A conference in Saudi Arabia this week ended with the condemnation of the so-called "terrorism" and appeals to Muslims to reject "extremism", but it also recommended that all Muslim governments apply the Sharia (Islamic law) in all aspects of life.
Sources say that hundreds of scientists and experts gathered at the Islamic University of Medina for a conference. A long list of recommendations included "an implicit call for terrorism to be defined in a way that excludes resistance against foreign occupation".
Curiously, the international human rights organization Amnesty International officially agreed with it.
More than 80 research papers were examined in 12 sessions over four days, after which a 2,500-word document of recommendations for Muslims was compiled and released.
Among these, Muslim parents were encouraged "to foster moderation in their children and to shield them from Web sites belonging to deviant and extremist groups".
"Extremist groups that identify with Islam were advised to think seriously and carefully about the ramifications of their actions and the negative impact they have on Islam and Muslims", said the delegates.
The document also said Muslims should learn their religion from "trustworthy scholars known for being moderate" and reject "unreliable teachings relating to jihad and takfir (apostasy)".
However, the very notion of "extremist groups" remains a matter of controversy. Who are to be considered "extremists and terrorists"?
Further the recommendations went on to urge all Muslim governments to "apply Islamic law in all aspects of life".
The Medina document said conference participants condemned "all acts of terrorism regardless of the place or the perpetrators".
Scientists called "Israel" "a state of terrorism", and urged Islamic media to continue "coverage and exposure of Israeli occupation crimes against defenseless Palestinian civilians, in particular the Israeli Holocaust in Gaza".
Like most declarations of Islamic scholars on terrorism, the final document of conference stated that one should distinguish between the concepts of "terrorism" and "actions taken against foreign occupation" recommended the adoption of a definition of terrorism as articulated by the Arab Council of Interior Ministers and Arab Council of Justice Ministers.
According to the press, at the most recent meeting of the Arab Council of Interior Ministers, in Tunis on March 17, the body - as it has done in years past - again "emphasized the need to differentiate between terrorism and the legitimate struggle of people against occupation".
However, apparently, the participants of conference tend to believe that the struggle of the Palestinians is a defensive jihad, and the struggle of other Islamic nations does not fall in this category. That is rather strange - this is a sign of hypocrisy.
Interestingly, the Amnesty International Secretary-General Claudio Cordone said that "defensive jihad of Muslims against the infidels is a legitimate means of struggle and it does not violate human rights", western media outlets reported.
Department of Monitoring,
Kavkaz Center
http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2010/04/07/11802.shtml
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