Analysis: Why do Muslims issue Fatwa?
What causes Muslims to issue Fatwa?

WASHINGTON, Nov 29: First it was Salman Rushdie. Then the Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen. And now it is Isioma Daniel, a Nigerian journalist who has been forced to leave her country after allegedly making offensive remarks against the Prophet Mohammed.

Daniel earned her wrath when she wrote in Nigeria’s Thisday newspaper that if Prophet Mohammed were alive today, he may have wanted to marry one of the Miss World contestants.

Why is it that the Muslims react so harshly whenever they feel that their Prophet is being attacked?

The answer lies in Islamic religious and cultural traditions as well as the current political situation.

The Koran, the Islamic holy book, gives the Muslims a set of broad guidelines. But for day-to-day practices, they depend entirely on the Sunnah or the traditions of their Prophet. From the day a child learns to speak, he is encouraged to follow those traditions. Hundreds of thousands of books have been written on the Sunnah and its significance for the Muslims.

Even non-Muslims living in an Islamic society unconsciously follow some of these practices because they grow up in a culture strongly influenced by the Sunnah.

So, it is not uncommon to see a Christian living in a non-Arab Muslim society to begin his or her meal saying Bismillah or in the name of god in Arabic.

To use a recent example: When Aimal Kasi, a Pakistani executed for killing two CIA agents earlier this month, was taken to the death chamber, he recited the Kalima (there is no god but god), a practice taught by Mohammed. When he was laid on the Gurney, he said: To God we belong, and to him we return.

Although it is a Koranic verse, it’s Mohammed who taught Muslims to recite this verse when facing death. And when Kasi raised his index finger before the chemicals were injected into his veins, he was again following Mohammed’s instruction to his followers to declare their faith by raising their finger when they are unable to speak. And when more than 25,000 people came to Kasi’s funeral, they also were following the instruction of their Prophet to leave every thing aside and rush to join when they see a funeral.

Those who have traveled on airlines operated by a Muslim nation must also have observed that a prayer is read out on the public address system before the plane takes off — in the name of god, we begin this journey this again is a tradition traced back to Mohammed.

We hold him so dearly, we believe so strongly that he is impeccable that we are hurt every time somebody says something about the Prophet, said Jamal Barzinji of the International Islamic Institute of Thought, a Washington-based Islamic think tank. The prophet is our first line of defense. There can be absolutely no compromise on this.

Barzinji says Muslims have always been extremely, extremely sensitive about their Prophet but adds the current political situation has further aggravated their reaction.

They feel that Islam is being attacked by its adversaries. They are particularly upset about the efforts to equate Islam with terrorism (after the September 11 terrorist attacks), said Barzinji. The Muslims feel that they have been unfairly treated by the media.

But some Muslims also say that issuing Fatwa and death warrants against people like Salman Rushdie or the Nigerian journalist does not help improve Islam’s image. Instead they urge non-Muslims not to judge the entire Muslim community on the basis of a Fatwa issued by an individual or a group of people. The Fatwa is an expression of an individual scholar’s opinion and is not binding on the entire Muslim community, said Barzinji.

He is supported by Zahid Hussain, a Bangladeshi Muslim scholar living in New York. There’s a sense of helplessness among the Muslims today. They feel that they are being attacked from all sides and their own Governments, because of their alliances with the west, do little to allay their fears. So they go to religious scholars for help and guidance who further aggravate the situation by issuing decrees and death warrants, he said.

Hussain believes that both western and secular Muslim Governments should try to co-opt Islamic forces into the system rather than further isolating them — because, he noted, the more isolated they are, the more violent they may become.

Mohammed Abdul Aleem, who represents the California-based islamicity.Com, one of the largest online Muslim communities, also opposes the Fatwa. These days anybody can stand up and give a Fatwa, but such edicts have no significance because they do not follow proper guidelines, said Aleem. A Fatwa, he explained, has to be given by a proper body to be of some consequence.

Barzinji goes a step ahead and says a Fatwa can only be globally binding if it enjoys the consensus of the majority of Muslim scholars around the world: Otherwise nothing is binding on the Muslim community.

Aleem said he would equate the Fatwa issued in Nigeria with the statements given by the Rev. Jerry Falwell. As Falwell does not represent the entire Christianity, similarly the Fatwa issued in Nigeria does not represent the entire Muslim world, said Aleem. The Nigerian Fatwa is perhaps even less significant because Falwell still has some following, but those who gave the Fatwa have no following.

Aleem believes that the Muslim reaction to the beauty contest in Nigeria is more cultural than religious. It is something that does not go with their culture. In America, everyone wears Bikini on the beach but if someone comes to a shopping mall in the Bikini, most people will find it offensive, he added.

Faiz Rehman of the American Muslim Council, an umbrella organization representing more than a dozen Muslim groups in the United States, described the events in Nigeria as very unfortunate.

People throughout the world must respect the religious feelings of other people. They should realize that if they say something against Prophet Mohammed, it will hurt the Muslims very much, he said.

At the same time, Rehman said, the Muslims should not be offended by everybody’s remarks. We should be more wise in reacting to such remarks. He added if the Muslims continue to react like this, any newspaper, any insignificant person could cause a bloodshed.

He said such Fatwas don’t mean anything, as religion does not allow everybody to declare Jihad or Fatwa. It has to be declared by some Islamic authority. (UPI)

Jamali holds talks with Musharraf to resolve crisis

ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: Pakistan’s beleaguered Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, whose Government has been reduced to minority after a key ally withdrew support, discussed the situation with President Pervez Musharraf even as opposition parties demanded immediate convening of Parliament for trial of strength.

Jamali held an emergency meeting with Musharraf last evening during which it was agreed that the Government would try to seek the support of the pro-Taliban alliance of six parties, MMA, state on-line news agency quoted officials as saying.

It also said that both Busharraf and Jamali were of the view that the Government cannot be "blackmailed".

Jamali’s Government was reduced to minority after 17-member strong Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) withdrew support and decided to sit in the opposition last Wednesday.

Yesterday, the ruling pro-Musharraf party held talks with MMA in order to garner a required majority.

The leader of former Prime Minister Beanzir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Makhdoom Amin Fahim, demanded immediate convening of Parliament to enble Jamali to prove his majority in the House.

"It is for the Government to prove its majority", he told reporters in Karachi last night.

The MMA has reiterated that in order to gain its co-operation, Musharraf should resign as Chief of Army and abrogate the legal framework order (LFO) which contained constitutional amendments that granted him powers to dissolve Parliament and ensured a role for the military in the governance.

Accusing the Government of trying to split his party to gain support, Fahim also warned stern action against 10 defectors of his party, who are supporting Jamali. (PTI)

Pro-Taliban leader elected CM of Pak’s NWFP

ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: A provincial leader of the pro-Taliban six-party Islamic alliance, Akram Durrani, was today elected Chief Minister of Pakistan’s sensitive North West Frontier Province bordering with Afghanistan.

Durrani, a close confidant of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of the pro-Taliban Muttahida Majalis-e-Amal (MMA), defeated the combined opposition candidate Qalandar Lodhi by a margin of 37 votes.

Lodhi - jointly fielded by pro-military Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q), former Premier Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party and Awami National Party - bagged only 41 votes against Durrani’s 78 in the 124-member provincial assembly.

The MMA won most of national and provincial assembly seats in the NEFP raising anti-American slogans during the Oct 10 general elections.

The alliance was also making a strong bid to win the Chief Ministership in the neighbouring Baluchistan province in tomorrow’s election there.

The prospects of MMA Governments in the two key provinces could trouble the US as the American forces along with Pakistan and Afghan security personnel conducted massive search operations in the Pak-Afghan border to hunt Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.

Prior to his election, Durrani had been widely quoted as saying that his Government would halt any crackdown on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. However, he later retracted his statement and said he would not permit his province to be taken over by either militants or by foreign forces. (PTI)

Mother Teresa’s diary reveals her crisis of faith

LONDON, Nov 29: Nobel peace prize winner Mother Teresa, who was put on the fast track to sainthood by the pope after her death five years ago, was tormented by a crisis of belief for 50 years, her writings reveal.

Her letters and diaries present a completely different picture of the nun from her public image as a woman confident of her faith, The Daily Telegraph reported today.

According to the report, biographies would have to be rewritten to take the revelation into account, it was said in Rome yesterday.

Mother Teresa’s personal writings are being published next month as Il Segreto Di Madre Teresa (Mother Teresa’s secret). The previously unpublished material is to be brought out as a volume in Italy. It was collected by Roman Catholic authorities in Calcutta after her death at the age of 87.

"My smile is a great cloak that hides a multitude of pains," wrote Mother Teresa, who worked for years among the poor of Calcutta, in 1958.

Because she was "forever smiling", people thought "my faith, my hope and my love are overflowing and that my intimacy with god and union with his will fill my heart. If only they knew..."

Mother Teresa, who was greatly admired by Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, said in another letter: "the damned of hell suffer eternal punishment because they experiment with the loss of god."

"In my own soul, I feel the terrible pain of this loss. I feel that god does not want me, that god is not god and that he does not really exist," she wrote.

Il messeggero, Rome’s popular daily, said "the real Mother Teresa was one who for one year had visions and who for the next 50 had doubts - up until her death."

Her years of doubt coincided with the period when, after having visions, she decided to leave her teaching post at a privileged Calcutta school to help India’s poor.

After Mother Teresa’s death the pope waived the Vatican rule that prohibits investigation of the cause for beatification until five years after the subject’s death.

It was the first time the rule had been put aside in recent memory. (PTI)

Pak says it will not "countenance" pre-conditions from India

ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: Pakistan said today that it would not "countenance" any pre-conditions set by India to attend the SAARC summit proposed to be held here in January next year.

Reacting to the comments of some senior Indian officials that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would attend SAARC summit in Islamabad, if Pakistan implemented the "ideas" agreed to at the SAARC ministerial level meeting in Kathmandu, a Pakistan foreign office statement here said that setting pre-conditions was against the "spirit of SAARC".

The statement followed comments by India’s National Security Adviser, Brajesh Mishra to BBC world ‘Hard Talk’ two days ago stating that Indian Government might consider Vajpayee’s visit if Pakistan implement the ideas agreed at Kathmandu ministerial meet by the end of December.

Without directly referring to Mishra’s comments, the statement said "the Government of Pakistan has noted the statements by Indian leaders and officials raising pre-conditions for India’s participation in the 12th SAARC summit to be held in Pakistan".

"SAARC being a cooperative association, such pre-conditions go against the letter and spirit of the SAARC charter. Pakistan had proposed the summit dates in good faith and in pursuance of decisions taken in SAARC forums.

"The Government of Pakistan will not countenance any preconditions from any quarters merely to ensure their participation in the summit", the statement said.

One of the "ideas" reportedly insisted by India was that Pakistan should reciprocate India’s gesture of granting the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status as was done by other SAARC members.

Pakistan’s new Commerce Minister Humayun Akthar, however, has rejected it saying that Islamabad would consider extending MFN status only if relations were normalised.

Pakistan new Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmo Kasuri also said that Vajpayee’s presence in SAARC summit at Islamabad would help pave the way for normalisation of relations. (PTI)

Top priority for cooperation in defence related matters

EZHIMALA, Nov 29: Cooperation between India and Russia in defence related matters would be accorded top priority during the talks Russian President Vladmir Putin would have with Indian leaders during his visit to New Delhi next month, Defence Minister George Fernandes said today.

"Russia has been providing to India the bulk of military supplies for the past five decades. Even today, we get from Moscow a lot of military equipment, including T-90 tanks and state-of-the-art sukhoi aircraft with a provision of technology transfer," he told reporters at the Naval Academy Centre at Ezhimala, about 40 km from Kannur.

India has already signed several joint venture partnerships, including the production of supersonic cruise missiles, with Russia, Fernandes said. (PTI)

Pakistanis, Somalis among dozen held over attacks in Kenya

MOMBASA, KENYA, Nov 29: Six Pakistanis and three Somalis were among 12 people held for questioning today in Kenya about the anti-Israeli attacks that left 16 people dead near Mombasa, police said.

Police spokesman King’ Ori Mwangi said the three others under detention were an American, a Spaniard and a Kenyan, but he did not say whether they were suspects in the attacks.

In Washington, a US State Department official said an American woman and her Spanish husband were "innocent backpackers and were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," and would be freed shortly.

The official said the couple, who were not identified, were on vacation in Kenya at the time of yesterday’s attacks and were among 12 people picked up by authorities in a sweep of Mombasa.

The husband holds an American "green card" which entitles him to residency and employment in the United States, the US official said.

Sixteen people in all, three of them Israelis, were kiled when attackers rammed a suicide car bomb into the paradise Mombasa hotel yesterday morning, according to the Kenyan authorities.

The three attackers were believed to be among the dead

At the same time an Israeli passenger jet leaving Mombasa Airport was almost shot down by two missiles.

Mwangi said meanwhile that nine of those detained were picked up from two boats that were intercepted at sea apparently trying to leave Mombasa following the attacks.

Kenya attacks show Bin Laden still formidable foe

LONDON, Nov 29: By striking Israeli targets in Kenya, Osama bin Laden may have wanted to enhance his appeal among angry Arabs and Muslims ahead of a possible US-led war on Iraq that is also likely to fuel anti-western extremism.

The Mombasa attacks may also renew public debate in the West over the wisdom of fighting Iraq as well as "global terror", but most analysts said the United States felt it could handle both.

They said yesterday’s coordinated missile and bomb attacks in Mombasa bore the hallmarks of Al Qaeda, though some argued that they could have been the work of a local group inspired by him and not necessarily carried out by a central organisation. "In all likelihood it’s Al Qaeda," said Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert at St Andrew’s University in Scotland. "The synchronicity of the attacks heavily suggests Al Qaeda."

If a link to Al Qaeda is confirmed, it would be the first time the group has hit Israeli targets, though experts say it has reconnoitred Israeli diplomatic missions in the past.

Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based Arabic daily Al-Quds, said he was "100 per cent sure" it was the work of Bin Laden and his well-entrenched networks in East Africa.

Atwan, who has interviewed the Saudi-born militant in Afghanistan, said Bin Laden had been criticised by some arabs for focusing on US targets and operating in the fringes of the Muslim world, ignoring the core Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"Now all those sceptics will be silenced," he said. "This will enlarge Al Qaeda’s popularity and make it easier for Bin Laden to recruit young hotheads and generate finance. (AGENCIES)

Tamil tiger top guns in Oslo for Sri Lanka peace talks

OSLO, Nov 29: Top Tamil tiger rebel leaders arrived here today for the first round of Norwegian-brokered Sri Lanka peace talks to be held in a European capital.

The head of the political wing of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), S P Thamilselvan, and the group’s top military commander Karuna arrived ahead of four-day talks starting Monday.

The two men were accompanied by three other members of the LTTE, Norwegian officials said, adding that most of the other peace delegates from both sides were expected here by the weekend.

This, the third round of talks between the Government and the LTTE, was initially scheduled to open in Thailand, but the venue had to be shifted because of a royal holiday coinciding with the peace talks, diplomats said.

The Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE entered into a ceasefire in February after three decades of ethnic bloodshed which has cost some 60,000 lives.

There have been two rounds of face-to-face talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE since September 16 in addition to several other direct contacts in and outside the rebel-held regions of Sri Lanka.

The two tiger delegates travelling here from Colombo had gone through Sri Lanka’s only international airport, which their group bombed in July last year, damaging or completely destroying six civilian jets.

"The level of confidence between the two sides is demonstrated by the fact that the tigers now feel comfortable (about their security) in travelling through Colombo," a Norwegian diplomat said. (AFP)

No confrontation between Army, Parliament: Qureshi

RAWALPINDI, Nov 29: Presidential spokesman and Pakistan Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Rashid Qureshi today sought to dispel reports of confrontation between the Army and Parliament.

President Pervez Musharraf has fulfilled his commitment by holding the general elections within the time-frame set by the Supreme Court, Gen Qureshi told newspersons at an Iftar Party here.

Terming the Legal Framework Order (LFO) as part of the Constitution, he said democracy had been restored in the country under amended Constitution.

He, however, said there was no interference either by the president or the Army in the process.

Gen Qureshi said the President had given a system and "I do not think he is in anyway interfering. As far as the Government is concerned, everyone knows that that PML (QA) is in power with the help of allied parties."

He said the president had fulfilled his task under four points "revival of economy, elimination to a possible extent of poverty and corruption and political restructuring."

Gen Qureshi said that whatever was happening in the assemblies especially in terms of the on-going talks between the political parties was part of the democratic system.

Asked if it was democracy where members were forced to shift their loyalties and join other parties, he said in a democracy the parties talk to each other and "this is what is happening here."

Asked to comment on the MMA demand that the President should hang up his uniform, the presidential spokesman said he was not in a position to speak on the issue. "What I can say is that we have a constitution, which includes several amendments and democracy has been restored under this Constitution."

When his attention was drawn to Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal that the President would have imposed martial law had the Forward Bloc in the PPPP not been formed, Gen Qureshi said he had not seen the statement. "However, the army has no concern or link whatsoever with what has been or is being said." (UNI)

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