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“Resisting
the invaders is an obligatory duty on all Muslims,” said
Al-Qaradawi
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By
Essam Talima, special to IOL
DOHA,
March 8 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Renowned Islamic
scholar Sheikh Youssef Al-Qaradawi warned Arab leaders that they risk
being cursed by both history and their peoples if they side with the
U.S. in its looming war on Iraq, urging the Muslim nation to stand
united in the face of war.
Delivering
the sermon of Friday, March 7, at Omar Ibn Al-Kahttab mosque in the
Qatari capital Doha, Al-Qaradawi issued a Fatwa (a religious edict)
that it was not permissible for Arab and Muslim countries to let the
United States use their airports, harbors and territories as a
launching-pad for striking Iraq.
“Resisting
the invaders is an individual duty on all Muslims. If the enemies
invaded a Muslim country, the people of that country should resist and
expel them from their territories…It is an individual duty on all
Muslims, men and women,” he stressed.
“If
they succeeded in forcing the enemies out, it is alright…But if they
did not, it is incumbent on their Muslim neighbor countries to defend
them,” ruled the renowned scholar.
Asked
what does Islam say about participation in al-Jazeera
Shield Force formed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
countries and whether it is permissible for such troops to be deployed
in Kuwait, Sheikh Al-Qaradawai said it is only permissible for them to
defend Kuwait should it come under attack, but it is absolutely Haram
(impermissible) for them to take part in any attack on Iraq.
He
further charged that any (Arab or Muslim) country that assists
aggression on a Muslim country is sinful, citing a noble Hadith
(saying) by Prophet Muhammad (Peace Upon him) that “Whoever assists
in killing a believer (even) by half a word, will meet Allah (on the
Day of Judgment) with ‘no hope in Allah’s mercy’ written on his
face.”
The
prominent Muslim figure charged that the U.S. war was aimed at seizing
control over Iraqi oil, annihilating the military and human power of
Iraq by destroying its weapons and tearing down Arab powers, which
represent obstacles in the way of the Zionist state.
On
the hundreds of thousands of anti-war protesters who took to the
streets of the world capitals, Qaradawi said “we as Muslims are more
entitled to say No to War.”
The
prominent scholar reaffirmed his respect of the American people and
said he regard them as “kind” people, adding that he disagrees
with the American administration which, he charged, sponsors an
aggressive and criminal policy against the world.
He
also hailed the decision taken by the Turkish parliament, which voted
down the deployment of U.S. troops on the Turkish territories,
pointing out that Turkey took the “right stance” although it would
incur billions of dollars in losses.
Al-Qaradawi
added that the stance of the Turkish parliament run counter to the
stances of Arab leaders who “failed Islam and their people by
rallying behind the American administration and giving it free access
to their territories, airports and harbours and might have even footed
the war bill.”
