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A Mainstream Islamic Response to the Beliefs and Practices of Islamic State

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A Mainstream Islamic Response to the Beliefs and Practices of Islamic State DIOCESAN SYNOD - 15.11.14 A Mainstream Islamic response to the beliefs and prac5ces of Islamic State Imam Monawar Hussain Muslim Tutor, Eton College Founder, The Oxford Foundaon www.theoxfordfoundaon.com Aims • What is Mainstream Islam? • What is extremist theology? Al-Qaeda, Al— Shabab, IS, ISIL, 9/11,7/7, Pakistani/Afghani Taliban share the same theology. We can only defeat these groups if we can defeat the theology that underpins them. • Mainstream responses Qur’an Hadith Primary Sources of Islam ©Imam Monawar Hussain Linguisc Sufi / Understanding Tradi5onalist Esoteric the Qur’an Tradi5onalist & Raonalist ©Imam Monawar Hussain Islam Hadith of Jibril Iman Ihsan ©Imam Monawar Hussain Shahada Hajj Salah Islam Zakah Sawm ©Imam Monawar Hussain Belief in Allah Desny, both the His Angels good and evil Iman Day of His Revealed Judgement Books His Messengers ©Imam Monawar Hussain Doing that Perfecon which is of Faith beau5ful Ihsan ©Imam Monawar Hussain Historical unfolding of the dimension ‘Islam’ Usul al-Fiqh / Principles of Jurisprudence Fiqh (Understanding) / Orthopraxis Sunni Schools of Law /Shi’i Schools of Law ©Imam Monawar Hussain Theology Ilm al-Kalam Iman School of al-Ashari (d. 324 AH / 936 CE) School of al-Maturidi (d. 333 AH / 944 CE) Khawarij (late 7th century) ©Imam Monawar Hussain Sufism Numerous Spiritual Orders Ihsan Naqshbandi Qadari Chish Shadhali Mevlevi ©Imam Monawar Hussain Extremist Theology • Interprets the Qur‘ān literally. • They are selec5ve in the hadīth they use. • Arbitrarily declare Muslims non-Muslim (Tak*r) and therefore jus5fy killing civilians. • Jus5fy rebellion against central Authority. • A Theology of Separateness - Separate themselves from the community of Muslims. • Khawarij (7th Century) were responsible for the murder of Caliph ‘Alī. Mainstream responses Amman Message • “The Amman Message started as a detailed statement released on the eve of the 27th of Ramadan 1425 AH / 9th November 2004 CE by H.M. King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein in Amman, Jordan. It sought to declare what Islam is and what it is not, and what ac5ons represent it and what ac5ons do not. Its goal was to clarify to the modern world the true nature of Islam”. ©Imam Monawar Hussain Amman Message - Three Ques5ons • (1) Who is a Muslim? • (2) Is it permissible to declare someone an apostate (takfir)? • (3) Who has the right to undertake issuing fatwas (legal rulings)? ©Imam Monawar Hussain Amman Message – Scholarly Consensus • In 2005, 200 Islamic scholars from 50 countries came to the following consensus: • They specifically recognized the validity of all 8 Mathhabs (legal schools) of Sunni, Shi'a and Ibadhi Islam; of tradi5onal Islamic Theology (Ash'arism); of Islamic Mys5cism (Sufism), and of true Salafi thought, and came to a precise defini5on of who is a Muslim. • Based upon this defini5on they forbade takfir (declaraons of apostasy) between Muslims. • Based upon the Mathahib they set forth the subjec5ve and objec5ve precondi5ons for the issuing of fatwas, thereby exposing ignorant and illegi5mate edicts in the name of Islam. ©Imam Monawar Hussain Counter Narrave • OMPEP – Equipping young people with the arguments against extremist theology • The Open Leqer to IS Execu5ve Summary • It is forbidden in Islam to issue fatwas without all the necessary learning requirements. Even then fatwas must follow Islamic legal theory as defined in the Classical texts. It is also forbidden to cite a por5on of a verse from the Qur’an—or part of a verse—to derive a ruling without looking at everything that the Qur’an and Hadith teach related to that maer. In other words, there are strict subjec5ve and objec5ve prerequisites for fatwas, and one cannot ‘cherry- pick’ Qur’anic verses for legal arguments without considering the en5re Qur’an and Hadith. Execu5ve Summary I. It is forbidden in Islam to ignore the reality of contemporary 5mes when deriving legal rulings. II. It is forbidden in Islam to kill the innocent. III. It is forbidden in Islam to kill emissaries, ambassadors, and diplomats; hence it is forbidden to kill journalists and aid workers. IV. It is forbidden in Islam to mistreat or harm- in any way - Chris5ans or any ‘People of the Book.’ Execu5ve Summary • It is obligatory to consider Yazidis as People of the Scripture. • The re-introduc5on of slavery is forbidden in Islam. It was abolished by universal consensus. • It is forbidden in Islam to force people to convert. • It is forbidden in Islam to deny women their rights. • It is forbidden in Islam to deny children their rights. Execu5ve Summary • It is forbidden in Islam to declare a caliphate without consensus from all Muslims. .
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