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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: HH who wrote (40513)	9/17/2001 4:38:28 PM
From: HH	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

The height of duplicity....IMO Muslim Nations Warned Not to Move on Afghans By Howard Schneider Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, September 17, 2001; Page A09 AMMAN, Jordan, Sept. 16 -- After condemning last week's attacks on New York and Washington, Islamic groups in Egypt, Jordan and elsewhere are now warning against any alliance with the United States if its fight against terrorism is carried to a Muslim country such as Afghanistan. "A coalition with the United States to launch an aggression against any Muslim country is religiously forbidden and is treason to God," leading scholars of Jordan's Islamic Action Front declared in a religious edict. "It is impermissible for any Muslim government or Muslim people to give the aggressors any political or financial support or provide them a cover of legitimacy," said the group, the largest Muslim opposition group in Jordan. Similar declarations have been made in recent days by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Palestinian group Hamas, both of which have considerable popular support. This could pose a particularly sensitive challenge for the United States as it tries to enlist Arab and Muslim support for a possible military action against Afghanistan's ruling Taliban movement while avoiding any appearance that its efforts are directed against Islam in general. Despite widespread revulsion over the thousands of deaths caused by the suicide attacks, ambivalence is apparent in the region. Top clerics have split, for example, on whether Islam allows suicidal actions, with some condemning them as "crazy" and others saying they are justified if targeted at an aggressor -- such as Israel. The governments of Egypt, Jordan and Persian Gulf countries are torn between their desire to assist Washington's efforts against terrorism and concern about appearing too willing to help. If U.S. and Western efforts are seen as anti-Islamic, these countries could limit their participation out of fear of public reaction. With Jerusalem's status disputed, Iraq under an embargo and subjected to U.S. and British air patrols and sometimes bombing, and economic sanctions still in place against Iran and Libya, radicals have plenty of anger to draw on. "The U.S. should be very careful in its reaction to differentiate between Islam, Arabs and terrorism," said former Jordanian prime minister Taher Masri. "So many emotions have been accumulating, and it is deeply mixed with religion, politics, your identity as an Arab. There is a conflict inside us." Islamic organizations throughout the world, including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, initially condemned Tuesday's attacks by citing the Koran's prohibitions against killing. Mainstream, state-appointed clerics used this week's Friday prayer sermons to emphasize the point. Even some of the clerics who have been most critical of the United States, such as Qatar's influential Sheik Yusuf Kardawi, spoke of the attacks as a religious abomination. But as the United States began identifying the Afghanistan-based Osama bin Laden as the most likely suspect, divisions began appearing. Bin Laden, in a theological step that mainstream clerics have not yet directly addressed, contends that his actions are acceptable because Islam is under attack from the West, and that by targeting the United States he is neither killing innocents nor acting as the aggressor. Afghanistan's Taliban movement has urged a similar religious interpretation of recent events, with its leader, Mohammad Omar, saying in a Saturday radio address that U.S. accusations represent "opposition to Islam." With that argument now echoed by other groups in other countries, "it is going to require a lot of work on our part to draw lines" and help justify any U.S. or coalition action, said one Arab diplomat. "If you are a Palestinian subject to attack, it takes a lot to convince him that an Islamic organization is a terrorist organization." washingtonpost.com