Washington (AsiaNews) - More than 120 Muslim scholars from around the world have signed an open letter that is a "point by point" rejection of the Islamic State (IS) philosophy. Breaking the news, the Religion News Service states that the 18-page document, published on 24 September and addressed to IS "fighters and followers", relies heavily on the Koran to challenge the extremist ideology of the militants who have left a trail of brutal death and destruction in their attempt to create a transnational Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Signatories include prominent figures in the Muslim world, such as the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Shawqi Allam, and the Mufti of Jerusalem and all of Palestine Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein.
The letter is written in Arabic and is based on classical texts and reflections of scholars used by the IS to persuade young people to join his forces, , says Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, who presented the document to Washington along with 10 other representatives of American Muslims and civil rights groups.
A translated 24-point summary of the letter includes the following: "It is forbidden in Islam to torture"; "It is forbidden in Islam to attribute evil acts to God"; and "It is forbidden in Islam to declare people non-Muslims until he (or she) openly declares disbelief."
It is not the first time that the Islamic scholars have spoken out against the IS, but the signatories of that document - addressed to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed leader of the group and "fighters and followers self-proclaimed 'Islamic state' "- argue that it contains an unprecedented refutation of the Islamic State ideology, including the request to no longer use that term, because it is based on the assumption - unfounded - that the group protects Muslim lands from non-Muslims, and is rebuilding the caliphate, the old single government of the Muslim world.
