Letter to the Pope

Extract

We would like to point out that "holy war¡¨ is a term that does not exist in Islamic languages. Jihad, it must be emphasized,means struggle, and specifically struggle in the way of God.

The authoritative and traditional Islamic rules of war can be summarized in the following principles:

1. Non-combatants are not permitted or legitimate targets.This was emphasized explicitly time and again by the Prophet, his Companions, and by the learned tradition since then.

2. Religious belief alone does not make anyone the object of attack. The original Muslim community was fighting against pagans who had also expelled them from their homes, persecuted, tortured, and murdered them.Thereafter, the Islamic conquests were political in nature.

3. Muslims can and should live peacefully with their neighbors. And if they incline to peace, do thou incline to it; and put thy trust in God (al-Anfal ).

However, this does not exclude legitimate self-defense and maintenance of sovereignty. "

Editorial Comment

A letter signed by 38 Muslim Scholars contains a unified explanation of Issues such as conversion, apostasy, relations with non Muslims etc. This sheds light on these subjects not only for the Pope but also for Muslims worldwide. It needed the Pope to question Islam in order for these scholars to issue a public explanation.
This letter was written a few months back, but the text was not available to me. There is a need for bodies like this to issue their understanding on other issues also on which there is much confusion.

Khusro


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