Friday, March 30, 2012

Muslims condemn Fatwa by Saudi Shaikh against Churches

http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/03/muslims-condemn-fatwa-by-saudi-shaikh.html


Iran’s Ahl al-Bait World Assembly condemns a recent fatwa (religious decree) fatwa by Grand Mufti (head of religious affairs) Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Shaikh of  Saudi Arabia, who has called for destruction of all churches on the Arabian Peninsula.

Then the Assembly adds, “First of all, Wahabbi muftis are not representing Islam. The world should know that the religion which is now being publicized in Saudi Arabia is not true Islam,”

Should we condemn this Fatwa without reserve? As an Individual Muslim, I do, of course, most Muslims feel the same way.  Here are the reasons; evil persists if good men do nothing about it.  This fatwa goes against God’s will and Prophet’s charter and we need to do our part on speaking up, that is least we can do; to speak up.

First the smaller item – Is the Ahl al Bait right when they declare that the Wahabbi version of Islam is not true Islam? I think we have to rise above all the bases and give room for the differences, as long as no one is forcing the others to follow their version, we should let them practice their version. After all, no one but the practitioner is accountable for his or her acts. Hence, God says, there is no compulsion in faith (Quran 2:256).

Now dealing with the bigger item, a fatwa to destroy all the churches in the Arabian Peninsula, is the Sheikh capable of making this insane decision? 

[Quran, chapter 5, verses 82-86]  God explains in the Quran that he caused the different nations with different beliefs only for them to compete in doing good deeds that bring them closer to God, but not to stay in conflict or hatred. The Quran says:  

"... If Allah had willed, He would have made you one nation (one belief), but that may test you in what He has given you; so compete in good deeds; then God will inform you about that in which you used to differ"

Also, God commands Muslims to maintain friendly and cooperative relations with people of other beliefs. In the Quran, the Holy book of Islam, God has said: 


“God does not forbid you from showing kindness and dealing justly with those who have not fought you about religion and have not driven you out of your homes. God loves just dealers."



22:40 (Asad) those who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying. “Our Sustainer is God!” For, if God had not enabled people to defend themselves against one another, [58] all] monasteries and churches and synagogues and mosques - in [all of] which Gods name is abundantly extolled - would surely have been destroyed [ere now]. [59] And God will most certainly succour him who suc­cours His cause: for, verily, God is most powerful, almighty,


[59] The implication is that the defence of religious freedom is the foremost cause for which arms may - and, indeed, must - be taken up (see 2:193 and the corresponding note 170), or else, as stressed in the concluding clause of 2:251, corruption would surely overwhelm the earth".(Quran Ref: 22:40 )


[Quran, chapter 60/ verse 8] 
Prophet Muhammad’s Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai” is what Prophet was all about.

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is (was) for the entire world, he initiated the Madinah treaty, he shared Allah's words about respecting Jews, Christians and others, he also assured the right to believe and practice one's faith, he also stood up and said he will defend Jews and Christians against a Muslim, if a Muslim were unjust to anyone.

The two  Hadith  quoted by Mr. Aurangzeb below do not reflect the ideals of Islam, or the voice of the prophet, hence need to verify its authenticity, even though it is quoted as authentic.  According to another Hadith, Prophet Muhammad will stand up against a Muslims in favor of a Christian or a Jew for the sake of Justice. So, we should not buy into these Hadith, as they cannot be the words of the Prophet or Hazrat Umar. Justice is one of the fundamental values of Islam.

You and I are responsible for our acts on the Day of Judgment, and not the men who have quoted those Hadith. God will not ask them to come and defend you or me, as we are individually responsible for our acts. If we are unjust, period, we have to pay for it.

Most Muslims are afraid to speak up against false Hadith, due to the fatwa bombs and threats that come from a handful of Muslims who do not understand the freedom Islam is about.

You will find more and more Muslims speak out against fabricated Hadith and value the Hadith that respect and honor Allah's creation, and believe that Allah alone is the master of the Day of Judgment.   No one has a right to judge what is in one’s heart, only Allah knows and is aware of it (repeated over a dozen times in Quraan).  Pushing God aside and usurping his authority amounts to shirk, or becoming a Demi God.

 The Muslims of America will purge all those fabrications and cleanse Islam from a whole lot of non-sense cooked up and forced on people through fear of fatwa bombs and ex-communicating.

Fear none but Allah

it’s time to identify and make a list of fabricated Hadith, Alhamdu Lillah, if someone has done this, we need to keep track of it.

Mike Ghouse
Moderator
World Muslim Congress
.....................................................................................

The following two Hadith were quoted by  --- Aurangzeb Khan wrote:

 You must realize that if Shaikh Abdul-Aziz Aal-As-Shaikh said something, he
would not make it up. He is a man who speaks with evidence.

It has been narrated by 'Umar b. al-Khattab that he heard the Messenger of Allah
 (may peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the
Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslims. (Sahih Muslim, Vol. 3, p. 965).
Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: "Two deens shall not co-exist in the Arabian Peninsula" (Muwatta 45:17 & 18).
________________________________

 From: S A Hannan
The Fatwa of Abdul Aziz Al-Shaikh is careless. The Muslim Ulema did not say so
 in the last 14 hundred years did not say so about the Churches of Arab peninsula which are there since the beginning of Islam.

However to condemn Saudis whole sale or say that Wahabbi are terrorists is not
fair.
________________________________

Iran’s Ahl al-Bait Assembly slams Wahabbi fatwa to destroy churches

Iran’s Ahl al-Bait World Assembly condemns a recent fatwa (religious decree) issued by Saudi Arabia's top religious official who has called for destruction of all churches on the Arabian Peninsula.


The latest fatwa by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Shaikh came in the context of a response to a Kuwaiti civil society organization that proposed for the new Kuwaiti constitution, approved by parliament last week, a new article that would forbid the building of new churches in the country.

“First of all, Wahabbi muftis are not representing Islam. The world should know that the religion which is now being publicized in Saudi Arabia is not true Islam,” Ahl al-Bait World Assembly said in a statement published by Ahl al-Bait News Agency (ABNA) on Tuesday.

The statement added that the content of the new fatwa was against the commands of God as well as the tradition of Prophet of Islam Muhammad (PBUH) and his descendants and is, therefore, rejected not only by Shias, but also by Sunni Muslims.

Ahl al-Bait World Assembly noted that throughout its history, Islam has coexisted with Christians and Jews and such a fatwa has never been issued by the Prophet of Islam (PBUH), his progeny, and subsequent Muslim caliphs.

“Therefore, the grand mufti of Wahabbi has issued a fatwa which has no precedence in [Islamic] jurisprudential circles…and has never been issued by great scientific centers of Muslims…,” it said.

The Assembly stated that the fatwa is also a clear intervention in the internal affairs of other Muslim countries because the Saudi mufti has not confined his fatwa to Saudi borders but has included the whole Arabian Peninsula.

The Assembly also slammed the “deadly silence” of Muslim scholars in the face of such fatwa’s which distort the image of Islam.

“Aren’t scholars of various Islamic sects in Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula and other parts of the world supposed to react to such unprecedented fatwa’s which depict a distorted picture of Islam in the world?” it asked.

The Assembly criticized international human rights organizations as well as Western and Christian governments for their support of Wahabbi terrorists saying, “If you had not offered various forms of support to Wahabbi and Takfiri terrorists when they martyred Muslims in Iraq, Pakistan and Iran, today you would not be attacked in this manner.” >
… . . .. .

Prophet Muhammad’s promise to Christians

In 628 C.E. Prophet Muhammad (s) granted a Charter of Privileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. It consisted of several clauses covering all aspects of human rights including such topics as the protection of Christians, freedom of worship and movement, freedom to appoint their own judges and to own and maintain their property, exemption from military service, and the right to protection in war. 

An English translation of that document is presented below.

This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them.

Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.

No compulsion is to be on them.

Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries.

No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims' houses.

Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God's covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate.

No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight.

The Muslims are to fight for them.

If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray.

Their churches are to be respected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants.

No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).

Promise Of Prophet Of Islam Muhammad PBUH to Christians Everywhere
. . . .  .

This material is posted at www.WorldMuslimCongress.org and WorldMuslimCongress@yahoogroups.com – you are welcome to join this forum by sending an email to WorldMuslimCongress-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. Please note the forum is about co-existence and moderated. No rants or no material about Dawah, or how to pray will be published unless it has to do with co-existence – we are driven by Quraan 49:13 and our Mission is at: http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2012/01/mission-of-world-muslim-congress.html

10 comments:

  1. "Evil persists if good men do nothing about it, the least we can do is to speak up. This fatwa goes against God’s will and Prophet’s charter."

    I concur.

    ReplyDelete
  2. this was the first sentence, "Iran’s Ahl al-Bait Assembly slams Wahabbi fatwa to destroy churches. As a Muslim I condemn this Fatwa without reserve, here are the reasons:" As an individual writing it, I have condemned it, as " a Muslim", I hope Muslims do condemn this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1. First of all there are no Christians in and around Mecca and Medinah to build a church, that question does not even exists.

    2. The Fatwas was to destroy Christian Churches.... how dumb, stupid and selfish that Sheikh's opinion is - so if he does, he is giving a green light to other nations to destroy Mosques.

    3. Islam is about creating peaceful societies and not destruction.

    4. If you have a chance to read the article, it goes against both Quraan and the Prophet

    .............

    Khalid wrote: "As a Muslim, I am opposed to any non-Muslim House of Worship within the jurisdiction of either Mekkah or Madinah. Outside of those cities, I probably would have no problem with it. Oh, FYI, I am no scholar, just a student"

    ReplyDelete
  4. FYI - Jerusalem has Mosques and Churches together, especially the Holy Sepulcher and Omar's Mosque. India has innumerable mosques that wall with temples. I visited Krishna's birthplace - the mosque wall and the temple wall adjoin each other... I am sure Bangladesh has some...

    .....

    KA "I am here in Kuwait. There are 2 churches here and they serve the non-Muslim population well. I see no problem with it. I would hate for governments in the West do start destroying Masjids under the same theory."

    ReplyDelete
  5. India's Hindu tradition has allowed Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Bahai faiths to thrive, and during Muslim Kings, they have granted land to build temples and other places of worship.

    Muslims have not dared to go into the topic of the essence of people of the book... they have chosen to be arrogant to feel superior by their trio-club. It is not Islam, it is Muslim culture and the base human nature to feel superior. If we learn the essence of that phrase - meaning there is guidance for people to create orderly societies be it book or Oral traditions, we will become pious people.

    Prophet once wished, just wished that his people also had a book to follow as the Christians and Jews had. Hindus, Jains, Buddhist, Zoroastrians, Sikhs... all have a book to follow and the Natives (all continents) have oral traditions to follow. The essence was guidance and not necessarily the books.

    Your are welcome to disagree with it, and that is your right.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cardoba was a Mosque, it is a church now. I wish United States existed before religions came about... where they would have bought and sold and converted buildings from church to mosque to synagogue to temple with ease and comfort. No problems.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Khalid, "Mike, I part company with you as it relates to having idol worshiping Houses of Worship in Arabia. That was the whole point of kicking them out of the Kaaba and not allowing them to set up shop again. No, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) did not support that. Monthesist should be allowed to worship ONLY."

    Mike Ghouse Khalid, Prophet Muhammad did not kick out the idol worshipers - when he took over Kaaba, he removed ( respectfully) what did not belong to him. If you take over an abandoned house, you will not keep the family pictures of the previous owners, you replace them with your own. Prophet did not support it no doubt, but he did not hate them, he did not persecute them... for his own father was a Pagan and chose to remain one till his death

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tariq Jamil Khan wrote: mike it wasnt indias hindu tradition that allowed islam.... infact muslim rulers won battles to ensure the spread of islam ..... as for the superiority complex and intolerance i would like to remind you to restudy the works of the crusaders and the utter contempt with which muslim culture was annihilated in places like spain

    i think yr approach is over apologetic mike. Perhaps it is for the audience of the country that u reside in.... perhaps it is just your belief..... but yr interpretation that prophet mohammed merely removed the idols out of respect for an abandoned place is a creation of the historical fact..... he fought wars with non believers and you cannot deny that .... having said that i do agree that his patience and levels of tolerance are unmatchable by any other human being ..... but that should not suggest that he was not upright or clear about his objectives
    ...

    Mike Ghouse

    I agree with you 100% ! what the crusades did was disgusting... should Muslims do the same? No, not at all. 2nd wrong does not make the first wrong right.

    The Muslim rulers were not for Islam, they were there for their own luxuries, loots and expansion and security - just like Christian or Hindu Kings. No kings, no matter what religion it was, was for the religion, it was all for himself. Had it been forceful conversion, the whole India would have been Muslim - it was not. HIndus have a tolerant tradition to accept other people worshiping the creator in their own way... Certainly a "few" Hindus of today are intolerant, just as a few Muslims are. But Islam found ground in India because of the open attitudes. Look at Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Muslim attitudes are not conducive to the growth of Hindu populations. Again, it is not Islam, it is the people and all people make those mistakes.

    As responsible citizens we have to get people to refocus on religions and its purpose - to make us better human beings who will accept the otherness of others.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Tariq Jamil Khan as for idols and thier destruction by the prophet , mike please read sahi bookhari book 43 and book 59 , your views about the treatement of idols by prophet mohammed will be comprehensively corrected
    ....

    Mike Ghouse

    In the article linked above, I have quoted two hadiths, one from Sahih Muslim and the other from Muwatta - neither of them sound right.

    I realize most Muslims don't want to question what is dished out to us, it is the same with Christians, Jews, Hindus and others. It is like pulling the rug from below them with nothing to stand on. We do respect the efforts of those who complied the hadith, but if they make a villain out of God or the prophet, we need to question them, instead of pandering to them.

    If Christians introspect the issues or not, but I have to and hope you feel that obligation. It begins with each one of us.

    The only thing I do not question is the word of God, all else is subject to "Iqra" to read and understand. This is a fundamental difference among us - You and I believe the word of God, and you believe the words of the honored imams, and I do too but only to the point it makes sense.

    You are making an assumption that I am saying things because I am a minority - that is your assumption and not a fact. I speak boldly in what I believe and you do the same. But let's not assume things for each other.

    By the way, this thread would not be tolerated by a few among us - do we need to pander? Heavens no! There is no end to the pandering.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Don’t tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.

    ReplyDelete

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quraan burning

Planned Muslim Response to Qur'an Burning by Pastor Jones on September 11 in Mulberry, Florida

PRESS RELEASE
August 19, 2013| Dallas, Texas

Mike Ghouse
Text/Talk: (214) 325-1916
MikeGhouse@aol.com

Mirza A Beg
(205) 454-8797
mirza.a.beg@gmail.com

www.WorldMuslimCongress.com


PLANNED MUSLIMS RESPONSE TO QUR'AN BURNING BY PASTOR JONES ON 9/11/13 IN MULBERRY, FLORIDA

We as Muslims plan to respond to pastor Terry Jones' planned burning of 3000 copies of Quran on September 11, 2013 in positive terms.

Our response - we will reclaim the standard of behavior practiced by the Prophet concerning “scurrilous and hostile criticism of the Qur’an” (Muhammad Asad Translation Note 31, verse 41:34). It was "To overcome evil with good is good, and to resist evil by evil is evil." It is also strongly enjoined in the Qur’an in the same verse 41:34, “Good and evil deeds are not equal. Repel evil with what is better; then you will see that one who was once your enemy has become your dearest friend.”

God willing Muslims will follow the divine guidance and pray for the restoration of Goodwill, and on that day many Muslim organizations will go on a “blood drive” to save lives and serve humanity with kindness.

We invite fellow Americans of all faiths, races, and ethnicities to join us to rededicate the pledge, “One nation under God”, and to build a cohesive America where no American has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of fellow Americans. This event is a substitute for our 10th Annual Unity Day Celebration (www.UnitydayUSA.com) held in Dallas, but now it will be at Mulberry, Florida.

Unwittingly Pastor Jones has done us a favor by invigorating us by his decision to burn nearly 3000 copies Quran on September 11, 2013. Obviously he is not satisfied by the notoriety he garnered by burning one Qur'an last year.

As Muslims and citizens we honor the free speech guaranteed in our constitution. We have no intentions to criticize, condemn or oppose Pastor Terry Jones' freedom of expression. Instead, we will be donating blood and praying for goodness to permeate in our society.

We plan to follow Jesus Christ (pbuh), a revered prophet in Islam as well as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) – that of mitigating the conflicts and nurturing good will for the common good of the society.

We hope, this event and the message will remind Muslims elsewhere in the world as well, that violence is not the way. Muslims, who react violently to senseless provocation, should realize that, violence causes more violence, and besmirches the name of the religion that we hold so dear. We believe that Prophet Muhammad was a mercy to the mankind, and we ought to practice what we believe and preach. We must not insult Islam by the negative reactions of a few.

We can only hope it will bring about a change in the attitude of the followers of Pastor Jones, and in the behavior of those Muslims who reacted violently the last time Pastor sought notoriety – We hope this small step towards a bridge to peaceful coexistence would propel us towards building a cohesive society.

Like most Americans a majority of Muslims quietly go about their own business, but it is time to speak up and take positive action instead of negative reaction. May this message of peace and goodwill reverberate and reach many shores.

Lastly, we appreciate the Citizens of Mulberry, Florida, Honorable Mayor George Hatch, City Commissioners, police and Fire Chiefs for handing this situation very well. This will add a ‘feather of peace’ in the City’s reputation. We hope Mulberry will be a catalyst in showing the way in handling conflict with dignity and peace.

We thank the Media for giving value to the work towards peace rather than conflict.






URL- http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2013/08/planned-muslim-response-to-quran_18.html



Thank you.

CIVIL DIALOGUE

The people in Dallas are making an effort to understand and clean their own hearts first, when we are free from bias, it would be easy to share that with others. Islam teaches us in so many ways to "respect the otherness of others" and it is time we find simple practical ways of doing it.