18 April 2011
Amman - Director of the Imam Al Albani Center for Methodology Studies and Scientific Research for Salafi Thought Propagation, Sheikh Ali Bin Hassan Al Halabi said on Monday there's a clear mix in the minds of people and media between the moderate Salafi current that believes in the state and society and the current calling itself the salafist Jihadists, which is in reality a takfiri movement that has nothing to do with the righteous Salafi group and does not believe in the state and society.
He told Petra Director General Ramadan Rawashdeh in an extensive interview conducted in the presence of Salafi Movement members, Nimir Odwan and Ra'ed Ramaha: There's no current more at war with takfiris or critical of their thought and ideology than the Salafi Dawa (call for faith).
Halabi said he had authored 15 books to respond to this group, the first of which was in 1997 that cautioned against Takfiri sedition and won endorsement of leading Muslim clerics.
Halabi said: Salafi Dawa's basic tenet is abhorring takfir (accusation of apostasy), renouncing violence as a means for change and adopting the call for knowledge, safety, security and faith as well as defining the rights of leader and subjects through complimentary control.
He said Salafi Dawa is the only call that had corroborated the sharia (religious law) idiom stating that a ruler is the one in charge (of state affairs) in word and jurisdiction.
Halabi said His Majesty King Abdullah II, with his wisdom and leadership, was cognizant that there's a clear difference between the two currents, quoting the King's words in his book "The Last Chance": Those takfirists' deeds and interpretations are only based on ignorance, malice and misunderstanding of noble martyrdom, and aim to spread their belief and leaving aside more than 1,000 years of Islamic science and jurisprudence, as they wrongly think it is the true 7th century approach adopted in the Arabian peninsula.
His Majesty went on in the book: Takfirists are only a small group of fundamentalists, the most common are the Salafists who call for a return to the roots, but the overriding majority of Salafists does not sanction terrorism or killing innocent civilians.
For those Takfirists, war against those they deem their enemies is an open war without limits in disregard of Islamic teachings in the Holy Quran and the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Mohammad.) Halabi said the Zarqa incident that occurred on Friday during which groups of Takfirists assaulted both security forces and citizens was a declaration of war on values and norms that govern our moderate Muslim-Arab Jordanian society that is a distance remote from violence and extremism.
That incident, in which about 83 security men and 7 Takfirists were injured, displays the humane nature of security forces that tried not to harm any of the protesters as they interfered at the scene while they were unarmed.
That incident, he said, made it abundantly clear that this group of a few members is isolated for being rejected by all components of Jordanian society for adopting violent and extremist principles and failing to submit to dialogue and accepting the opinion of the other that is based on sound awareness of the repercussions of the magnitude of challenges and problems posed to Jordan at both domestic and external levels.
Halabi said this group seeks to influence and deceive people by, firstly, giving to themselves the Jihadist Salafi name and using the noble concept of the righteous Salfism as a coverup to carry out their deeds and pass their evil thought, and secondly, to use monotheism on which Islam is based in a way to serve their goals and ends.
He said the Salafists believe it is forbidden to pray behind the imam (prayer leader) appointed by the state. He said the majority of Muslim scholars consider praying behind (any) poor imam is admissible and mandatory, another sign of the group's ignorance in religion and life, urging all media outlets not to refer to them as Salafists but to call them Takfirists.
He said the Salafist Current is keen to instill intellectual and social security in citizens' minds and counter that Takfiri group: Firstly, socially by referring them to court and barring them from carrying out such acts and instill the state's pride, since a state privilege is an inseparable part of a nation's security, and secondly, intellectually by exposing their thoughts and ideology by logic and sound reasoning.
Halabi said that, under Islamic sharia, it is not allowed to organise sit-ins or demonstrations that could lead to disorder, civil strife and open the door for some to carry out agendas that do not serve states' interests, stressing dialogue as an ideal means to address problems and challenges posed to societies.
Turning to Jihad (holy war), Halabi said Takfirists believe it is compulsory notwithstanding controls or surrounding circumstances, stressing that Jihad requires finding controls and a suitable environment taking into account material and moral considerations as part of the Islamic teaching of promoting good and preventing evil.
Other key beliefs by Takfiri ideology, Halabi said, are accusing rulers, the army and security services and society of apostasy, denial of (Muslim) scholars as a religious reference and existence of a closed party through which they act and advocate the use of violence to call for change while they emphasise adherence to their ideology to achieve their goals in addition to their isolation from society.
Halabi said the current circumstances in the Arab world require abandoning intellectual, religious and personal differences to achieve the public interest. We in Jordan, he added, have to hold the interest of the country and citizens supreme and stand behind the wise Hashemite leadership that draws its religious and historic legitimacy by descending from the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him.
Amman - Director of the Imam Al Albani Center for Methodology Studies and Scientific Research for Salafi Thought Propagation, Sheikh Ali Bin Hassan Al Halabi said on Monday there's a clear mix in the minds of people and media between the moderate Salafi current that believes in the state and society and the current calling itself the salafist Jihadists, which is in reality a takfiri movement that has nothing to do with the righteous Salafi group and does not believe in the state and society.
He told Petra Director General Ramadan Rawashdeh in an extensive interview conducted in the presence of Salafi Movement members, Nimir Odwan and Ra'ed Ramaha: There's no current more at war with takfiris or critical of their thought and ideology than the Salafi Dawa (call for faith).
Halabi said he had authored 15 books to respond to this group, the first of which was in 1997 that cautioned against Takfiri sedition and won endorsement of leading Muslim clerics.
Halabi said: Salafi Dawa's basic tenet is abhorring takfir (accusation of apostasy), renouncing violence as a means for change and adopting the call for knowledge, safety, security and faith as well as defining the rights of leader and subjects through complimentary control.
He said Salafi Dawa is the only call that had corroborated the sharia (religious law) idiom stating that a ruler is the one in charge (of state affairs) in word and jurisdiction.
Halabi said His Majesty King Abdullah II, with his wisdom and leadership, was cognizant that there's a clear difference between the two currents, quoting the King's words in his book "The Last Chance": Those takfirists' deeds and interpretations are only based on ignorance, malice and misunderstanding of noble martyrdom, and aim to spread their belief and leaving aside more than 1,000 years of Islamic science and jurisprudence, as they wrongly think it is the true 7th century approach adopted in the Arabian peninsula.
His Majesty went on in the book: Takfirists are only a small group of fundamentalists, the most common are the Salafists who call for a return to the roots, but the overriding majority of Salafists does not sanction terrorism or killing innocent civilians.
For those Takfirists, war against those they deem their enemies is an open war without limits in disregard of Islamic teachings in the Holy Quran and the Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Mohammad.) Halabi said the Zarqa incident that occurred on Friday during which groups of Takfirists assaulted both security forces and citizens was a declaration of war on values and norms that govern our moderate Muslim-Arab Jordanian society that is a distance remote from violence and extremism.
That incident, in which about 83 security men and 7 Takfirists were injured, displays the humane nature of security forces that tried not to harm any of the protesters as they interfered at the scene while they were unarmed.
That incident, he said, made it abundantly clear that this group of a few members is isolated for being rejected by all components of Jordanian society for adopting violent and extremist principles and failing to submit to dialogue and accepting the opinion of the other that is based on sound awareness of the repercussions of the magnitude of challenges and problems posed to Jordan at both domestic and external levels.
Halabi said this group seeks to influence and deceive people by, firstly, giving to themselves the Jihadist Salafi name and using the noble concept of the righteous Salfism as a coverup to carry out their deeds and pass their evil thought, and secondly, to use monotheism on which Islam is based in a way to serve their goals and ends.
He said the Salafists believe it is forbidden to pray behind the imam (prayer leader) appointed by the state. He said the majority of Muslim scholars consider praying behind (any) poor imam is admissible and mandatory, another sign of the group's ignorance in religion and life, urging all media outlets not to refer to them as Salafists but to call them Takfirists.
He said the Salafist Current is keen to instill intellectual and social security in citizens' minds and counter that Takfiri group: Firstly, socially by referring them to court and barring them from carrying out such acts and instill the state's pride, since a state privilege is an inseparable part of a nation's security, and secondly, intellectually by exposing their thoughts and ideology by logic and sound reasoning.
Halabi said that, under Islamic sharia, it is not allowed to organise sit-ins or demonstrations that could lead to disorder, civil strife and open the door for some to carry out agendas that do not serve states' interests, stressing dialogue as an ideal means to address problems and challenges posed to societies.
Turning to Jihad (holy war), Halabi said Takfirists believe it is compulsory notwithstanding controls or surrounding circumstances, stressing that Jihad requires finding controls and a suitable environment taking into account material and moral considerations as part of the Islamic teaching of promoting good and preventing evil.
Other key beliefs by Takfiri ideology, Halabi said, are accusing rulers, the army and security services and society of apostasy, denial of (Muslim) scholars as a religious reference and existence of a closed party through which they act and advocate the use of violence to call for change while they emphasise adherence to their ideology to achieve their goals in addition to their isolation from society.
Halabi said the current circumstances in the Arab world require abandoning intellectual, religious and personal differences to achieve the public interest. We in Jordan, he added, have to hold the interest of the country and citizens supreme and stand behind the wise Hashemite leadership that draws its religious and historic legitimacy by descending from the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him.
© Jordan News Agency - Petra 2011
