 |
|
“Islam deals strictly with such a matter of bloodshed. It forbids the killing of innocent people who have nothing to do with wars,” said Qaradawi
|
CAIRO,
September 26 (IslamOnline.net) - The International Association for
Muslim Scholars (IAMS) vigorously denounced on Sunday, September 26,
the kidnapping and killing of civilians as an aggression against
others, calling particularly for the swift release of all civilians
taken hostage in Iraq.
“We
state that it is forbidden to kidnap any human being in any situation
other than open warfare, when the person kidnapped becomes a prisoner
of war who must not be killed. Indeed, he must eventually be
released,” the IAMS said in a statement, a copy of which was sent to
IslamOnline.net.
“It
is forbidden to kidnap anyone who is opposed to a war launched against
us, or is sympathetic to us, such as the two French journalists. We
denounce all cases of kidnapping where the victims have nothing to do
with the occupation of Muslim land. They must be released
immediately.”
Two
French reporters, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot were
abducted August 20 by a group calling itself the Islamic
Army in Iraq which demanded that France rescind its ban on the
headscarf in state schools.
“We
also denounce the kidnapping of two
Italian women working for a humanitarian agency at the
same time that we condemn the Italian government’s policy of
alliance with the US aggression against Iraq. All such incidents are
unlawful from the Islamic point of view,” the missive added.
It
also condemned taking school children hostage in a school in North
Ossetia, which led to a
shocking massacre .
The
IAMS was
launched on July 11 in the British capital of London as an
independent body and a reference for all Muslims worldwide.
The
Dublin-based Association brings together 200 Muslim scholars, Sunnis
and Shiites, from the four corners of the world.
Uncivilized
The
IAMS said the Iraqi resistance should not sink to the uncivilized
practices of the US occupation forces in Iraq through kidnapping
civilians who have nothing to do with the war.
“It
is contrary to Islamic ethics to sink to the uncivilized level of the
occupation forces in Iraq, which has so far killed thousands of Iraqi
civilians, including large numbers of women, children and elderly
people, under the pretext of fighting the resistance to their
occupation.”
The
statement stressed that Islam urges for not punishing people who are
not responsible for mistakes made by others.
“It
is unlawful from the Islamic point of view to take enemy civilians as
hostages and threaten to kill them in retaliation for any action
committed by anyone else, when they are not responsible for such an
action and cannot prevent it.”
“One
of the basic principles of justice is that no one should be held
accountable for someone else’s action or offence.”
Not
Permissible
The
IAMS statement further urged for releasing the foreigners taken
hostage in Iraq and to treat them in accordance with the merciful
teachings of Islam, drawing a line between soldiers and
non-combatants.
“In
the case of war, it is not permissible to kidnap innocent or enemy
civilians who must not be made target of any act of war. From the
Islamic point of view, civilians are all those who are non-combatants,
such as women and children, as well as elderly men who have no role in
the fighting, and priests,” it made it clear.
The
Association added that, in accordance with Islam, captives must be
released, either by an act of grace that requires nothing in return,
or in return for ransom which could be monetary, or through prisoner
exchange, or in the form of a service they render to the Muslim
community.
“On
the basis of the foregoing, we say that a captive can only be killed
in exceptional circumstances, by an order of the head of the Muslim
state made on the basis of a court sentence,” it stressed.
IAMS
Chairman Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi has vehemently
opposed kidnapping and killing of innocent civilians.
“Islam
deals strictly with such a matter of bloodshed. It forbids the killing
of innocent people who have nothing to do with wars,” he said.
