What Do Muslim Scholars Have to Say to ISIS?

Rome/Aleteia (aleteia.org/ar) – What follows is a summary of the message distributed by 126 Muslim intellectuals to the Islamic State group: 

1. Islam prohibits issuing legal rulings about any subject by anyone unfamiliar with the Arabic language.

2. Islam prohibits the oversimplification of Sharia and ignoring the operative teachings of Islam.

3. Islam permits (scholars) to hold differing opinions except as it pertains to the fundamentals of religion, a fact every Muslim must know.

4. Islam does not allow one to ignore the reality of the contemporary era when issuing Sharia related rulings.
Islam prohibits killing the innocent.

5. Islam prohibits the killing of delegates, ambassadors, diplomats and further prohibits killing journalists and humanitarian activists.

6. Jihad in Islam is a defensive war; therefore, Islam does not permit Jihad in the absence of a just or legitimate cause and rules of appropriate behavior.

7. Islam prohibits declaring someone a non-Muslim except in cases where the individual has unequivocally declared his own unbelief.

8. Islam prohibits the harming of Christians (i.e. “People of the Book”) or mistreating them in any way. 
Islam needs to realize that the Yazidis are considered “People of the Book.”

9. Islam prohibits a return to slavery since it has been abrogated by international consensus. 

10. Islam prohibits forcing people to convert.

11. Islam prohibits denying women their rights.

12. Islam prohibits denying children their rights.

13. Islam prohibits passing legal sanctions without adhering to correct procedures that guarantee justice and mercy.
Islam prohibits the torturing of people.

14. Islam prohibits the mutilation of bodies of the deceased.

15. Islam prohibits the attribution of satanic actions to Allah.

16. Islam prohibits the destruction of the tombs and shrines of the Prophet and his companions.   

17. Islam prohibits armed invasions for any reason with the exception that those being invaded have been deemed unbelievers and its citizens are forbidden to pray.  

18. Islam prohibits the establishment of a Caliphate without the agreement of all Muslims.
Islam permits Muslims to be loyal to their countries.

19. Since the death of the Prophet, Islam has not required anyone to immigrate to any specific location. 

This article originally appeared in the Arabic edition of Aleteia.