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Name
Saeed34
- Kenya
Profession
Student
Question
Don't you think Dr. that Arab governments are also partly responsible for all what is happening? Their jails have over the years produced people who have hardened hearts, and also, by themselves being hypocritical, if I should say, condemning An American’s beheading, and shutting up on Abu Ghraib, Aren't they just making people like the ones who beheaded Nick just more hard headed, not willing to listen to any one, as these governments have nothing but fight these people and blame them for everything?
Answer
Dear brother,
You should know that the concept of the Muslim Ummah has collapsed. Now Muslims have divided themselves in more than 50 countries; each ruler or country thinks that as long as their people are safe, they are not responsible for what happens to other neighboring countries. This is because we no longer think as part of the entire Muslim Ummah.
So, what we need to do now is to re-establish the concept of the Ummah, otherwise there is no hope we can achieve victory or defend each other.
As for the Arab governments and leaders who condemn the American’s beheading while giving a deaf ear to what happens to the Iraqi prisoners, it is because they think they might be accused of inciting these acts. But what is going in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. are known to everybody, and America admits to some while denying others. In all cases, they don’t want to be accused of criticizing America in anything in order to stay in power.
Name
Abu Sinan
- Canada
Profession
Question
How does Islam view the recent prisoner abuse perpetrated by the Anglo-American forces in Abu Ghraib jails?
Answer
Allah the Almighty has honored human beings and made them vicegerents on earth and responsible for conveying His revelation. Allah has put all of us through a test in life to see which of us is best in action. The dignity of a human being is the essence of his humanity, it is like a brain to the body; if the dignity of human being is humiliated, his “humanity” is de facto debased. Therefore, if we find a human being, regime or a party torturing someone, especially if a prisoner or a captive, it means the torturer’s “animal qualities” have dominated his human characteristics, and therefore, oppressed his human brother who could have been in his shoe to torture him - and it might happen one day.
Torture has been practiced by people since old times, during the struggle between the truth and falsehood, since Adam (peace be upon him). As we know, Islam commenced with Adam and ended with Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and all Prophets of Allah, including Abraham (Ibrahim), Noah (Nuh), Isaac (Is-haq), Moses (Musa), Jesus (‘Easa), and Muhammad – peace and blessings be upon them all, preached the same message - Islam. This resembles a program of study where each “Prophet” gave a course and all courses have been re-edited and published in one book revealed to Muahmmad (peace and blessings be upon him).
We know that the two sons of Adam (peace and blessings be upon him) disputed with each other as one of them was righteous while the other was deviant. When each of them offered a sacrifice to Allah, it was accepted from the righteous, while it was not accepted from the other. The deviant brother threatened his brother with death, and then executed him, while the righteous brother said: “ Surely I wish that you should bear the sin committed against me and your own sin, and so you would be of the inhabitants of the Fire, and this is the recompense of the unjust.”
Therefore, torture is a battle between truth and falsehood, Islam and disbelief. It has been used by those who want to enslave human beings in order to bow down to them, and when the latter refuse to surrender, the former resort to those acts of humiliation and torture with in order to debase the human dignity.
What happened in Iraqi jails, Afghanistan, Guantinamo and others, whethere done by Muslims or others, constitute a flagrant violation that indicates the loss of human qualities and that a group of people started to act like wild beasts who wants to devour those who oppose them.
Islam considers all humans as one family, and if those torturers realize that they are torturing their human brothers and sisters, they would never thought of doing such a heinous act.
Islam came when oppression and tyranny were rampant among people; yet, Islam elevated the rank of human beings and established justice on earth, which is the most important value that comes next to the belief in Allah.
So, all these acts committed since Adam till the present time, are signs of the ignorance and injustice people are suffering from nowadays. Torturing captives and prisoners is a sign of the lack of moral values, justice and human dignity.
Name
Ameen Ali
- United States
Profession
Question
Is it justified in Islam to torture a prisoner or an accused person for the purpose of getting information?
Answer
This act is totally contradictory to justice and it is unacceptable by all means. To force an accused or a prisoner to admit to something is not permitted in Islam, nor is it acceptable from a human point of view.
This act is only accepted by people of no faith, oppressors and tyrants who want to convert people into slaves. All faiths condemn this act. The history of Islam shows that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to tell the criminals who came to him voluntarily admitting their crimes, to repent and seek forgiveness from Allah.
These recent acts of torturing prisoners and accused at the time of investigation in an attempt to make the accused witness against his own self, are flagrant violation for the human dignity.
Therefore, it is the right of the judge to refuse all information got under duress and force.
Name
wan
- Malaysia
Profession
public servent
Question
What is your opinion about our Muslim brothers around the world who come to Iraq, Afghanistan and other Muslim countries that under attack to sacrifice their lives just to help their Muslim brothers?
Answer
Jihad, as you know, is part of state responsibility and not individual one. When one Islamic state calls for Jihad, people must respond to this call according to the conditions learned from the Islamic jurisprudence, heritage, etc. Jihad is not based one personal or individual decision to go fight here and there; Jihad needs planning, sources, goals, and a lot of conditions that no single individual or an institution can fulfill. That is why Islam made the decision to go for Jihad the responsibility and authority of the Muslim state, not the individual, associations or parties.
Therefore, we advise those people to practice another kind of Jihad, that is, to try to re-build the concept of the Ummah and re-establish the Ummah itself and help the entire Muslim nation to fulfill the conditions of Jihad.
Name
Tamir
-
Profession
Question
I think all of you have heard about the latest news concerning the American civilian Nicholas Berg who, according to some sources, had gone to Iraq to work on communication towers. This man was slain by a group of hooded Iraqi men who beheaded him on a video tape now available on many websites. I consider you an authentic Islamic source, especially at such critical times. What is Islam’s stance concerning such an act? Can such an atrocity be justified in Islam? Does Islam allow Muslims to behead civilians and prisoners of war? Please answer me urgently. Jazakum Allah khairan for your co-operation.
Answer
First of all, I would like to express my extreme resentment and anger regarding those who targeted civilians as a revenge of the American abuse with Iraqi prisoners. In principle, Islam forbids targeting civilians and those who don’t contribute to the war. A Muslim fighter can only target those who attack him and waged war against his country.
As for civilians or those who oppose the war, it is unacceptable to kill them at any case. That is why the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Muslim Caliphs after him, used to advise the leaders of the Muslim army in all battles not to kill monks, civilians, or whoever surrenders and decides to leave off the battle. This is because fighting in the perspective of Islam is like a surgery sought only as the last resort. Allah SWT commanded us to establish peace entirely: “O you who believe! Enter into peace whole-heartedly.” (Al-Baqarah: 208) Therefore, fighting is an exceptional case; if it happens, it has to be limited to the warring parties.
If that American man that was beheaded went to Iraq to do a civil work, then how can his killing be justified?! If those people who beheaded him think that by doing this act they could frighten the Americans and put an end to their atrocities, they are absolutely wrong, because it might infuriate and incite their feelings and make them commit even more atrocities.
It is unfortunate that this incident occurred at a time the whole world started to talk about what is going on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantinamo and others, and when even the American media started to question the prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib jail and showed the families of those pictured as abusing the Iraqi prisoners to condemn their actions. Now, the attention is brought back against the Iraqi resistance, and this does not contribute to the interests of Iraqis at any case.
Therefore, I assert that whoever is attacked by any occupiers can only fight those who attack or transgress against him/her, and not to target any civilian or those who do not fight.
Killing captives is unjustifiable in the perspective of Islam, except in case of retaliation or responding to the same tactic the enemy is using. If there is a war between Muslims and non-Muslims and the non-Muslim army get used to kill Muslim captives – only in this case it is allowed that captives be killed in return, in conformity with Allah’s saying: “If you were attacked, attack with the like of whatever you were attacked with.”
Name
Hayat El-Siddiq
- United States
Profession
student
Question
What is your analysis to the American and international response to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners as shown in many news agencies?
Answer
People have common human mind and common heritage that was established by many factors, on top of which is religion. That produced certain common values among people, which them distinguish good from bad, promote what is good and condemn what is bad. And no doubt that those who abused Iraqi detainees, ordered this to happen, or approved of to it, have already lost all these basic values.
If the Americans or the world condemned these attacks, it is because of those common values we mentioned and not because of racial superiority; otherwise they would have never allowed such atrocities to happen or even occupied the country in the first place.
The Qur’an sanctions the removal of dictatorship and tyranny and restoration of rights, dignity, and freedom to the oppressed. However, it is unreasonable to claim that you came to protect the rights of the oppressed and remove dictatorship and establish justice in the land while you practice a similar form of oppression whatever the reasons or motives behind it might be.
Therefore, this condemnation of prisoner abuse is attributed to those common human values among people and not because of a racial superiority.
Name
Halima
- United States
Profession
Question
U.S. congressmen and senators have seen pictures of Iraqi prisoner abuse and are very disturbed. They are going to decide if the pictures should be shown to the general public. They want to show that there is no cover up of these actions and that those responsible will be punished. But should these awful degrading pictures be shown to millions of people in the news? Isn't this more degrading to those Iraqi people and their families? I would like to write to my senator. What is the best thing to do about the pictures? What else can I ask to be done?
Answer
The best thing you can do now is to build awareness among the people worldwide. It is important to tell the entire world that this act is unacceptable, awful, and outrageous. All human beings must stand together in rejection of this kind of torture, and work tighter to stop any similar action in any corner of the earth.
I think pictures would help the people understand what really happened, and how urgent they are required to take an immediate action. Seeing the picture would disturb the people more than any other thing would do.
Name
Raheem Jawad
- Canada
Profession
Question
In view of the recent events in Iraq, why is to un-Islamic to kill the captives while the Americans are doing much worse? Is this was conventional? Is it legitimate? If not, then all Americans and British people in Iraq are warring people that have to be treated as occupiers and not peacemakers?
Answer
Few months ago we at the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences in Virginia organized a conference that was attended by many scholars: Jews, Christians, and Muslim, some of whom were experts in religious wars throughout history. In this conference, there was a unanimity as to the fact that all wars waged nowadays, especially those between the “superpowers” and other countries, whatever reason is behind this war – are all illegitimate and unconventional except those launched in self-defense. This is because for a war to be legitimate there are lots of conditions to be found, which is missing in the wars of today. Also, the politicians and rulers who lead their country to wars, often achieve their “hidden agenda”, which is not declared. Moreover, the weapons used in these wars do not distinguish between warriors and civilians, child, or aged, etc.
Conversely, Islam has taught us that no one can be targeted in the war except those who set off with the intention to fight. To kill children, women, and old people that do not fight, and to even destroying infrastructure, cutting down trees, or demolishing houses – all these acts are condemned by all religions.
Name
Polanski
-
Profession
Question
Dear Sir,
As there is no free press in Islamic countries, how do we know what’s happening in their jails? What would you call the murder of a Canadian journalist in Iranian jail? Not torture?
Answer
No, I affirm that this act is unacceptable regardless of whom it is attributed to. Whether done by Muslims or non-Muslims, in a Muslim country or in non-Muslim one, any act that infringes on human being dignity is unacceptable, and we must do whatever we can to stop it.
Name
Muhammad
-
Profession
Question
If the late Sheikh Al-Ghazali and some other scholars who preceded him thought that the West applies the Shari’ah and the principles of Islam without embracing it as a religion, in your opinion why do we see the west nowadays violate the rights of human beings and civilians outside the western countries and use all possible means to spread pornography and promiscuity in those societies?
Answer
The saying attributed to Al-Ghazali or Al-Fghani and Muhammad Abdu is “we came to the west to find Muslims with no Islam, and in the East we have Islam with no Muslims.” As far as I know, they meant the behavior and practical aspect of Islam, like commitment, justice, etc. In fact, whoever lives in Arab or Muslim countries and sees how corrupt the situation is, and how responsibility is lacking, and then sees this social values and practical behavior in the west, he/she will get a culture shock that makes him admire this society and its principles.
But the missing part in all these good values and principles is that they do not emanate from religious motive, rather it is based on what is called business ethics. That is why you might find Muslim thinkers like Abdu and Al-Ghazali, may Allah bless their soul, say these words.
As for spreading pornography, America does not think they are doing what is needed to achieve liberalism which is a basic component of democracy. Liberalism means freedom from all boundaries of religion, dogma, etc. So, while other people look at this freedom as pornography and promiscuity, America looks at it as a primary step to achieve liberalism. This is of course an example of what the Qur’an describes as “people who have gone astray while they think they are doing right.”
Name
Amana Khan
- Canada
Profession
teacher
Question
If Islam condemns torturing civilians and prisoners, then why do the Human Rights organizations focus on the Arab and Muslim countries in tracking or recording the violation records of human rights?
Answer
Torture techniques have been practiced by many countries nowadays, including America and Britain, but the problem is that people always fear to criticize the the strong countries, but once a weak country violates any of the human rights they are always attacked. I am not here to defend the Arab countries, but I must say that we have now become experts in “graduating” tyrants, oppressors, and unjust rulers, who add to the suffering of the Ummah and the loss of Arab and Muslim dignity.
Name
Dawood Najeeb
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
What is Islam’s position on international human rights? Can the Islamic perspective contribute to working against torturing and prisoner abuse that is widespread in many Muslim countries including your country of origin, Iraq?
Answer
I think that all Muslims today are required to work in this field and to promote any effort in this regard. Muslims have lost many of their human rights and dignity, especially in many Arab and Muslim countries. Therefore, we need to work together to restore some of these missed rights.
We should work with all human rights organizations, even those ones that don’t work from a religious point of view. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: “I witnessed a peace treaty conducted in the house of `Abdullah Ibn Jud`an that even if I were invited to a similar alliance or treaty in Islam, I would have welcomed the idea.” so, we need to promote any organization that works in the filed of human rights.
Name
Omar Saifeddine
- Canada
Profession
Question
The world has witnessed a flagrant violation of human rights at the time of the Iranian Evolution both in regards to Sunnis in Iran or Americans, how do we interpret these violations if we say that the Islamic perspective of human rights is much more superior to the western one?
Answer
I didn’t like to identify any particular country. Islam is a religion and a mission, and people implement it in different degrees. While some people apply Islam in an excellent manner, others misrepresent Islam. At no case should we blame Islam for the mistakes of its followers. Islam is a holy and sacred religion that cannot be viewed through the wrong practice of some of its followers.
Name
Ramadan Elsugy
- Lybia
Profession
Anestheseologist
Question
What do you think the best action that we have to do as Muslims against these events in Iraq?
Answer
I think the best thing is to raise awareness among the American society, to show them the lies that were told to them: WMD, nuclear weapons, linkage to al-Qaeda, etc. All these lies have to be explained and shown to the American people who have misguided. Next to this, we need to take an active and more effective role, by demanding that those convicted in prisoner abuse. We should protest and write to all government departments: state department, police station, etc.
Name
Editor
-
Profession
Question
Answer
Finally, we would like to thank Dr. Taha Jabir Al-`Alawani for speaking to Islamonline viewers today, and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue. We apologize for not being able to accommodate all the questions within the time allocated to this session. We request our readers to join us in the upcoming sessions.
