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U.S. Rejects Afghan Edict, Demands Taliban Turn Over Bin Laden
WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United States Thursday bluntly rejected an edict by Islamic scholars in Kabul urging the ruling militia to ask Osama bin Laden to voluntarily leave the country, sticking to its demands that Afghanistan's Taliban hand him over.
Amid clear signs that U.S. retaliation for last week's terror attacks was drawing near, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer warned the Taliban, "It's the time for action, not words," and said the edict "doesn't meet America's requirements."
U.S. President George W. Bush and other top officials have fingered the Saudi-born dissident as the prime suspect in the September 11th strikes on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that left an estimated 5,900 people feared dead.
The edict issued earlier Thursday by the scholars, or ulama, expressed "anguish and sorrow" over last week's attacks, but that declaration apparently did nothing to mollify Washington, where Bush declared bin Laden "wanted: dead or alive."
"The president has demanded that key figures of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, including Osama bin Laden, be turned over to responsible authorities and that the Taliban close terrorists camps in Afghanistan, and the United States stands behind those demands," said Fleischer.
"This is about much more than any one man being allowed to leave voluntarily, presumably from one safe harbor to another safe harbor," said the spokesman, who declared that Afghanistan's rulers had only themselves to blame for any U.S. military response.
"Anybody who harbors them will find themselves in harm's way," he said, echoing the U.S. administration's position that it will not discriminate between terrorists and the nations that harbor them in its response to last week's attacks.
Bush has ordered U.S. military deployments as Washington steps up preparations for retaliation and the upcoming global campaign against terrorism - dubbed "Operation Infinite Justice."
Asked whether Bush was prepared for the potentially high cost in civilian lives of any strike on bin Laden in Afghanistan, Fleischer replied, "There has already been a tremendous cost of innocent lives that's been paid with American blood and foreign blood from the many nations who lost their lives at the World Trade Center.
"The president has been very clear about the course that he intends to take," the spokesman said as both sides escalated a war of words over the fate of bin Laden, whom the Taliban have sheltered as a "guest" since 1996.
Taliban Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Mullah Mohammad Muslim Haqqani, said that the hundreds of Islamic scholars who attended the council, or
shura, in the Afghan capital over the past two days had agreed on several resolutions.
"They asked the Taliban to persuade bin Laden to leave Afghanistan at the proper time and of his own choice," said Haqqani, a participant in the
shura.
"They also said that if the U.S. attacks Afghanistan, it will be the obligation of every Muslim to carry out
jihad [struggle]," he said.
Haqqani said the shura had asked Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar to make a decision as soon as possible, indicating that although the resolutions of the religious elders should be binding, Omar was the supreme spiritual authority and would have the last word.
It is unclear how much pressure Omar will be able to exert on bin Laden to leave the country where he has lived since 1996, although under strict Afghan social codes he will be obligated to accept his host's decision.
However, Omar has said he is ready for talks with Washington.
In a message read at the opening of the shura on Wednesday, Omar made it clear that bin Laden should not be handed over to his enemies.
"We have conveyed to America that we have snapped all Osama's communication links and he cannot talk to anyone in the outside world. We have also told America that the Islamic government of Afghanistan denies any involvement in the recent incident.
"We have denied this, but the tragedy is America is not listening to us. Americans are threatening us," Omar said.
However, in an attempt to fend off the threat of military action, he suggested that bin Laden could be judged by a panel of Islamic judges if evidence were produced against him.
"We have not tried to create friction with America," he told the scholars. "We have had several talks with the present and past American governments and we are ready for more talks."
Meanwhile, law and Shari'ah (Islamic Law) professionals in Cairo are proposing to have bin Laden tried in an international court hosted by a third party - other than Afghanistan and the U.S. - in order to avert the war declared by Washington.
Egyptian law professor Jamal Al Deen Attia said, "Holding the trial similar to the Lockerbie trial would return the case back to the international arena, away from the U.S. grip. It also ensures an ethical trial away from the Americans' desire to overcome their embarrassment."
According to Salah Amer, an international law professor at Cairo University, the attacks were on such a large scale that they would require much more time for gathering strong and convincing evidence before the accusations against bin Laden that dominate the U.S. media could be substantiated.
As the scholars agreed on resolutions, which were eventually rejected by the U.S., warships, fighter jets and troops were expected to start arriving at points near Afghanistan on Thursday.
Bin Laden, the millionaire son of a former Saudi cabinet minister, commands a significant army of groups in Afghanistan and is a close confidant of Omar. He has at least twice denied responsibility for the terrorist strikes.
The following is a translation of main sections of the text of the edict issued by the Afghan
Shura in Kabul on Thursday, which was translated by the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press from the original Pashto into Urdu, and from Urdu into English by AFP:
This meeting of
ulema [scholars] expresses its anguish and sorrow over the attacks in the United States and hopes that America will not launch any attack against Afghanistan, and carry out full investigations.
The meeting demands that America and the OIC [Organization of Islamic Conference] should probe the incident freely to bring out the truth so that innocent people are saved.
The present crisis should be defused and steps should be taken to prevent a repeat of such misunderstandings in the future.
This Shura of Islamic scholars demands from the Islamic Emirate [Afghanistan's Taliban regime] that Osama bin Laden should voluntarily leave Afghanistan for a place of his choice at an appropriate time.
The United Nations and the OIC should take notice of the statement of President Bush describing the contemplated military action as a crusade. This has hurt the feelings of Muslims around the world and created a dangerous situation for the world.
If America does not show restraint even after the above decisions, a jihad will become incumbent in accordance with the principles of Shari'ah [Islamic law] and the entire Muslim community should support this.
Jihad [struggle] is ordained by our religion if non-believers launch an attack on a Muslim country. If a Muslim country under attack does not have the capability to face the aggression it is the duty of the entire Muslim world to declare jihad against the aggressor.
The government of an Islamic country attacked by non-believers can seek help from any Islamic or non-Islamic country provided this does not violate the principles of Islam.
In case of an attack by America, if any Muslim from Afghanistan or any other country colludes with the aggressor and provides the aggressor with intelligence, he becomes liable to be killed because such a person also becomes an aggressor.
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