I slam, and is a scho lar of Sufism, a M uslim branch that focuse s on peace, toler ance, an d m oderation. He is the fo un der of the va st Pakistani gr assroots movem ent known as M inh aj ul Quran. The Minhaj-ul-Qur an movem ent which was foun de d in Pakistan in 1980, works aroun d the globe to promote peace and interfaith dialo gue. The Quilliam Foun dation, a UK co unter-extremism think-tank, said Fat wa s " by W ahhabiinfluenc ed clerics and I slamist idealo gue s initiate d m odern terrorism a gainst civ ilians, are arguably the most comprehensive theolo gic al refutation of Islamic extrem ism ." An d this fat wa ha s the potential to eradicate "Islamist terrorism". Salm an Ahmad, the lea d singer of Pak istan rock ban d Junoon an d a uthor of "Rock & Roll Jih a d: A Muslim Ro ck Star's Revolution" told the Ne w York base d SAJAfor um: "T he fatwa aga inst suicide bom bin g, terrorism is lon g overdue an d should be widely highlighte d by both the Muslim

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com munity and the glo ba l media. It's a bo ut time that the terrorists are (religiously) held a ccounta ble for their unholy dee ds and ma de c lear that islam con dem ns their vio lenc e in letter and spirit."

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http://www.allvoic es. com /contribute d- ne ws/5353394 -a- lea ding- islamic- scholar -ha s-issue d-an antiterror- fatwa- it - keeps- getting- better

A leading Islamic scholar has issued an antiterror fatwa, it keeps getting better!

Muham mad Tahir ul- Qadr i, head of the M inhaj ul-Quran re ligio us and e ducationa l or ganization, said suicide bom ber s were de stine d for he ll a s he rele ase d his 600-page edict in London on Tuesday. He is a Pakistani born well rea d an d wr itten Islamic scholar. He will h ave gre at influenc e, I am psyche d! Fat wa’ s against violenc e and extremism have been issue d befor e but never on this sca le an d by such an a uthority. He rightly said they can't claim that their suicide bom bings are martyrdom operation s and that they be come the heroes of the M uslim Umm a “ the wider M uslim com munity” they become heroes of h ellf ire, and they ar e le a din g to war ds he llfir e," he said. Hmm m no virgins? "There is no place for any martyrdom and their a ct is nev er, ever to be con sidered Jiha d," h e said. I am really p syched beca use the true Islam the Islam of peace is stepping up all around the wor ld. Har d line extremists will not be sway e d but the regular people will be and I hav e hope. Cleric issues anti terror fatwa I know that in every in stance not just the stock m arket that things go up an d do wn they ebb an d flo w until it becom es o bvio us wh ich way thin gs are goin g to go. This so ca lled war on terror is no diff erent. I use to believe that this wo uld be another 100 ye ars war as there is no way prop er Islam wa s going to be able to contain the m ilitants beca use bottom line it has to come from them . 275

Bottom line, they are stepping up! I use to vie w Al Qae da, m ilitants, terrorism, Islamist extrem ists, whatever yo u want to call them, as the hea d of the hy dra an d wh enever yo u killed one even m ore sprang up to take their plac e. Of late I seem to be saying everyday that this is getting better an d better. We see pro gress by our har d f ighting NAT O military in Afghanistan but bottom line all this progre ss is bec a use Pakistan has stepped up. If you have been fo llo win g me yo u know I write often a bout the gre at inroa ds bein g m ade by Pakistan. It just keeps getting better as at lea st half of Af ghanistan's Taliban le a der ship ha s no w been captured and the Taliban an d Al Qae da stronghold of Dam adola h as now been captured alon g with the 156 cave com plex the onc e sh eltere d Ayman al-Za wahiri, the second- in-command to Osama bin La den. I wa s watching the civilian La shkar dancing in the streets an d wavin g their gun s in the air saying the Taliban are gone an d will n ever come ba ck. I rea lly am impresse d. T his is a gre at victory for Pakistan’s military an d the civilian warr iors who won their region back let alone the American effort in Af ghanistan. Pakistan's Arm y takes control of al-Qa eda cave network on Afghan bor der So far a s we know no w sev en of the insur gent gro up’ s 15-m ember leadership council, thought to be base d in Quetta, Pakistan, includin g the head of military oper ations, hav e been apprehende d in the past we ek. Pakistani a uthorities h a d netted M ullah Abdul Gh ani Bar adar, the m ovements second in com mand, as well a s M aulavi Abdul Ka bir, a prominent com mander in ch ar ge of in sur gent operations in ea stern Afghanistan, an d M ullah M uhamm ad Younis. Pakistan ha s also c aptured sev eral other Afghan mem ber s of the le a der ship co uncil called the Quetta Shura. T hese include: M ullah Abdul Qayo um Zakir, who overse es the m ovement’s military affairs, Mullah M uham mad Ha ssan, M ullah Ahm ed Jan Akh unzada, an d M ullah Abdul Raouf. At lea st two T aliban sh ado w prov incial governor s, who are part of the movem ent’s parallel governm ent in Af ghanistan, have a lso been c aptured. Ha lf of Af gh anistan T aliban lea der ship arreste d in Pak istan

We can do this an d the le a der s in the fight will be Islam and they ar e steppin g up. I have hope!

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http://www.altm us lim .com/a/a/li

altmuslim this wee k - march 1, 2010 B Y ZA H ED A MA N U LL A H LONDON, ENGLAND Assalamu aleikum and welcome back. Spring is in the air, which means its time for a newfat wa or t wo. The issue of Islamic justification for terrorism - specifically suicide bombing has been a hotly debatedone since 9/11, particularly since the Osama bin Ladens have been defendingtheir tactics in explicitly Islamic terms. This week, one promient Pakistani cleric issued a fatwa de nouncing te rrorism at a London press conference. But it wasn't just a simple statement. Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, the founder of the Minhaj-ul-Quran International, an Islamic movement with centers in 90 countries, introduceda 600-page analysis which goes as far as to call proponents of terrorism "kafirs" (unbelievers) destined for hellfire. "Until now, scholars who were condemning terrorism were conditional and qualified what they said," said Qadri to CNN's Kiran Khalid. "I didn't leave a single, minor aspect that, in the mindof radicals or extremists, can take them to the direction of martyrdom." Of course, many will note that other imams andscholars have conde mne d terrorism and suicide bombing in particular in scores since 2001 (andearlier). But many fat was get dismissedfor a number of political, sectarian, or plain Islamophobic reasons. It's also important to note that Qadri's analysis, though probably the most comprehensive against terrorism, is but one opinion in a sea of clerics aroundthe world. As Islam has no clerical hierarchy, Qadri's opinion rests on the strength of his analysis alone. One example of the varyingopinions on this can be seen here , where British activist Dr Azzam Tamimi dismisses the ruling against suicide bombing by Palestinians, as prominent sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi has also done . With the strength of Islamic influence resting on the consensus of scholars, it remains to be seen how Qadri's analysis can extend to a better understandingof such a consensus, despite the nuances, caveats, and emphases that various opinions tendto have.

Also since 9/11, Western countries have been urging their Muslim populations to integrate into society andparticipate in all aspects of civic life. Central to this is political participation, where Muslims vote for public officials and join political parties. Strange, then, that a recent documentary in Britain accuses one group, the Islamic Forum Europe (IFE) of "infiltrating" Britain's Labour party in London's east end neighbourhood of Tower Hamlets (where approximately 35% of local residents are Muslim). The documentary, titled"Dispatches: Britain's Islamic Re public," went undercover into the East London Mosque, where the group meets, to uncover alarming rhetoric from IFE members and guests. The "take ove r" of the local council seems in no way disproportionate to the natural tendency of British Muslims to gravitate to the Labour party, despite the Iraq war led by Tony Blair's Labour-led government. And to dismiss the political participation of Muslims (despite the IFE's demonstratedconservatism) seems counterproductive. The issue mirrors a similar one in the US, where undercover reporters claimed that America's Council on Islamic-American Relations (CAIR) was "infiltrating" Congress, as outlinedin a book endorsed by several US Congressmen and women. What has not been explained is howthe mere presence of Muslims in Western political establishments could help impose sharia on a non-Muslim majority. Until that question is answered, reports like this will go nowhere. The Dispatches reporter, Andrew Gilligan, returningto visit the mosque after his documentary aired, foundone of the show's antagonists, Azad Ali, inviting him out for a curry andfoundit strange that even though he "did

get the odd do uble-take, no-one was even slightly hostile." Fina lly, a m ajor f ast food cha in in Franc e ha s an ger e d some of its potential custom ers by offer ing halal m eats and removin g pork from the menus of a num ber of their franchise s in Novem ber of la st year. T he Q uick chain, wh ich ha s over ov er 400 restaur ants in France, Belgium , Spain, Russia, an d the Middle Ea st, has in sisted that the conversion s are taking plac e in only a handful of its stores (eight at the m oment) where large M uslim populations prov ide a r ea dy market. "I'm happy, as I c an com e with my Muslim friends," sa id one M uslim custom er, Far id, 17. Manager s at the Ro uba ix bran ch of Quick note d a slight incr ea se in busin ess after the conver sion to halal menus an d that no com plaints from customers ha d be en rec eive d. But that wasn't enough for som e to express alarm at what they felt was discrim ination against non-M uslims. "I'm not bothered by the fact that there is a halal m enu," said Rene Vandieren donck, mayor of Roubaix, who ha s filed a complaint for discr im ination against Quick. "But this is go ing too far beca use it is the only m en u on offer an d it has be come discrim ination." Al-Kanz, a French M uslim consum ers' gro up, sa id the rea sons were "purely e conomic", and a dde d that there were no " dark Muslim forces in France p utting pressure" on Quick to convert its stores. Though h alal restaur ants have been prev alent in Europ e for much of the past de cade, the c aterin g to M uslims by Western restaurants an d m ultinationals ha s alarme d those fearf ul of "I slam isation" of Europe an so ciety, despite the fact that the menu chan ges have not com e un der dur ess, but in search of the M uslim E uro. In the UK, the Subway sandwich chain be gan a succe ssf ul campaign in 2008 of halal-only stores, expanding to se ve ral doz en servin g similar Muslim areas of Britain. KFC soon fo llo wed with a trial of e ight stores (sim ilar to Quick) in London la st year. Desp ite sim ilar protests of "Islamisation", the trial wa s so succe ssful that the Am erican m ultinational incre ase d the num ber to 73 by Febr uary 2010. In both cases, h ala l-only stores have been locate d ne ar conventiona l alternatives, so that those who desire pork or non-h ala l products h ave a choic e. Stran gely eno ugh, KFC stores in Fr ance - all 70 + of them - have been certifie d halal since 2009. But as a Fren ch o wn e d chain, Quick hits a bit closer to hom e, albeit a hom e that include s, at over 4 million, the lar gest Muslim minority in Europ e.

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http://www.am herstdaily.com /Canada--- World/Society/2010 -03 - 02/article- 851005 /Muslim - lea der issues- 600 - pa ge- anti- terror -fatwa- in- Lon don /1

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London

Leading Muslim s scholar Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri hold s hi s Fatwa on suicide bombings and terrori sm, a s he speaks a t its UK launch held by non -go vernmental organization M inhaj-ul-Quran International (M QI ) in London, Tue sday, March 2, 2 010. The fat wa i s a n I slam ic decree that condem ns suicide bom bings and terro rist atrocities along with their pe rpet rato rs. (THE ASS OCIATED PRESS/ Akira Suemori)

Minhaj-ul- Qur , Canadian Press , Quilliam Fo und ation , L ond on , Canada , So uthern Ontario LONDO N - A fo rmer P aki stani legislator who live s in Canada a nd lead s a global M uslim movement has i ssued a fat wa, or religious edict, condem ning terro ri sm . Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qad ri says the 600 -pag e fat wa ban s suicide bombing "without an y e xcu ses, any pretext s, o r exception s." He i s the founder of M inhaj-ul-Qu r'an, a world wide m ovement that prom ote s a no n-political, tolerant Islam. A spoke sm an for the g roup told The Canadian P ress th at Tahir-ul-Qad ri ha s b een living in southe rn O ntario fo r almost f our yea rs. The spo kesm an would not reveal the e xact location. Tahir-ul-Qadri has i ssued sim ilar, sho rte r decree s, but Tue sda y' s e vent in London wa s publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a government-funde d anti-e xtremi sm think-tan k. The group has hundred s of tho usand s of followe rs around the world, m ost of them in Pa ki stan o r Pa ki stanis living in other count rie s.

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http://www.am ster dam ne ws.net/story/607422

Islam leader condemns terrorists in fatwa Amsterdam N ews.Net Tues day 2nd Marc h, 2010

A Muslim leader in the UK has announced a special religious ruling, otherw is e know n as a fatw a, against terroris m in the name of Islam. The w idely res pected authority on Is lamic law , Dr Tahir Qadr i, has issued the fatw a, w hich condemns terroris m and suicide bombing. Dr Qadri has addressed a press conference in Westminster , central London, to talk about w hy suicide bombings and terroris m are un- Islamic and scripturally forbidden. His theolo gical refutation of Islamist terroris m is likely to be discussed w idely amongst the worlds Mus lim population and w ill be posted on the Internet in English and Arabic, making it readily accessible. Dr Qadri has used texts from the Koran to argue that Islam does not per mit such acts "on any excuse, reason or pretext" refering to a passage in the Quran in w hich the death of one innocent is aligned w ith the death of all humanity. His fatw a condemns suic ide bombers as destined for hell, refuting the c laim used by extemists that such terr oris ts w ill earn paradise after death. In his posting on terroris m he says: "Today’s tragedy is that terrorists, murderers, mischiefmongers and r ioters try to prove their criminal, rebellious, tyrannous, brutal and blasphemous activit ies as a r ight and a justified reaction to foreign aggr ession under the garb of defense of Islam and national in terests. It can in no w ay be permissible to keep foreign delegates under unlawful custody and murder them and other peaceful non- Mus lim citizens in retaliation for interference, unjust activities and aggressive advances of their countries. The one w ho does has no relation to Islam." Dr Qadri's international organis ation, the Minhaj- ul-Quran movement, has many s upporters throughout the w orld.

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http://www.arc amax.com/religio usne ws/s- 705894 -525950

Cleric condemns terrorism LONDON ( UPI) -- A Pakistani Mus lim sc holar, in a lengthy theologic al ruling against terr oris m, r ejected al- Qaida's philosophy , saying Is lam for bids the mass acre of in nocents. Appearing in London, Tahir ul- Qadri told a gr oup of Muslims, cler gy, politic al leaders and police officers his 600- page fatw a rejects violenc e and called al- Qaida an "old ev il w ith a new name," the BBC repor ted. Qadri's movement, called Minhaj ul-Qur an Inter national, is gr ow ing in Britain, draw in g the inter est of policy makers and law enforcement heads, the r eport s aid. Qadri said his study , result ing from the escalation of militant v iolence in Pakistan, is a detailed theologic al rebuttal of ev ery point made by al- Qaida ins pired r ecruiters. "They ( terr or ists) can't claim that their suicide bombings are mar tyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Mus lim Umma (global brother hood)," he told his audience. "No, they bec ome heroes of hellfire, and they ar e leading tow ards hellfir e. "Ther e is no place for any mar tyrdom and their act is nev er, ever to be c ons idered ji had." Rejecting s ome scholarly rulings on martyrdom as it r elated to the Palestinian- Israeli conflict, Qadri said there is no s it uation in w hic h vengeful acts such as attac ks on mar ketplaces or commuter trains c an ev er be c ons ider ed a justifiable ac t of w ar. The report said Qadri has many follow ers in Pakistan but his Minhaj ul- Quran Inter national has become know n in Br it ain only r ecently. The movement, w hich has 10 mosques in cities w ith signif ic ant Muslim c ommunities, is tar geting the younger generation, the BBC aid. This ne ws arrived on: 03/03/2010

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THE ASIAN AGE http://www.asiana ge.com/index.php?option=com _content& view=article&id=4132 :uk - scholar issues- 600 - pa ge- anti- terror -fatwa&catid=36:international&Item id=61f

UK scholar issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa

Tue sday, 02 March 2010 19:14 London ,M arch 2: An Islam ic scholar in London on Tue sday m orning issue d a com prehe nsive and wri tte n fatwa against terrorism and e x trem ism . Dr Moham m ed Tahir-ul-Q adri, a spiritual and re ligious leader from Jhang in Pakistan, issued a 600-page e dict against terrorists and te rrorism to counter any the ological justifications for te rrorism . The fatwa wil l be translate d into English and Arabic in the com ing we ek s, he said, adding that he had writte n it in Urdu p rim arily to re ach the he arts and m inds of Pak istanis, Indians and Banglade shis affe cted by the scourge of terrorism . The Canada-based scholar, who was a frie nd of form er Prime Ministe r Benazir Bhutto, also warne d suicide bom bers that they should stop dre aming of glory in he ave n as the y are “de stined for he ll.” “They can’t claim that the ir suicide bom bings are m artyrdom ope rations and that the y be com e the heroes of the Muslim Umm a (the Muslim community), no, the y be com e he roe s of he llfire , and the y are leading towards hellfire ,” he said. “There is no place for any m artyrdom and the ir act is neve r, e ve r to be considere d Jihad,” said Dr M oham me d Tahir-ul-Q adri, giving e xam ple s from the Holy Q uran, Hadiths and Sunnah in both Arabic and in English to give support to his fatwa. “The suicide bom bings and attack s against civilian targets are not only condem ned by Islam but re nde r the perpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam , in other words, to be unbelie ve rs,” adde d Dr Qadri, 59, who is the founding leader of Minhaj ul Q uran Inte rnational, a worldwide organisation. “Terrorism is not only an act of haram , it is also an act of k ufr (disbe lief) and this tak es te rrorists out of the am bit of Islam ,” he said, and de scribed te rrorists as “dogs of hell.” Dr Q adri also said that the Prophet Moham med had condem ned terrorists and reveale d that a group of viole nt renegades, k nown as the Kha wa rij, had e me rge d in the nam e of Islam ic rule. Calling the m ode rn te rrorists as Kha warite s, D r Q adri said: “Good intentions cannot conve rt a wrong into good, they cannot conve rt an e vil into good. Te rrorism is terrorism , viole nce is viole nce and it has no place in Islam ic te aching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of ex cuses or ifs or buts.” He also m ade it cle ar that no whe re in the Holy Q uran or the Hadiths is it said any where that the Prophe t M ohammed wante d a Caliphate around the world.

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http://www.asianim age.co. uk/ne ws/5034912. Scholar_to_issue_f at wa_a gain st_suic ide_ bombin gs/

Suicide bombers 'enemies of Islam', says scholar 3 :3 0 pm Tues day 2nd M arch 2 01 0

Dr Muhammad Tahir- ul-Q adr i lau nches a f atw a condemning t er rori st at rocities

Suicide bom bers have be e n describe d as the "he roe s of he llfire" by a leading Muslim scholar in a fatwa condem ning te rrorists as the e nem ies of Islam . Pak istan-born Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri said the re we re no "ifs or buts" about terrorism and such acts had no justification in the name of Islam . In a ne ws confe rence atte nde d by MPs, re pre sentative s from the Me tropolitan Police , charitable organisations, think-tank s and othe r groups, he called on Islam ic le ade rs to conve y the m essage that acts of te rrorism cut pe ople off as true followe rs of Islam. "They can't claim that the ir suicide bom bings are m artyrdom ope rations and that the y be com e the heroes of the Muslim Umm a (the wider Muslim comm unity), no, the y be com e heroes of hellfire , and they are leading towards he llfire," he said. "There is no place for any m artyrdom and the ir act is neve r, e ve r to be considere d Jihad," he added. Dr Q adri, who spok e at le ngth in both English and Arabic before his audience , said his fat wa - a religious edict or ruling - was an "absolute " condem nation of terrorism without "any ex cuse s or prete xts".

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"Good inte ntions cannot convert a wrong into good, the y cannot conve rt an e vil into good," he said. "Te rrorism is terrorism , viole nce is viole nce and it has no place in Islam ic te aching and no justification can be provide d for it, or any k ind of excuse s or ifs or buts." He insiste d that Islam was a religion of peace that prom ote s beauty, "bette rm ent", goodness and "negate s all form of m ischie f and strife". The 600-page fatwa by Dr Q adri, founder of the global Minhaj-ul-Q uran movem e nt, whi ch has thousands of supporte rs across the world as we ll as in the UK, will be translated into English in the com ing we ek s. His talk will also be made available online in an attem pt to counte r e xtrem ist versions of Islam available on the internet. A fatwa, an e dict issue d by a learne d M uslim scholar, m ay conce rn any aspect of Islam ic life. The te rm be cam e famous in the W este rn world in 1989 after the author Salm an Rushdie was forced into hiding following a "de ath fatwa" issue d by Ayatollah Khom e ni, the n Suprem e Le ader of Iran, on the grounds that his book , The Satanic Ve rse s, had "insulte d" Islam .

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http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=37894 First Pu blis h ed 2 010 -0 3-1 7

A Fatw a Against Terrori sm that Might Work There is nothing new in Qadri's tom e and t hat is a g ood thing. He is not advancing new interpretations of Islam ic sources, nor is he trying to rein vent the w heel. His contribution is in show ing that n ot o nly does Islam prohibit terrorism , it condem ns the terrorist to hell, notes Muqtedar Kh an.

Newark, Delaware - Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri, a Pakistani Islamic scholar visiting the UnitedKingdom, recently released a 600-page fatwa, or non-binding opinion in Islamiclaw, against terrori sm. Thisfatwa might actually have an impact. It is comprehensive, direct and doesnot dodge any of the issues. It hascome at a time when there isvery strong abhorrence for terrorism, especially in Pakistan, and it will strip terrori sts of what little legitimacy they might be still enjoying in the eyes of Muslims who fear that Islam is under attackby Western powers. Qadri is a prominent imam who founded Minhaj ul Qur'an International, an organisationwith the stated aim of creating understanding between communities, and who enjoysa large popular following. He also happens to be well ensconced in the traditional Islamic heritage. But those who are engagedin extremist violence and those who sympathise with them belong to a more recent trend within Salafism, an ideology that aims for the emulation of thepractice of Islam inits early days and a rejection of centuries' worth of Islamic thought and doctrine in favour of literal interpretation. Salafism isa recent transplant in South Asia and fortunately doesnot have deep roots in the region. Qadri and his large following constitute mainstream Muslimsin Pakistan and in the Pakistani diaspora. In principle, they should be able to prevail easily over the extremist voices now causing such turmoil in that land. Qadri's600-page fatwa is essentially an encyclopedic compilation of Islamicjurisprudence on the use of force. It gathers the various jurisprudential positions advanced byMuslim scholars and jurists of different schools of thought and provides a comprehensive overviewof the various normative and ethical limitations that derivationsfrom Islamic sources – ethical andlegal pronouncementsthat Muslims have accumulated over centuries– have placed on the legitimate use of force. There is nothing new in Qadri's tome and that is a good thing. Heis not advancing new interpretations of Islamic sources, nor i s he trying to reinvent the wheel. Hiscontributionis in showing that not only does Islam prohibit terrorism, it condemnsthe terrorist to hell. He also showshowMuslims have long considered suicide a forbidden act and that Islam hasheld this stance from the beginning. The collection of the various opinions of classical scholarstoo demonstrates the extent and depth of Islam's prohibition of the use of force against civilians, against women and against children. The extremistsand their sympathetic scholarswill not be able toproduce a document that could trump Qadri'sfatwa.

The extremists in the M uslim world have relied basically on two elements to advance their radical agenda: one, they have exploited the widespread theological illiteracy of M uslims to advance out-ofcontext and unprecedented new interpretations and justifications for the principle of jihad (a spiritual and religious effort) to legitimise their crusade against the West and its allies. Two, they have benefitted from the anger that Muslim s have been feeling against the various military attacks and occupations by Western arm ies of Muslim lands in the past two centuries. Add to this the suffering of the Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghan and Pakistani civilians at the hands of Western forces and you begin to comprehend why som e M uslim youth em brace the un-Islamic interpretations of Islam ic sources by ext rem ist clerics. Is Qadri' s fatwa a m agic bullet that will erode all anger, frustration and resentm ent? Certainly not. Will it engender a widespread loathing for the use of terrorism as a tactics? Most certainly, yes, if it is given sustained attention by the media. Unfortunately, other fatwas against suicide bom bing, such as those issued by Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah al-Udhma Yousof al-Sanei and Saudi scholar Al Habib Ali Al-Jifri, have gone comparatively unnoticed by m ainstream media. In Pakistan, Qadri' s reputation and the growing anger against terro rist s for their indiscriminate violence against mosques and against M uslims will com bine to give the fatwa a chance to marginalise extremists. Hopefully supporters of extrem ist groups will either rethink their politics or at least ab stain from openly and actively supporting a culture of violence. Qadri and his institution also hope that the perception held by some in the West that Islam is the cause of terrorism will be corrected. I am, however, less sanguine about this. Those in the West who argue that mainstream Muslim s are not opposing terrorism or those who insist that terrori sm is a consequence of Islamic values are m otivated by political interest s and are clearly "Islam ophobic". They will not change their mind. However, those who are still unaware that most M uslim s condemn terrorist s and that there is nothing in Islam that support s terro rism m ay perhaps be enlightened as a re sult of this fatwa. Dr. Muqtedar Khan is A ssociate Profe ssor in the Departm ent of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Delaware. This article is distributed by the Comm on Ground News Service (CG News). It appeared in newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith.

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Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri to issue terrorism fatwa - 0 2-M ar-2010 , 1 0 :4 8 PM

h t tp ://www.a us s iem uslim s .c om /forums /s ho wth re ad .ph p?t=3 56 1 5 By D omi nic C asc ia ni BBC N ews

An influential Muslim scholar is to iss ue in Lo ndo n a globa l r uling aga ins t terro rism and suicide bombing . D r Tahir ul-Q adri, from Pakista n, says his 600-page j udgement, know n as a fatwa, com pletely disma ntles al-Q ae da's violent ide olo gy. The scholar des cribes al-Qaeda as an "o ld evil with a new name" which has not been suffic iently challenged . The scholar's moveme nt is growing in the UK and has attr ac ted the interes t of policym akers and security chiefs. In his religio us r uling, Dr Qadri says tha t Is lam for bids the m assa cre of innoce nt citizens a nd suicid e b ombings . Althoug h many scholars have made s im ilar rulings in the pas t, Dr Qadr i's follower s argue tha t the massive d oc um ent b eing launched in London g oes m uch further. They say it se ts out p oint-by -p oint theological arguments against the rhetoric used by al-Qaeda inspire d recruite rs. The fatwa also c hallenges the religio us mo tiva tions of would-be suicid e bom bers who are inspire d by p romises of an afterlife. The po pulist scholar developed his document las t year as a res ponse to the incre ase in bombings across Pakistan by m ilitants.

The basic text has been ex tende d to 600 pag es to cover glo bal iss ues, in a n attempt to get its theological arg um ents take n up by Muslims in wes ter n na tions. It will be promo ted in the UK by Dr Qadri's organisatio n, Minhaj ulQuran International. Sha hid Mur saleen, sp okesma n for Minhaj-ul-Quran in the UK, s aid the f atwa was hard-hitting. "This f atwa injects do ub t into the m inds of potential s uic ide bomb ers," he s aid . "Ex tremis t gro ups ba sed in Brita in r ecr uit the youth by brainwashing them that the y will 'with cer tainty' be rewar de d in the nex t life. "Dr Q adri's fatwa has remove d this key intellectual fac tor from their minds." The document is not the first to condem n terror ism a nd suicide b ombing to be launc hed in the UK. Scholars from across the UK cam e together in the wake of the 7 July London attacks to d eno unce the bombers and urge com munities to ro ot out extremis ts. But some scholar ly r ulings in the Middle East ha ve ar gue d that the conflic t between Israel and the Pales tinia ns is an exc ep tio nal situation wher e "martyrdom " a tta cks can be justifie d. Although Dr Qadri has a large following in Pakis tan, Minhaj ul-Quran International rema ine d largely unknown in the UK until rela tive ly recently. It now has 10 mosques in the Britis h c ities with sig nificant Mus lim communities and says it is ta rgeting younger generatio ns it believes have been let down by tra ditional leaders. The orga nisatio n is a ttr acting the a ttention of policym akers and security c hief s who are continuing to lo ok fo r allies in the fig ht ag ainst extrem is ts. The D epa rtme nt for C omm unities , whic h runs m ost of the government's "Preve nting Violent Extr em ism " s tr ategy, ha s tried building bridg es with a variety of liberal-minde d gr oups, but of te n fo und that they hav e limited ac tual influe nce at the gras sroots .

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Islamic Scholar Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa Muhammad Tah ir u l Qadri is a leading figure who has pro moted peace and interfaith dialogue fo r 30 years. He said he felt co mpelled to issue the fatwa because of concerns about the radicalisation of Brit ish Muslims at university campuses and because there had been a lack of condemnat ion of extremism by M uslim clerics and scholars. Ul Qadri says his fatwa, which is aimed at persuading young Muslims to turn their backs on extremism, goes further than any previous denunciat ion . "This is the first, most comprehensiv e fatwa on the subject of terrorism ever written ," said ul Qadri, who has written about 350 books on Is lamic scholarship. He is a scholar o f Su fism, a long t rad it ion with in Islam wh ich is widely seen as focusing on peace, to lerance and moderation. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab , accused of t rying to bomb a US-bound plane on Christmas Day , studied at a London un iversity until 2008. Govern ment o fficials in Yemen, where Mutallab began his jou rney, have said he was radicalised wh ile in Britain . However, the Brit ish Government claims h is introdu ction to hardco re extremists happened after he left the UK. Govern ment o fficials w ill be among those join ing u l Qadri fo r the launch of the fatw a in central London. The Muslim Council of Britain, an u mbrella o rganisation representing some 500 Islamic groups, has welcomed the fatwa. Ul Qadri w ill tell his audience: "The reality is that what ever these terrorists are doing it is not marty rdo m. All these act ivit ies are taking th em to hellfire." The 59-year-o ld was bo rn in Pakistan and is h ead of the global M inhaj ul Quran relig ious and edu cat ional o rganisation which spreads h is Sufi ideas.

A former Pakistani minister and associate of assassinated prime min ister Ben azir Bhutto , he delivers lectures worldw ide pro moting h is message of harmony and was one of the first Muslim leaders to cond emn the 9/11 attacks in the U S. While ul Qad ri h as followers around the g lobe, it is in Pakistan where he has millions of followers and in the diaspora that h is impact is likely to be greatest. Britain has about 1.7 million Muslims, main ly o f Pakistani d escent. The UK's security serv ices say nearly all major terrorism p lots s ince 2001, in clud ing the 2005 London bo mb ings which killed 52 p eople, have been linked to Pakistan. Ul Qadri said he is confident his ed ict will have a s ign ificant impact because he has drawn on classical teachings and autho rities accept able to all sects of Islam. "I will say more than 50% will change their way , they will be influ enced," he said. "Of the remaining 50% at least some of them, half o f th em, will become doubtfu l about their life, their terro rist act ivity," he said. Tim W inter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Cambridge University, said wh ile there had been similar fatwas in th e past, ul Qad ri d id appear to have gone fu rther than most. "To declare the miscreants as unbelievers is unusual because it is not really clear that the ru les allow one simply to say that they are not Muslims." He added : "Those who are already hardliners will pay no attent ion at all but 'swing voters' - poo rly-educated and angry Muslims who respect mainstream scholars - will probab ly take note. "Certainly it is a helpfu l in it iative." Ul Qadri's p ronouncement will be welcomed by autho rities in the UK and by oth er Western govern ments seeking to stamp out extremism - but the respected scholar said their backing is irrelev ant to his views.

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Islam does not allow suicide attacks at all: Allama Tahir ul Qadri LA HO RE: Chairman o f the Pakistan A wami Tehreek (PA T) Allama Tahir u l Qadri has said that Islam does not allow bomb b lasts and suicid e attacks on mosques, pub lic places and t rade centers and killings o f the innocent peop le, add ing that the perpet rators o f these attacks are dev iat ing fro m the Islamic teach ings. He said th is in h is detailed fatwa wh ile addressing a crowded press conference from Toronto, Canada through a v ideo conferen ce He said that the ongoing wave of terrorism had maligned the M uslim Ummah p art icu larly Pakistan. It was doubtless to say that we as a Muslim n ation condemn terrorism and oppose it in its every form and manifestation but there are certain elements, who are seen extend ing tacit support to it, he added. The perpetrators of suicide attacks link their brut al acts to Jehad and confuse the concept o f Jehad , he remarked. This is making minds o f M uslim youth ’s skeptic, he added. On the other hand, the western med ia was highlight ing on ly incidents of terro rism with reference to M uslim world and does not pro ject the posit ive aspects of Is lam, he reg retted. Th e Islamic view point on terroris m in th e light of Qu ran and Sunn ah be made clear on the world in A rab ic, Eng lish and other languages, he stressed. Raising the arms and waging armed struggle against any Muslim govern ment was not permissible in Islamic teachings, he added . This is a civil war and it has been describ ed as Fasad Fil Arz in Shariah, he said . The heinous acts being perpetrat ed by the terrorists are a conspiracy to destabilize the country besid es prov id ing others pretext to declare Pakistan a failed state, h e said. —Agencies

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Prominent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatwa M on M ar 1, 2010 11:21am E S T

F atwa to declare terrorists to be unbelievers

·

* Qadri seeks to persuade young Muslims to shun terrorism By Mic ha el Ho lden

LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Aprominent Islamic scholar is to issue a 600-page religious edict denouncing terrorism in London on Tuesday in what he says is a bidto persuade youngMuslims to turn their backs on extremism. The fatwa from MuhammadTahir ul-Qadri, a leading figure who has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years, echoes edicts condemningextremism issued by a number of Islamic groups since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United St ates. But Qadri says his fatwa, which declares terrorists andsuicide bombers to be unbelievers, goes further than any previous denunciation. "This is the first, most comprehensive fat wa on the subject of terrorism ever written," said Qadri, who has written about 350 books on Islamic scholarship and is a scholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam that focuses on peace, tolerance andmoderation. "I have tried to leave not a single stone unturnedon this particular subject andI have tried to address every single question relevant to this subject," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. Qadri, 59, who was born in Pakistan, is headof the global Minhaj ul-Quran religious and educational organisation which spreads his Sufi ideas. A former Pakistani minister andassociate of assassinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lectures worldwide promoting his message of harmony and was one of the first Muslim leaders to condemn the Sept. 11 attacks. TimWinter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Cambridge University, said while there had been similar fatwas in the past, Qadri didappear to have gone further than most. "To declare the miscreants as unbelievers is unusual, because it is not really clear that the rules allowone simply to say that they are not Muslims," he told Reuters. "Those who are already hardliners will pay no attention at all. But 'swingvoters' -- poorly educated and angry Muslims, who respect mainstream scholars, will probably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative," he said. HELLFIRE

Qa dri sa id he fe lt com pelle d to issue the e dict because of concerns a bo ut the ra dic alisation of British M uslims at university campuse s an d beca use there ha d been a la ck of condem nation of extremism by M uslim clerics an d scholar s. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulm utalla b, accused of tryin g to bom b a U. S.-bo un d plane on Christm as Day, st udie d at a London university until 2008. Yem en, wher e Abdulm utallab began his jo urney, has sa id he wa s ra dicalise d wh ile in Britain. "The reality is that whatever these terrorists are doin g it is not m artyrdom. All these activities are takin g them to hellfire," Qa dri said. He is conf ident that the edict will hav e a significant impact, say ing he had dra wn on cla ssica l teachings an d authorities accepta ble to all sects of I slam. "I will say more than 50 percent will chan ge their way, they will be influen ced. Of the rem aining 50 perc ent at least som e of them, half of them , will become doubtful abo ut their life, their terrorist activity," he sa id. While Qadr i ha s follo wer s across the glo be, it is in Pakistan, where he has million s of follo wers, and in the diaspora that his im pact wo uld be greatest, Winter said. Britain has abo ut 1.7 m illion Muslim s, m ainly of Pakistani desc ent, and the sec ur ity services say that nearly all major terrorism plots since 2001, includin g the 2005 Lon don bom bings which k ille d 52 people, were linke d to Pakistan. Government officia ls will be among those joinin g Qa dr i for the launch of the fatwa in central Lon don. T he M uslim Council of Britain, an umbrella or ganisation repre sentin g some 500 Islamic gro up s, said the fatwa was we lcome. "It is entirely la uda ble for scholar s such a s T ahir ul- Qadri to sp eak o ut a gainst terrorism," it said in a statem ent. Although h is prono un cem ent will be goo d ne ws for the a uthorities in Br itain an d other Western governments seek in g to win M uslim support to stamp out extremism, Qadri said their ba ckin g is irr elev ant to his views. ( E diting by )

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London, United Kingdom

Fatwa condemns terrorists as 'un-Islamic'

Publishedon : 2 March 2010 - 4:33pm | By) Marijke Peters (http://www.minhaj.org O ne of the world’s leading Islamic scholars has issue d a religious e dict denouncing te rrorism . Pakistani Muhammad Tahir ul-Q adri claim s his fatwa is the “m ost com pre hensive ” of its kind eve r writte n. The word 'fatwa' became synonymous with death threats in the 1980s after the publication of Salman Rushdie’s book The Satanic Verses prompted a fatwa that forcedhim into hidingfor several years. But the religious rulingread out in London on Tuesday proves that this – incorrect interpretation couldn’t be further from the truth. 'Un-Islamic' The 600-page document is aimedprimarily at Muslim Pakistanis. It denounces terrorists and suicide bombers as ‘unbelievers’ andfocuses on the Sufi traditions of tolerance and moderation. “The act of terrorism is the act of disbelief," ul-Qudri told Radio Netherlands Worldwide. "They [terrorists] go outside of the ambit of Islam andthey will go to hell. This act of terrorism is enmity, it is against humanity. The Koran condemns them and these people who commit acts of terrorism are not to be consideredMuslims. This is the fatwa I have given.” Preaching harm ony Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri is the founder of Minhaj ul-Quran, a religious and educational organisation set up to promote his ideas. He is a former Pakistani minister and advised assassinated politician (andt wice Prime Minister) Benazir Bhutto, and travels the world preachinghis message of harmony.

Other leading Islam ists have com mende d ul- Qudri for his brav ery in issuin g such a wide-ran ging and we ll-re searche d e dict, inc luding Dr M ohammed Gh aly, a theolo gian at the un iver sity of Leiden in the Netherlan ds: “One of the religio us scho lar s who gave a fatwa against attacks on civilian s ha s been killed… It’s cour ageo us to do something like this, beca use sin ce the killin g of this theolo gian you hav e very little voice s who speak abo ut this very clear ly as Tahir ul-Qa dri has don e.” Dr Ghaly says the fatwa m ay have a wor ldwide impact but adm its it’s unlikely to prevent the spread of Islam ic terrorism : “ I don’t think the fatwa will make such a differen ce for the terrorists but it can make a differen ce for the p ublic who don’t know where is the right and where is the wron g opinion abo ut this [ subject]. Here’ s the breakthro ugh.”

Bartlesvillelive http://www. bartle svillelive.com/ne ws/world/story/M uslim - leader- issue s-anti- terror fatwa/HTuC08e OMke6fm W2Z1XI7 g.cspx

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa March 2, 2010 LO ND ON (AP) — T he leade r of a global Muslim movement has iss ued a fatwa , or religious ed ict, that he calls a n a bso lute condem na tion of terrorism. Muhamm ad Ta hir -ul-Qadr i, a former Pakistani lawmaker , says the 600-page fatwa ba ns s uicide bom bing "without a ny ex cus es, any pretex ts, or excep tio ns." Tahir-ul-Qa dri has iss ued similar, shorter de crees, but T ues day's eve nt in Lo ndo n is b eing hosted by the Quilliam Foundation, a governm ent-f unded , anti-e xtr emism think ta nk. The r eligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj -ul-Qura n, a wor ldwide moveme nt that prom otes a non-political, tolera nt Islam. T he gro up ha s hundre ds of thous ands o f fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in Pakis ta n or Pakis tanis living in o ther co untries.

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Muslim Leader Condemns Terrorism

LONDON, MARCH 2, (PRI NTW ORDS NEW S) A fe w wor ds of wisdom comes from a Muslim le ader, T ahir- ul- Qa dr i. He is the founder of the glo bal Minhaj- ul- Quaran m ovement. He has a n um ber of followers in the Unite d Kingdom . He is on his way to issue a fatwa. He is against terrorism and said all the suicide bom ber s ar e “ de stined for hell.” T he fatwa dec lare s, “ suicide bom bin gs and attacks against civilian tar gets are not only condem ned by I slam, but ren der the perpetrators totally o ut of the fold of I slam , in other wor ds, to be unbelievers.” In today’s world wher e there is no certainty of lif e, due to incre asin g n umber of bom b bla sts and terrorist attacks, the words of T ahir-ul-Qa dri were n ece ssary. Accor din g to Shahid M ur saleen, the spokesper son of T ahir- ul- Qadri, “ He has hit har d on the terrorists a s it prevents Islamists from considerin g suic ide bombers as ‘m artyrs’. This f atwa in jects do ubt into the minds of potential suic ide bom bers.” Shahid M ursale en f urther a dde d, “ Extrem ist gro ups base d in Br itain recr uit youth by brain washin g them that they will ‘ with certainty’ be rewarde d in the next life an d Dr Qa dri’ s fatwa ha s remove d this key intelle ctua l factor from their minds. ” The movem ent by Tahir-ul-Qa dri ha s attracted lots of people. He de scribe d al- Qa e da a s an “old evil with a new nam e” which n ee ds to be challen ged. Many scho lar s ha d earlier trie d to preach the sam e message, ho wever, accor ding to T ahir-ul- Qa driin in his doc uments there is no scope for “ if s an d buts.” It is a straight forwar ds “no” if the live s of innocent citizens are p ut at stake. Ac cor ding to 296

reports, the 600 page document was prepared by Tahir-ul-Qadri last year as a mark of protest against increasingnumber of blasts and terrorism across the world. The words from the scholar is receiving lots of positive responses. This document might play a crucial role in preachingpeace by fighting against terrorism.

h ttp ://inf orm .com/w or ld /lea din g -m u slim -s cho lar - is s ue s -fa twa- terrorism -2 1 656 75 p

A Leading Muslim Scholar Issues A Fatwa On Terrorism

Dated: 02 Ma rch 2010

LO NDON , EN G LAN D - MA RC H 02 : Is lamic Sc hol a r a n d s p irit ual leade r S h ayk h-ul-Is l am D r M uhamm ad T a hi r- ul Q ad ri del ivers a t erro ris m Fa t wa at t h e Inst it uti on o f M ec ha nica l En gi ne e rs o n M arc h 2 , 20 1 0 i n Lo ndo n, E ng la nd . Th e com pre hensi ve 60 0 p age Fat wa, o r rel igio us ru li n g , is s et to s e nd a c l ear me as sage t o th e M us lim worl d c ondem ni ng ext rem is m, s uic i de bom bi n g a n d t e rro ris m .

Rock Radio http://www.rockradio.co.uk/scotland/ ISLAMIC SCHOLAR ISSUES ANTI-TERRORISM FATWA

Muh ammad Ta hir ul Qadri is a leading figure who has p romoted pea ce and interfai th dialogue for 30 years. H e said he felt compelled to issue the fatw a because o f co nce rns ab out the radicalisation of British Muslims at unive rsity cam puses and b eca use there h ad been a lack of co ndemnation o f e xtremism by Muslim clerics and scholars. U l Qadri sa ys his fatwa , which is aim ed at persuadi ng you ng Muslims to turn their ba cks on extremism, goes fu rther than any p re vious denun ciation. "This is the first, most comprehensi ve fa tw a on the subject of terrorism ever w ritten," said ul Q adri , w ho has w ritte n a bout 350 books on Islam ic scholarship. H e is a sch olar of Su fism, a long tradition w ithin Islam w hich is w idel y seen as focusing on peace, toleran ce and moderation . N igerian Umar Farou k Abdul Mu tallab, accused o f trying to b omb a US-boun d plane on C hristmas Da y, studied at a London uni versity until 200 8. Government o fficials in Yemen, w here Mu tallab began his jou rne y, have said he w as radicalised w hile in Bri tain . H ow ever, th e Bri tish Go vernm ent claim s his introduction to ha rd core e xtremists happen ed after h e le ft the UK. Government o fficials will be among those joining ul Qadri for the l aunch of the fatwa in cen tral L ondon . The Muslim C ouncil of Bri tain , an um brella organisation representin g some 500 Islam ic groups, has welcomed the fa twa. U l Qadri will tell his audien ce: "The reality is that whate ver these terrorists are doing i t is not martyrdom. All these a cti vities are taking them to h ellfire ." 298

The 59-year-old w as born in Pakistan and is h ead o f the glob al Minh aj ul Quran religious an d edu cational orga nisation w hich spreads his Sufi ideas . A former Pa kistani m inister an d associa te of assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he deli vers le ctures worldwide promoting his message o f harmony and w as one of the first Muslim leaders to cond em n the 9/11 a ttacks in the US. While ul Qadri has followers around the globe , it is in Pakistan w here he has m illions of followers and in the diaspora th at his impact is likel y to be g rea test. Britain has ab out 1.7 million Muslims, m ainly of Pakista ni d escen t. The UK's security services sa y n earl y all m ajor terrorism plots since 20 01, including the 200 5 L ondon bombings w hich killed 52 people, have been linked to Pakistan. U l Qadri said he is confi den t his edict w ill h ave a signifi can t im pact b ecause he has drawn on classical tea chin gs and authorities accep table to all sects o f Islam . "I will sa y m ore th an 50% w ill change their wa y, the y will b e in flue nced ," he said . "Of the rem aining 50% a t l east some o f them, half o f th em , w ill become doub tful abou t their life, their terrorist acti vi ty," he said . Tim Winter, a lecturer in Islam ic studies at Cambridge U ni versity, said while there had been similar fatw as in the past, ul Qadri did appear to ha ve gone fu rth er than m ost. "To declare th e m iscreants as unbelievers is u nusual because i t is n ot really clear that the rules allow one sim ply to say tha t they are no t Muslims." H e added: "Th ose w ho are alread y h ardliners will pa y no a ttention at all bu t 'swing voters' - poorl y-educated and an gry Muslims who respect mainstream scholars - w ill pro bably take note. "C ertai nl y it is a help ful i nitiati ve." U l Qadri's pron ouncement will be welcomed b y authori ties in the U K and b y o ther Western go ve rnm ents seekin g to stamp ou t e xtremism - but the respected scholar said their ba ckin g is i rrele van t to his vi ew s.

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Islamic Scholar To Issue "Fatwa" Against Terrorism 3/2 /2010 6 :30 AM ET

(RTTNews) - A much respected Islamic scholar is to issue a "Fatw a" (edict) Tuesday against terrorism and suicide bombings carried out in the name of Islam. Pakistan-born T ahir ul-Qadri, an authority on "Shariat law " (Islamic jurisprudence), will pronounce the ruling condemning the v iolence at a news conference in Westminster, cent ral London. Comprising 600 pages, this is a strong theological refutation of Islamist terrorism. Qadri who uses texts from the holy Koran to buttress his claims said the orgy of violence w as "absolutely against the teachings of Islam" and that "Islam does not permit such acts on any exc use, reason or pretext." He has argued t hat the perpet rators of suicide attacks w ere destined for hell, which directly cont radicted "Jihad" (Holy War) supporters' claim that suicide bombers w ould be rewarded in afterlife. Qadri w ho stated t hat suicide bombings and terrorism had become a convenient guise for criminals, mischief-mongers and rioters was scathing in his attack.

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Influentail Scholar To Issue Terrorism Fatwa Date: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 Source: BBC News An influential M uslim s cholar is to issue in L ondon a global ruling agains t terrorism and s uicide bom bing. Dr T ahir ul-Q adri, from P akis tan, says his 600- page judgement , kno wn as a fat wa, completely dis mantles al-Q aeda's violent ideology. The sc holar desc ribes al-Q aeda as an "old evil with a new name" which has not been sufficiently challenged. The sc holar's movem ent is growing in the U K and has attrac ted the inte res t of policym akers and sec urity c hiefs . I n his religious ruling, Dr Q adri s ays that I slam forbids the m as s acre of innocent c itizens and s uic ide bom bings . Although m any s c holars have m ade sim ilar rulings in the pas t, D r Q adri's followers ar gue that the mas sive document being launc hed in L ondon goes much further . They s ay it sets out point- by- point theological arguments agains t the rhetoric used by alQ aeda ins pired rec ruiters . The fat wa als o challenges the religious motivations of would- be s uic ide bom bers who are ins pired by promis es of an afterlife. The populis t sc holar developed his doc ument last year as a respons e to the inc reas e in bom bings across P akistan by militants . The bas ic text has been extended to 60 0 pages to cover global is sues, in an attem pt to get its theological argum ents taken up by M us lims in wes tern nations. I t will be prom oted in the UK by D r Q adri's organis ation, M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational. Shahid M ursaleen, spokes man for M inhaj- ul-Q uran in the UK, said the fatwa was hard- hitting. "This fatwa injects doubt into the m inds of potential s uic ide bom bers ," he s aid.

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"Extremis t groups bas ed in Britain recruit t he yout h by brain was hing them t hat they will ' with certainty' be re warded in the next life "Dr Q adri's fatwa has rem oved t his key intellec tual fac tor from t heir minds ." Religious rulings The doc um ent is not the firs t to c ondem n te rroris m and s uic ide bom bing to be launched in the UK. Sc holars from ac ross the UK cam e together in t he wake of the 7 July L ondon attac ks to denounc e the bom bers and u rge comm unities to root out extrem ists . But som e s cholarly rulings in the M iddle E ast have argued that the c on flict between I s rael and the Palestinians is an exc eptional s ituation where "martyrdom " attac ks c an be j us tified. Although D r Q adri has a large following in P akistan, M inhaj ul-Q uran International rem ained largely unkno wn in the U K until relatively recently. I t now has 10 mos ques in the Britis h c ities with s ignificant M uslim c ommunities and s ays it is targeting younger generations it believes have been let down by traditional leaders . The organis ation is attrac ting the attention of polic ym akers and s ec urity c hiefs who are c ontinuing to look for allies in the fight agains t extrem is ts . The Department for C om munities, whic h r uns mos t of the gove rnment's "P reventing V iolent Extrem ism" s trategy, has tried b uilding bridges with a variety o f liberal- minded groups , but often found t hat they have limited actual influe nc e at the grass roots .

To s ee the article please c lic k on the link belo w.

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SFGate http:// www.sfgate.com /cgibin/article .cgi?f=/n/a/2010/03/02/inte rnational/i051949S68.DTL &tsp=1

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa (03-02) 06:36 PST LONDON, Unit ed Kingdom (AP ) -The leade r of a global Muslim moveme nt has issued a fat wa, or re ligious e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of te rrorism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a forme r Pakistani lawm ake r, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bom bing "without any e xcuse s, any pre te x ts, or ex ceptions." Tahir-ul-Q adri has issued sim ilar, shorter decree s, but Tuesday's eve nt in London was publicized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gove rnm ent-funde d anti-ex trem ism think tank and dre w strong m e dia atte ntion. The re ligious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Q uran, a worldwide m oveme nt that prom otes a nonpolitical, tole rant Islam . The group has hundre ds of thousands of followe rs around the world, m ost of them in Pak istan or Pakistanis living in other countries.

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http://www.s ignonsandiego.com/news/ 2010/mar/ 02/ muslim- leader- issues -ant i-terrorfatwa/

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa By The Ass ociated Pr ess Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 5:19 a.m.

LO NDO N — The leader of a global M uslim movem ent has issued a fatwa, or re ligious e dict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism . M uhammad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a form er Pak istani lawm ake r, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bom bing "without any e xcuse s, any pre tex ts, or e xce ptions." Tahir-ul-Qadri has issue d sim ilar, shorte r decre es, but Tuesday's e ve nt in London was publicize d by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gove rnm ent-funde d anti-ex trem ism think tank and dre w strong m edia atte ntion. The religious scholar is the founde r of M inhaj-ul-Q uran, a world wide m ovem ent that prom ote s a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam . The group has hundre ds of thousands of followe rs around the wo rld, m ost of them in Pakistan or Pak istanis living in other countrie s. The As soc iated Pres s

Smooth Radio http://www.sm oothradioea stm idlands. co. uk/news -sport - sho wbiz/national- news/islamic- scholarissues- antiterrorism -fat wa /w3h5ck9w/

Islamic Scholar Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa

Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri is a leading figur e w ho has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years. He said he felt c ompelled to iss ue the fatw a bec aus e of c onc erns about the radic alis ation of Britis h Muslims at univers ity campuses and bec ause there had been a lack of condemnation of extr emism by Muslim c ler ics and scholars. Ul Qadr i s ays his fatw a, w hich is aimed at pers uading y oung Mus li ms to tur n their bac ks on extremism, goes further than any previous denunc iation. "This is the first, most comprehensive fatw a on the subject of terror is m ever w ritten," s aid ul Qadr i, w ho has w ritten about 350 books on Is lamic scholarship. He is a scholar of Sufis m, a long traditio n w ithin Islam w hich is w idely s een as focusing on peace, tolerance and moder ation. Nigerian Umar Farouk A bdul Mutallab, accused of trying to bomb a US- bound plane on Chr istmas Day, s tudied at a London univ ersity until 2008. Gov ernment officials in Yemen, w here Mutallab began his journey, have said he w as radicalised w hil e in Britain. How ever, the Br itish Gover nment claims his introduction to hardcor e extremists happened after he left the UK. Gov ernment officials w ill be among thos e joining ul Qadr i for the launch of the fatw a in central London. The Muslim Council of Britain, an umbrella or ganis ation r epresenting some 500 Is lamic groups, has w elcomed the fatw a. Ul Qadr i w ill tell his audience: "The r eality is that w hatever these terror ists are doing it is not martyr dom. A ll thes e activ ities ar e taking them to hellfire." The 59-year-old w as bor n in Pakistan and is head of the global Minhaj ul Quran r eligious and educ ational organis ation w hich spreads his Sufi ideas . A former Pakistani minis ter and assoc iate of ass assinated pr ime minister Benazir Bhutto, he deliv ers lectures w orldw ide pr omoting his mess age of har mony and w as one of the first Muslim leaders to c ondemn the 9/11 attacks in the US. 305

While ul Qadri has follow ers around the globe, it is in Pakistan w here he has millions of follow ers and in the diaspor a that his impact is likely to be gr eatest. Br itain has about 1.7 million Muslims, mainly of Pakistani descent. The UK's s ec urity s ervic es say nearly all major terr oris m plots since 2001, inc luding the 2005 London bombings w hich killed 52 people, hav e been linked to Pakistan. Ul Qadr i s aid he is c onfident his edic t w ill have a s ignificant impact bec aus e he has dr aw n on classical teac hings and author ities acceptable to all sects of Is lam. "I w ill s ay more than 50% w ill change their w ay, they w ill be influenc ed," he said. "Of the remainin g 50% at least some of them, half of them, w ill become doubtful about their life, their terr or ist activ ity," he said. Tim Winter, a lectur er in Is lamic s tudies at Cambridge University, said w hile there had been s imilar fatw as in the past, ul Qadri did appear to hav e gone fur ther than most. "To dec lar e the miscr eants as unbelievers is unusual bec aus e it is not really clear that the rules allow one s imply to s ay that they ar e not Muslims." He added: "Those w ho are alr eady hardliners w ill pay no attention at all but 's w ing voters' poorly-educated and angry Muslims w ho res pect mains tream sc holars - w ill probably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative." Ul Qadr i's pr onouncement w ill be w elcomed by author ities in the UK and by other Wester n gov er nments seeking to stamp out ex tremis m - but the res pected sc holar s aid their bac king is irr elev ant to his v iew s.

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Somalia24 http:// www.som alia24.com /?p=25730

Europe March 2, 2010 – 7:14 pm

Cleric issues UK anti-terror fatwa By Som alia24 Asso ciated Pre ss W riter

A leading I slamic scholar has iss ued a fatwa in Britain condemning “terr oris ts ” as the enemies of I s lam , in a bid to deter yo ung M uslims from extrem ism . M uham mad T ahir ul-Q adri, head of t he M inhaj ul-Q uran religious and educ ational orga nis ation, s aid suicide bombers were destined for hell as he released his 6 0 0- page edict in L ondon on Tuesday. “They c an’t claim that their s uic ide bom bings are martyrdom operations and that t hey bec om e the heroes of the M us lim Umma [the wide r M uslim c omm unity], no, they become heroes of hellfire, and t hey are leading to wards hellfire,” he said. “There is no place for any martyrdom and their ac t is never , ever to be considered Jihad,” he s aid. ‘No plac e in I s lam ’ At a news c onfere nce, ul-Q adri s aid Is lam was a religion o f peac e that p rom otes beauty, “betterment”, goodness and “ne gates all form of m is c hief and s trife ”. “Terrorism is terroris m, violenc e is violenc e and it has no plac e in I s lamic teac hing and no jus tific ation c an be provided for it, or any kind of exc uses or ifs or buts ,” he s aid. A number of edic ts c ondemning extrem ism have been made by I slamic groups since the Septem ber 11 attacks on the United States , but ul-Q adri ins ists his is the m os t wide- reac hing.

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“This is the firs t, m os t c omprehens ive fatwa on the s ubjec t of ter rorism ever written,” he told the Reuters ne ws age nc y. “I have tried to leave not a s ingle s tone unturned on this partic ular s ubjec t and I have tried to addres s every single ques tion relevant to t his s ubjec t.” Pakistan- born ul-Q adri, 5 9, has written about 3 50 books on I slam, and is a sc holar of Su fism , a M uslim branc h that foc uses on peace, tolera nce, and m oderation. The Q uilliam Foundation, a U K c ounter- extrem ism think- tank, s aid the fat wa was “argua bly the mos t c omprehens ive” theologic al refutation of I slamic extrem is m . Tim Winter, a lec turer in I slamic studies at Cambridge University, s aid while ul-Q adri’s s tep of dec laring “mis c reants as unbelievers ” was unus ual, it was unlikely extremis ts would take notice of his edic t. “Those who are already hardliners will pay no atte ntion at all. But ’s wing voters ’ - poorly educ ated and a ngry M uslims , who respect mains tream sc holars , will probably take note,” he told Reuters. Ul-Q adri s aid he felt c om pelled to is s ue the edict bec aus e of c onc erns about t he ra dic alis ation of Britis h M uslims at univers ity c am pus es and bec aus e there had been a lac k of c ondemnation of extremis m by M uslim clerics and sc holars. The M inhaj- ul-Q uran movem ent, fou nded in P akis tan in 1 980 , wo rks aroun d the globe to promote peac e and interfait h dialogue. Agencies

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http://pda.e uron ews.net/in dex.php?lan g=en& article =726173

Terror ism

Prominent cleric launches fatwa on terrorism 02/03 17:57 CET

A prominent Islamic scholar has issued a religious edict declaring that suicide bombers are unb elievers rather than martyrs. Dr. Muhammad Tah ir u l-Q adri’s is an adv isor to the British govern ment on ways of combatting th e rad icalisat ion of young Muslims. He said at th e launch o f h is fatwa: ““I will say total condemnat ion o f every act of terro rism in ev ery fo rm, in every man ifestation of rad icalism and terroris m wh ich is being committed , o r which has been committed fo r the last one or two decades, wrong ly in the name o f Islam.” There hav e been similar fatwas in the p ast but analysts say u l-Qadri’s goes further by denouncing ext remists as unbelievers. While it may hold no sway w ith hardliners, h is influ ence is such that it may well dissuade younger more impressionable Muslims fro m acts of terror.

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http://rantburg.com /poparticle.php?D=2010-03-04& ID=291915

2010-03-04 Britain

London-based cleric issues anti-terror fatwa An influential M uslim scholar in Britain has issued a fat wa bannin g terror attacks and bom bin gs, insistin g that there is no justification for terror acts in the name of Islam . At a ne ws conf erence attende d by off icer s from Lon don's M etropolitan Police, lawmaker s, charita ble organiz ations an d think-tanks, M uham mad T ahir- ul-Qadri said that acts of terrorism cut people off a s true follo wer s of Islam. "They can't claim that their suicide bom bings are martyrdom operation s an d that they become the heroes of the M uslim Ummah. No, they become heroes of he llfir e, and they are lea din g to war ds the hellfir e," he said. In his 600-page decree, the fo under of the internationally popular M inh aj- ul-Quran movem ent said there wa s no place for martyrdom through acts of terror and that such acts had nothin g to do with jiha d. The scholar ruled o ut any exc use s or pretexts for justifying a cts of terror in suppo se d efforts to "convert an evil into good." "Terrorism is terrorism ," Qadri in siste d. " Violen ce is vio lenc e and it ha s no pla ce in I slam ic teachin g an d no justific ation can be prov ide d for it, or any kind of exc uses or if s or buts." He reiterated that Islam is a r eligion of peace that promotes bea uty, "betterment," goodne ss an d "negates a ll form of m ischief and strife." The fatwa is not the first by a senior M uslim scholar against extrem ism , but Qa dr i's is expecte d to carry m ore we ight as it will be one of the fe w ava ila ble in English and online. Posted by Fred 201003-04 00:00

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http://rain.org.za/islamic-scholar-tahir-ul-qadri-issues-terrorism-fatwa/

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri issues terrorism fatwa By Dominic C asciani BBC Ne ws - 2 March 2010

An influential M uslim scholar has issued a g lobal ru ling against terrorism and suicide bombing. Dr Tahir u l-Qadri, from Pakistan, says h is 600-page judgement, known as a fatwa, comp letely dismant les al-Qaed a’s vio lent ideo logy. The scholar describes al-Qaeda as an “o ld evil with a new name” that has not been sufficiently challeng ed. The scholar ’s movement is growing in the UK and has att racted the int erest o f policymakers and security chiefs. In h is relig ious ru ling, delivered in London , Dr Qad ri says that Islam fo rbids the massacre of innocent cit izens and suicide bombings. A lthough many scho lars h ave made similar ru lings in the past, Dr Qadri argued th at his massive do cu ment goes much further by o mitting “ifs and buts” added by other thin kers. He said that it set out a point-by-point theo log ical rebuttal o f every argument used by al-Qaed a inspired recru iters. The populist scholar developed h is docu ment last year as a response to the increase in bombings across Pakistan by militants. ‘Heroes of hellfire’ The bas ic text has been extend ed to 600 pages to cover global issues, in an attempt to get its theo log ical arguments taken up by M uslims in Western nat ions. It w ill be

pro moted in the UK by Dr Qadri’s o rganisation, M inhaj u l-Quran Internat ional. Dr Qadri spoke for more than hour to an aud ience o f M uslims, clergy, MPs, police officers and other secu rity officials. “They [terrorists] can’t claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdo m operations and that they become the h ero es of the Muslim U mma [global b rotherhood]. No , they become heroes o f hellfire, and they are leading towards hellfire,” he said. “There is no place for any marty rdom and their act is never, ever to be considered jihad.” Acts of vengeance The docu ment is not the first to condemn terrorism and suicide bombing to b e launch ed in the UK . Scholars from across the UK came together in the wake of the 7 July London attacks to denounce the bo mbers and urge communities to root out extremists. But some scholarly ru lings in the M idd le East have argued that the con flict betw een Israel and the Palestin ians is an except ional situation where “marty rdo m” attacks can be justified. Dr Qadri said he rejected that view say ing th ere were no situ ations und er wh ich acts of veng eance, such as attacks on market p laces o r commut er trains, cou ld ever be considered a justifiable act o f war. Although Dr Qadri has many fo llow ers in Pakistan , Minh aj u l-Quran Internation al remained largely un known in the U K unt il relat ively recently. It now has 10 mosques in cit ies with sign ificant Muslim commun it ies and says it is target ing younger g enerations it believes have been let do wn by trad it ional leaders. The organ isation is attracting the attent ion of po licy makers and security ch iefs who are continuing to look for allies in the fight against extremists. The Department for Co mmun ities, wh ich runs most of the government ’s Prev enting Vio lent Extremism strategy, has t ried build ing b ridges with a variety of liberalminded g roups, but often found that they have limited actual influence at the grassroots. http://ne ws. bbc.co. uk/2 /hi/uk_ne ws/8544531. stm

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http://richar dda wkins.net/articles/5179 Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri issues terrorism fatwa by Dominic C asciani - BBC News Dr Tahir ul- Qa dri, from Pakistan, say s his 600-pa ge judgem ent, kno wn as a fat wa, com pletely dism antles al- Qae da's v iolent ideo logy. The scholar describes a l-Qaeda as an "old evil with a ne w n ame" that has not been sufficiently challen ged. The scholar's m ovement is gro win g in the UK an d h as attracted the interest of policym akers an d sec urity chiefs. In his re ligious ruling, delivere d in London, Dr Qadri say s that Islam forbids the m assa cre of innocent citizen s an d suicide bom bin gs. Although m any scholars h ave ma de similar r ulin gs in the pa st, Dr Qadri ar gue d that his m a ssive doc ument goes m uch f urther by omitting "ifs an d buts" a dde d by other thinkers. He said that it set out a point- by-point theologica l re buttal of every argument used by a l-Qaeda inspire d recr uiters. The populist scholar develope d h is do cum ent last year a s a r esponse to the incre ase in bom bin gs across Pakistan by militants. 'He roe s of hellfire ' The ba sic text has been exten ded to 600 page s to cover global issue s, in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by M uslim s in We stern nations. It will be prom oted in the UK by Dr Qa dri's organisation, M inhaj ul-Quran International. Dr Qadri spoke for more than hour to an a udienc e of Muslim s, clergy, MPs, police officers an d other security officials. ...

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http://seattletim es.n wso urce. com/htm l/nationwor ld/2011229365_ape ubritainantiterrorfatwa.html?sy ndication=r ss Marc h 2, 201 0 at 5: 20 A M | P ag e modif ie d Ma rch 2, 2010 at 1:21 PM

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. The Assoc iate d Press LONDON —

The leader o f a g lobal Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnat ion of terro rism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Q adri, a fo rmer Pakistan i lawmaker, says the 600-page fatw a bans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tah ir-u l-Q adri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundat ion, a government-funded ant i-ext remism th ink tank and d rew strong med ia attention. The relig ious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-u l-Quran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a nonpolit ical, to lerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis living in other countries.

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SOMALIATODAY http://somaliatoday.livejo urnal.com/1193392.htm l P ost e d on Mar . 2n d, 2010 at 0 9:18 pm

Muslim Leader Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa

LONDON — The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism.Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former P akistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions."Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a government-funded anti-extremism think tank and drew strong media attention

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http://story.argentinastar.com/index.php/ct/9/cid/c08 dd24ce c417021/id/607422/cs/1 /

Revered Muslim leader condemns terrorists Argentina Star Tuesd ay 2nd Mar ch, 2010

A Muslim leader in the UK h as announced a special religious ru ling, otherwise known as a fatw a, against terrorism in the name of Islam. The widely respected authority on Islamic law, D r Tahir Qad ri, has issued the fatwa, which condemns terro rism and suicide bo mbing . Dr Qadri has add ressed a press conference in Westminster, cent ral London, to talk about why su icide bombings and terro rism are un-Islamic and scripturally fo rbidden. His theological refutat ion of Islamist terro rism is likely to be discussed widely amongst the worlds Muslim populat ion and w ill be posted on the Internet in Eng lish and Arab ic, making it read ily accessib le. Dr Qadri has used texts from the Ko ran to argue that Islam does not permit such acts "on any excuse, reason or pretext" refering to a passage in the Qu ran in wh ich the death of one innocent is aligned with the death of all hu manity. His fatwa condemns suicide bombers as destined for hell, refuting the claim used by extemists that such terrorists will earn paradise after death. In h is posting on terrorism he says: "Today’s trag edy is that t erro rists, mu rderers, mischief-mongers and rioters try to prove their criminal, rebellious, tyrannous, brutal and blasphemous activities as a right and a justified react ion to foreign agg ression under the garb o f defense of Islam and nat ional interests. It can in no w ay be permissible to keep fo reign d elegates under unlawfu l custody and murder them and other peacefu l non-Muslim citizens in ret aliation fo r interference, un just activ ities and aggressive advances o f their countries. The one who does has no relat ion to Islam." Dr Qadri's internat ional organ isation, the M inhaj-ul-Qu ran movement, has many supporters throughout the wo rld .

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http://story.irish sun.com/in dex.php/ct/9/cid/2411c d3571 b4f088/id/607422/cs/1/

Revered Muslim leader condemns terrorists Irish Sun Tuesd ay 2nd Mar ch, 2010

A Muslim leader in the UK h as announced a special religious ru ling, otherwise known as a fatw a, against terrorism in the name of Islam. The widely respected authority on Islamic law, D r Tahir Qad ri, has issued the fatwa, which condemns terro rism and suicide bo mbing . Dr Qadri has add ressed a press conference in Westminster, cent ral London, to talk about why su icide bombings and terro rism are un-Islamic and scripturally fo rbidden. His theological refutat ion of Islamist terro rism is likely to be discussed widely amongst the worlds Muslim populat ion and w ill be posted on the Internet in Eng lish and Arab ic, making it read ily accessib le. Dr Qadri has used texts from the Ko ran to argue that Islam does not permit such acts "on any excuse, reason or pretext" refering to a passage in the Qu ran in wh ich the death of one innocent is aligned with the death of all hu manity. His fatwa condemns suicide bombers as destined for hell, refuting the claim used by extemists that such terrorists will earn paradise after death. In h is posting on terrorism he says: "Today’s trag edy is that t erro rists, mu rderers, mischief-mongers and rioters try to prove their criminal, rebellious, tyrannous, brutal and blasphemous activities as a right and a justified react ion to foreign agg ression under the garb o f defense of Islam and nat ional interests. It can in no w ay be permissible to keep fo reign d elegates under unlawfu l custody and murder them and other peacefu l non-Muslim citizens in ret aliation fo r interference, un just activ ities and aggressive advances o f their countries. The one who does has no relat ion to Islam." Dr Qadri's internat ional organ isation, the M inhaj-ul-Qu ran movement, has many supporters throughout the wo rld .

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http://story.mexicostar.com /in dex.php/ct/9/cid/bf7 be dafac502d48/id/607422 /c s/1/

Revered Muslim leader condemns terrorists Me xi co Star Tuesd ay 2nd Mar ch, 2010

A Muslim leader in the UK h as announced a special religious ru ling, otherwise known as a fatw a, against terrorism in the name of Islam. The widely respected authority on Islamic law, D r Tahir Qad ri, has issued the fatwa, which condemns terro rism and suicide bo mbing . Dr Qadri has add ressed a press conference in Westminster, cent ral London, to talk about why su icide bombings and terro rism are un-Islamic and scripturally fo rbidden. His theological refutat ion of Islamist terro rism is likely to be discussed widely amongst the worlds Muslim populat ion and w ill be posted on the Internet in Eng lish and Arab ic, making it read ily accessib le. Dr Qadri has used texts from the Ko ran to argue that Islam does not permit such acts "on any excuse, reason or pretext" refering to a passage in the Qu ran in wh ich the death of one innocent is aligned with the death of all hu manity. His fatwa condemns suicide bombers as destined for hell, refuting the claim used by extemists that such terrorists will earn paradise after death. In h is posting on terrorism he says: "Today’s trag edy is that t erro rists, mu rderers, mischief-mongers and rioters try to prove their criminal, rebellious, tyrannous, brutal and blasphemous activities as a right and a justified react ion to foreign agg ression under the garb o f defense of Islam and nat ional interests. It can in no w ay be permissible to keep fo reign d elegates under unlawfu l custody and murder them and other peacefu l non-Muslim citizens in ret aliation fo r interference, un just activ ities and aggressive advances o f their countries. The one who does has no relat ion to Islam." Dr Qadri's internat ional organ isation, the M inhaj-ul-Qu ran movement, has many supporters throughout the wo rld .

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http://story.ne wzealan dstar. com/in dex.php/ct/9/cid/bf7be dafa c502d48/id/607422/c s/1/

Revered Muslim leader condemns terrorists New Zeal and Star Tuesd ay 2nd Mar ch, 2010

A Muslim leader in the UK h as announced a special religious ru ling, otherwise known as a fatw a, against terrorism in the name of Islam. The widely respected authority on Islamic law, D r Tahir Qad ri, has issued the fatwa, which condemns terro rism and suicide bo mbing . Dr Qadri has add ressed a press conference in Westminster, cent ral London, to talk about why su icide bombings and terro rism are un-Islamic and scripturally fo rbidden. His theological refutat ion of Islamist terro rism is likely to be discussed widely amongst the worlds Muslim populat ion and w ill be posted on the Internet in Eng lish and Arab ic, making it read ily accessib le. Dr Qadri has used texts from the Ko ran to argue that Islam does not permit such acts "on any excuse, reason or pretext" refering to a passage in the Qu ran in wh ich the death of one innocent is aligned with the death of all hu manity. His fatwa condemns suicide bombers as destined for hell, refuting the claim used by extemists that such terrorists will earn paradise after death. In h is posting on terrorism he says: "Today’s trag edy is that t erro rists, mu rderers, mischief-mongers and rioters try to prove their criminal, rebellious, tyrannous, brutal and blasphemous activities as a right and a justified react ion to foreign agg ression under the garb o f defense of Islam and nat ional interests. It can in no w ay be permissible to keep fo reign d elegates under unlawfu l custody and murder them and other peacefu l non-Muslim citizens in ret aliation fo r interference, un just activ ities and aggressive advances o f their countries. The one who does has no relat ion to Islam." Dr Qadri's internat ional organ isation, the M inhaj-ul-Qu ran movement, has many supporters throughout the wo rld .

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against te rrorism, suicide bombing Singapor e Star Tuesd ay 2nd Mar ch, 2010 (ANI)

Describing A l-Qaed a as an 'o ld evil with a new name', influential Pakistani scho lar Dr Tah ir u l-Qadri has said he would soon issue a 'fatwa' against terrorism and suicide bombing. Qadri said th e A l-Qaed a has not been sufficient ly challenged and that h is g lobal ruling against terrorism co mp letely dismantles the banned terror organ isation 's vio lent ideology. In h is 600-page ruling , Qadri said Islam forb ids the massacre of innocent citizens and suicid e bo mb ings. The fatwa also challenges the relig ious motivat ions of wou ld -be suicide bo mbers who are inspired by pro mises of an afterlife, The BBC repo rts. The famous Muslim scho lar developed his docu ment last year as a response to the sudden increase in suicide bo mb ings across Pakistan. The fatwa, which wou ld be p romoted in Britain by Qad ri's organ isation , M inh aj ulQuran International, wou ld cover g lobal issues in an attempt to get its theo log ical arguments taken up by Muslims in western n ations. Terming the fatwa as 'hard h itting', Minhaj u l-Quran Intern ation al's spokesperson Shahid Mursaleen said the ru ling wou ld in ject doubt into the minds of potent ial suicid e bo mbers. "Extremist groups based in Britain recruit the youth by brainwashing them that they will with certainty be rewarded in the n ext life. Dr Qad ri's fatwa has removed this key intellectual acto r fro m their minds," Mursaleen said . (A NI)

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Britain Anti Terror Fatwa Ku vaaja: Aki ra Suem ori Lähde: AP / Le h ti ku va Päiväm äärä: 2 .3 .2 01 0 kl o 14 :5 9

Leading M uslims scholar Dr M uhammad Tahir-ul-Q adri spe aks at the UK launch of the Fat wa on suicide bombings and terrorism held by non-gove rnme ntal organization Minhaj-ul-Q uran International (MQI) in London, Tue sday, March 2, 2010. The fatwa is an Islam ic de cre e that condem ns suicide bom bings and te rrorist atro cities along with the ir perpetrators.

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http://sweetsilence.vox. com/library/post/islam ic-scholar- drtahir- ul- qadr i-issue d-terrorismfatwa.html Mar 5, 2010 at 8:28 PM

Islamic Scholar Dr.Tahir ul-Qadri issued Terrorism Fatwa -- Historical La unch in g of Fat wa Aga inst Terrorism --

LONDON . In the wake o f the massacre o f innocent cit izens, and explosions, and suicid e bo mb ing on the streets and markets o f Pakistan and A fghan istan at mosques and other pub lic places by th e terro rists and radicals, the t iming o f a religious verdict Fatwa cou ldn't be more pertin ent. A staggering 600-p age Fatwa (relig ious ed ict ) by one of the lead ing Muslim authorities Dr M uhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri which declares suicide bo mbing and terrorism as totally un -Islamic w ill be launch on Tuesday 2 M arch 2010 in Westminster. The Fatwa is a comprehensive analysis o f the issue of t errorism has been pub lished, and prov ides robust relig ious ev idence, based on Quaranic verses and Proph etic tradit ions, to clarify th e Islamic viewpoint on the atrocities co mmitted by terrorists. While the Muslims as a co llective ent ity condemn, res ist and fight terro rism, and are not ready to accept its remotest possib le link with Islam; there are some extremists who are also seen support ing it. Instead of opposing and condemning it op en ly and downrightly, they confuse it. This relig ious ruling is particularly important fo r th e UK where the majority o f Muslims are of South Asia origin - we have seen examples o f extremist groups target ing vulnerable young peop le from these co mmun ities to carry out their acts of vio lence, fro m t rain ing them as suicide bo mbers in London o r elsewhere to b rainwash students across Brit ish universities. The spokesman of Minhaj-ul-Qu ran Internat ional U K, Sh ahid M ursaleen said that this religious ed ict will provide the theological reassurance and g ive confidence to vulnerable young Brit ish Muslims, enabling them to take a stand against those perpet rat ing ext remist views. Britain has larg e M uslim co mmun it ies of South Asian heritage, and their con fusion about religious teaching, coupled w ith close family members suffering as a result of fight ing in A fghan istan and Pakistan, has been exp loited by ext remists seeking to recruit suicide bo mbers in the UK. In Britain , there is a widely held misunderstanding that a fatw a is a violent call to 322

arms, but their real pu rpose is to provide a religious decree g iving the legal Islamic viewpo int and relig ious gu idance on a content ious issue. The decree is based on rigorous analys is of religious texts, and can only issue by those who have the right to do so, based on a co mp lex ch ain of autho rity, determined by experience and knowledge o f Islamic literature. It explains th rough religious referen ce - th at killing Muslims and non-Muslims through terro rist act ivit ies, and using v iolent aggression to impose their mistaken and misplaced ideology, is a fundamental rejection o f faith and is out of the fold o f Islam and what it stands for. When the forbidden element of suicide is added , the severity and gravity is even greater, and is fo rb idden in Is lamic law. Dr Tah ir-u l-Q adri, whose official scho lar t itle is Shayk-ul-Islam, is a p rofessor and contempo rary th inker and the figurehead o f the internation al organisation , Minh aj-u lQuran. He said in h is Fatwa boo k: A negligib le minority amongst .[Muslims] seems to giv e terro rism tacit approval. Instead o f openlyoppos ing and condemning t erro ris m, these peop le con fuse the entire subject by resorting to misleadingand p erp lexing discussions. [p .24] The killing o f M uslims and the p erpet ration o f terro rism are not only unlawfu l and forb idden in Islam but also represent the rejection o f faith . [p.28] By undertaking a co mp rehensiv e an alysis of the signs, beliefs and ideo log ies of the Khawarij thrmugh the Qu ralic verses, Prophet ic tradit ions and jurisprud ential opinions of jurists, we have established that the terrorists are the Khawarij of contempo rary t imes. [p .30] It can in no way be permissib le to keep fo reign delegates under unlawful custody and mu rder them and other peaceful non -M uslim cit izens in retaliation for the interferen ce, un just act ivities and aggressive advan ces of their count ries. The on e who does has no relat ion to Islam. [p.37] Terrorism, carnage and mass destruction can never b e justified in the name o f any intent ion o f enfo rcing Islamic co mmands and its jud icial system. No r can these rep rehensible act iv it ies be any except ion to the rule, or be overlooked, or forg iven. [p.49] http://www.minhaj.or g/en glish/tid/995...

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http://sweetsilence.vox. com/library/post/islam ic-scholar- drtahir- ul- qadr i-issue d-terrorismfatwa.html?_c=fee d-atom Mar 5, 2010 at 8:28 PM

Islamic Scholar Dr.Tahir ul-Qadri issued Terrorism Fatwa -- Historical La unch in g of Fat wa Aga inst Terrorism --

LONDON . In the wake o f the massacre o f innocent cit izens, and explosions, and suicid e bo mb ing on the streets and markets o f Pakistan and A fghan istan at mosques and other pub lic places by th e terro rists and radicals, the t iming o f a religious verdict Fatwa cou ldn't be more pertin ent. A staggering 600-p age Fatwa (relig ious ed ict ) by one of the lead ing Muslim authorities Dr M uhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri which declares suicide bo mbing and terrorism as totally un -Islamic w ill be launch on Tuesday 2 M arch 2010 in Westminster. The Fatwa is a comprehensive analysis o f the issue of t errorism has been pub lished, and prov ides robust relig ious ev idence, based on Quaranic verses and Proph etic tradit ions, to clarify th e Islamic viewpoint on the atrocities co mmitted by terrorists. While the Muslims as a co llective ent ity condemn, res ist and fight terro rism, and are not ready to accept its remotest possib le link with Islam; there are some extremists who are also seen support ing it. Instead of opposing and condemning it op en ly and downrightly, they confuse it. This relig ious ruling is particularly important fo r th e UK where the majority o f Muslims are of South Asia origin - we have seen examples o f extremist groups target ing vulnerable young peop le from these co mmun ities to carry out their acts of vio lence, fro m t rain ing them as suicide bo mbers in London o r elsewhere to b rainwash students across Brit ish universities. The spokesman of Minhaj-ul-Qu ran Internat ional U K, Sh ahid M ursaleen said that this religious ed ict will provide the theological reassurance and g ive confidence to vulnerable young Brit ish Muslims, enabling them to take a stand against those perpet rat ing ext remist views. Britain has larg e M uslim co mmun it ies of South Asian heritage, and their con fusion about religious teaching, coupled w ith close family members suffering as a result of fight ing in A fghan istan and Pakistan, has been exp loited by ext remists seeking to recruit suicide bo mbers in the UK. In Britain , there is a widely held misunderstanding that a fatw a is a violent call to arms, but their real pu rpose is to provide a religious decree g iving the legal Islamic viewpo int and relig ious gu idance on a content ious issue. The decree is based on 324

rigorous analys is of religious texts, and can only issue by those who have the right to do so, based on a co mp lex ch ain of autho rity, determined by experience and knowledge o f Islamic literature. It explains th rough religious referen ce - th at killing Muslims and non-Muslims through terro rist act ivit ies, and using v iolent aggression to impose their mistaken and misplaced ideology, is a fundamental rejection o f faith and is out of the fold o f Islam and what it stands for. When the forbidden element of suicide is added , the severity and gravity is even greater, and is fo rb idden in Is lamic law. Dr Tah ir-u l-Q adri, whose official scho lar t itle is Shayk-ul-Islam, is a p rofessor and contempo rary th inker and the figurehead o f the internation al organisation , Minh aj-u lQuran. He said in h is Fatwa boo k: A negligib le minority amongst .[Muslims] seems to giv e terro rism tacit approval. Instead o f openlyoppos ing and condemning t erro ris m, these peop le con fuse the entire subject by resorting to misleadingand p erp lexing discussions. [p .24] The killing o f M uslims and the p erpet ration o f terro rism are not only unlawfu l and forb idden in Islam but also represent the rejection o f faith . [p.28] By undertaking a co mp rehensiv e an alysis of the signs, beliefs and ideo log ies of the Khawarij thrmugh the Qu ralic verses, Prophet ic tradit ions and jurisprud ential opinions of jurists, we have established that the terrorists are the Khawarij of contempo rary t imes. [p .30] It can in no way be permissib le to keep fo reign delegates under unlawful custody and mu rder them and other peaceful non -M uslim cit izens in retaliation for the interferen ce, un just act ivities and aggressive advan ces of their count ries. The on e who does has no relat ion to Islam. [p.37] Terrorism, carnage and mass destruction can never b e justified in the name o f any intent ion o f enfo rcing Islamic co mmands and its jud icial system. No r can these rep rehensible act iv it ies be any except ion to the rule, or be overlooked, or forg iven. [p.49] http://www.minhaj.or g/en glish/tid/995...

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http://tajzia.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/realising-the-terrorist-threat/

Realising the Te rro rist Threat 2010 March 5 by tajzia By: Syed Aal-e-Imran

Realising the Terrorist Threat Professor Dr. Tahir ul Qadri, who has also started usingthe prefix “Sheikh ul Islam” over the last fewyears, has been a prolific writer with 1000 books to his credit according to his website at the age of 59. This amounts to 17 books a year androughly 1.5 books for every month of his life. Hence the stress on ‘600’ in the recently released fat wa against terrorism is entirely understandable. The homework has been done and already, Amazon.com is sporting a pre-order page for the 88page introduction to this work. A spokesman of the counter-extremist think-tank, Quillam, said, “Fat was by Wahhabi-influenced clerics andIslamist ideologues initiated modern terrorism against civilians.” Yet again, this is completely understandable: Dr. Tahir ul Qadri, whose ‘Chains of Authority’ are not matched by any other Muslim, has a hat-trick of chains linkinghim to Imam al-Hind ash-Shah Ahmad Rida Khan (also known has Aala Hazrat and Ahmad Raza Barelvi), a personality revered by one of the mystical sects of the subcontinent. Indeed, Ahmad Raza Khan set a precedent to counter Wahhabism that can only be matched by Dr. Qadri, who like his hero, declared “Muslim terrorists” disbelievers. And as a true successor toAhmad Raza Khan and his critically acclaimed anti-Wahhabi fat was that won universal applause from the British, Dr. Qadri chose to launch the fatwa internationally in England. The work is indeed a monumental one and has receivedpositive reviews from many authorities on Islam. Salman Ahmad, the Rock `n Roll Mujahid superstar andhimself an expert on Islamic Jurisprudence to which he himself testifies has noted that “the young men in the West…could be influenced the most by Quadri’s arguments”. Hisham Kabbani, another expert on Islam, said, “We are happy andhonouredto be working with Dr

Qa dri an d Minhaj- ul-Qur an to support the UK M uslims in co unterin g the ra dic al I slam ist rhetoric in the wor ld.” Other such authorities include Ne ws Channe ls such as CNN, CNN a gain, Wash ington Tim es, BBC, more BBC, CNN yet a gain etc. Other such ref erenc es can be fo und at the noble Doctor’s o wn we bsite. Several que stions r emain though; it would intere stin g to see the evo lution that follo ws in the approach that the Noble Doctor has m astere d over the year s. Ho w will he, for exam ple, de al with the extremist ‘Fatwa of Death’ against Sa lman Rush die issue d by the late Ayatollah Khom eini of Iran whom he rever es.

http://theim pudento bserver. com/world-n e ws/suicide- bom ber s-vir gin s-or-diggin g-co al/

Suicide Bombers–Virgins Or Digging Coal? March 4 th, 2010 by Fred S topsky A M us lim sc holar c urrently residing in L ondon will s hortly iss ue a fat wa t hat unequivoc ally c ondem ns terroris m and warns anyone wh o wants to plac e bombs aroun d his tum my and blo w him self up that his destination will not be the warm heaven o f do zens of gor geous women , b ut the dark damp hot climate of Hell where on spends days s hoveling c oal for the Devil. P akistani born S haikh D r. Tahir ul-Q adri will s end out the fat wa for Englis h speaking M uslims as part of his effort to demolish terroris t arguments that one must die in the nam e o f Allah. T he good doc tor is well kno wn withi n the Britis h P akis tani c omm unity and it is dou btful if any ter rorist will be s tripping o ff a c hes t load of bom bs bec aus e someone in L ondon s ays to kill is against the teac hing o f Allah. His fat wa will s tate, “it c an in no way be permis sible to keep foreign delegates under unla wful c us tody and m urder them a nd ot her peaceful non- M us lim citizens in retaliation for interferenc e, unjus t ac tivities , and a ggress ive advanc dses of their c ountries .” His com ments are merely one s hot i n the fatwa wars o f c irc ulating s tatements to jus tify or not jus tify behavior.

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http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?f ile =/2010/3/2/worldup dates/2010 - 03 01T 221645Z_01_NOOTR_RT RM DNC_0_ - 465661 - 1& sec =Worldupdates

Monday M arch 1, 2010

Prominent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatwa By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - A prominent Islamic scho lar is to issue a 600-pag e relig ious edict denouncing terro rism in London on Tuesday in what he says is a b id to persuade young Muslims to turn th eir backs on extremism. The fatwa fro m Muhammad Tah ir u l-Qad ri, a leading figure who has p romot ed peace and interfaith dialogue fo r 30 years, echoes edicts condemning extremism issued by a number o f Islamic g roups since the Sept. 11 attacks on the Un ited Stat es. But Qadri says h is fatw a, wh ich declares terro rists and suicide bo mbers to be unbelievers, goes fu rther than any prev ious d enunciat ion. "This is the first, most co mp rehensive fatwa on the subject o f terrorism ever written ," said Qadri, who has written about 350 boo ks on Islamic scho larship and is a scholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam that focuses on peace, to lerance and moderation. "I have tried to leave not a single stone unturned on th is part icular subject and I hav e tried to address every sing le question relev ant to th is subject," he to ld Reuters in a telephone interview. Qadri, 59, who was born in Pakistan, is head of the global Minhaj u l-Quran relig ious and educat ional organ isat ion wh ich spreads h is Sufi ideas. A former Pakistani min ister and associate of assassinated Prime M in ister Benazir Bhutto , he delivers lectures worldw ide pro moting h is message of harmony and was one of the first Muslim leaders to cond emn the Sept. 11 attacks. Tim W inter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Camb ridge Un iversity, said wh ile there had been similar fatwas in th e past, Qadri did appear to have gon e further than most. "To declare the miscreants as unbelievers is unusual, because it is not really clear that the rules allow one simply to say that they are not M uslims," he told Reuters. "Those who are already h ard liners will pay no attention at all. But 'swing voters' -poorly educated and angry M uslims, who respect mainstream scholars, will p robab ly 328

take note. "Certainly it is a helpfu l in it iative," he said . HELLFIRE Qadri said he felt comp elled to issue the edict because of con cerns about the rad icalisation of British M uslims at un iversity campuses and because there had been a lack of condemnat ion of extremis m by Muslim clerics and scholars. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , accused o f t rying to bomb a U.S.-bound p lane on Ch rist mas Day, studied at a London university until 2008. Yemen, where Abdulmutallab b egan h is jou rney, has said he was radicalised while in Britain . "The reality is that whatever these terro rists are doing it is not marty rdo m. All these activit ies are taking them to hellfire," Qad ri said . He is con fident that the ed ict will have a sign ificant impact, saying he had drawn on classical teachings and autho rities accept able to all sects of Islam. "I w ill say more than 50 percent will change their way, they w ill be influenced. O f the remain ing 50 percent at least so me of them, h alf of them, will become doubt ful about their life, their terro rist act iv ity," he said. While Qadri has fo llowers across the g lobe, it is in Pakistan, where he has millions of followers, and in the diaspora that h is impact would be greatest, Winter said. Britain has about 1.7 million Muslims, mainly o f Pakistani d escent, and the security services say that nearly all majo r terrorism p lots since 2001, includ ing the 2005 London bombings wh ich killed 52 p eople, were lin ked to Pakistan. Govern ment officials will be among those jo ining Qadri fo r the laun ch of the fatwa in central London. Th e M uslim Council o f Britain, an umbrella org an isation rep resenting some 500 Islamic g roups, said the fatwa w as welco me. "It is ent irely laudab le for scholars such as Tahir ul-Qadri to speak out against terrorism," it said in a statement . Although his pronouncement will be good news for the autho rities in Britain and other Western governments seeking to win M uslim support to stamp out extremism, Qadri said th eir backing is irrelevant to his views. (Editing by Ch arle s Dick

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http://top ics .abcnews .go .com/photo/0dMa9tB 1d H2nk

LONDON, E NGLAND - M ARCH 02 : Islamic Scho lar an d spir itua l lea der Shaykh- ul-I slam Dr M uh amm ad Tahir-ul Qa dri deliver s a terrorism Fat wa at the Institution of Mechanical Engineer s on M arch 2, 2010 in Lon don, En gland. The comprehensive 600 pa ge Fat wa, or religious ruling, is set to send a clear m ea ssage to the Muslim world con dem nin g extremism , suic ide bom bin g an d terrorism . The leader of a glo bal Muslim movem ent has iss ued a fatwa , or religious edic t, tha t he ca lls an absolute co ndem nation of terror ism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a form er Pakistani lawm aker , say s the 600page fa twa b ans s uicide bombing "witho ut any exc uses , a ny pretexts, or exceptions ." Tahir-ul-Q adri has iss ued similar, shorter decrees , b ut Tuesday's eve nt in London was publicized by the Quilliam Founda tion, a government-funded anti-extremism think tank a nd drew str ong m ed ia a ttention. The religio us scholar is the f ounder of M inhaj -ul-Quran, a worldwide movem ent that promo tes a nonpolitical, toler ant Is lam . The gro up has hundr eds of thousands of f ollowe rs around the wor ld, most of them in Pakista n or Pakista nis living in other countrie

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Muslim leader issues 600-page antiterror fatwa in U.K. Mar. 02 2010 4:02:09 PM

Leading Muslims scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri speaks at the UKlaunch of the Fat wa on suicide bombings and terrorism held by non-governmental organization Minhaj-ulQuran International (MQI) in London, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. (AP / Akira Suemori)

Updated: Tue Ma r. 02 2010 4:02:09 P M

TheAssociatedPress LONDON —Aformer Pakistani legislator who lives in Canada and leads a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, condemning terrorism. MuhammadTahir-ul-Qadri says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing"without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." He is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Qur'an, a worldwide movement that promotes a non-political, tolerant Islam. A spokesman for the group told The Canadian Press that Tahir-ul-Qadri has been living in southern Ontario for almost four years. The spokesman would not reveal the exact location. Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a government-funded anti-extremism think-tank. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis livingin other countries.

TRUE / SLANT http://trueslant.com /dav idknowles/2010/03 /02/muslim -lea der-issus-f atwa-a gain st-terrorism / Mar .

2 2010 - 12:25 pm

Muslim leader issues fatwa… against terrorism By DAVI D KNOWLE S

Can somebody give me a hallelujah? Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Q adri (p ictu red ), the leader of M inhaj-u l-Qu ran, a global Muslim group that is said to have hundreds of thousands of followers, issued a fatw a on Tuesday. By now, we’ve co me to expect that such relig ious ed icts will call for the killing of some novelist or cartoonist who has supposedly besmirched the Koran, but Tahir-ul-Qadri has qu ite a d ifferent target in mind: terrorism. Specifically, he wants to put an end to suicide bomb ings : Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a fo rmer Pakistani law maker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bomb ing “w ithout any excuses, any pretexts, or except ions.” While one app lauds his stand against v iolence, the use o f a fatwa to ach iev e one’s social and political aims leaves a lot to be desired . After all, with so many conflict ing fatwas flying around–one that commands killing v ersus one that forb ids it–how is the layperson supposed to figure out which carries the true moral authority o f Koranic wisdom? 332

http://www.military.com/ne ws/article/muslim - scholars-f atwa- con demns- alqaida.html

Muslim Scholar's Fatwa Condemns Al-Qaida Mar ch 02, 2010 Deutsche Presse-Agentur

LONDON --- A leading Mus lim scholar w ith a large follow ing in Br itain Tues day issued a fatw a --- or Islamic r eligious r uling --- c ondemning global terr oris m and suic ide bombings in a "dir ect challenge to al- Qaida's violent ideology ." Pakistan-born Muhammad Tahir-ul- Qadr i, the founder of the global Minhaj- ul-Qur an movement, made his for mal pr oclamation of a fatw a, or religious edict, at a new s conference in London. The 600-page fatw a says that "suic ide bombings and attac ks against civ ilian tar gets are not only c ondemned by Islam, but r ender the per petrators totally out of the fold of Is lam, in other w ords, to be unbelievers." Qadri descr ibed the al-Qaida movement as an "old evil w ith a new name" and said he believed that the overw helming majority of young Muslims in Britain had not yet been radic aliz ed and w ould "think again" on reading his pr oclamation. Those w ho had already been "totally brainw ashed" w ould not listen, s aid Qadr i, but others w ould have "doubt" sew n in their minds. "You don't bec ome a terr oris t over night. It is a journey ... Many ar e already on that road but they hav e not y et arriv ed to become suic ide bombers ," Qadri told jour nalists. He dev eloped the document, w hic h challenges the religious motiv ation of s uicide bombers, in r esponse to the rise in suicide bombings in Pakistan. He said he hoped his arguments w ould attract the attention of politic ians and secur ity services in w estern nations.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_ANTI_TERROR_FATWA?SITE=NC BER&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Mar 2, 9:36 AM ES T

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa LONDON (A P) -- The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatw a, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muhammad Tahir - ul-Qadr i, a for mer Pakistani law maker, s ays the 600-page fatw a bans s uicide bombing "w ithout any exc uses, any pretex ts, or exceptions." Tahir- ul- Qadr i has issued similar, shorter decr ees, but Tues day 's event in London w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a gov ernment-funded anti-ex tremism think tank and drew strong media attention. The r eligious sc holar is the founder of Minhaj-ul- Qur an, a w orldw ide movement that promotes a nonpolitic al, toler ant Islam. The gr oup has hundr eds of thousands of follow ers around the w orld, mos t of them in Pakis tan or Pakistanis liv ing in other countr ies .

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BRITAIN_ANTI_TERROR_FATWA?SITE=TX SAE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2010-03-02-09-36-56 Mar 2, 9:36 AM EST

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa LONDON (A P) -- The leader of a global Muslim movement has i ssued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrori sm. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former Paki stani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qadri has i ssued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a government-funded anti-extremi sm thinktank and drew strong media attention. The religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a worldwide movement that promotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousandsof followers around the world, most of them in Paki stan or Paki stanis living in other countries.

http://in.ne ws.yahoo.com /137/20100301 /760/t wl-prom inent -m uslim - to -issue- anti- terro.html

Mon, M ar 1 09:55 PM

Prominent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatwa A prominent Islamic scholar is to issue a 600-page r eligio us e dict denouncin g terrorism in London on T ue sday in what he say s is a bid to per sua de youn g M uslims to turn their ba cks on extremism. T he fatwa from Muh am mad T ahir ul- Qadri, a lea din g figure who has promoted peac e and interfaith dialogue for 30 y ear s, echoes edicts con dem nin g extremism issue d by a n umber of Islam ic gro ups sinc e the Sept. 11 attacks on the United St ates. But Qadr i says h is f atwa, which declares terrorists an d suicide bombers to be un believer s, goe s further than any previo us den unciation. "This is the first, m ost com prehensive f at wa on the subject of terrorism ever written," said Qadri, who has written abo ut 350 books on I slam ic scholarship and is a scholar of Suf ism, a long tra dition within Islam that focuses on peace, toleranc e an d m oderation. "I have trie d to leave not a sin gle stone unturne d on this partic ular subject an d I hav e tried to addr ess every single question re levant to this subject," he told Re uter s in a telephone intervie w. Qadri, 59, who wa s born in Pakistan, is hea d of the global Minha j ul- Quran religio us an d educational organisation wh ich spreads his Sufi idea s. A former Pakistani minister an d a ssociate of assa ssinate d Prime Minister Benaz ir Bhutto, he delivers lectures worldwide promoting his messa ge of harmony and wa s one of the fir st Muslim lea ders to condemn the Sept. 11 attacks. T im Winter, a lecturer in Islam ic studies at Cam bridge Univ ersity, said while there had been similar f atwa s in the pa st, Qadri did appe ar to have gone f urther than most.

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"To declare the miscreants a s unbelievers is un usual, beca use it is not really clear that the rules allo w one sim ply to say that they are not Muslim s," he told Re uter s. "Those who ar e alr eady har dliner s will pay no attention at all. But 'swin g voters' -- poorly educate d an d an gry M uslim s, who respect mainstream scholars, will pro bably take note. "Certain ly it is a helpf ul initiative," he said. HEL LFI RE Qadri sa id he fe lt compelle d to issue the e dict beca use of concern s a bout the ra dicalisation of British M uslims at university campuse s an d beca use there ha d been a la ck of condemnation of extremism by M uslim clerics and scholar s. Niger ian Um ar Faro uk Abdulm utallab, acc use d of trying to bom b a U. S.- bo und plane on Christm as Day, studied at a London univer sity until 2008. Yemen, wher e Abdulmutalla b began his jo urney, h as said he was radicalised wh ile in Britain. "The reality is that whatever the se terrorists are doing it is not m artyrdom. All these activities are takin g them to hellfire," Qa dri said. He is confident that the edict will hav e a signif icant impact, sayin g he ha d dr awn on cla ssic al teachings an d a uthorities acceptable to all sects of Islam. "I will say m ore than 50 percent will ch an ge their way, they will be influen ced. Of the remainin g 50 percent at least some of them , half of them, will becom e do ubtful abo ut their life, their terrorist activity," he said. While Qa dr i ha s followers a cross the globe, it is in Pakistan, where h e ha s m illions of follo wers, an d in the dia spora that his impact wo uld be gr eatest, Winter said. Britain h as a bo ut 1.7 m illion M uslims, mainly of Pakistani de sc ent, and the sec urity service s say that nearly a ll m ajor terrorism plots sin ce 2001, in cludin g the 2005 Lon don bom bin gs which k ille d 52 people, were linke d to Pakistan. Governm ent officia ls will be among those joining Qa dri for the la unch of the fat wa in c entral London. The M uslim Coun cil of Br itain, an umbr ella or ganisation repr esenting som e 500 Islam ic gro ups, said the fat wa was we lcom e. "It is entirely la uda ble for scholar s such a s Tahir ul-Qa dri to speak o ut a gain st terrorism ," it said in a statem ent. Although h is prono uncement will be good ne ws for the a uthorities in Br itain an d other Western governments seek ing to win M uslim support to stam p out extremism, Qadr i said their ba ckin g is irr elev ant to his vie ws. (Editing by Charle s Dick)

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http://in.quote.com/news/story.action? id=RTT 003020630000439 March 02, 2010

Islamic Scholar To Issue "Fatwa" Against Terrorism (RT T Ne ws) - A much r esp ecte d Islam ic scholar is to issue a " Fat wa" (e dict) Tue sday a gain st terrorism and suicide bom bings carrie d out in the nam e of Islam. Pakistan- born T ahir ul- Qa dri, an a uthority on "Shariat la w" (I slamic jurispr udence), will pronounc e the rulin g condemning the vio lenc e at a ne ws conferen ce in We stminster, central London. Com prising 600 pa ges, this is a strong theolo gical ref utation of Islam ist terrorism. Qadri who uses texts from the holy Koran to buttress his cla ims said the or gy of violence was "absolutely again st the teachings of Islam" an d that "Islam do es not perm it such a cts on any ex c use, reason or pr etext." He ha s ar gue d that the perpetrators of suicide attacks were destined for h ell, which directly contradicted "Jih ad" (Holy War) supporters' claim that suicide bombers wo uld be re war de d in afterlife. Qadri who stated that suic ide bombin gs an d terrorism ha d be com e a conven ient guise for crim inals, m isch ief-mongers an d rioters wa s scathing in h is attack. "It can in no way be permissible to keep foreign dele gates un der unla wf ul c ustody and mur der them and other peacef ul non-M uslim citizens in retaliation for interferen ce, unjust activitie s and a ggressive a dv ance s of their co untrie s. The one who doe s ha s no relation to Islam," he asserted. Supporters of Qa dri, the fo under of the international Minhaj- ul-Qur an m ovement, said the fatwa was significant since he him self wa s issuin g it and the organiz ation comm anded a lar ge follo win g both in So uth Asia an d Britain. It wa s a lso pointed o ut that although m any sim ilar fat wa s were issue d a gain st terrorism earlier, the one by Qadri went much f urther. T he fatwa will be po ste d on the Internet and co uld well "turn the tide" in the fight a gainst religious extrem ism wor ldwide.

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http://in.reuters.com /article/worldNews/idI NIn dia- 46566120100301 Mon Mar 1, 20 10

Prominent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatwa By M ich ael Holden LONDON ( Re uters) - A prominent Islamic scholar is to issue a 600-page religio us e dict deno uncing terrorism in London on T uesday in wh at he says is a bid to persuade yo un g Muslims to turn their back s on extrem ism. T he fatwa from Muh am mad T ahir ul- Qadri, a lea din g figure who has promoted peac e and interfaith dialogue for 30 y ear s, echoes edicts con dem nin g extremism issue d by a n umber of Islam ic gro ups sinc e the Sept. 11 attacks on the United St ates. But Qadr i says h is f atwa, which declares terrorists an d suicide bombers to be un believer s, goe s further than any previo us den unciation. "This is the first, m ost com prehensive f at wa on the subject of terrorism ever written," said Qadri, who has written abo ut 350 books on I slam ic scholarship and is a scholar of Suf ism, a long tra dition within Islam that focuses on peace, toleranc e an d m oderation. "I have trie d to leave not a sin gle stone unturne d on this partic ular subject an d I hav e tried to addr ess every single question re levant to this subject," he told Re uter s in a telephone intervie w. Qadri, 59, who wa s born in Pakistan, is hea d of the global Minha j ul- Quran religio us an d educational organisation wh ich spreads his Sufi idea s. A former Pakistani minister an d a ssociate of assa ssinate d Prime Minister Benaz ir Bhutto, he delivers lectures worldwide promoting his messa ge of harmony and wa s one of the fir st Muslim lea ders to condemn the Sept. 11 attacks. T im Winter, a lecturer in Islam ic studies at Cam bridge Univ ersity, said while there had been similar f atwa s in the pa st, Qadri did appe ar to have gone f urther than most. 338

"To declare the miscreants a s unbelievers is un usual, beca use it is not really clear that the rules allo w one sim ply to say that they are not Muslim s," he told Re uter s. "Those who ar e alr eady har dliner s will pay no attention at all. But 'swin g voters' -- poorly educate d an d an gry M uslim s, who respect mainstream scholars, will pro bably take note. "Certain ly it is a helpf ul initiative," he said. HEL LFI RE Qadri sa id he fe lt compelle d to issue the e dict beca use of concern s a bout the ra dicalisation of British M uslims at university campuse s an d beca use there ha d been a la ck of condemnation of extremism by M uslim clerics and scholar s. Niger ian Um ar Faro uk Abdulm utallab, acc use d of trying to bom b a U. S.- bo und plane on Christm as Day, studied at a London univer sity until 2008. Yemen, wher e Abdulmutalla b began his jo urney, h as said he wa s radicalise d wh ile in Britain. "The reality is that whatever the se terrorists are doing it is not m artyrdom. All these activities are takin g them to hellfire," Qa dri said. He is confident that the edict will hav e a signif icant impact, sayin g he ha d dr awn on cla ssic al teachings an d a uthorities acceptable to all sects of Islam. "I will say m ore than 50 percent will ch an ge their way, they will be influen ced. Of the remainin g 50 percent at least some of them , half of them, will becom e do ubtful abo ut their life, their terrorist activity," he said. While Qa dr i ha s followers a cross the globe, it is in Pakistan, where h e ha s m illions of follo wers, an d in the dia spora that his impact wo uld be gr eatest, Winter said. Britain h as a bo ut 1.7 m illion M uslims, mainly of Pakistani de sc ent, and the sec urity service s say that nearly a ll m ajor terrorism plots sin ce 2001, in cludin g the 2005 Lon don bom bin gs which k ille d 52 people, were linke d to Pakistan. Governm ent officia ls will be among those joining Qa dri for the la unch of the fat wa in c entral London. The M uslim Coun cil of Br itain, an umbr ella or ganisation repr esenting som e 500 Islam ic gro ups, said the fat wa was we lcom e. "It is entirely la uda ble for scholar s such a s Tahir ul-Qa dri to speak o ut a gain st terrorism ," it said in a statem ent. Although h is prono uncement will be good ne ws for the a uthorities in Br itain an d other Western governments seek ing to win M uslim support to stam p out extremism, Qadr i said their ba ckin g is irr elev ant to his vie ws. (Editing by Charle s Dick)

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http://inside islam. wisc. e du/index.php/archive s/4581 Mar 1st, 2010

There are more to fatwas than Rushdie How come we don’t hear m oderate M uslim scho lars con dem nin g terrorism? This question arises r epeatedly with re gar d to Islam’s stance on vio lenc e an d terrorism . Of co urse M uslim s as in dividua ls an d communitie s have spoken o ut a ga inst terrorism repeatedly an d m any scholars have come out against this kin d of vio lence, but their voice s do not seem to be hear d.

Another Muslim scholar is joining the many who h ave condemned terrorism . Dr. M uhamm ad T ahir-ul- Qa dri, the hea d of Minha j ul Quran, will deliver a f atwa in Britain in the next we eks condemning terrorism and o utlinin g in a 600-page do c um ent why actions like suicide bom bin gs are a gain st Islam . T he term “ fatwa” e licits a negative re sponse in the m inds of many who r em ember the late Ayatollah Khom eini’s fatwa a gainst Salman Rush die for his nove l Th e Satanic Verses. However, m ost people do not realiz e that fatwas ar e non- bin ding religio us r ulin g an d not m andatory com mandm ents from on high. In other wor ds, the gener al assum ption is that wh en a scholar issues a fat wa, Muslims wor ldwide a ct on it. T his is certainly not the case. Scholar s aroun d the world issue fat was a bo ut numerous topics all the time, sometimes opposing other scholars’ fat wa s. Not everyone agre ed with Khom eini’s fatwa a gain st Rush die. Dr. T ahir-ul- Qa dri’ s doc um ent will represent a positive connotation for the term “ fatwa” sinc e it is callin g for a stop to terrorism ba sed on an I slam ic argument. M oreover, it reiterates the m essage that violen ce and terrorism are contrary to the core values of I slam . While it m ay not com pletely stop terrorism, it will a dd to a con structive dia lo gue on how to prevent more violenc e.

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http://islam.in. ua /2/eng/full_ne ws2/2656/visibletype/1/in dex.htm l 20.0 1.201 0

UK: Fatwa against suicide bombings A leading Muslim organisation in Britain has issu ed a fatw a against sui cide bombings and terro rism , d eclaring them un -Islamic. M inhaj-ul-Q uran, a Sufi organisation based in East London whi ch advise s the Gove rnm e nt on how to com bat radicalisation of M uslim youth, launches the 600page re ligious ve rdict. It conde m ns the pe rpe trators of terrorist e x plosions and suicide bom bings. The docum ent, writte n by Dr Muham m ed Tahir-ul-Q adri, a form e r m inister of Pak istan and frie nd of Benazir Bhutto, declare s suicide bom bings and te rrorism as "totally un-Islamic". It is one of the most de tailed and com pre hensive docume nts of its kind to be publishe d in Britain. The fatwa, whi ch was re le ase d in Pak istan last m onth, use s tex ts from the Koran and other Islam ic wri tings to argue that attack s against innoce nt citizens are "absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam doe s not pe rm it such acts on any e x cuse, reason or pre te x t". The fatwa wil l be we lcom e d by m any M uslim s from the large comm unity of South Asian heritage in Britain, am ong whom confusion about religious teaching is e xploited by e xtrem ists see king to re cruit sui cide bom be rs. "Ex t rem ist groups start brainwashing the young students from British unive rsities and eve ntually convince them to oppose integration in British society," said Shahid Mursalee n, a spoke sm an for Minhaj-ul-Q uran.

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The fatwa would he lp fight ex trem ist re cruitm e nt of young Muslim s and was "one of the m ost compre hensive ve rdicts on this topic in the history of Islam", he adde d. Inayat Bunglawala, form e r spoke sman of the Muslim Council of Britain and founde r of the ne w group M uslim s4UK, set up to counte r the radical m e ssage of the ne wly banne d Islam 4UK and other e xtrem ist groups, we lcom e d the fatwa. "This adds to the vie w of m any Islam ic scholars inte rnationally that terrorism and suicide bom bings are unacceptable in Islam ," he said. "It is a positive initiative . Anything that he lps move young people away f rom viole nce and from those who prom ote viole nce m ust be we lcom ed."

By TimesOnline

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http://jagon e ws.com /2010/03/03/qa dr i- anti-terror - fat wa- in - london/

Qadri anti-Terror Fatwa in London An influential M uslim scho lar in Br itain ha s issue d a fat wa banning terror attacks an d bom bin gs, insisting that there is no justific ation for terror acts in the nam e of Islam. At a ne ws conf erenc e attended by off icer s from London’s Metropolitan Police, lawmakers, charitable or ganizations an d think-tanks, M uhammad Tahir- ul-Qadri said that acts of terrorism cut people off as true followers of Islam . “ They can’t claim that their suicide bombings ar e martyrdom operations an d that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umm ah. No, they be com e heroe s of hellfire, an d they are lea ding towar ds the hellfire, ” he said. In his 600-pa ge decr ee, the foun der of the internationally pop ular Minhaj-ul- Quran movem ent said there wa s no place for martyrdom through a cts of terror and that such acts h ad nothing to do with jiha d. T he scholar r ule d o ut any excuses or pretexts for justifyin g a cts of terror in suppose d efforts to “ convert an evil into goo d.” “ Terrorism is terrorism ,” Qadri in siste d. “ Violence is violen ce an d it has no place in Islamic teaching an d no justific ation can be provided for it, or any kin d of excuse s or if s or buts.” He re iterated that Islam is a religion of pea ce that promotes beauty, “ betterm ent,” goodness and “ ne gate s all form of m ischief and strife.” T he fatwa is not the first by a senior M uslim scholar a gain st extremism, but Qa dri’s is expecte d to carry m ore we ight as it will be one of the few ava ila ble in En glish and online.

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http://journa ls. democraticun der gro und.com /kpete/12473 Mar 02nd 201 0

Muslim Leader Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatwa Posted by kpete in Latest Break in g Ne ws T ue Mar 02n d 2010, 02:40 PM Source: Huffington Post Muslim Lea der Issues Anti-Terrorism Fat wa | 03/ 2/10 09:36 AM | AP

Action is my duty Reward is not my concern LONDON — T he leader of a global M uslim movement has issue d a fat wa, or re ligious edict, that he calls an a bsolute con demnation of terrorism. Muhammad Tahir- ul-Qa dr i, a form er Pakistani la wm aker, say s the 600-page fat wa ban s suic ide bom bin g "without any exc use s, any pr etexts, or exceptions." T ahir-ul- Qa dri has issue d similar, shorter decrees, but Tue sday's event in London was publicize d by the Quilliam Fo undation, a gov ernm ent-fun de d anti-extremism think tank and drew strong me dia attention. T he religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj- ul- Quran, a worldwide m ovement that prom otes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam . T he group has hundr e ds of thousan ds of fo llowers aroun d the world, m ost of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis livin g in other countrie s.

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http://late stne ws.vi rginm edia.com /news/uk /2010/03/02/m uslim _leade r_to_cond em n_te rro rists?vm src=pam re ad 2 Ma rch 2 010

Suicide bombers 'enemies of Islam' Suic id e b ombers hav e be en de sc r ib ed a s the "heroes of he llfir e" by a lead ing Mus lim sc hola r in a fat wa c o nd em ning t er rorists as the e nem ies of Is lam. Pak istan-born Dr Muhamm ad Tahir-ul-Q adri said the re were no "ifs or buts" about terrorism and such acts had no justification in the name of Islam . In a ne ws confere nce atte nde d by MPs, re pre sentatives from the Me tropolitan Police, charitable organisations, think -tanks and othe r groups, he called on Islam ic leade rs to conve y the m e ssage that acts of te rrorism cut people off as true followers of Islam . "The y can't claim that the ir suicide bom bings are m artyrdom ope rations and that the y be come the he roe s of the M uslim Umma (the wide r Muslim com m unity), no, the y be come he roes of he llfire , and the y are le ading towards hellfire ," he said. "The re is no place for any m artyrdom and the ir act is ne ve r, e ver to be conside red Jihad," he adde d. Dr Q adri, who spok e at length in both English and Arabic be fore his audience, said his fatwa - a re ligious edict or ruling - was an "absolute " condem nation of terro rism without "any e xcuse s or prete xts". "Good inte ntions cannot conve rt a wrong into good, the y cannot convert an evil into good," he said. "Te rrorism is te rrorism , viole nce is violence and it has no place in Islam ic teaching and no justification can be provide d for it, or any k ind of ex cuses or ifs or buts."

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He insisted that Islam was a re ligion of peace that prom ote s be auty, "bette rm ent", goodne ss and "negate s all form of m ischie f and strife". The 600-page fat wa by D r Q adri, founde r of the global M inhaj-ul-Q uran m ovem e nt, whi ch has thousands of supporters across the world as we ll as in the UK, will be translated into English in the com ing we ek s. His talk will also be m ade available online in an attem pt to counte r ex tre m ist ve rsions of Islam available on the inte rne t. A fat wa, an edict issued by a le arned Muslim scholar, may concern any aspe ct of Islam ic life . The te rm be cam e fam ous in the We ste rn wo rld in 1989 afte r the author Salm an Rushdie was force d into hiding following a "death fatwa" issued by Ayatollah Khom eni, then Supre me Leade r of Iran, on the grounds that his book , The Satanic Ve rse s, had "insulted" Islam .

http://www.boston.com /ne ws/ world/e urope /article s/2010/03/02/m uslim _leade r _issue s_anti _te rror_fatwa/ March 2, 2 010

LONDON—The leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muham mad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani law maker, say s the 600 page fatwa bans suicide bom bing "without any excuses, any pretex ts, or exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday 's event in London was publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a gov ernm entfunded anti-extrem ism think tank and drew strong media attention. The religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a w orldw ide m ov ement that promotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis liv ing in other countries.

http://m .news.com.a u/Breakin gNe ws/fi476980.htm Marc h 3, 201 0

Scholar issues anti-terrorism fatwa A PROMINENT Is lamic scho lar will use a speech in London to issue a 600page religious ed ict denoun cing terro rists and suicid e bo mbers as unbelievers. Muhammad Tah ir u l Qadri is a leading figure who has pro moted peace and interfaith d ialogue fo r 30 years, Sky News reports. He said he felt co mpelled to issue the fatwa because of concerns about the radicalisation of Brit ish Muslims at university campuses and because there had been a lack o f condemnat ion o f extremism by Muslim clerics and scholars. Ul Qadri says his fatwa, which is aimed at persuading young Muslims to turn their backs on ext remism, goes fu rther than any p rev ious denunciation. "This is the first, most comprehensiv e fatwa on the subject of terrorism ever written," said ul Qad ri, who h as written about 350 books on Islamic scholarsh ip. He is a scholar o f Su fism, a long t rad it ion with in Islam wh ich is widely seen as focusing on peace, tolerance and moderation. Nigerian-born Umar Farou k A bdulmutallab, accused o f try ing to bo mb a U Sbound plane on Christmas Day, stud ied at a London un iversity until 2008. Govern ment o fficials in Yemen, where Mutallab began his jou rney, said he was radicalised wh ile in Britain . However, the British Government claims h is introdu ction to hardcore extremists happened after he left the UK. Govern ment o fficials w ill be among those join ing u l Qadri fo r the launch of the fatwa in cent ral London . The Muslim Council o f Britain, an u mbrella o rganisation representing some 500 Islamic groups, welcomed the new pos ition .

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Ul Qadri w ill tell his audience, "The reality is that whatever th ese terro rists are doing it is not martyrdo m. All th ese act ivit ies are taking them to hellfire." The 59-year-o ld was bo rn in Pakistan and is h ead of the global M inhaj ul Quran relig ious and edu cat ional o rganisation, which spreads h is Sufi ideas. A former Pakistani min ister and associate o f assassinated prime min ister Benazir Bhutto , he delivers lectures worldwide pro moting h is message of harmony and was one o f the first Muslim leaders to condemn the 9/11 attacks in the US.

http://m obile.bo ston.com/art/26/ne ws/world/e urope/articles/2010/03/02 /muslim _le a der_issues _anti_terror_fatwa / M ar 2, 2010

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The leader of a g lobal Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, o r relig ious edict , that he calls an abso lute cond emnat ion of terroris m. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri, a fo rmer Pakistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, o r except ions." Tah ir-u l-Qad ri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was pub licized by the Qu illiam Found ation , a govern ment-funded ant iext remism think tan k and d rew strong med ia attention. The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-ul-Qu ran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The g roup h as hundreds of thousands of followers around th e world, most of them in Pakistan o r Pakistan is living in other count ries.

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http://m obile.so uth walesguardian. co. uk/uk_national_news/5035346.Muslim _lea der_to_con de m n_terrorists/ 2 nd M arch 2 01 0

Muslim leader to condemn terrorists The leader of a worldwide Muslim movement with thousands of followers in the UK is due to issue a fatwa - or Is lamic relig ious ruling - cond emn ing terro rism and warning suicide bo mbers that th ey are "destined fo r hell" . Pakistan-born Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, founder o f the g lobal M inhaj-ulQuran mov ement, w ill make the formal UK proclamat ion o f a fatwa, or religious edict , cond emning terro rism and suicide bomb ing at a news conferen ce in London. The 600-page fatwa announces that "suicide bombings and attacks against civilian targets are not only condemned by Islam, but render the perp etrato rs totally out of the fold o f Is lam, in other words, to be unbelievers". Shah id Mu rsaleen, spo kesman fo r M inh aj-ul-Quran UK , said : "He has h it h ard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists fro m considering suicide bo mbers as 'martyrs'. This fatwa in jects doubt into the minds of potent ial suicide bo mbers. Ext remist groups based in Britain recru it youth by brainwashing them that they will 'with certainty' be rewarded in the n ext life and Dr Qadri's fatwa has removed th is key intellectual factor fro m th eir minds."

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The fatwa has been billed as "arguab ly the most comprehensive" theological refutation of Islamic terrorism to date by counter ext remism th in k tank the Quilliam foundat ion. A Quilliam spokesman said: "Terro rist groups such as al Q aid a cont inue to justify their mass killings with self-serv ing readings of religious scriptu re. Fatwas that demo lish and expose such theo log ical innov ations will consign Islamist terro rism to the dustbin o f history ." Communit ies Minister Shahid Malik, whose Dewsbu ry constituency was home to 7/ 7 bomber Mohammad Siddique Khan, welco med the fatw a. "It is incu mbent on Muslims to stand up for their faith - wh en 7/7 occurred those four ev il young men killed themselves and ov er 50 innocent peop le because they followed a twisted and pervert ed interpretation of Islam which told them by do ing so they would go to h eaven ," he said. "A clear and unequivocal message must go out that Islam teaches that th ese four are not martyrs going to heav en but sinners go ing somewhere very d ifferent indeed . Hence, I very much w elcome the work o f Dr Qadri in helping reinforce this most crucial of message to M uslims and non-Muslims alike." The M inhaj-u l-Quaran movement runs cou rses in co mbat ing relig ious ext remism in education al cent res th roughout Britain includ ing London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nelson, Walsall, Glasgow and Dundee. A fatwa, an ed ict issued by a learned M uslim scholar, may concern any aspect of Islamic life. The term became famous in the western wo rld in 1989 after the author Salman Rushdie was fo rced into hid ing fo llowing a "death fatwa" issued by A yatollah Kho meni, then Supreme Leader of Iran , on the g rounds that h is book, the Satanic Verses had "insulted" Islam.

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http:// www.quilliam foundation.org/inde x.php/com ponent/content/article /630

Anti-terrorism fatwa launch in London O n 1 s t M arc h 20 1 0 , Q uil li am iss u ed t he fol lo wi ng press releas e:

Anti-terrorism fatwa launch in London tomorrow Tom orrow m orn ing, on 2n d March, the r en owned, m ain stream Mu slim scholar Shaikh Dr Tahir u l-Qadri w ill issu e a com pr eh ensive fatw a (relig iou s ru ling) proh ibiting terrorism an d su icide bom bing at a press conference in W estm inster, London. Foun der of the int ernat ional Minha j-ul-Quran m ovem ent, h is fatwa is sign ificant because:

Minha j-ul-Quran is a m ajor gra ss-r oot s organisation w ith hun dreds of thou san ds of follower s in South Asia and the UK. - Shaikh Dr Tahir u l-Qa dri is a w idely r ecognised and respect ed author ity on Islam ic jur isprudence. - The fatw a con dem ns suicide bom bers a s dest ined for hell, w hich h elps r em ove extr em ists’ certainty of earning paradise a fter death . - The 600 -page fatw a is argua bly the m ost com prehen siv e th eological r efutat ion of Islam ist t err or ism t o dat e. - Dr Tahir ul-Qa dr i’s fatwa will set an im portant pr ecedent and will allow other sch olar s t o sim ilar ly con dem n the idea s behin d t err orism . -

A Quilliam spokesper son said: “Th is fatwa ha s th e potential to be a highly significant step t ow ards eradicat ing Islam ist terrorism . Fa tw a s by W ahhabi-in fluenced clerics and Islam ist ideologu es init iated m odern t err orism against civ ilian s. Terr orist grou ps such a s al-Qa eda cont inue t o ju stify th eir m ass k illings w ith self-serv ing r ea ding s of religious scr ipture. Fatw as that dem olish an d ex pose such th eologica l innov ation s will consign Islam ist t err orism t o th e dustbin of h ist ory .”

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http://standpointmag.co.uk/node/2789 W ednesday 3r d Mar ch 2010

Fatwa Against Suicide Bombing A LEXA NDER MELEA GR OU-HITCHENS

Y esterday, I attended the launc h of a fat wa c ondem ning s uicide bombings and terroris m . T he document was c om piled by D r M uhamm ad T ahir-ul-Q adri, the head of P akis tani based Sufi or ganisation, M inhaj ul-Q uran. Repr oduc ed belo w is a s hort analysis of it which I c o-authored with m y c olleague H ouriya A hm ed for today's Indep endent. T his is not the first time that s uch a c ondemnation has been is sued by a s enior I slamic authority. Yet there are two as pec ts to this one whic h s et it apart from t he rest. I t is an unequivocal denunc iation of s uic ide bom bings and terroris m. D r Q adri c ritic ises others who c ondemn ac ts of terro r, while at the s am e time providing a c atalogue of excus es for it. A ddress ing the audienc e at the fat wa launc h in Wes tm ins ter he s aid: "A total c ondem nation s hould c om e from the M uslim world witho ut playing with ifs or buts . N o pretext, no foreign polic y, no talk o f oc cupation." P revious c ondem nations have often referred to terroris m as haram ( forbid den). Dr Q adri takes this a s tep further by comparing today's terrorists to the 7th century Kharijites, who were exc om munic ated bec aus e they permitted the killing of a nyone deemed to be an obs tac le to 'the rule of G od'. D r Q adri ins ists that terrorism is not jus t a forbidden ac t, but one that leads to expuls ion from I slam: "it is an ac t of kufr (dis belief)". D r Q adri's m ess age is express ly non- political. H e rec ognis es that terroris m feeds on the politicisation of religion, and he made this c lear in his pres entation. I t is als o im portant to note that Dr Q adri's fatwa is not the produc t of his o wn ijtihad (inter pretation o f religious texts ); rather he is relaying previous edic ts taken from orthodox and c las sic al Is lamic texts - the authentic ity of whic h no M uslim c an dispute. M inhaj ul-Q uran is bas ed in Pakis tan, and its dec ision to launc h this fatwa in t he UK was c learly a s ym bolic one. Britain is the E uro pean hub of international terro r, with t he m ajority of Britis h terroris ts being of P akistani desc ent. This c ountry s ees high levels of extremis t traffic —Britis h c itizens travel to Pakis tan to s trengthen their ideology as well as rec eive terror training. T hey then return to Britain s eeking to c om mit or fac ilitate ac ts of terror. W hether o r not this fat wa will be e ffec tive remains to be s een, ho wever, this is an im portant doc um ent an d its real value lies in whether its intellectual c apital is able to find popular purc has

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Islamic scholar issues fatwa against terrorism A prominent Islamic scholar issued a religious ruling against terrorism and suicide bombings at a speech in London Tuesday. Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, a leading scholar of Sufism, the tradition within Islam that focuses on peace and tolerance, isn't the first Islamic teacher to denounce acts of terrorism. But Qadri's 600-page judgment, or fatwa, is among the harshest denouncements of the theological arguments used by militant groups like al-Qaeda. "Whatever these terrorists are doing, it's not martyrdom," said Qadri on Tuesday. U.K.-based anti-extremism think-tank the QuilliamFoundation, which sponsored the speech, called the Pakistani-born Qadri's fatwa "arguably the most comprehensive theological refutation of Islamist terrorismto date." Suicide bombers destined for hell, Qadri says Qadri condemned suicide bombers as destined for hell, a counter to the extremist promise of eternal paradise after death. Qadri said the fatwa outlaws suicide bombings "without any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." He said he was compelled to issue the fatwa because of concerns about the radicalization of British Muslims at university campuses, most of whom are of Pakistani descent. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, accused of trying to bomb a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day, studied at a London university until 2008. Qadri is the founder of the international Minhaj-ul-Qur'an movement, which is mostly based in Pakistan, where he once served as an elected member of the national assembly and was a close associate of assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

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al-Q ae da - "Old Evil With A New Name" March 02, 2010

The boys at Ansar al-Mujahideen are all bent out of shape about Dr Tah ir ulQadri. He is a Muslim scholar w ith a large fo llow ing in Britain , born in Pakistan, and founder o f the g lobal M inhaj-ul-Qu ran movement. So the good D r issued a fatw a condemn ing g lob al terro rism and suicide bombings. The 600 page fatwa says that “suicide bombings and attacks against civ ilian targets are not on ly condemned by Is lam, but render the perpet rators totally out of the fold of Islam, in oth er words, to b e unbelievers.” And Xinhuanet h as this : Shah id Mu rsaleen, spo kesman fo r M inh aj-ul-Quran in the UK , said the fatwa was hard-h itting and would " inject doubt into the minds of potential suicid e bombers." Of cou rse, the misguid ed youths at the fo rums, I'm loo king at you Censored 31, remind the cu lt followers that martyrdo m is not suicide and those who are killed in a martyrdom op eration are not inno cent. Oh ya, also, it isn't the brave mujahideen that b low up market places, it's the CIA and Blackwater. Riiiiight .

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Leading Islamic Scholar Calls Terrorists "Unbelievers" M onday, M ar 1, 2010 @ 02:47pm CST

(London) -- A leading Islamic scholar plans t o release his 600-page fatwa or dec ree against t errorism on Tues day in London. Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri labels terrorists and suicide bom bers as "unbelievers" in his religious ruling. The 59-y ear-old former Pakist ani minist er says he wants it t o persuade young Muslims to turn away from becoming t errorists. A s Qadri says, quote, " The reality is whatever thes e terrorists are doing it is not martyrdom. A ll thes e activities are t aking them to hellfire." His motivation for iss uing the edict stems from concerns about Britis h Muslim college students who are becoming terrorists. Umar Farouk A bdulm ut allab, t he man acc us ed of t he failed Christmas Day bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner, apparently was radicalized while studying in London before 200.

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http://nation.ittefaq.com/issue s/2010/03/04/news0156.htm

Fatwa against terrorism Staf f Reporter 04.0 3.201 0

Maulana D r Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued a gl obal ruling against te rrorism and suicide bombing, BBC rep orts on Tuesda y. D r Qadri, an i nfluential Pakistani scholar, said his 6 00-page judgem ent, known as a fa twa, completely dismantles Al-Qae da's violen t ideolog y. The schol ar describ es Al -Qaeda as an 'ol d e vil w ith a new name' that has no t been suffi cien tl y challenge d. The schol ar's m ovement is growing in th e U K and has atracte d the interest o f policymakers and se curi ty chi efs. In his religious rulin g, deli vered in London , Dr Qadri sa ys that Islam fo rbids the massacre of i nnocent citi zens a nd sui cide bombings. Alth ough man y scholars have m ade similar rulings in the past, D r Qad ri argued tha t his massive document goes m uch further by omiting "i fs a nd buts" added by o the r thin kers. H e said that i t se t o ut a point-by-point theolo gical rebu tal of every a rgument used by Qae da-inspired recrui ters. The po pulist scholar de velop ed his do cum ent l ast yea r as a response to the increase in bombings across Pa kistan by militants. The b asic te xt has been e xtended to 600 pa ges to co ver global issues, in an a tem pt to get i ts theological arguments taken up by Muslims in Western na tions. It w ill be promoted in the UK by Dr Qadri 's organisation, Minhajul Quran Inte rna tional . D r Qadri spoke for more than ho ur to a n a udien ce of Muslim s, clerg y, MPs, police officers and other security offi cials. "The y (terrorists) can't claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and th at the y b ecome the heroes of the Muslim Umah (global brotherhood).

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http://ne wageislam .com/NewAge IslamRadicalIslamismAndJihad_1.aspx?Article ID=251 4

Radical Islamism & Jihad 27 Feb 2010, NewAgeIsl am. Com

Is this a triumph for the Islamic peacemakers? A llegra M os tyn-O wen 2 6.02.10

On T ue sday in Lon don, a r evered M uslim scholar will announce a f atwa against suicide bom bin g in the nam e of Islam. Her e, Alle gra Mostyn-Owen talk s exc lusively to Dr Tahir ulQadri as he o utline s his historic vision... I meet Dr T ahir ul- Qadr i in a n eat, terrace d ho use in Barking where h e emer ge s from his studies r esp lendent in an ele gant silk stripe d grey and wh ite juba an d a black woollen h at. I am honoure d to be in his pre sence be cause he is considered a liv in g saint by h is fo llo wer s. All Sunni an d m ainly Pakistani, they ce le brate his birthday an d h is photo graph a dorns a ll the m osque s which are part of Minhaj- ul-Qur an, the movement which h e ha s sp ent years r aisin g into an international or ganisation. It no w oper ates in 33 countries an d a dvise s the British Governm ent on ho w to com bat youth radicalisation. Minhaj- ul- Quran welcomed, for exam ple, the ne ws la st m onth that plans to build E urop e's biggest mosque close to the Olympic site had been blocke d. Weeks e arlier, the gro up ur ge d police to prevent Islamic extremists m arch ing through Wootton Bassett. “T hese kin d of extremists do not repre sent the Br itish M uslim s,” they said. Dr T ahir ul- Qa dr i is im pressiv ely ecum enical in his re lations with other faiths such a s Shia and Christian. He gets a lot of flak for this from those who do not agr ee with his v ie ws. On T ue sday, in central Lon don, Dr Tahir ul-Qadri friend of form er prim e m inister of Pakistan Ben azir Bh utto who was assassinated in 2007, will de clar e suicide bombings an d terrorism un-I slam ic. T aken from a 600-page doc um ent publish ed in Pakistan last month, Dr Tahir ulQadri will use texts in the Kor an an d other Islamic writin gs to ar gue that suicide an d terrorist attacks are “ abso lutely a ga inst the teachin gs of Islam and that Islam does not permit such a cts on any excuse, reason or pr etext”. I first m et Dr T ahir ul- Qadr i five y ear s ago at his hea dquarters in Lahore, wher e I was for a wedding. I was recently marrie d m yse lf for the se con d time — as the former wif e of M ayor Boris Johnson I 'd we d a gain in secret to m y 23-year-old M uslim lover, h imself from Lahor e. His parents kne w nothin g a bout it. Sin ce 2005, I hav e been givin g art classe s for women an d children at the Minhaj-ul-Quran m osque in Forest Gate.

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T oday, in Bark in g, Dr T ahir ul-Qa dri is foc using on the problem s of ho w m any yo ung British Pakistanis are bein g ra dica lise d. Although the Government is workin g hard, say s Dr Tahir ulQadri they ar e work ing on the wron g line s. In other wor ds, he be liev es, that the Government has not kept abr east of the multi-culturalism of its own peop le. “ Englan d is the h ub of the Western world. There is a big com munity here of aro und t wo million with a Pakistani back gro und. The comm unities are in gr eat num ber s.” As Dr T ahir ul- Qa dri see s it, no terrorists have emerge d from a Sunni or Sufi back gro und: instea d, they hav e come from the Salafis (Wahha bis) or Deo ban dis. T he Deo ban dis ar e a So uth Asian var iant which is clo se to the Gulf-orientated Wahha bis. “ Every Salafi an d Deo ban di is not a terrorist but I have no he sitation in sayin g that everyone is a well- wisher of terrorists an d this h as not been apprec iate d by the Western governm ents,” he sa id. Dr T ahir ul- Qa dri who has the a uthority of a She ikh– ul-I slam , a title given to those who have superior kno wle dge of the princ iple s of the faith, is comin g o ut with his statement now beca use the Wahha bis and Deo ban dis h ave be en silent in con dem ning the killin gs in Pakistan and a broad. T hey dominate much of the appar atus of state in Pakistan — as well as m ost of the mosques in London — wh ich is why in the West we receive m ixe d messa ges: the military la unch es vast offensives while the re ligio us and education ministries say nothing. As a re sult, many in the West believe that the church in Pakistan is not doing eno ugh to counter the violence. British-Pakistanis lure d into extrem ism present a pec uliar pro blem be ca use, when they go to Pakistan to further their mur derous am bitions, they have mixe d loya lties. They do not feel British but nor do they fee l who lly Pakistani and y et they are a diplomatic nightmare for both countrie s. T errorism is, Dr Tahir ul-Qa dri say s, an intelle ctua l phenomenon as it applies to British-Pakistanis. T hey hav e been groom e d from an ear ly a ge in their Deo bandi-leanin g m osque s where they ar e taught that they are livin g in a kafir soc iety wher e they cannot integrate. It is an “ us and them ” way of thinking an d the narrow-minde dness starts when children attend m osque from the a ge of fiv e. But, as Dr T ahir ul- Qadri says: “ isolation is not the Islamic m odel — integration wa s the practice of the Holy Prophet in the soc iety of Medina”. T he maulvis (untutore d clerics) giv e a misguided con cept of Jih a d: “ This is the burn in g issue of the whole world,” say s Dr ul-Qa dri. Onc e these childr en have been groom ed into intellect ual conservatism, they are very susceptible to extrem ism especially if they are not attached to soc iety by a job. “T hose who still h ave contact with [such c lerics], whether they act out their idea s or not, they will be well- wishers of the Taliban,” he says. Sinc e the governm ents an d a genc ies work in g on anti-terrorism are not bro ught up in M uslim c ult ure, Dr T ahir ul- Qa dri believes they do not un der stan d. “ Still their policies are not on the right track.” I ask him a bout the role of art in children's education. It is comm only thought that Islam is contrary to art. He has no quibble s: he sees art as helping to satisfy one a spe ct of the human persona lity. “Islam wants a balance d p ersonality,” he say s. “ We teach childr en intellectually and aca demically. T he fight again st the darkne ss of ignor ance, the fight for char ity: this is the true jiha d.”

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http://ne wageislam .com/NewAge IslamRadicalIslamismAndJihad_1.aspx?Article ID=251 4

Why this fatwa for peace matters so much to us all By Douglas M urray, Di re ctor of the C entre for Social Cohesion The m ost com monly ask ed questions since the 9/11 and 7/7 te rrorist attack s is “W here are the M uslim cle rics who condem n viole nt actions? W he re are the voice s of opposition to violence being comm itted by people in the name of Islam ?” It is no sm all point. In rece nt years, whe n the y have be en neede d m ost, far too few Muslim le ade rs have une quivocally condem ne d viole nce comm itted in the nam e of Islam . In fact, we ase l words and double -spe ak have bee n e ndem ic. So a se nte nce that may to m any pe ople seem cle ar, such as “The re can be no justification for the k illing of innocent pe ople” is fille d with cave ats. W hat is an “innocent” person? W ho decide s who is or is not “innocent”? Too many M uslim religious figures sound as if the y are condem ning viole nce when in fact the y are m e rely condem ning violence in certain situations, against certain people . So the re are t wo potentially significant things about the fatwa be ing rele ase d by Tahir ul-Q adri. The first is that the ruling is said, by those who have see n it in advance , to include a com pre he nsive condem nation of violence, tak ing away any religious justification for atta cks without cave ats for “grievances” or other e xcuse s. The second thing whi ch m akes this 600-page ruling pote ntially im portant is that Dr Tahir ul-Q adri has a highly re spe cte d scholarly back ground. His ruling has the possibility of be ing re spe cte d by a far wider range of people than any of those individual non-scholarly Muslim voice s who have also condem ne d te rrorism without caveat. Dr Tahir ul-Q adri has a large following, both he re in the UK and in Pakistan. He is also re spe cte d for his ability to cross som e of the notable sectarian boundaries that abound in the Islam ic faith as in all others. Even Muslim s who m ight dislik e Dr Tahir ul-Q adri will not be able to dism iss him out of hand. Yet eve n if the conte nts of this fat wa are what pe ople have long hope d for, it will not, of course , stop Islam ic te rrorism straight away. A single fatwa will not change the le vel of denial and lack of se lf-criti cism inhe rent in so m uch of modern Islam .

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No r wi ll it stop eve ry feve re d young radical e ager to k ill and maim . But the tri ckle -down effect is im portant. The m ost viole nt inte rpre tations of Islam have indee d trickle d down to te rrorists via le arned scholars. The clean-up ope ration will have to be de alt with by the sam e m eans. And we will have to hope, as eve r, that the peace ful Muslim scholars in this m ille nnialong battle within Islam , can inde e d win through. For all our sak es: Source: http:// www. thisislondon.co.uk

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Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa LONDON (AP) - The leader o f a g lobal Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious ed ict, that h e calls an absolut e cond emnation o f terrorism. M uhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bo mb ing "w ithout any excuses, any p retexts, o r exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, sho rter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London is being hosted by the Qu illiam Foundation, a government -funded, ant iext remism thin k tank. The relig ious scholar is the founder o f M inhaj-ul-Qu ran, a worldw id e movement that promotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The g roup h as hundreds of thousands of fo llowers around the wo rld, most of them in Pakistan o r Pakistan is liv ing in other count ries.

http://ne ws.aol.ca/article /islamic- scholar-issue s -fatwa - against -te rrorism /784654/

Islamic Scholar Issues Fatwa Against Terrorism Sourc e: CBC N ews Posted: 03/02/10 9:47AM F iled U nder: W orld

A prominent Islamic scho lar issued a relig ious ru ling against terrorism and suicide bo mb ings at a speech in London Tuesday. Muhammad Tah ir u l-Qadri, a leading scholar of Sufism, the t rad it ion w ith in Islam that focuses on peace and tolerance, isn't the first Islamic teacher to denounce acts of terrorism. But Qadri's 600-page judgment, or fatwa, is among the harshest denouncements of the theo log ical arguments used by militant groups like al-Qaed a. "Whatever these terrorists are do ing, it's not martyrdom," said Qadri on Tuesday. U.K.-based anti-ext remism think-tan k the Qu illiam Foundation, which sponsored the speech, called the Pakistani-bo rn Qad ri's fatwa "arguably the most comprehensive theo log ical refut ation o f Islamist terrorism to date." Suicide bo mb ers destined for hell, Q adri says Qadri condemned su icide bombers as d estined fo r h ell, a counter to the ext remist pro mise o f etern al paradise after death. Qadri said the fatw a out laws suicide bo mb ings "w ithout any excuses, any p retexts, o r exceptions." He said he was compelled to issue the fatwa because of concerns about the radicalizat ion of Brit ish Muslims at univers ity campuses, most o f whom are o f Pakistani descent. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab , accused of t rying to bomb a Detro itbound plane on Christmas Day, stud ied at a London un iversity until 2008. Qadri is the founder of the international Minhaj-u l-Qur'an mov ement, which is mostly based in Pakistan, where he once serv ed as an elected member of the national assembly and was a close associate o f assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

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Pakistani sheikh condemns 'infidel' suicide bombers in anti-terrorism Fatwa In a new Fa twa (religious ruling), S heikh Dr. T ahir ul-Qadr i– Pakistani preac her and o ne of the m ost prom ine nt Muslim S cho lars – openly condemned terror ism, c alling suicide bom be rs infidels who are doom ed to hell. The 59-year-o ld scholar ad dressed Muslims saying: “Terror ism is terro rism , v iole nce is violenc e a nd it has no place in Islamic teac hing and no justific ation can be pr ovided for it, or any kind of excuses of ifs and b uts. The world ne eds an absolute, unconditiona l, unqualif ied and to tal condemnatio n of terrorism." Accor ding to Britis h newsp aper “The Indepe ndent”, the Fatwa exceeds all previo us religio us rulings in its condem na tio n f or terr orism.

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Fatwa in UK condemns suicide bombings 06:3 2 A ES T Wed Mar 3 201 0

Leading M uslim scholar in Br itain issued a fatw a on Tuesd ay condem ning terrorists and suicide bom bers, saying the y h ad no justif ication in t he nam e of Islam . Pakistan-born Dr Tahir ul-Qadr i said ther e w ere no "ifs or buts " about terr or ism, in a new s conference attended by officers from London's Metr opolitan Police, MPs, char itable organisations and think-tanks. He said he w anted to convey the mess age that acts of terroris m c ut people off as true follow ers of Is lam. "They c an't claim that their s uic ide bombings are martyrdom oper ations and that they bec ome the heroes of the Mus lim Umma ( the w ider Mus li m community)," he said. "No, they become heroes of hellfir e, and they are leading tow ards hellfire. "There is no place for any mar tyrdom and their act is never, ev er to be c ons ider ed jihad,." Qadri said his 600-page fatw a, or r eligious r uling, w as an "abs olute" condemnation of terr oris m w ithout "any excus es or pretexts". "Good intentions cannot convert a w rong into good, they cannot c onv er t an evil into good," he s aid. "Terr or is m is terr oris m, v iolenc e is v iolence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no jus tific ation can be prov ided for it, or any kind of excus es or ifs or buts." He said Islam w as a religion of peace that pr omotes beauty, "betterment", goodness and "negates all form of misc hief and s trife". The fatw a w ill be tr anslated into Englis h in the coming w eeks and made availa ble online in an attempt to c ounter extremist vers ions of Islam available on the inter net. Qadri founded the Minhaj-ul- Qur an movement, w hich has thousands of supporters in Britain and acr oss the w orld. In Br itain, it says it runs c ourses in combating religious extr emism in educational centres in London, Manc hester and Bir mingham.

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing London, Mar.2 (A NI): Describing A l- Qaeda as an 'old ev il w ith a new name', influential Pakistani sc holar Dr Tahir ul- Qadri has said he w ould s oon is s ue a 'fatw a' against terr oris m and suicide bombing. Qadri said the Al- Qaeda has not been sufficiently c hallenged and that his global ruling against terroris m c ompletely dis mantles the banned terr or organisation's violent ideology. In his 600- page r uling, Qadri said Islam for bids the mass acre of innocent c itizens and s uicide bombings. The fatw a als o c hallenges the religious motivations of w ould- be suic id e bombers who ar e inspired by pr omis es of an after life, The BBC repor ts. The famous Mus lim sc holar developed his document last year as a r es ponse to the sudden incr eas e in suic ide bombings across Pakistan. The fatw a, w hich w ould be pr omoted in Britain by Qadri's or ganisation, Minhaj ulQur an International, w ould cover global issues in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslims in w estern nations . Ter ming the fatw a as 'har d hitting', Minhaj ul-Quran International's s pokes person Shahid Murs ale en s aid the ruling w ould inject doubt into the minds of potential suicide bombers . "Ex tremist gr oups based in Br itain recruit the y outh by brainw ashing them that they w ill w ith cer tainty be r ew arded in the next life. Dr Qadri's fatw a has remov ed this key intellectual actor from their minds," Mursaleen said.

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Islamic leader issues fatwa saying suicide bombers will end up in hell Publishe d Date : 03 March 2010 By Clare Baillie

THE leader of a worldw ide Muslim movement with thousands of UK fo llowers yesterday issued a fatwa – o r Is lamic religious ruling – cond emning terro rism and warn ing suicide bombers they are "destined for hell". Pakistan-bo rn Dr Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Q adri said there were no " ifs or buts" about terro rism and no justification for it in Is lam. In a news conference attended by M Ps, repres ent atives from the M etropolitan Police, charitable organisations and think -tanks, he called on Islam ic leaders to convey the mess age t errorism cuts people off as true followers of Is lam. "They can't claim that their suicide bombings are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the M uslim U mma (the M uslim community], no, they become heroes of hellfire, and they are leading tow ards hellfire," he said."There is no place for any martyrdom and t heir act is never, ever to be considered Jihad." Dr Q adri, w ho spoke in both Englis h and Arabic, said his fatw a, a religious edict, was an "absolute" condemnation of terrorism without "any excus es or pretexts". "Good intentions cannot convert a wrong into good, they cannot convert an evil into good," he s aid. "T errorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excus es or ifs or buts." He insisted Islam was a religion of peace that promot es beauty, "betterment", goodness and "negat es all form of mis chief and strife". The 600-p age fatw a by D r Q adri, founder of the global M inhaj-ul-Quran movem ent, will be translated into Englis h in the coming weeks . His talk w ill also be made available online in a bid to counter extremist vers ions of Is lam on t he internet.

The fatwa has been billed as "arguably the m ost comprehens ive" theological refutat ion of Islamic terrorism to date by counter-extremism think-t ank the Quilliam foundation. The M inhaj-ul-Q uran movement said it runs cours es in combating extremis m throughout Britain, including at centres in London, Birmingham, M anchest er, Nelson, Wals all and Glasgow. It also has a D undee office. A fatw a, an edict issued by a learned M uslim s cholar, may concern any aspect of Islamic life. T he term became fam ous in the West in 1989 aft er author Salman Rus hdie w as forced into hiding follow ing a "death fatw a" iss ued by Ayatollah Khomeini, t hen Supreme Leader of Iran, who ruled his book The Sat anic Vers es, had "ins ulted" Is lam. Yesterday's fatw a announces that "suicide bombings and attacks against civilian targets are not only condem ned by Is lam, but render the p erpetrators totally out of the fold of Islam, in other w ords, to be unbelievers". Shahid M urs aleen, spokesm an for M inhaj-ul-Quran UK, said: "H e has hit hard on the terrorists as it prevents Islamists from considering s uicide bom bers as 'm artyrs'. This fatwa injects doubt into the minds of potential suicide bombers. Extremist groups bas ed in Britain recruit youth by brainwashing them that they will 'w ith certainty' be rew arded in the next life and D r Q adri's fatw a has removed this from their minds." Comm unities minist er Shahid M alik, whose Dewsbury constituency was home to 7/7 bomber M ohammad Siddique Khan, welcom ed the fatwa. "It is incumbent on M uslims to stand up for their faith – w hen 7/7 occurred thos e four evil young men killed thems elves and over 50 innocent people becaus e they follow ed a tw ist ed and p erverted interpretat ion of Is lam w hich told them by doing so they w ould go to heaven," he s aid. "A clear mess age must go out that Islam t eaches that thes e four are not martyrs going to heaven but sinners going somewhere very different indeed." Islamic scholar Shaikh M ohammed H isham K abbani, of the Centre for Spirituality and Cultural Advancem ent, als o w elcom ed t he fatw a. "This is a landmark in enabling M uslims to be able to s ilence the s mall m inority who t hink it is O K to commit violent acts in the name of Islam.".

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Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa LONDON The lea der of a global Mus lim m ovement has is sued a fa twa, or relig io us e dic t, tha t he ca lls an absolute co ndem na tion of terror ism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri, a form er Pakistani lawm aker , say s the 600page fa twa b ans s uicide bombing "witho ut any exc uses , a ny pretexts, or exceptions ." Tahir-ul-Q adri has iss ued similar, shorter decrees , b ut Tuesday's eve nt in London was publicized by the Quilliam Founda tion, a government-funded anti-extremism think tank a nd drew str ong m ed ia a ttention. The religio us scholar is the f ounder of M inhaj -ul-Quran, a worldwide movem ent that promo tes a nonpolitical, toler ant Is lam . The gro up has hundr eds of thousands of f ollowe rs around the wor ld, most of them in Pakista n or Pakista nis living in other countrie s.

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SMH. COM. AU H T T P : / / N EW S . S M H . C O M . A U / B R E A K I N G - N E W S W O R L D / F A T W A -I N- U K - C O N D E M N S - S U I C I D E - B O M B I N G S 20 1 0 0 3 0 3 - P GP V . H T M L

Fatwa in UK condemns suicide bombings March 3, 2010 AFP A le a din g M uslim scho lar in Br itain issue d a fatwa on Tuesday con demnin g terrorists and suic ide bom bers, say in g they ha d no justification in the name of I slam. Pakistan- born Dr T ahir ul-Qadri said there wer e no "ifs or buts" a bo ut terrorism , in a ne ws conference attende d by off icer s from Lon don's Metropolitan Police, MPs, ch aritable organ isations an d think-tanks. He said h e wanted to convey the m essa ge that acts of terrorism c ut people off a s true follo wers of Islam. "They can't claim that their suicide bom bin gs are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umm a (the wider M uslim community)," he said. "No, they becom e heroe s of he llfire, an d they are lea ding towar ds h ellf ire. "There is no place for any martyrdom and their a ct is nev er, ever to be considere d jiha d,." Qadri sa id his 600-page fat wa, or re ligious ruling, was an "a bsolute" con dem nation of terrorism without "any exc uses or pretexts". " Goo d intentions c annot convert a wrong into goo d, they cannot convert an evil into good," he said. "Terrorism is terrorism , violenc e is violence an d it has no place in Islam ic teach ing and no justification can be prov ide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or ifs or buts." He said I slam was a re ligion of peace that promotes beauty, "betterm ent", goodn ess an d "negates all form of mischief an d strife". T he fatwa will be translate d into En glish in the coming weeks an d m ade ava ila ble online in an attem pt to counter extremist versions of I slam ava ila ble on the internet. Qadri fo unde d the Minhaj- ul- Quran m ovement, which h as thousands of supporters in Britain and acro ss the world. In Britain, it say s it run s co urse s in combating re ligio us extremism in educational centres in London, Manche ster an d Birm ingham .

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SYMPATICO.CA H T T P : / / N E W S . SY M P A T I C O . C A / C A N A D A / C O N T E N T P O S T I N G ? N EW S I T E MI D = 0 2 66 9 6 53 3 & F E E D N A M E =C P N A T I O N A L & S H O W = F A L S E & N U M B E R = 0 & S HO W B Y L I N E = F A L S E & S U B TI T L E = & D E T E C T = & A B C = A B C & D A T E = F A L S E

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London Tuesday, March 9, 2010 LO N DON - A form er P ak is ta ni le gis la tor who l ives in C ana da and leads a glo bal M us l im m ovem en t h as is su ed a fat wa, o r re li gi ous edic t , co n dem ni ng te rrorism .

Leading Muslims scholar Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri holds his Fatwa on suicide bombings and terrorism, as he speaks at its UK launch held by non-governmental organization Minhaj-ul-Quran International (MQI) in London, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The fatwa is an Islamic decree that condemns suicide bombings and terrorist atrocities along with their perpetrators.(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Akira Suemori)

M uhamm ad T ahi r-ul-Q ad ri s ays the 6 00 -page fat wa bans su ic ide bom bi ng " wit ho ut a ny exc uses , a ny p re te xts , or exc epti ons ." H e is the fo un de r of M in haj- ul-Q ur' a n , a wo rldwi de m oveme n t t hat p rom otes a n on- p oli t ical , t ole ra nt Isl am . A s pokes man fo r th e grou p to ld T he Ca na di an P ress t ha t Ta hi r- ul-Q adri h as b ee n l iv ing in s out he rn O nta rio fo r almos t fo ur y ears . T h e s p okes ma n wo ul d no t rev eal t he exac t l oc at io n. T ahi r- ul-Q ad ri has is s ued s im ila r, sh o rt er dec re es , bu t T u es day's eve nt i n Lo nd o n was p ublic i ze d by t h e Q uil li am Fou ndat ion , a gove rnme nt- fun de d a nti- ext remis m t hink- ta nk. T he g rou p has hu nd reds of th ous an ds o f foll o we rs aroun d th e worl d , mos t o f them i n P ak is ta n o r P ak is tanis li vi ng i n o t he r co un tri es .

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http://wap.alertne t.or g/thenews/newsd esk/LDE62025B.htm

Prom inent Muslim to issue anti-terrorism fatw a * Fatw a to declar e terr orists to be unbelievers * Qadri seeks to pers uade y oung Muslims to shun terr orism By Mic hael Holden LONDON, March 1 ( Reuters) - A pr ominent Islamic scholar is to issue a 600-page religious edict denouncing terr orism in London on Tues day in w hat he s ays is a bid to pers uade y oung Mus lims to tur n their bac ks on extr emis m. The fatw a from Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, a leading figur e w ho has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue for 30 years, ec hoes edic ts c ondemning extremis m issued by a number of Islamic groups s inc e the Sept. 11 attac ks on the United States. But Qadri s ays his fatw a, w hich dec lares terrorists and s uic ide bombers to be unbelievers , goes fur ther than any prev io us denunc iation. "This is the firs t, most compr ehensive fatw a on the s ubject of terroris m ever w ritten," said Qadr i, w ho has w ritten about 350 books on Islamic sc holars hip and is a sc holar of Sufis m, a long tr adition w ithin Is lam that foc uses on peac e, toler ance and moder ation. "I have tried to leave not a s ingle stone untur ned on this par tic ular subjec t and I have tried to addr ess every single question r elevant to this s ubject," he told Reuters in a tele phone interview . Qadri, 59, w ho w as born in Pakistan, is head of the global Minhaj ul- Quran r eligious and educational organis ation w hic h spr eads his Sufi ideas . A for mer Pakistani minis ter and assoc iate of ass assinated Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lectur es w orldw ide pr omoting his message of har mony and w as one of the first Muslim leaders to condemn the Sept. 11 attac ks. Tim Winter, a lecturer in Islamic studies at Cambr id ge Univ ersity, said w hil e ther e had been s imilar fatw as in the past, Qadri did appear to hav e gone fur ther than most. "To dec lar e the miscr eants as unbeliev ers is unusual, bec ause it is not r eally c lear that the rules allow one simply to s ay that they ar e not Mus lims ," he told Reuters. "Those w ho ar e alr eady har dliners w ill pay no attention at all. But 'sw ing voters' -poor ly educ ated and angry Mus lims , w ho res pec t mainstream sc holars, w ill pr obably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiativ e," he s aid. HELLFIRE Qadri said he felt c ompelled to iss ue the edict because of conc erns about the radic alis ation of Britis h Mus lims at univ ersity c ampus es and because there had been a lac k of c ondemnation of extr emis m by Mus lim c ler ics and scholars . Nigerian Umar Farouk A bdulmutallab, accus ed of trying to bomb a U.S.- bound plane on Chr istmas Day , studied at a London university until 2008. Yemen, w here Abdulmutallab began his journey, has said he w as radic alis ed w hile in Br itain. "The reality is that w hatever these terrorists ar e doing it is not martyr dom. A ll these activities ar e taking them to hellfire," Qadri said. 370

He is confident that the edict w ill have a s ignificant impact, saying he had draw n on class ic al teachings and authorities acc eptable to all sec ts of Islam. "I w ill s ay more than 50 perc ent w ill change their w ay, they w ill be influenced. Of the remaining 50 perc ent at leas t s ome of them, half of them, w ill bec ome doubtful about their life, their terr orist activ ity," he said. While Qadr i has follow ers across the globe, it is in Pakis tan, w here he has millions of foll ow ers, and in the dias por a that his impact w ould be greatest, Winter said. Britain has about 1.7 million Muslims, mainly of Pakistani desc ent, and the s ecurity services say that nearly all major terror ism plots sinc e 2001, including the 2005 London bombings w hich killed 52 people, w ere linked to Pakistan. Gov ernment officials w ill be among those joining Qadri for the launch of the fatw a in central London. The Muslim Counc il of Br itain, an umbrella or ganisation repr esenting some 500 Islamic gr oups , s aid the fatw a w as w elcome. "It is entirely laudable for sc holars s uc h as Tahir ul- Qadri to speak out against terr oris m," it said in a statement. Although his pr onouncement w ill be good new s for the authorities in Britain and other Wester n gover nments seeking to w in Muslim support to stamp out extremis m, Qadri said their backing is irrelevant to his v iew s. ( Editing by Char les Dic k)

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World

Islamic scholar issues fatwa against terro rism http://www. cbc.ca/ world /story/ 2010/ 03/02/u k-f atwa-terroris m.h tm

'Whate ver these terroris ts are doing, it's not martyr dom' La st Upda ted: Tues da y, M ar ch 2, 20 10 | 9:47 AM ET C omm ents456 R eco mm end21 3 CBC N ews

Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri speak s at Wa rwick Univ ersity in Co ventry, central England, in August 2009. ( Kieran Doh erty/Reuters) A prominent Isl ami c scholar iss ued a religi ous ruling against t errori sm and sui cide bombi ngs at a speech in London Tuesday. M uhamm ad T ahir ul -Qadri, a l eading s chol ar of Sufism, the tradition within Islam t hat focuses on peace and tol erance, isn't the first Isl ami c t eacher t o denounce acts of t errorism. But Qadri's 600-page judgm ent, or fatwa, is among the hars hest denouncem ent s of the theologi cal argum ents us ed by milit ant groups li ke al -Qaeda. "What ever t hese terrorists are doi ng, it's not m art yrdom," s aid Qadri on Tuesday. U.K.-bas ed anti-ext remis m t hink-t ank the Quilli am Foundation, whi ch s ponsored the speech, call ed the P akist ani -born Qadri's fat wa "arguabl y the m ost comprehensive theologi cal refut ation of Isl amis t terrori sm t o date."

Suic ide bom be rs destine d for hell, Qadri says Qadri condemned sui cide bombers as desti ned for hell, a count er t o the ext remist promi se of et ernal paradi se aft er death. Qadri s aid the fat wa outl aws s ui cide bombings "without any excus es, any pret exts, or exceptions." He s aid he was compelled to is sue the fat wa because of concerns about the radi cali zation of British M uslims at universit y cam pus es, most of whom are of Pakist ani descent. Nigeri an Um ar F arouk Abdul Mutal lab, accus ed of t ryi ng to bomb a Detroit-bound pl ane on Christmas Day, studied at a London universit y until 2008. Qadri is the founder of the int ernational M inhaj-ul -Qur' an movem ent, whi ch is mostly bas ed in Pakist an, where he once s erved as an elect ed m em ber of t he national assem bly and was a cl os e associ at e of assassinat ed pri m e mini st er B enazir B hutt o.

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http://www.c bs47.tv/ne ws/world/story/M uslim -lea der-issues- anti-terrorfatwa/HT uC08e OM ke6fmW2Z1XI7g.cspx?r ss=156 3/02/2010

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Islamic Scho lar and spiritual lead er Shaykh-u l-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri d eliv ers a terrorism Fatwa at the Inst itution of Mechanical Eng ineers on March 2, 2010 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood, Getty Images ) LONDON (A P) — The leader of a glob al Muslim mov ement has issued a fatwa, or relig ious ed ict, that h e calls an absolute condemn ation o f terro rism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri, a former Pakistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, o r except ions." Tah ir-u l-Qad ri has issued similar, short er decrees, but Tuesday's event in London is being hosted by the Quilliam Foundat ion, a govern ment -funded , antiext remism think tan k. The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-ul-Qu ran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a non-po litical, tolerant Is lam. The group has hund reds o f thousands of followers around th e world, most of them in Pakistan o r Pakistan is living in other count ries.

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World http://www.c bsnews.com/storie s/2010/03 /02/ap/wor ld/m ain6258360. shtml Mar. 02, 2010

AP) LONDON (AP) - Th e leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatwa, o r relig ious edict, that h e calls an abso lute condemnation o f terrorism. Muhammad Tah ir-u l-Qad ri, a fo rmer Pakistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing "without any excuses, any pretexts, o r except ions." Tah ir-u l-Qad ri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London was pub licized by the Qu illiam Found ation , a govern ment-funded ant iext remism think tan k and d rew strong med ia attention. The religious scholar is the founder of M inhaj-ul-Qu ran, a worldwid e movement that pro motes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. The g roup h as hundreds of thousands of followers around th e world, most of them in Pakistan o r Pakistan is living in other count ries.

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Muslim leader to condemn terrorists Monday 8 March 2010

The leader of a w orldw ide Muslim movement w ith thous ands of follow ers in the UK is due to iss ue a fatw a - or Islamic r eligious r uling - c ondemning terroris m and w arning suicide bombers that they are "destined for hell". Pakis tan- bor n Dr Muhammad Tahir- ul- Qadr i, founder of the global Minhaj-ul- Qur an movement, w ill make the for mal UK proclamation of a fatw a, or religious edict, condemning terror is m and suicide bombing at a new s conference in London. The 600- page fatw a announc es that "suic ide bombings and attacks against civ ilian tar gets are not only condemned by Islam, but r ender the per petrators totally out of the fold of Is lam, in other w ords, to be unbeli ev ers". Shahid Murs aleen, spokes man for Minhaj-ul- Qur an UK, said: "He has hit hard on the terrorists as it pr events Is lamists from c ons ider ing suicide bombers as 'martyrs'. This fatw a injects doubt into the minds of potential suic ide bombers . "Extremist gr oups bas ed in Br itain recr uit y outh by brainw ashing them that they w ill 'w ith c ertainty' be rew arded in the next life and Dr Qadr i's fatw a has r emoved this key intellectual factor from their minds." The fatw a has been billed as "ar guably the most c ompr ehensive" theological refutatio n of Islamic terror ism to date by counter extr emism think tank the Quilliam foundation. A Quilliam s pokes man said: "Terror ist groups suc h as al Qaida continue to justify their mass killi ngs w ith self-serv ing r eadings of religious scr iptur e. "Fatw as that demolish and ex pos e s uc h theologic al innovations w ill cons ign Islamist terrorism to the dus tbin of history." The Minhaj- ul- Quar an movement r uns c ourses in combating religious extr emism in educ ational centres thr oughout Britain including London, Bir mingham, Manc hes ter , Nelson, Walsall, Glas gow and Dundee. A fatw a, an edic t issued by a lear ned Mus lim scholar , may c onc er n any aspect of Is lamic life. The ter m bec ame famous in the w estern w orld in 1989 after the author Salman Rus hdie w as forced into hiding follow ing a "death fatw a" issued by Ayatollah Khomeni, then Supr eme Leader of Ir an, on the grounds that his book, the Satanic Verses had "insulted" Islam.

BAY LEDGER N

EWS ZONE

http:// www.blnz. com /photos/2010/03/02/Leading_M uslim _Scholar_Issues_Fat w a_- 990.htm l M arc h 9 , 2 010

LONDO N, ENGLAND - MARC H 02: Islam ic Schola r a nd spir itual lea der Shayk h-ul-Islam D r M uhammad Tahir-ul Q adri delivers a terrorism Fa twa at the Institutio n o f Mec hanical Engineers on March 2, 2010 in Londo n, England. T he compre hensive 600 pa ge Fa twa, or re ligious r uling, is set to send a clear meassage to the Muslim world co ndem ning extrem ism, suic ide bomb ing a nd terrorism. (Pho to by Dan Kitwood/G etty Images )

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Muslim leader issues antiterror fatwa http://www .bnd.com/2010/03/02/1156027/muslim-leader-iss ues-anti-terr or.html

T he Ass ociated Press

LONDON -- T he leader of a global Muslim movement has issued a fatw a, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terrorism. Muhammad T ahir-ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani law maker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bombing "wit hout any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." T ahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, shorter decrees, but T uesday's event in London w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundat ion, a government-funded anti-extremism think tank and drew strong media attention. T he religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a worldw ide movement that promotes a nonpolitical, tolerant Islam. T he group has hundreds of thousands of followers around t he world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis liv ing in other count ries.

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Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa The Associated Press

http://www.bradenton .co m/ 2010/ 03/ 02/2097622/ mus lim -leader -issues-antiterro r.html Ma r. 02, 2010

The leader of a global Mus li m movement has iss ued a fatw a, or r eligious edict, that he calls an abs olute c ondemnation of terr or is m. Muhammad Tahir - ul-Qadr i, a for mer Pakistani law maker, s ays the 600-page fatw a bans s uicide bombing "w ithout any exc uses, any pretex ts, or exceptions." Tahir- ul- Qadr i has issued similar, shorter decr ees, but Tues day 's event in London w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a gov ernment-funded anti-ex tremism think tank and drew strong media attention. The r eligious sc holar is the founder of Minhaj-ul- Qur an, a w orldw ide movement that promotes a nonpolitic al, toler ant Islam. The gr oup has hundr eds of thousands of follow ers around the w orld, mos t of them in Pakis tan or Pakistanis liv ing in other countr ies.

http://www.brandonsun.com/story .php?story_ id=188122

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London Tuesday, Marc h 2 nd, 2 01 0

LONDON - A former P akist ani legislator who lives in C anada and leads a global Muslim movement has issued a fatw a, or religious edict, condem ning t errorism. Muhammad Tahir-ul-Q adri s ays the 600-page fatwa bans s uicide bombing "without any exc us es, any pret exts, or exceptions." He is t he founder of Minhaj-ul-Q ur'an, a worldwide movem ent that promotes a non-politic al, tolerant Islam. A spokesman for the group t old The Canadian Press that Tahir-ul-Q adri has been living in southern Ontario for almost four y ears. The spok esman w ould not reveal the ex act location. Tahir-ul-Qadri has iss ued similar, shorter dec rees, but Tues day 's event in London was publiciz ed by the Q uilliam Foundation, a government funded anti-extremism think -tank. The group has hundreds of t housands of follow ers around the world, most of them in P akistan or P ak istanis living in ot her countries. -W ith f iles f rom Th e Ca nadi an Press

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.d0e8c7446997ba684ed2e1b36ace313d.441&show_article

Muslim scholar in Britain condemns terrorism Mar 2 01:31 PMUS/Eastern A lead ing M us lim s cho lar i n B ri ta in is s ued a fa t wa Tues day c ondem ni n g t erro rists an d su ic ide b omb e rs , s ay in g th ey ha d no jus t i fic at ion i n t he name of Isl am . P ak is ta n- born D r. T ahi r ul-Q a dri s a id t he re we re n o "i fs o r bu ts" a bo ut te rroris m , i n a ne ws c o n fe renc e at ten de d b y o ffice rs from L on d on 's M et ro poli ta n P olic e , la wm ake rs , c harit able o rganis at io ns a nd t hi nk-ta nks . H e sai d he wa nt ed t o c onvey t he m es sage t ha t ac ts o f te rro rism c ut p eo ple off as t rue foll o wers o f Islam . "T h ey c an' t c l aim that the ir s uic id e b omb in gs are m a rtyrdom op erat io ns a nd t ha t th ey becom e t he h e roes of t he M us lim U mm a (t he wide r M uslim c omm u nit y ). N o, t he y bec om e he roes of h el l fi re, a n d t he y a re l eadi ng t owa rds h el l fi re . "T h ere is n o p lac e for a ny m a rt yrdom an d th ei r ac t is ne ve r, ever to b e c o ns id ere d ji had ," h e a d ded . Q adri s ai d his 60 0 -pa ge fa twa , o r reli g io us ru li ng , was an "a bsol u te" c on dem natio n o f t e rroris m wit h out "any exc us es o r pret ex ts ". "G ood i nte nt io ns c an n ot c o nv e rt a wrong into go o d, th ey c an not c onvert a n e vi l i n to good ," he s a id. "T e rro rism is terro ris m , vi olenc e is vio lenc e a n d i t has no pl ac e i n Is l amic teac hi ng a nd no jus tific a ti on c an be provi de d fo r i t , or a ny ki nd of exc uses or i fs o r bu ts ." H e sa id Is lam was a re ligi on o f pe ace that promo tes beau ty, "bet term ent " , good nes s and "n egat es a ll form o f m is chi e f an d s t rife" . T he fa t wa wi ll be t rans lat ed in to E ngl is h in t he c om in g weeks an d m a de ava il ab le o nli ne i n a n at tem pt to c ou nt e r e xt rem is t vers ions o f Isl am av ai la bl e o n the In terne t. Q adri fou nded the M in ha j- ul-Q ura n m o vem en t , whic h has th ousa n ds o f s upp orte rs i n Brit ai n a nd ac ros s th e world. In Bri ta in , i t s ays it ru ns c ours es i n c om ba tin g rel igio us e xtrem is m in educ ati onal c en t res in Lo n do n , M anc h es te r a nd B i rm i ng ham

canada.com

http://www. canada .com /ne ws/ story.html?id=2634649

Top Islamic scholar issues 'absolute' fatwa against terror 'Heroes Of Hellfire' By M ich ael Holden, Re uters; With File s From Agenc e Fr ance-PresseMarch 3, 2010 Dr. Tahi r ul -Qadri has is sued an "absolut e" fat wa agai nst t errorism and ext remi sm.

A prominent Islamic scholar deno unce d terrorism in Lon don, En glan d, yesterday, issuin g a fatwa he hopes will per sua de yo un g M uslims to turn their ba cks on extremism. Dr. T ahir ul- Qa dri said there were no "ifs or buts" abo ut terrorism , a ddin g he wante d to convey the message that acts of terrorism c ut people off as tr ue follo wers of Islam. "They can't claim that their suicide bom bin gs are martyrdom operations and that they become the heroes of the Muslim Umm a [the wider M uslim community]. No, they become heroes of hellfire, and they are lea din g to war ds hellfire," he sa id. "T here is no pla ce for any m artyrdom and their act is n ever, ev er to be considere d jihad." Yesterday's event in London wa s p ubliciz e d by the Quilliam Fo undation, a governm entfunde d anti-extremism think-tank, and Dr. Qa dri a ddre sse d an a udien ce that include d London's Metropolitan Police, lawm aker s and officia ls from char itable organ ization s. His 600-pa ge f at wa wa s an "a bsolute" con dem nation of terrorism without "any exc use s or pretexts."

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" Goo d intentions c annot convert a wrong into goo d, they cannot convert an evil into good," adde d Dr. Qa dr i, who h as been living in So uthern Ontario for the pa st four y ear s. "Terrorism is terrorism , violenc e is violence an d it has no place in Islam ic teach ing and no justification can be prov ide d for it, or any kin d of exc use s or ifs or buts." His wor ds e cho edicts con demnin g extrem ism issued by several Islamic gro ups since the 9/11 attacks. But Dr. Qa dri says his fatwa, which de clar es terrorists an d suicide bom bers to be un believer s, goe s further than any previo us den unciation. "This is the first, m ost com prehensive f at wa on the subject of terrorism ever written," said the scholar, who has written a bout 350 books on Islam ic scholarship an d is a scholar of Sufism , a long tra dition within Islam that focuses on peace, toleranc e an d m oderation. "I have trie d to leave not a sin gle stone unturne d on this partic ular subject an d I hav e tried to addr ess every single question re levant to this subject." Dr. Qadri, 59, who was born in the Punja b city of Jhang, Pakistan, is hea d of the glo ba l Minhaj ul-Quran re ligio us and e ducationa l or ganization that sprea ds his Suf iide as. A former Pakistani minister an d a ssociate of Benazir Bh utto, the assa ssinate d former prime m inister, he deliver s le cture s worldwide prom oting h is m e ssa ge of harm ony. T im Winter, a lecturer in Islam ic studies at Cam bridge Univ ersity, said while there had been similar f atwa s in the pa st, Dr. Qadri ha d gone f urther than m ost. "To declare the miscreants a s unbelievers is un usual, beca use it is not really clear that the rules allo w one sim ply to say that they are not Muslim s," he said. "Those who ar e alr eady har dliner s will pay no attention at all. But 'swin g voters' -- poorly educate d an d an gry M uslim s, who respect mainstream scholars, will pro bably take note." Dr. Qadri said h e felt compelle d to issue the e dict be cause of con cern s a bout the indo ctrination of Br itish M uslims at univer sity -- Um ar Faro uk Abdulmutallab, the acc use d Niger ian Christmas Day bomber, h as said he was radicalized while studyin g in Lon don in 2008 -- and the failure of M uslim cleric s and scho lar s to condem n such extremism."The reality is that wh atever these terrorists are doin g it is not martyrdom . All these activitie s are taking them to hellfire," Dr. Qa dri said. He is confident his e dict will h ave a significant im pact, sayin g it dra ws on classical teachin gs and a uthorities a ccepta ble to all sects of I slam . "I will say m ore than 50% will change their way, they will be inf luence d. Of the rem ain ing 50% at least som e of them, half of them, will become do ubtful a bout their life, their terrorist activity."

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CANADA EAST

http://www.canadaeast.co m/news/article/970761 Tues day Marc h 2nd, 2010

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London LONDO N - A fo rmer P a ki stani legislato r who live s in Canada and leads a global M uslim m ovement has i ssued a fat wa, or religious edict, condem ning terrori sm THE ASSO CIATED PRESS/A kira Suemori Leading Muslim s scholar Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri hold s hi s Fat wa on suicide bom bings and terro ri sm, a s he sp eaks at its UK laun ch held by non-governmental organization M inhajul-Qu ran Inte rnational (MQI ) in London, Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The fatwa is an I slam ic decree that condem ns suicide bom bings and t erro ri st at rocities along with their pe rpet rato rs. M uhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri says the 600-pag e fat wa ban s suicide bombing "without an y excu ses, any p rete xts, or e xceptions." He i s the founde r of Minhaj-ul-Qu r'an, a world wide m ovement that prom ote s a non-political, tolerant I slam. A spo ke sman fo r the g roup told The Canadian P ress that Tahir-ul-Qadri ha s been living in southern Ontario fo r almost four years. The spoke sm an would not reveal the e xact location. Tahir-ul-Qadri has i ssued similar, sho rter decree s, but Tuesday' s e vent in London wa s publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a gove rnm ent-funded anti-e xtrem ism think-tan k. The group has hund red s of tho usand s of followe rs around the world, m ost of them in Paki stan or Pa ki stanis living in other count rie s. -With files f rom The Ca nadian Pre ss

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Fatwa Condemns Terrorism By Gre g G oodsell 3/4/201 0

C atholic Online (www.catholic.org) Relig iou s Leader says Bom ber s Dest ined for H ell

In one o f the strongest condemnat ion of terrorism in the Islamic world to date, a Muslim scho lar has declared that suicide bombers are destined fo r hell. LOS AN GELES, CA (Catholic On line) - Relig ious cleric M uhammad Tahir u lQadri has condemned terro rism and crit icized Islamic extremists who use relig ion to just ify violence. A ccording to the Qu illiam Foundation, a London-based organ izat ion that describes itself as an ant i-terro rism th ink tan k,Ul-Qad ri's 600-page fatwa is "arguab ly the most co mprehensive theo log ical refutat ion of Is lamist terroris m to date." "Terroris m is terro rism," ul-Qadri declares. "Violence is vio len ce. It has no place in Islamic teach ing, and no justificat ion can be provid ed to it ...

"No good intention -- even one thousand good intent ions put together -- cannot justify a wrong and forb idden act . Good intent ions cannot convert a wrong into good," he says. A ccording to CNN, the foundat ion refers to ul-Qadri as a "widely recogn ized and respected authority on Islamic ju risprudence."

CatholicCulture http://www.catholiccult ure.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=5602c

Pakistani Islamic leader issues a fatwa against terrorists March 02, 2010 Tahir ul-Qadri, a Pakistani Islamic leader, has issued a fatw a condemning terro rism. H is 600-page statement is a detailed rejection of the ideology that supports Al Qaida, as well as a condemnat ion o f suicide bo mbing and the deliberate killing of civilians. Qadri issued h is fatw a in London, wh ere he has att racted a g rowing following.

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Islamic Scholar Issues Anti-Terro rism Fatwa 02 M ar 10 - UK Ne ws

A prom ine nt Islam ic scholar will use a spe e ch in London to issue a 600-page religious e dict, de nouncing terrorists and suicide bombe rs as "unbelie vers". Muhammad Tahir ul Qa dr i is a lea din g figure who ha s promoted pea ce and interfaith dialo gue for 30 years.

H e said he felt compelled to iss ue the fatw a because of concerns about the radicalis ation of Britis h M uslim s at university campuses and because there had been a lack of condem nat ion of extrem ism by M uslim clerics and s cholars. U l Q adri s ays his fatw a, which is aimed at persuading young M uslims to turn their backs on extremism, goes further than any previous denunciation. "This is the first, m ost comprehensive fatw a on the s ubject of t errorism ever written," said ul Qadri, who has w ritten about 350 books on Islam ic s cholars hip. H e is a s cholar of Sufism, a long tradition within Islam w hich is w idely seen as focus ing on peace, tolerance and moderation. N igerian U mar Farouk A bdul M utallab, accused of trying to bomb a U S-bound plane on Christm as D ay, st udied at a London university until 2008. G overnment officials in Yemen, where M utallab began his journey, have s aid he was radicalis ed while in Britain. H ow ever, the British Government claims his introduction to hardcore extremists happened after he left the UK .

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G overnment officials will be among those joining ul Qadri for the launch of the fatw a in central London. The M uslim Council of Brit ain, an umbrella organisation representing some 500 Islamic groups, has w elcomed the fatw a. U l Q adri w ill tell his audience: "The reality is that w hat ever these terrorists are doing it is not m artyrdom. All these act ivities are t aking them to hellfire." The 59-year-old w as born in Pakist an and is head of the global M inhaj ul Quran religious and educational organis ation which spreads his Sufi ideas. A former P akistani m inister and associate of assassinated prime minister Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lectures w orldw ide promot ing his mess age of harm ony and w as one of the first M uslim leaders to condemn the 9/11 attacks in the US. While ul Q adri has follow ers around the globe, it is in P akistan where he has millions of followers and in the diaspora that his impact is likely to be greatest. Britain has about 1.7 million M uslims, mainly of Pakistani des cent. The UK 's s ecurity services s ay nearly all m ajor terrorism plots s ince 2001, including the 2005 London bom bings which killed 52 people, have been linked to P akistan. U l Q adri s aid he is confident his edict will have a significant impact because he has draw n on class ical teachings and authorit ies acceptable to all sects of Islam. "I w ill s ay more than 50% w ill change their w ay, they w ill be influenced," he said. "Of the remaining 50% at least s om e of them, half of them, will become doubtful about their life, their terrorist activity," he s aid. Tim Winter, a lecturer in Islamic st udies at Cambridge U niversity, said w hile there had been similar fatwas in the past, ul Q adri did appear to have gone further than most. "To declare the miscreants as unbelievers is unus ual becaus e it is not really clear that the rules allow one simply to say that they are not M uslims ." H e added: "Those who are already hardliners will pay no attention at all but 'swing voters' - poorly-educated and angry M uslims who respect m ainstream scholars - will probably take not e. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative." U l Q adri's pronouncement w ill be w elcom ed by authorit ies in the U K and by other Western governments seeking to st amp out ext remism - but the respect ed scholar said their backing is irrelevant to his views.

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salvationarmy.org.au http://www.salvationarm y.o rg.au/corps _pr og/24/prayer _points.as p#

U.K. MUSLIM GROUP ISSUES FATWA AGAINST ISLAMIC TERRORISTS 02 March 2010 London-base d M uslim organisa tio n led by Muhamm ad Ta hir -ul-Qadri, founder of the increasing ly pop ular Sufi moveme nt Minha j-ul-Q uran, has issued a fatwa a gains t Is lam ic terr orists . T he move is being "hailed as a significant step f orward in the fig ht a gains t f undamentalism, and o ne tha t will have reperc us sions in the UK and beyond." The edict amounts to a "dir ect challenge to a l-Qaed a's viole nt ideology" and declares "s uicide bom bings and a ttacks against civilian ta rge ts are no t o nly condem ned by Islam, but re nd er the per pe tra tors as unbelievers." Ul-Q adri said the edict, aimed at persuading young Muslims to turn their backs on extrem ism, goes f urther than any p revious denunciation. "T his is the most com prehens ive fatwa on the subjec t of terror ism ever writte n," he said .

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By Associat ed Pr ess

8 :3 7 a .m . CST ,M a rc h 2 , 2 01 0

Pakistan-born Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatw a in London

Le adi n g Muslims sch olar Dr Muh amm ad Tahir -ul - Qa dri s peaks at the UK launch of the Fatwa on suic ide b om bin gs a nd t errorism hel d by non-gov er nmenta l or ga ni zatio n Minha j-ul- Qu ra n Inter natio na l ( MQI ) i n L o nd on, Tuesday , March 2, 2 010. Th e f at wa is an Isl amic decre e that co nd emns suicid e b omb ings a nd te rro rist atrociti es alo ng wit h their pe rp etrat ors.(A P Ph oto/ Akir a S uemor i) (Akir a Suem ori, AP / Ma rch 2, 2010 ) N ation W or ld

Pa ki stan-born Musli m l e ade r i ssue s 600-pa ge a nti -te rror f atwa i n London LO NDO N (AP ) — The leader of a global M uslim m ovement has iss ued a fat wa, or religious edict, that he calls an absolute condemnation of terroris m. M uhamm ad T ahir-ul-Q adri, a fo rm er P akistani lawm aker, s ays the 60 0- page fatwa bans s uicide bombing "without any exc uses , any p retexts , or exc eptions ." T ahir- ul-Q adri has is sued s imilar, s horter dec rees, but T ues day's event in Londo n was public ized by the Q uilliam Foundation, a governm ent-funded anti- extrem ism think tank and d rew strong media attention. T he religious sc holar is the fou nder of M inhaj-ul-Q uran, a world wide m ovement that promotes a nonp olitical, tolerant I slam. T he grou p has hun dreds of thous ands o f followe rs around the world , most of them in P akistan or Pakis tanis living in othe r c ountries

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Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London T ue, 20 10-03-0 2 1 4:52. By: T HE ASSOC IATE D P RESS

LO NDO N - A form er Pak istani legislator who lives in C anada and le ads a global M uslim moveme nt has issued a fatwa, or re ligious e dict, conde mning te rrorism . M uham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bom bing " without any e xcuse s, any pre tex ts, or exce ptions."He is the founde r of Minhajul-Q ur'an, a world wide m ovem ent that promotes a non-political, tole rant Islam .A spokesman for the group told The Canadian Press that Tahir-ul-Q adri has bee n living in southern O ntario for alm ost four ye ars. The spoke sman would not reve al the exact location. Tahir-ul-Q adri has issue d sim ilar, shorte r decre es, but Tuesday's e ve nt in London was publicize d by the Q uilliam Foundation, a gove rnm e nt-funded anti-e x trem ism think -tank . The group has hundreds of thousands of followe rs around the world, m ost of the m in Pakistan or Pak istanis living in othe r countrie s.

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http://www.classicfm.co.uk/on-air/news- and-weather/uk-and- world/islamic- scholar-issuesanti-terrorism-fatwa/

Islamic Scholar Issues Anti-Terrorism Fatw a Tuesday, 2 March2010 01:26

A promi nent I slamic schol a r w i ll use a spee ch i n London to i ssue a 600-page religi ous edi ct, de nounci ng t errori sts and suici de bombe rs a s "unbel ieve rs". M uhamm ad T ahir ul Q adri is a leading figure who has p rom oted peac e and inter faith dialogue for 3 0 years. H e said he felt c ompelled to is s ue the fat wa bec aus e of concerns about the radic alis ation of British M uslims at university campuses and because there had been a lac k of c ondemnation of extrem is m by M uslim c lerics and s c holars . U l Q adri s ays his fat wa, which is aimed at pe rsuading young M uslims to turn their backs on extrem is m , goes further than any previous denunciation. "T his is the first, most c om prehens ive fatwa on the s ub jec t of ter roris m ever written ," s aid ul Q adri, who has written about 3 50 books on I slamic sc holarship. H e is a sc holar of S ufis m, a lo ng t radition within Is lam whic h is widely seen as focus ing on peace, tolera nce and moderation. N igerian Um ar Farouk A bdul M utallab, ac c us ed of tryin g to bom b a U S-bound plane on C hristmas D ay, s tudied at a L ondon u nivers ity until 20 08. G overnm ent offic ials in Yem en, where M utallab began his jour ney, have s aid he was radic alis ed while in Britain. H owever , the Britis h Government c laims his introduc tion to hardc ore extrem ists happened after he left t he U K. G overnm ent offic ials will be am ong thos e joining ul Q adri for the launc h of the fatwa in c entral L ondon. T he M us lim C ouncil of Britain, an umbrella or ganisation repres enting s om e 5 00 Islamic groups , has welc om ed the fat wa. U l Q adri will tell his audienc e: "The reality is that whatever these terroris ts are doing it is not m artyrdom . All thes e ac tivities are taking them to hellfire." T he 5 9-year- old was born in P akis tan and is head of the global M inhaj ul Q uran religious and ed uc ational organis ation whic h s preads his Sufi ideas.

A former P akis tani minister and ass ociate of as s ass inated prim e m inis ter Benazir Bhutto, he delivers lec tures world wide promoting his m ess age of harm ony and was one of the first M us lim leaders to condemn the 9 /1 1 attac ks in the U S. W hile ul Q adri has followers arou nd t he globe, it is in P akis tan where he has millions of followers and in the diaspora that his im pac t is likely to be greatest. Britain has about 1 .7 million M us lims , m ainly of Pakis tani desc ent. T he UK's s ecurity s ervices say nearly all major ter roris m plots since 2001, including the 2 005 L ondon bombings whic h killed 5 2 people, have been linked to P akis tan. U l Q adri said he is confident his edic t will have a s ignificant im pac t because he has dra wn on c lass ical teachings and aut horities ac ceptable to all sec ts of I s lam . "I will s ay m ore than 5 0% will c hange their way , they will be influenc ed," he said. "O f the rem aining 5 0% at leas t s om e of them, half of them , will bec ome doubt ful a bout their life, their terroris t ac tivity," he s aid. T im Winter, a lecturer in I slamic s tudies at Cam bridge Univers ity, said while there had been sim ilar fat was in the pas t, ul Q adri did appear to have gone further than m os t. "To declare the mis creants as unbelievers is unusual because it is not really clear that the rules allow o ne sim ply to s ay that they are not M us lims ." H e added: "Those who are alrea dy ha rdliners will pay no attention at all but 'swi ng voters' - poorly- educated and ang ry M us lim s who respect mains tream sc holars - will probably take note. "Certainly it is a helpful initiative." U l Q adri's pronounc em ent will be welcom ed by authorities in the UK and by othe r W es tern governments seeking to stamp out extrem ism - but t he res pec ted s cholar said their bac king is irrelevant to his views.

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http://www.pakistanne ws.n et/story/607461

Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing P ak is tan Ne ws .N et T ues day 2n d M arch , 2 01 0 (A NI )

D esc ribing A l-Q aeda as an 'old evil with a ne w nam e', influential P akistani sc holar D r T ahir ul-Q adri has s aid he would s oon is s ue a 'fatwa' against ter roris m and s uic ide bom bing. Q adri s aid the A l-Q aeda has not been s uffic iently c hallenged and that his global ruling against terroris m c om pletely dis mantles the banned terro r organisation's violent ideology. I n his 6 00- page ruling , Q adri said Is lam forbids the mass acre of innocent c itizens and s uic ide bom bings. T he fat wa also c hallenges the religious m otivations of would- be s uic ide bom bers who are inspired by promis es of an afterlife, T he BBC reports. T he fam ous M uslim sc holar developed his document last year as a respons e to the s udden inc reas e in suic ide bombings ac ross Pakistan. T he fat wa, whic h would be promoted in Britain by Q adri's organis ation, Minhaj ul-Q uran I nternational, would c over global iss ues in an attem pt to get its theologic al arguments taken up by M uslims in western nations . T erm ing the fat wa as 'hard hitting', M inhaj ul-Q uran I nternational's s pokes pers on Shahid M urs aleen s aid the ruling would in jec t doubt into t he m inds o f potential s uic ide bom bers. "Extremist groups bas ed in Britain recruit t he yout h by brainwas hing them t hat they will with certainty be re warded in the next life. D r Q adri's fat wa has removed this key intellec tual actor from t heir m inds ," M urs aleen s aid. (A NI )

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CORYBERNARDI.COM http ://w ww.corybernardi.com /2 01 0/ 03 /final ly - muslim - leadercondemn s- terrorism.htm l

Finally - Muslim Leader Condemns Terrorism M uslim s chol ar, Dr M uhamm ad Tahir-ul-Qadri, l aunches a fat wa that condem ns suicide bom bings

It's about time . I am re ferring to reports in the UK ne wspapers ye ste rday that a M uslim leader has finally condemne d the acts of te rrorism conducte d in the nam e of Islam . Pak istani-born Dr Muhamm ad Tahir-ul-Q adri said the re we re no 'ifs or buts' that acts of terrorism cut pe ople off as true followe rs of Islam . In issuing his fatwa, or religious e dict conce rning Islam ic life, he said "The re is no place for any marty rdom and the ir act is ne ve r, e ver to be conside re d jihad.' He further called on Islamic le ade rs to convey the m essage to all the ir followe rs. Dr Q adri's comm ents are a we lcom e change to the equivocation of m any se lfstyle d imam s and Islam ic religious le ade rs who re fuse to condemn suicide bom bings and other atrocities comm itte d in the nam e of their religion. In Australia, one of the se so-called le aders of the Islam ic community, Sheik Hilali, e ve n justified rape of Australian wom en, re ferring to them as 'uncove re d me at', while one supporte r of a convicte d terroris t plotte r blam ed the Australian social security syste m for the ex trem ist be haviour. In the face of gre at adversity, the re has be en a great deal of tole rance exte nde d to those of the Islam ic faith by the western wo rld. Su ch tole rance has be en wearing thin by the refusal of so many Islam ic scholars to une quivocally condem n terrorism , in all its form s, as e vil. In a furthe r de parture from the intolerance , hate and barbarism preache d by radical Islam ists, Dr Q adri was quote d as saying; 'Good inte ntions cannot conve rt a wrong into good, the y cannot convert an evil into good. Te rrorism is terrorism , viole nce is viole nce and it has no place in Islam ic te aching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of e xcuse s or ifs or buts.'

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aaiusa.org http://www.aaiusa.org/pre ss-room/4523/islam ic- scho lar - tahir - ul- qa dri- issue s-terrorism - fat wa

Islamic scholar Tahir ul-Qadri issues terrorism fatwa BBC Posted on Tue sday M arch 2, 2010 An influential Muslim scholar has issued a global ruling against te rrorism and suicide bom bing. Dr Tahir ul-Q adri, from Pak istan, says his 600-page judgem ent, k nown as a fat wa, com ple te ly dismantles al-Q ae da’s viole nt ideology. The scholar de scribe s al-Q aeda as an “old e vil with a ne w nam e” that has not bee n sufficiently challe nge d. The scholar’s m ovem ent is gro wing in the UK and has attracte d the inte rest of policym ake rs and se curity chie fs. In his religious ruling, delivere d in London, Dr Q adri says that Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citize ns and suicide bom bings. Although m any scholars have m ade sim ilar rulings in the past, Dr Q adri argue d that his m assive docum ent goes much further by om itting “ifs and buts” adde d by othe r think ers. He said that it se t out a point-by-point the ological re buttal of e ve ry argum e nt use d by al-Qaeda inspired recruiters.

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Cleric's fatwa condemns martyrs to hellfire By Rac hae l B ro wn in Lo ndo n

Pos ted We d Mar 3, 2010 6:04am AEDT A leading Pakis tani cleric has issued a religious ruling in Britain condemning terrorism , saying suic ide bom bers a re des tined f or hell. D r Muham mad Tahir-ul-Qadri's 600 page religious ruling, or fatwa , is a very different m essage to the interpretatio n of Islam in w hic h m ar tyrs go to heaven. D r Qadri says there is no thing written in the Koran that could be used to jus tify suicide bom bings, rather, he warns tha t I slam c ondemns such ac ts. "These kind of activities will lead them to hellfire and they are not involved in a ny kind of m artyrdom operation," he said. "Ra ther they are doing an act which is an act of disbelief ." D r Qadri prea ches in Pak istan, but s ays he wa nted to spr ead his m essage in the wes ter n world where yo uths are being br ainwashe d a nd misguided on the co nce pts of Islam .

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http://www.a bc.net.au/wor ldtoday /content/2010/s2835566.htm

Cleric issues fatwa condemning terrorism ELEANOR HA LL: A lea ding Pakista ni cler ic in B ritain has issued a religious ruling condem ning terrorism . D r Muham mad Tahir-ul-Qadri hea pe d sc orn on the no tion of re ligious rewards for s uicide bom bers . Ins tead he warned suicid e b om bers they a re destined f or hell. In London, Rac hael Brow n reports. RAC HAEL BROW N: Dr Muhammad Ta hir -ul-Qadri's 600-pa ge re lig ious ruling, or fatwa, says suicide b om bings and a ttacks on civilian targets are condemne d by Islam , and render the perpetra tor s 'unbelievers'. He says there are no c irc um stanc es in whic h s uic ide bombings c an be jus tified. MUHAMMAD TA HIR-UL-Q AD RI: No pe rson in the whole world can pro vide a single evidence fr om Kor an w ho wo uld create a ny excep tio nal permissibility to committing suicide b om bing. RAC HAEL BROW N: Dr Qadri runs a S ufi moveme nt ba sed in Lahore, but he says he wanted to spread his messa ge to the UK a nd the wider Wester n wor ld. MUHAMMAD TA HIR-UL-Q AD RI: So that the whole world m ay know that whatever the terror is ts are doing, they no link with Islam, and I wanted to give this mes sage to the yo uth in We ste rn wo rld als o, that thes e kind of activities will lea d them to hellfire , a nd they'r e not involve d in a ny kind o f martyrdom operation. Ra ther they are doing an ac t which is an ac t of disb elie f. RAC HAEL BROW N: Dr Qadri ho pes his messa ge will come in tim e for tho se on the fringes o f ex tremism , who , he says, have been brainwas hed. He says W es ter n yo uth, whether they be o f Pakis tani, I nd ian or Arabic Is lamic back grounds, are being v ic timise d a nd misguided on the c oncep ts of 397

Islam. MUHAMMAD TA HIR-UL-Q AD RI: Yo u g o o n I nte rnet a nd yo u will find the extrem ist and the terrorist people are r unning uncountable web sites giving the wro ng concepts of Jihad , wro ng concep ts of s uicide bom bing, giv ing that fa twa's in favo ur of suic ide bombing, creating som e exemp tions for them and this is how they are being brainwas he d. In America, y ou know, the basic thing in 9/11 took pla ce and in England 7/7 and the England and UK is the co untry mos t co nce rne d. RAC HAEL BROW N: But Azzam Tamim i from the Institute of Islamic Political T hought think s this fa twa will f all on dea f ears . Mr Tam imi thinks suic ide bomb ings a re permissible under the Kora n a s a form of self defe nce. He says he sees no dif ference be tween a s uic ide bomb er, and a n F16 pilot who drop s b ombs o n innoce nt people. But Tamimi say s ther e real issue here is of utility. AZZAM TAMIMI : W he ther this is a ctually g ood for the c ause or ba d fo r the cause and in most cases it's no t goo d f or the ca use. And I think this is the argume nt we need to push forward r ather tha n res orting to fatwas beca use for every fatwa , there is a counte r fa twa. RAC HAEL BROW N: And he says m any young people aren't interes ted in fatwas , a nd are confused a bout how to attrac t a ttention to their ca use. AZZAM TAMIMI : British young Muslims I would advise them aga ins t resorting to any of these ta ctics beca use they are c ounterpr oductive. But I cannot apply the same thing for peo ple who are defending their c ountry and defending their homes and fo r people whose f amilies have been wiped out com pletely by c oward pilo ts f lying F16's a nd Ap ache helicop ters. RAC HAEL BROW N: But the counter extrem ism think ta nk, the Q uilliam Founda tio n, says D r Q adri's fa twa is the m os t compre hensive theo logica l refutation of Islamic terrorism to da te. ELEANOR HA LL: Rachael Brown re porting.

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Pakistani Islamic scholar to issue 600-page fatwa against terrorism, suicide bombing Lond on, Mar. 2 : Des cr ibing A l-Qaeda as an 'o ld evil wit h a new name', influe nt ial Pakistani sc ho lar Dr Ta hir ul-Qadr i has s aid he would soo n is s ue a 'fat wa' a ga inst ter ro rism and suicide bom bing. Q adri said the Al-Q ae da has not been sufficiently challenged and that his global ruling against terrorism com ple te ly dismantles the banne d terror organisation's viole nt ideology. In his 600-page ruling, Q adri said Islam forbids the m assacre of innocent citize ns and suicide bombings. The fatwa also challe nges the religious m otivations of would-be suicide bom be rs who are inspire d by prom ise s of an afte rlife , The BBC re ports. The famous Muslim scholar de velope d his docum e nt last ye ar as a re sponse to the sudden increase in suicide bom bings across Pakistan. The fatwa, whi ch would be promoted in Britain by Qadri's organisation, M inhaj ul-Q uran International, would cove r global issues in an attem pt to ge t its theological argum ents take n up by M uslim s in western nations. Te rm ing the fatwa as 'hard hitting', M inhaj ul-Q uran Inte rnational's spoke sperson Shahid M ursaleen said the ruling would inje ct doubt into the m inds of potential suicide bom be rs. "Ext re m ist groups based in Britain re crui t the youth by brain washing the m that they will wi th certainty be re wa rde d in the nex t life . Dr Q adri's fatwa has re m ove d this key inte lle ctual factor from the ir m inds," M ursalee n said. -

http://www.680news.com/news/world/article/31569--muslim-leader- issues-600-page-antiterror-fatwa- in-london

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London TH E ASSOCIATED PRESS Mar 02, 2010 14:46:16 PM

LONDON - A for mer Pakistani legis lator w ho lives in Canada and leads a global Muslim mov ement has is s ued a fatw a, or religious edict, condemning terror is m. Muhammad Tahir - ul-Qadr i s ays the 600-page fatw a bans s uic ide bombing "w ithout any excuses, any pretexts, or exceptions." He is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Qur'an, a w orldw ide movement that pr omotes a nonpolit ical, toler ant Is lam. A spokes man for the gr oup told The Canadian Press that Tahir-ul- Qadri has been liv ing in s outher n Ontar io for almos t four y ears . The s pokes man w ould not reveal the exac t loc ation. Tahir- ul- Qadr i has issued similar, shorter decr ees, but Tues day 's event in London w as publicized by the Quilliam Foundation, a gov ernment-funded anti-ex tremism think- tank. The group has hundreds of thousands of follow ers ar ound the w orld, most of them in Pakis tan or Pakistanis liv ing in other countries. -W ith f iles f rom Th e Ca nadi an Press

600CKAT http://www.600cka t.c om /news/wor ld/m ore.j sp?content=w026696533

Muslim leader issues 600-page anti-terror fatwa in London M arch, 2, 2010 - 02: 43 pm T HE ASS OCIAT ED PRESS

L eading M uslims sc holar D r M uhamm ad Tahir- ul-Q adri holds his Fatwa o n s uic ide bom bings and terroris m, as he s peaks at its UK launc h held by no n- governm ental organization M inhaj-ul-Q uran International (MQ I) in L ondon, T ues day, M arc h 2 , 2010 . T he fat wa is an Is lamic decree that c ondem ns s uicide bom bings and terroris t atroc ities along with their perpetrators .(TH E A SSO CIATED PRESS/A kira Suemori)

LONDO N - A former Pak istani legisla tor who lives in C anada and leads a global Mus lim m ovem ent has issued a f atwa, or religio us edict, condemning terrorism . Muham mad Tahir-ul-Q adri say s the 600-p age fa twa b ans suicide bom bing "witho ut a ny excuses, any pre tex ts, or excep tions."

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He is the founder of M inhaj -ul-Qur'an, a worldwide moveme nt tha t promo tes a non-po litical, to lera nt Islam . A spokesman for the gro up told The C anadian Press that Ta hir -ul-Qadri has been living in s outhern Ontario for alm os t f our years . The spok esman would not revea l the exact loca tio n. Tahir-ul-Q adri has iss ued similar, shorter decrees , b ut Tuesday's eve nt in London was publicized by the Quilliam Founda tion, a government-funded anti-extremism think-tank. The gro up ha s hundre ds of thous ands o f fo llower s aro und the wor ld, most of them in P akis ta n or Pakistanis living in other countries. -With f iles from The C anadian Press

Kal point http ://www.kalp oint.co m/nati onal -news/ ta hir - qa dri - s -fa twa -fo r- terrorists - hellwaits-f or- you. html

Tahir Qad ri s Fatwa for terrorists: Hell w aits for you

Dated: 03 Ma rch 20 10 LON DO N: A hig hly influ en tial Sufi M uslim sc hola r on Tu esday issued a historic Fatwa (religious edic t) against ac ts of violenc e p erpetra ted in the na me of Isla m, calling perpetra tors of violence and their men tors a s desti ned fo r hellfire. Dr M uhamma d Ta hirul Qa dri, the founder of f ormida ble M inha jul Qu ran movement, used a lec ture in London to unreservedly con demn terrorist a ttacks and suicide bo mbers an d u rged the M uslim wo rld to take a firm stan d a gainst tho se w ho bring Isla m in di srepu te. Dr Q adri was join ed at the Fa twa launc h even t by government ministers Jim Fitzpatric k, S ha hid Malik, Mu hamma d S arwar, MP, Dominic Grieve, M P, rep resenta tives of various Musli m o rga nisa tio ns, govern men t depa rtmen ts and secu ri ty think tanks. The 6 00 -pa ge Fatwa o n Suicide Bo mbing s an d Terrorism has been extrac ted fro m Dr Q adri s la test resea rch wo rk titled Dehshet G eri aur Fitna-e-K hawarij, in a ref erence to tho se rebels who ha d taken u p arms against Hazra t Ali (RA).

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Spea king a t leng th in E nglish and Ara bic, Dr Q adri f req uen tly referred to Quran, Co mpa nions of the P rop het (p eace be upo n hi m), Ha dith an d leading Muslim Ima ms to prove his point tha t Isla m do esn t allow individuals an d nonsta te g rou ps to laun c h a ttacks on civilians a nd opp osi tion ta rg ets. Isla m a bsolutely con demns violenc e and terrorism in all i ts fo rms an d manifesta ti on s an d i t s ou r Islamic duty to con demn ac ts of terro rism withou t any ifs or buts, without any ex cu ses, pretexts an d selfish justifications. Those who perpetra te violent attacks an d target hu mani ty ac t ou tsi de the a mbit of Isla m, they a re the enemi es of Isla m, he said, op ening his speech. The launch of Fa twa is being rega rded by many circles a s a significan t and histo ric step, the first time that suc h an explici t an d u nequivocal dec ree again st perp etrato rs of terror ha s been broadcast so wi dely. The Fa twa is c on sidered a rgua bly the most co mp rehensive theological refu tation of Isla mist terrorism a s demo nstra ted by Tali ban , a l-Q aeda an d their likemin ded sec tarian group s. To those w ho lau d suicide bombers and p raise their acts, Dr Q adri said, they are in unison with hero es of hellfire . They can t claim tha t their suicide bo mbi ng s a re martyrdom op era tion s and tha t they become heroes of the Mu sli m Ummah. No, they indeed beco me hero es of hellfire, and they are leading towards hellfi re. Thei r ac tion s have no thin g to do wi th Jihad, Dr Q adri sai d, w ho has a la rge following in Eu rop e an d many y oun g Mu sli ms are increasingly ta king to his message. He made i t clear a thou san d g ood in ten tion s canno t c onvert a wro ng into go od, they ca nno t conv ert an evil in to goo d. Terrori sm i s terro rism, violenc e is violence and i t has n o plac e in Islamic tea chings. Islam is a religion of p eac e. It pro motes goo dwill, beau ty, betterment, goo dn ess an d nega tes a ll forms of misc hief, strife and division. Dr Q adri told The N ew s he wanted to connec t wi th tho se M uslims who were confused a bo u t the ac tual message o f Isla m and tho se who se min ds were brainwa shed by p reac hers with li ttle kn owledg e of Islam. He said his clea r and catego rical inju nction will dissua de i mp ression able y oun g M uslims from falling p rey to ra dical g roup s. He agreed many religious edic ts against terro rism have recen tly been issued in Pakistan an d elsewhere bu t none of them comprehen sively a ddressed the issu e of terro rism. Dr Qa dri sai d the la test Fatwa g oes fu rther than any p revious denunciation. He lamen ted tha t many religious an d political parti es in Pakistan were p roviding succ our to terrorist elemen ts. I have been un der threa t f or the la st 2 0 years. I kn ow I a m a ta rget for the terrorists an d they would lov e to silence me but I a m sp eaking ou t again st them in the service of my Creator, Dr Qa dri, who is sp ending mo st of his ti me ou tsi de of Pa kistan, told The N ews, w hen asked about the threa t to his life.

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13wham.com http://www.13wham .com/news/world/story/M uslim - leader- issue s-anti- terror fatwa/HT uC08e OM ke6fmW2Z1XI7g.cspx

Muslim group Minhaj-ul-Quran issues fatwa against terrorists Ruth G ledhill ("Times Online ," January 17, 2010) Lon do n, U K - A l eadi n g M us l im o rga nisa ti on i n B ri ta in h as is s ue d a fa twa aga ins t su ic id e bom bi ngs a nd t erro ris m , decl ari ng t hem un-Is l amic . M inh a j- ul-Q u ran , a S ufi o rga nis a tion bas ed i n E as t L ondo n whic h ad vises th e Go vernmen t on h o w t o c om ba t ra dic a lisa ti on o f M us lim yo ut h , wi ll la u nc h th e 60 0 -pa ge re li g io us verdict t om o rro w. I t c ond emns th e p e rpet rato rs o f t e rro ris t ex pl os ions an d s u ici de bom bi ngs . T he d oc ume n t, writ te n by D r M uham me d Ta hir- ul-Q adri , a fo rm e r m inis ter o f P akis ta n and frie nd o f B en azir B hu tt o, dec la res su ic i de bom bi ngs an d te rro rism as " to ta lly u n-Is lam ic" . It is one o f t he m os t det ail ed a nd c omp rehe nsiv e doc um en ts o f its ki nd t o b e p u bl is hed in B ritai n. T he fat wa , whic h was rel eas e d in Pa kist an las t m ont h , us es tex ts from th e Koran a nd ot h er Isl amic wri t in gs t o a rgue th at at tac ks ag ains t in n oc ent c i tize ns a re "a bs ol utel y a gains t t he t eac h i ngs of Is lam an d th at Is l am does no t pe rm i t s uc h ac ts on a ny e xc us e, reas o n or p re te xt". D r T a hi r- ul-Q ad ri , wh o is bas ed i n C a na da an d has writ te n m ore tha n 4 0 0 b ooks on Isl amic l aw, s aid : "A ll thes e ac ts are g rave vi olat ions of h um a n ri ghts an d c o nsti t ut e ku fr, dis bel ie f, u nde r Is lam ic la w." M inh a j- ul-Q u ran is a n o rganis ati o n b ased i n 8 0 c ou n tries th at fo llows S u fi te achi ngs of peac e a n d m ode ra ti on . It is gai n in g i nflu enc e i n Brit ai n as th e G ove rnm en t s ee ks t o gai n g roun d am ong M us lim g rou ps e ager to c om b at t he rad ic al is atio n o f you n g p eo pl e. T he g rou p rec eiv es n o g ov e rnm e nt fun di ng bu t i ts a ge nda is c ompa rab le to the offic ial P rev ent s trat eg y , un de r wh ic h c omm un ity o rga nisa ti ons are enc ou ra ge d t o wo rk to geth er t o c o unte r ex trem is m . R ad ic al Is lam ists wil l dis mis s the fat wa b ut it wi ll be we lc om e d by m a ny M us lims from t he l a rge c omm un ity o f S o ut h As ian h e ri ta ge in Britai n , am ong wh om c on fus io n ab ou t re li gious te achi ng is e xp lo ited by ext remis ts s eeki ng t o rec ru i t s u icid e bomb ers . "E xt remis t g rou ps s ta rt b rai n was hi n g the yo u ng s tud en ts from B ritis h un ivers it ies a n d ev en t ua lly c onv inc e them to op pos e int egrat io n i n B rit is h s oc iet y," s ai d Sha hi d M u rs alee n, a s p okes ma n fo r M inh a j- ul-Q u ran . T he fat wa woul d he lp fi gh t ext rem is t rec ru itm ent o f y oun g M us l im s an d was "o ne o f t he m ost c om p re hens ive verdic ts o n t his topic in t he his to ry o f Is l am" , he ad ded . I nay at B ung lawala , form er s po kesm an o f t he M uslim C o unc il o f Bri ta in a nd fou nder of t he new g rou p M us lims 4 UK, se t up t o c o un te r th e ra dic a l m ess a ge o f t he n e wl y ba nned Is l am4 U K and othe r e xt rem is t g ro ups , we lcom ed t he fat wa. "T his adds to the vie w o f m an y Is lam ic s c hol ars i nt erna ti ona lly t hat t erro ris m a n d s u icid e b omb in gs a re u nac c ept able in Islam ," h e s aid . "It is a p os i tive i nit ia tiv e . A nyt hi ng t ha t hel ps m ov e you ng p eo p le a way from v io lenc e a n d from thos e who prom ote vio lenc e m ust be welc om ed ."

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http://www.2424act u.fr/actualite-internationale/un-erudit-musulman-publie-une-fat wa-contrele-terrorisme-616299/

Muslim leader issues anti-terror fatwa Last Updat e: 3/02 8:56 a m

Islamic Scholar and spiritual leader Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul Qadri delivers a terrorism Fat wa at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on March 2, 2010 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood, Getty Images )

LONDON (AP) — The lead er of a g lobal M uslim movement has issued a fatwa, or religious ed ict, that h e calls an absolut e cond emnation of terrorism. M uhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, a former Pakistani lawmaker, says the 600-page fatwa bans suicide bo mb ing "w ithout any excuses, any p retexts, o r exceptions." Tahir-ul-Qadri has issued similar, sho rter decrees, but Tuesday's event in London is being hosted by the Qu illiam Foundation, a government -funded, ant iext remism thin k tank. The religious scholar is the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, a worldwide movement that promotes a non-political, tolerant Islam. The group has hundreds of thousands of followers around the world, most of them in Pakistan or Pakistanis livingin other count

AsiaNews.it htt p://w ww.asian ew s.it /new s-en/A -fatwa -again st-relig iou s-ju stificat ion s-for Islam ic -terr orism -17 840.htm l

A fatwa against religious justifications for Islamic terrorism by Samir Kh alil Samir 03/10/2010 13:10 A 600 pa ge doc ument by Prof. Tahir ul-Quadri, a gain st violence, signals the be ginn ing of a new sea son in the I slam ic world. Like the pope in Re gen sbur g, he says that Go d is rea son and is again st violence. No w a movem ent of people is ne e de d to pur ify the disf igure d fa ce of Islam .

Be ir ut (Asia Ne ws) – On M arch 2n d , Tahir ul-Qa dri, a Pak istani sheikh Soufi, declared to the BBC that he ha d produce d a 600 page doc ument that dem olishe d the ideolo gy of terrorist group s who refer back to the Qur'an and Sunnah. Al-Qaeda, he say s, is "an old evil under anew nam e”. The fat wa defies the religious justifications of suicide bom ber s who dream of the paradise prom ise d to martyrs. T hey are not martyrs at all, they are sim ply crim inals. T he organiz ation of Dr Qadri, M inh aj ul-Quran International, wh ich has a bo ut 5000 members and 10 m osques in Britain, un dertook to distribute this document and the teachings of the spiritual m a ster. God be pr aise d! Al- Ham du li-llah! Fina lly, an a uthoritative and learn ed voic e that loudly procla im s wh at everyone ha s long h eld at the bottom of their hearts, that violence cannot be justifie d in the nam e of Go d an d that while injustice can explain certain reactions, it can never justify them ! Vio lence: characte ristic o f Islam? Certainly, there ha s been v iolen ce a s long as m an ha s walke d the earth. In one way or another, almost all c ultures and mythologie s have practice d it. The m ythical story of Adam and Eve in the Bible sho ws that harmony lies in subm ission / obe dience to God, an d it introduc es a “ heavenly” life, while violence lie s in r ebellion / diso bedien ce to Go d In the Kor an, Islam brin gs to salâm (submission to Go d cr eates p eac e an d harmony), rather than ‘isyân (rebellion) which leads to disor der an d violence. T he story of Cain an d Abel (Qâ bîl wa-Hâ bîl), indicated in the Bible as the ch ildren of Adam and Eve expresses this r eality: extrem e violence, mur der, are enrolle d in the human he art and are a re jection of Go d, which leads to our o wn rejection by m en. We find the same approa ch in the Koran, a lthough with different form ulas, the sura of M â’idah (he T able Spre a d") 5, 2732, with this conclusion that clearly shows the link with the Jewish tradition (v. 32):

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"For tha t cause We dec reed for the Children of I srael tha t whoso eve r killeth a hum an being for other than m anslaughte r or corruption in the earth, it sha ll be a s if he had k illed all m ankind, and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had sav ed the life of all m ankind. Our m esseng ers cam e unto them of old with clear p roofs (of A llah’s sove reignty), but afte rwa rds, lo! Many of them became prodigals in the earth. (trans. UCOII). We know ho w the anthropologist Ren é Girar d ha s dev elope d this fo unding myth in his book "Violen ce and th e Sacred" (1972), edited by Ottavio Fatigue and Eva Cz erkl (M ilano: Adelphi, 1980). The fact is that man from every cultur al or re ligio us tradition ha s practic ed violence, an d has often sought to justify his actions in the name of God. No re ligion, no c ultur e is exempt. For this reason, thro ughout history, violen ce is not typical of I slam. I wo uld say that it is typical of h uman beings, the only bein g capa ble of pra cticin g vio lenc e even when it is not a vital nece ssity. Non- violence a s a pro gram However, it is task of spirit ual r efle ction to try to elim inate violence, to place r ejection of violenc e, "non-violence", at the heart of c ultur e. In o ur time, M ahatma Gan dhi ( October 2, 1869 - Jan uary 30, 1948) esta blish ed non-violence not only as an ethical principle, but also as a political pro gram. He was not he the first to choose this path, but he was the first - I believe - to have instilled this go al in the masse s, an d pr actically demonstrate the effectivene ss of this ide al. And we also know that he paid the price for this pea ceful political r evolution, with his m artyrdom. Non- violence in Islam Muhammad Tahir ul-Qa dr i ha s dared to oppose the destr uctive power of terrorism to wrest any religious pr etence from it: in the name of Islam or in the nam e of Go d – be he calle d Allah, God, or by any other name - no one can cla im to obtain goodn ess an d justic e through violenc e. Go d - whatever description m en (considere d proph ets) gave to him - cannot identify with violen ce. Qua dri is not the first to condemn Islamic terrorism: before h im , diff erent Muslim religio us f igure s have don e so. Am ong them: the Grand Ch ance llor of the Univer sity Al- Azhar, Sheikh M uh amm ad Sayyed Tanta wi. But Qua dri is c ertainly the first in Islam to addr ess the issue in a r a dic al way, writing a treatise of 600 pa ge s to respond to all the arguments in spir ed by the Quran or the Sunnah (tradition) of Islam. It is characteristic of Islam ic terrorism to justify its practice by rely ing on arguments base d on Quranic verse s an d the Sunn ah. In order to ensure that they – by carrying out an a ct of terrorism - make the supreme act of piety, they do so only after rece ivin g a fat wa. Instea d, for Quadri vio lenc e is never ac ceptable, it is a gain st God him self. T his is precisely what Bene dict XVI deve lope d his o wn way in Re gensbur g, in his fam ous speech of 12 September 2006, sayin g that violen ce is an irrational act and therefore contrary to Go d, who is rea son itself, an d th us contrary to religion. Viole nce justified b y injustice?

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It is often said that Islamic terrorism is merely a r eaction a gainst the injustice suffer ed by the Muslim world at the hands of colon ialism and imperialism. Frequently cite d examples of this include the creation of the State of Isra el in 1948 on the land of Islam (Dâr al-I slâm ) and terrorism practiced by Western co untries, e spe cia lly the U.S., again st the M uslim world. Particular refer ence is m ade to anti-US sentim ent, espec ially after Geor ge W . Bush spoke of the war a ga inst Ira q usin g the term "crusa de". Ho wever, there is a differen ce of de gree between "I slamic terrorism " and the "terrorism of the U. S.": the form er relies on the Koran and f at wa issue d by men of religion, the latter do es not rely on the Bible an d the Fathers of the Church nor on the teaching of the men of religion, rather it acts in the name of its civilization. T hus it is har dly surprising that the world con siders the re ligion of the former an d the civilisation of the latter both horrible. T his is why it is important that Am ericans take to the streets to protest again st the terrorism carrie d o ut on beha lf of their civilization, and that Muslim s protest a gainst the terrorism carrie d o ut in the name of their religion. T aking to the streets doe s not translate into an adm ittance of guilt. It is a form of protest again st misdee ds carrie d o ut in the nam e of m y religion and therefor e in my nam e. In any case I am certainly not responsible for what others do. Everyone is respon sible for his or her actions, and no body is r esponsible for those of other s. As the Kor an says (6 / 164): "no soul earn s (ev il) but aga inst itse lf, and no beare r of bu rden shall bea r the bu rden of anothe r”. Violence in the nam e of Islam, moreover, is so wide sprea d that it is now carr ie d out more again st other M uslims than against the "un be liev ers” (kuffar): think of Algeria in the year s '92-2002, where more than 100 thousan d M uslims (from 60 to 150 thousan d, a ccor ding to estim ates) were kille d, often with their throats cut or disembo we lled aliv e, think of the bloo dshe d between Sunnis and Shiites in Ir aq or Pakistan ... We often hear that the fanatic crowds are m anipulate d by their governments that want to divert attention from the real problem s of their people. It's true! But why is it that, in order to do so, these gov ernments use Islam ? T he fact is that too many M uslims are easily m anipulate d in the nam e of Islam. As always, it is important to under line the diff erence: re ligion h as nothin g to do with defen din g the land and the concept of "Islamic lan d ( Dâ r al-I slâm) is no w o ut date d an d unaccepta ble in international la w. If a co untry is attacked, I will defen d it whatever nation it may be, in the nam e of international la w and justic e, but not in the name of a religion ( unless that religion is sensitive to international la w an d justice). Unfortunately, the vio lence and terrorism of the Islam ists have almost become the norm al way to settle score s. An d the wor st is that this is justified by r esortin g to religion. Conclusion Qua dri’ s fat wa is an im portant ge sture. It may be a s be but a ripple in a poo l, but on the other hand it m ay also be the be ginning of a movem ent of thought and action! The fatwa itse lf will not change thin gs. As they say: one swallo w does not a summ er make, and like wise, a f at wa is not a doctrine. Espe cia lly sinc e thousan ds of fatwa are no w issue d ea ch year on diverse an d often o bsolete topics.[1]

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Ho wever this f atwa is a proph etic act. A f atwa of 600 pa ges ( in rea lity a treaty) could provoke de bate among intellectua ls an d religio us. It is an act of reason, mature d an d reflected upon over the ye ars. It now depen ds on the M uslim scho lar s an d M uslim m asses ( but also on us all) to see that this doc ument becom e a curr ent of concerte d action an d r efle ction, to wash I slam (and every religious curr ent) clean of the sham e of havin g attributed Go d a s the sour ce and insp iration of absolute ev il. T his world n ee ds positive acts. It is not enough to say and repe at that "Islam means salâm , peace!" It is too easy. W e ne ed gestures. In the sam e way there are ma ss dem onstrations - inflam ed by the spee che s of the Ulem a - against the "Danish cartoons" or a gain st the speech of Bene dict XVI in Re gen sbur g, or - more recently - against the person and the thought of Talima Nasreen in Karnataka , so we ne ed mass demonstrations of peop le for non-violence. Days a go, President Gadh afi ha s declare d a jihad against Switzerlan d, to save the hono ur of his son Hann ibal! Ho w is it possible that this is the only rea ction to occur to a he a d of state? Our M uslim world is in a crisis an d ha s been for many de ca des. We do not dar e confront m odernity to rethink our selves, to distinguish po sitive from ne gative, and propose reform s that are not a throwba ck, to a pse udo- go lden age, that of the "rightly guide d ca liph s (al-khulafâ’ a rrâsh idûn), of whom three o ut of four were assa ssinate d. We must make our reforms, to rega in our dign ity in this Ara b-Muslim world. Perhap s then, the West will regar d us in another light!. [1] As r ecently a s Sunday, March 7, 2010, the Le bane se daily Al- Nahar gave a report on pa ge 11 by the Palestinian Ja wwa d a l-Ba shir on the late st fatwa of the Sa udi Sheikh Abd alRahm an al- Barrak, which supports death to any person who a uthorizes m ixe d schools.

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