Saudis act aggressively to denounce terrorism
"But a powerful and so far largely unreported denunciation of terrorism emerged last month from Saudi Arabia's top religious leadership, known as the Council of Senior Ulema.
The Saudi fatwa is a tough condemnation of terror and of the underground network that finances it.
"There is no gray area here," said a senior Saudi official. "Once it has come out like this, from the most senior religious body in the kingdom, it's hard for a lesser religious authority to justify violence."
The fatwa begins with a clear definition of terrorism, which it calls "a crime aiming at destabilizing security" by attacking people or property, public or private. The document goes on to list examples of this criminal activity: "blowing up of dwellings, schools, hospitals, factories, bridges, airplanes (including hijacking), oil and pipelines." It doesn't mention any geographical area where such actions might be permissible. "
washingtonpost.com
Saudi fatwa defining terrorism seen as major step
"The Senior Ulema Council stance is an important (and late) step to end the long debate over the definition of terrorism," said Islamic writer and researcher Hassan Farhan al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki told Al-Shorfa that agreeing upon a specific definition is an important achievement, "because each county, party, and political organisation has adopted the definition that promotes its own interests and objectives, but this move will put an end to this debate everywhere in the Muslim world."
This fatwa "dealt with terrorism as a criminal act against countries and victims, irrespective of the religious or sectarian affiliations as well as the stances of the countries," he added. "
Saudi fatwa defining terrorism seen as major step
"But a powerful and so far largely unreported denunciation of terrorism emerged last month from Saudi Arabia's top religious leadership, known as the Council of Senior Ulema.
The Saudi fatwa is a tough condemnation of terror and of the underground network that finances it.
"There is no gray area here," said a senior Saudi official. "Once it has come out like this, from the most senior religious body in the kingdom, it's hard for a lesser religious authority to justify violence."
The fatwa begins with a clear definition of terrorism, which it calls "a crime aiming at destabilizing security" by attacking people or property, public or private. The document goes on to list examples of this criminal activity: "blowing up of dwellings, schools, hospitals, factories, bridges, airplanes (including hijacking), oil and pipelines." It doesn't mention any geographical area where such actions might be permissible. "
washingtonpost.com
Saudi fatwa defining terrorism seen as major step
"The Senior Ulema Council stance is an important (and late) step to end the long debate over the definition of terrorism," said Islamic writer and researcher Hassan Farhan al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki told Al-Shorfa that agreeing upon a specific definition is an important achievement, "because each county, party, and political organisation has adopted the definition that promotes its own interests and objectives, but this move will put an end to this debate everywhere in the Muslim world."
This fatwa "dealt with terrorism as a criminal act against countries and victims, irrespective of the religious or sectarian affiliations as well as the stances of the countries," he added. "
Saudi fatwa defining terrorism seen as major step
