Friday, September 26, 2014

Muslim Scholars Make the Theological Case Against the Islamic State - Full Text of Letter Embedded


More than a hundred Muslim scholars and leaders from around the world released an open letter addressed to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Wednesday, telling the self-proclaimed caliph, in no uncertain terms, that the group's use of Islamic scripture is illegitimate and perverse.

The document, which was issued in Arabic and English on the website Letter to Baghdadi and is embedded below, begins with a list of practices employed by the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) that its authors say are explicitly forbidden by Islam. They include torture, slavery, forced conversions, the denial of rights for women and children, and the killing of innocents.

The letter emphasizes that Baghdadi's claims to a caliphate spanning eastern Syria and western Iraq are void. Read more

See also
Open Letter to Al-Baghdadi - Arabic
Open Letter to Al-Baghdadi - English
Muslim Scholars To ISIS: You Have Misinterpreted Islam
International Coalition of Muslim Scholars Refute ISIS' Religious Arguments in Open Letter to al-Baghdadi
Not in my name: How Muslims are responding to ISIS
The English version of the open letter at Open Letter to Al-Baghdadi is more readable - larger print - than the English version of the letter in the article. It is also downloadable. Please take note of the comments of Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, in yesterday's article. The letter was not meant for a liberal audience. Even mainstream Muslims may find it difficult to understand.

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