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Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear sister in Islam, we really appreciate your forwarding this question to us, and we pray to Almighty Allah to make our efforts come up to your expectations.
As regards your question, we'd like to reiterate here what we have previously clarified that Islam never sanctions violence, be it on Muslims or non-Muslims; Muslim scholars, in all their fatwas, have made this clear. But it's also clear that when attacked or their land invaded, Muslims have the right to resist the aggression. So if there is a genuine will to address the Middle East crisis, a strong warning should be directed to the source of aggression, not to the helpless victims, who are just defending themselves.
In addition to that, we should never overlook the apparent link between the Palestinian helpless civilians killed in any Israeli raid and aggression and the Israeli civilians killed in a martyr operation.
Addressing the point of President Arafat's condemning the martyr operations, Dr. Salim Ahmad Salamah, the Dean of the Faculty of Usul Ad-Din (Islamic Theology) at the Islamic University in Gaza, states:
You are to keep in mind the fact that we all understand the current situation and the load of pressures put on President `Arafat. No one has the right to deny the Palestinians their right of resisting the Israeli aggression. Allah, Most High, confirms this right saying (And one who attacketh you, attack him like manner as he attacked you. Observe your duty to Allah, and know that Allah is with those who ward off (evil).) (Al-Baqarah: 194) He also says: (If ye punish, then punish with the like of that wherewith ye were afflicted.) (An-Nahl: 126)
In this verse, repelling the aggression should not be considered an aggression. To repel an aggression is a right recognized by all divine and human laws.
Therefore, it's not reasonable for anyone to condemn the acts of resistance staged by the Palestinians against the occupying forces that have usurped the land, displaced its inhabitants, destroyed farms and buildings, and killed innocent people.
All the Palestinians, including their President, believe in the fact that resisting the Israeli aggression is not an aggression. The stance of President `Arafat on this issue is very clear. His statements of condemning the martyr operations reflect the unbearable pressures practiced against him and the Palestinian people.
It has to be stressed that condemning innocent people who strive to repel aggression by any form of resistance - from peaceful protests to martyr operations – is not acceptable, for the goal of such people is just to have their rights restored.
The right thing to do here is to condemn the aggression and the destructive acts perpetrated by the enemy, for all such inhumane acts drive the Palestinians to carry out the martyr operations. You can also read:
Attacking Civilians in Martyr Operations
Martyr Operations or Terrorism
Martyr Operations Carried out by the Palestinians
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