 |
|
Islam
forbids the killing of fellow Muslims, Shiites or Sunnis, said
Mawlawi
|
CAIRO,
March 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Veteran Sunni scholars
condemned on Tuesday, March 2, a series of deadly explosions that
targeted Shiites in Iraq during the revered religious occasion of
Ashura, suspecting foul play to ignite sectarian sedition.
The
deputy head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, Sheikh
Faisal Mawlawi, said the blasts reaffirm U.S. plots aimed at sparking
a sectarian conflict in Iraq to divert people's attention from
resisting the occupation.
"The
killing of hundreds of [Shiite] civilians [Tuesday] reopens the old
wound of Imam Al-Hussein's death," Mawlawi said in a statement, a
copy of which was faxed to IslamOnline.net.
"I
urge Muslims worldwide to stand united in the face of those who
committed such a heinous crime," said the prominent scholar.
A
series of explosions rocked
the Shiite holy city of Karbala and a Shiite mosque in Baghdad,
killing at least 140 people and wounding scores others, as Shiites
marked the death of Imam Al-Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad
(PBUH).
Offering
his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims, the Sunni
scholar said Islam absolutely forbids
the killing of fellow Muslims, Shiites or Sunnis.
He
cited the noble verse which reads: " Whoso slayeth a believer of
set purpose, his reward is hell for ever. Allah is wroth against him
and He hath cursed him and prepared for him an awful doom".
And:
" For that cause We decreed for the Children of Israel that
whosoever killeth a human being for other than manslaughter or
corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind,
and whoso saveth the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the
life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto them of old with clear
proofs, but afterwards lo! Many of them became prodigals in the
earth."
An
Iraqi fatwa ruled that attacks against Iraqi institutions were
not Jihad , but rather aggression and conspiracy impeding a
power transfer from occupation forces.
Infiltrators
 |
|
"There might be infiltrators attacking the Shiites to make it appear they are being targeted by Sunnis," said Odah
|
Similarly,
a prominent Saudi scholar denounced the series of blasts, warning that
they were aimed at fueling sectarian strife among Muslims.
"Everyone
should be agreed on condemning any action which targets the Iraqi
people, and there should be an insistence on denying enemies the
chance to stir up a sectarian war," Sheikh Salman Al-Odah told
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"There
might be infiltrators attacking the Shiites to make it appear they are
being targeted by Sunnis and the other way round. It is in the
interest of both [Iraqi] Sunnis and Shiites to agree on putting out
this fire and not to react to such provocations.
"Sunnis
should denounce and disavow such acts, much as Shiites should denounce
and dissociate themselves from any attacks against Sunnis," said
the veteran Saudi scholar.
"Ultimately
the U.S. occupier is responsible" for the lack of security, which
has "opened the door to interventions by internal or external
sides seeking to incite internecine strife and sectarian wars,"
Odah said.
He
said there had been no proof that Sunnis were behind attacks on Shiite
targets in Iraq, notably the
August killing of Shiite scholar Ayatollah Mohammad
Baqer al-Hakim and 82 other people in a car bombing in the holy city
of An-Najaf.
Claims
at the time that Sunnis were involved "have not been proven ...
which goes to show that some forces seek to ignite the [sectarian]
spark," he said.
