Islamic Scholars Condemn Terrorism

Very often the most prominent Islamic scholars that are seen in the West are those who condemn the West, attack Western actions, and call upon Muslims to engage in jihad against the West - even to the point of engaging in suicide attacks against civilian targets. That is not, however, the only sort of religious leader or scholar that exists in the Muslim world; many more condemn such violence. It is a shame that their voices are not heard often enough, but a number of them met in Malaysia recently to discusses these problems.

Jointly they issued a stringing attack on those who encourage violence in the name of Islam. The Strait Times quotes Dr. Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the sheikh of Al-Azhar University and Egypt's most senior cleric:

Extremism is the enemy of Islam. Whereas jihad is allowed in Islam to defend one's land, to help the oppressed, the difference between jihad in Islam and extremism is like the earth and the sky. ...We do not see any obstacles to stop the West from benefiting from the East, the East taking from Western civilisation, or the North taking from the South, as long as these cultures make humans happier and make them better persons.

Those are fine sentiments, to be sure; the question is, will Muslims in the street actually listen to and heed them? Do these more less extremist clerics offer a political, social, economic, and religious vision which is compatible with the needs of Muslims in the Arab world? If not, then Muslims will look elsewhere for leadership - and probably to the extremists who have made a career out of trying to offer explanations for and answers to those needs.

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• Islam
• Islamic extremists