Middle East Transparent

03 November 04

شفــــاف الشــــرق الأوســــط

Letter From Liberal Arabs & Muslims

To The United Nations Security Council & The U.N. Secretary General
Requesting The Establishment Of An International Tribunal
For The Prosecution Of Terrorists

The following is a letter prepared by Dr. Jawad Hashim (Iraq’s former Minister of Planning), Lafif Lakhdar (The Tunisian Intellectual), and Dr. Shakir Al-Nabulsi (The Jordanian writer and author) calling upon the Security Council to proceed in establishing an International Tribunal to prosecute individuals, groups, or entities including, but not limited to, Muslim clerics who issue religious edicts (fatwas) inciting terrorist acts.

Their excellencies President and members of the UN-SC.
H.E. – The Secretary General of the UN.

On October 8, 2004, the UNSC unanimously adopted Resolution 1566 (2004) condemning all terrorist acts “as one of the most serious threats to peace and international stability”. In reaffirming its Resolutions 1267 of October 15, 1999; and 1373 of September 28, 2001; as well as its other resolutions concerning threats to international peace and security caused by terrorism; and in recalling its Resolution 1540 (2004) of April 28, 2004; Resolution 1566 decides:

“…to establish a working group consisted of all members of the Security Council to consider and submit recommendations to the Council on practical measures to be imposed upon individuals, groups or entities involved in or associated with terrorist activities,…including more effective procedures considered to be appropriate for bringing them to justice through prosecution or extradition, freezing of their financial assets, preventing their movement through the territories of Member States, preventing supply to them of all types of arms and related material, and on the procedures for implementing these measures.”

As you are deliberating to recommend practical measures to be imposed on individuals, groups, or entities involved in or associated with terrorist activities pursuant to Resolution 1566, we, the signatories of this letter, a group of Arab and Muslim liberals, would like to draw your attention to an extremely dangerous source of terrorism. This source is the purported religious pronouncements “fatwas” issued by some psychotic members of dogmatic Muslims encouraging the commission of terrorist acts in the name of and under the banner of Islam.

It is not enough for the Security Council to adopt resolutions “condemning” terrorism. What will be more effective is the establishment of an International Tribunal affiliated to the UN organization for the prosecution of individuals, groups, or entities involved, directly or indirectly, with terrorist activities including, but not limited to, “fatwas” issued by religious clerics in the name of Islam calling upon Muslims to commit terrorist acts.

By these “fatwas” all terrorists have died, or will die, fully convinced that they will immediately enter Paradise. Of course, we are not excluding other causes for committing terrorist acts, such as the ticking-bomb of population explosion with its resultant illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, backwardness in education systems, reactionary religious teaching, and, above all, living under dictatorial systems of governments in almost all Arab countries.

But despite the above causes, certain religious fatwas remain the pivotal cause of terrorist acts. Fatwas which clothe such terrorist acts with legitimacy as being one of the sacred tenets of Muslim faith.

We can provide you with an exhaustive lists of fatwas which incite terrorist acts, but the following few may suffice:

· When the presiding judge of the Egyptian Court asked Sheikh Mohamed Al-Ghazali (a leader in the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement) to opine about the murder of Faraj Foda (an Egyptian secular intellectual) in 1992, Sheikh Al-Ghazali’s opinion was, “The killing of Faraj Foda was in fact the implementation of the punishment against an apostate which the imam (the state) has failed to implement (undertake).”
When the defendant heard Al-Ghazali’s opinion he shouted,
“Now I will die with a clear conscience (for murdering Mr. Foda).”

· On February 13, 2002, the London-based Al-Hayat newspapers published a fatwa issued by the Saudi Sheikh Ali Bin Khodair Al-Khodhari approving and condoning Al-Qaida’s 9/11 terrorist acts in New York and Washington. In his fatwa, the Sheikh said, “It is astonishing to mourn the [American] victims as being innocents. Those victims may be classified as infidel Americans which do not deserve being mourned, because each American, as to his relation to American Government, is a warrior, or supporter, in money or opinion. It is legitimate to kill all of them as combatant; or non-combatant, such as the old, the blind, or non-Muslims… .”

· On February 13, 2002, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper also published another fatwa issued by the Saudi Sheikh Safar Bin Abdulrahman Al-Hawali in which he described the 9/11 attacks as an equivalent given in return for President Clinton missile attack on Al-Qaida’s training camps after the terrorists attach on the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. He went on to condone the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon describing them as centers for money laundering, devil’s nest, spying cell, and the mafia retreat.

· The fatwa issued by Sheikh Yousif Al-Qardhawi permitting the killing of “fetuses” (unborn) jews, because (according to him) when jews are born and grown-up they will join the Israeli army. Furthermore, on September 3, 2004, (at the Egyptian Journalist Union) Al-Qardhawi issued a fatwa to kill all American civilians working in Iraq. And on July 3, 2004, he issued another fatwa (published in Al-Ahram Al-Arabi) permitting the killing of Muslim intellectuals as being apostates, claiming that Isla justify the killing of such apostates.

· The fatwa issued by Rashid Al-Ghannoushi (Tunisian) according to which he permits killing all civilians in Israel, because (according to his fatwa) “these are no civilians in Israel. The population —males, females, and children— is the army reserve soldiers, thus could be killed.”

As it is difficult, if not impossible, to prosecute these extremists in their native Arab or Islamic countries, they continue to issue and publish their fatwas inciting acts of terror under the false umbrella of Islam. As the fatwas issued by the extremist Muslims clerics encourage the commission of terrorist acts to provoke a state of terror, and, due to the importance of combating terrorism as a matter of urgency, we, the signatories of this letter, respectfully submit to your excellencies and to the Working Group Constituted pursuant to Article-9 of Resolution 1566 to create an International Tribunal to prosecute all terrorists, whether individuals, groups, or entities, including individuals who incite terrorism through the issuance of fatwas in the name of religion.

Sincerely yours,

______________________ Jawad Hashim

______________________ Shakir Al-Nabulsi

______________________ Lafif Lakhdar

1^st list of signatures on Arab Liberals Appeal

2nd list of signatures on Arab Liberals Appeal

Your Comments/Signatures

"Ousama Jureidini" <o.jureidini@saadtransport.com>

Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2005 18:22:44 +0300

I fully support the idea of a court to judge those clerics who issue "killing Fatwas".

However, I believe the respected Muslim clerics should have the moral courage to

show the Muslim population that these fatwas are not what was meant by being

martyrs and dying in the name of God. That these radical clerics are abusing Islam

and the name of God when they issue such vehement fatwas

Ousama Jurdi - Lebanon

 
 
 
Thu, 14 Apr 2005 11:24:46 +0200 (CEST) 
"yassine el tunisiano" <yassinearrazi@yahoo.fr> 
 
While being that intellectual, Arab liberal thinkers, 
your proposal is idiot, reclam an international court 
of terrorism, why does not have there it courts in the 
countries able to judge this kind of business? then 
which would be the utility of this court? only judged 
Moslems by Westerners, cheer for your direction of 
patriotism, still an idiocy. 
 
Thanks to you the gap between the Moslem people and the 
"intellectual" of your kind and the dictators of the 
Moslem world grows hollow, and you are astonished that 
the Moslem world is radicalized. the angry of the Moslems 
of the world is legitimate against the dictators and the 
"thinkers" of your kind, the Moslems do not need thinkers
 but Scientists, who include/understand the problems of 
the Moslems and who cure them evils which made them suffer, 
i.e. injustice of the occident against the Moslems. 
Misfortune with those which will have as doctors 
of the pseudos "thinkers" of your kind.
 
You should claim a court to judge the crimes against humanity 
caused by the Israelis, American, French during the war of 
Algeria, English, Russian for the crimes and rapes in 
Tchétchénie. 
 
"if the State misses in a field, it will be filled by groups 
or people" Adam Smith. 
contemplate this sentence. 
 
You said in your speech "on July 3, 2004, another fatwa 
legitimated the assassination of the Moslem intellectuals 
free thinkers, as being apostates claiming that Islam 
justifies the murder of such apostates. 
(Published in newspaper Al-Ahram Al-Arabi of the 3/7/2004)"
 
With such proposals, you do not astonish that of such 
fatwas are published. My remarks are hard, but my 
remarks are not isolated and are not shared by more 
than one billion Moslems, and million no-Moslems, 
who included/understood the injustice sudden by the 
Moslem world. 
 
Islam needs scientist of my kind, and not of the absurd 
proposals like your, Islam will make its revolution 
one day and very soon, and unfortunately for you, 
you will be to draw aside and leave at the roadsides.

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 17:40:19 -0500

"EA" <emad36@verizon.net>

Great idea deserves support from every one in the backward middle east.

But unfortunately, the first thing I notice when reading the signatures and

residence counties of each signature, is the vast majority of the people who

signed on it are living in the west, where such a measure is not needed.

This measure is needed for and in the middle east and the Islamic world.

People living there are the ones who should sign, not people living in the

free democratic west.

You have my support and signature any way.

Emad Alphonse, Accountant, Virginia, USA

Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 14:02:41 -0000

"Abdelkarim Belkhadir" <belkhadir@anrt.net.ma>

Belkhadir Abdelkarim

Ingénieur d’Etat

Agence Nationale de Réglementation des Télécommunications

RABAT MAROC

Sat, 8 Jan 2005 12:06:42 -0800 (PST)

"Asser Hassan" <mosa72us@yahoo.com>

Dear sir,

i happily agree to include my name in this good cause, trying to show the whole world that our religion and gods words do not condone killing except killers after all manner of peace seeking and through certain channels of authority.

Neopedssbe@aol.com Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2005 19:53:04 EST

Keep up the good work exposing the head of the snake called terrorism in the form of self appointed religious hypocrites.

Sami B. Elhassani, MD

Spartanburg, SC

USA

Tue, 4 Jan 2005 15:59:45 -0800 (PST)

"Mabrouk Boudaga" <mboudaga@yahoo.com>

Dear Sirs,

Congratulations for your courageous initiative which I`ll sign up immediately.I ask you to add my name to the list and I want you to know that i`m ready to help and assist your efforts as lawyer whenever you need it :

Mabrouk Boudaga

Lawyer

Tunisian residing in Tunis and soon in the USA.

Thank you

"Chkri" <chkri@swissonline.ch>

Date: Sat, 1 Jan 2005 14:55:56 +0100

Nori Abou Alias Suisse

Mon, 13 Dec 2004 17:52:58 +0100

"raafat@aon.at" <raafat@aon.at>

Eng. :Raafat Helmy

"Sylvie Lallouz" <adahan@sympatico.ca>

Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004

Fully agree with this initiative. All the liberals against Bush should instead focus their energy to open a new path to deliver justice to terrorists, terrorist sympathizers and inciters. While many may oppose the war in Iraq, this is no reason not to fight terrorism in their own way. Good luck to you all.

"Badai, Ali" <abadai@scw.nl>

Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2004 08:46:47 +0100

Ali Badai

writer Iraq

MOISHELA@aol.

Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004

Thank you. The media needs to broadcast and greater exposure to efforts such as this.

Fri, 3 Dec 2004

From: "Dr. mohammad" <orthopedicjr@yahoo.com>

Sat, 27 Nov 2004

From: "Sadah, Hisham S" <hisham.sadah@aramco.com>

Tue, 23 Nov 2004

From: "da ra" <sabzaji@yahoo.com>

please add my signiture to this subject

jawdat bilal ismail

iraqi engineer and writer

Omar Altalib" <oaltalib@iri.org>

Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004

I support your petition against terrorism.

It is wrong to issue fatwas that lead people to kill innocent civilians.

oaltalib@iri.org

Dr. Omar H. Altalib

Resident Governance Director

International Republican Institute

Baghdad, Iraq

"NURADDIN ABDULMANNAN" <nubiakey@msn.com>

Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2004

Please add my signature:

Nuraddin Abdulmannan - President of Sudan Human Rights organization (SHRO), U.S.A> chapter and a former Sudanese diplomat.

I firmly support this noble and great campaign against fatwas issued by the so called Muslim scholars who use Islam to terrorize individuals, intellectuals and try to suffocate life and freedom of _expression in the Islamic and Arabic world. Dr. Hassan Elturabi of the National Islamic Front of Sudan and many imams and Ulemas of Sudan have issued many fatwas of apostasy against Sudanese thinkers and intellectuals I.e. the famous apostasy fatwa against the Sudanese thinker Ustaz Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, the leader of the Sudanese Republican Brothers was behind his execution and dumping his corps in the desert by a military helicopter.

We need to work together to stand against this devastating threat.

"Jana Hybaskova" <jana@hybaskova.cz>

Date: Sat, 20 Nov 2004 20:13:55 +0100

Jana Hybaskova, European Parliament, MEP, EPP -ED:

This is a very needed and excellent initiative, which will help all of us, liberals, around the world to do some active measures to end with the horror of terrorist oppression not only in the East, but also in the West. I fully support it.

Brian Henry b.henry@3web.net

I applaud the iniative of your letter from liberal Arabs and Muslims,

and as a freelance jouranlist I'm also interested from a professional

standpoint.

paula potaznik" <ppotaznik@yahoo.co.uk>

I have read about you from daniel Pipes column and commend you on your courage.

P Potaznik (Australia

"Víctor MiliánSánchez" <vmilian@arrakis.es

Date: Sun, 14 Nov 2004 05:02:01 +0100

Suggest to allow every reader to sign this document and forward it to U.N: and ALSO to E.U. President.

Sincerely,

V. Milián

"Neal Attinson" <NAttinson@MarinJCC.org>

Thu, 11 Nov 2004 09:16:17 -0800

In Hebrew, we have the saying, "Yasher koach -- may you be

strengthened." I

say this to you wholeheartedly, and with deep gratitude, and deeper