Scholars Try to Curb "Sea of Fatwas"

AMMAN, July 7, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Top Muslim scholars agreed fatwas (religious edicts) on labeling other Muslims as “apostate” should be limited to scholars with religious authority, urging to unify the words and stances of Muslims to highlight the Islamic teachings of moderation, tolerance and respect for the other.

Wrapping up their meeting in the Jordanian capital Amman Wednesday, July 6, the 170 Muslim scholars from 40 countries also proposed to form an “Islamic-Christian alliance” to clear misconceptions about Islam, Reuters said.

"Declaring that person an apostate is impossible, verily his or her blood, honour and property are sacrosanct," said the final statement of the International Islamic Conference.

"The issuance of religious edicts is limited to qualified Muslim scholars in the eight schools of jurisprudence," added the statement, read out by Jordanian Religious Affairs Minister Abdul-Salam Al-Abadi.

The Islamic conference, titled “The True Islam and its Role in Modern Society”, was opened by King Abdullah II Monday, to discuss the challenges encountering Muslims and obstacles facing Islam.

The meeting, organized by the Jordanian ministry of religions affairs, also tackled Islam's stance on extremism, terrorism, reform and human rights.

Unity

The meeting called for "casting aside disagreement between Muslims and unifying their words and stances".

The conference’s final statement was based on fatwas issued by 10 top Muslim scholars - including Al-Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani, Egypt’s mufti, Sheikh Ali Gomaa – that fatwas must only be in the hands of qualified scholars recognized by the eight Islamic schools of thought.

At the start of the three-day conference, King Abdullah II condemned religious extremism which, he said, sullied the image of Islam and called for Muslim countries to harmonize their schools of jurisprudence.

“Divisions within the global Islamic community, acts of violence and terrorism and accusations of apostasy and the killing of Muslims in the name of Islam violate the spirit of Islam," he said in the opening address Monday.

Alliance

The Islamic conference was also attended by a host of Christian clergymen who proposed the set-up of an “Islamic-Christian” alliance to clear the misconceptions on Islam.

“We should form an alliance between the Arab Christians and moderate Muslims to encounter challenges facing the Arab and Muslim nation,” said bishop Nabil Haddad, director of the Jordanian center for religious co-existence research.

“This alliance will be tasked with showing that Islam is a religion of moderation, peace and tolerance.”

The cancer of Islamophobia has spread across the United States and Europe since the 9/11 attacks.

A recent report released by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) said Muslim minorities across Europe have been experiencing growing distrust, hostility and discrimination since the 2001 attacks.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted on April 12 a resolution calling for combating defamation campaigns against Islam and Muslims in the West.