Fatwa would let bin Laden commit suicide
U.S. raises reward to $25-million
Stewart Bell
National Post
With a US$25-million reward on his head, Osama bin Laden has reportedly obtained permission from a Muslim cleric to commit suicide, which is strictly forbidden in the Islamic religion.
Reports in the United States suggest a religious decree called a fatwa has been issued allowing bin Laden to take his own life rather than risk the humiliation of capture by U.S. forces.
Bin Laden is believed to be still on the run in eastern Afghanistan. The United States hopes its hefty reward will bring forth the information needed to capture him.
The U.S. State Department yesterday raised the bounty from the US$5-million posted in 1998 to a new maximum of US$25-million.
The initial reward was in response to bin Laden's fatal attack on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
The world's most-wanted man made it clear in an interview published last week by a Pakistani newspaper that he would die before being captured, saying "America can't get me alive."
The Koran, the Muslim holy book, expressly tells followers "do not kill yourselves." Bin Laden, whose organization has sent numerous young men to kill themselves in the course of terrorist attacks, could not commit suicide without higher authority, which he apparently has.
The US$25-million reward offer was broadcast from U.S. aircraft, which transmitted a radio message urging Afghans to get rich and help their country by turning in the terrorist and his senior lieutenant, Aiman al-Zawahiri. "These two terrorists of al-Qaeda are responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent people around the world. The proud nation of Afghanistan gets closer to being free of the tyranny of foreign terrorists every day.
"Help drive out the foreign terrorists. Every day more foreign terrorists are defeated in battle. Because some of these cowards and murderers have gone into hiding, we ask for your help."
The United States also offered a reward for information that would identify agents of al-Qaeda, the group believed responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The US$25-million is an unfathomable sum to Afghans, although it is worth less each day as war inflation drives up the price of everything from fuel to head scarves. The influx of foreign journalists, aid workers and soldiers has caused the value of the Afghani to double against the U.S. dollar as a sudden boom hits one of the world's weakest economies.
At the outset of the war against terrorism, the U.S. dollar was fetching almost 10,000 Afghanis from the currency traders who run small shops in the town bazaars. Now, it is worth 4,750 Afghanis.
Even at that rate, the US$25-million reward is worth more than 118-billion Afghanis, a fortune beyond comprehension in Afghanistan, where most people make a living farming or raising sheep and goats. Most Afghans rise early to pray, own few possessions and live in mud homes.
The reward money would be enough to purchase several thousand used Russian-made WAZ jeeps, a prized possession in Afghanistan. But with roads in perpetual disrepair, the preferred method of transport is a horse, which sells for around US$4,000. A meal of flatbread, tea and meat cooked over coals costs about US$1 and a checkered scarf, needed to keep the sand out of your face, goes for US$4. The aid packets dropped by U.S. bombers sell for about US$1 in local markets.
The bigger question may be whether the reward could buy the security measures that will be needed to protect informers from retaliation by bin Laden loyalists.
Some Afghans say they would not surrender bin Laden to the United States for any price. Rather, they believe he should be brought to justice in Afghanistan for the havoc he has wreaked on their nation.
IN THE KORAN:
There is only one verse in the Koran that contains a phrase related to suicide: "O you who believe! Do not consume your wealth in the wrong way -- rather through trade mutually agreed to, and do not kill yourselves. Surely God is Merciful toward you." Some commentators believe that this phrase is better translated "do not kill each other." The prophetic tradition, however, clearly prohibits suicide. The hadith materials, which are the authoritative sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad include many unambiguous statements about suicide: one who "throws himself off a mountain" or "drinks poison" or "kills himself with a sharp instrument" will be in the fire of Hell.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
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