JEDDAH, 14 December 2003 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd yesterday called on Islamic scholars to counter extremism and misguided religious edicts by correcting Islamic thinking and streamlining fatwas.

In a written message to the opening session of a conference of the Islamic Fiqh Academy in Makkah, the king said scholars must “highlight the dangers which extremism poses to Muslim faith and conduct,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Islamic scholars must join hands to “correct the flaws in the thinking of some Muslims through dialogue in seminars, conferences and via the media,” said the king in the message, which was read out by Makkah Deputy Governor Abdullah ibn Dawood Al-Faiz.

The academy, an affiliate of the Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL), groups Islamic scholars from Muslim states. The seven-day meeting will discuss various issues from an Islamic perspective.

The king urged the MWL to exert more efforts to coordinate with Islamic organizations worldwide to hold an emergency meeting of fiqh councils in order to issue unified fatwas on various issues concerning Muslims. “This must be one of the priorities at this time,” he added.

The scholars should use religious arguments to annul “aberrant fatwas,” the message said in reference to religious edicts issued by some individuals who legitimized militancy and suicide bombings.

The king also called on the academy to combat the practice of “takfir,” whereby Muslim extremists declare other Muslims infidels and heretics, warning the practice would trigger inter-Islamic strife and division.

Scholars should “tackle the strife caused by ‘takfir’ that is rearing its head in some Islamic societies,” he said. “There is nothing more dangerous than the ‘takfir,’” he warned.

“Terror organizations have taken advantage of the fact that some young people are ignorant of the true tenets of religion and enlisted them to engage in acts of killing and violence,” the message said.

Officials have in recent months repeatedly called to combat the “deviant thinking” that has led to terror in the name of Islam.

A total of 53 people have died in suicide bombings of residential compounds in Riyadh in May and November, prompting a crackdown by security forces on militants that has netted hundreds of terror suspects.

King Fahd’s message urged the scholars to provide a clear meaning for Islamic terms such as jihad, jamaa, dar al-harb and dar al-salam. “We expect that you clarify the correct meaning of these terms to serve as a reference for the young,” he added.

He also asked the scholars to simplify Islamic jurisprudence in a way that would be comprehensible to ordinary people and help them deal with contemporary issues.

“This requires cooperation between the Fiqh academy, the colleges of Shariah and the jurisprudence departments in universities and research centers,” he said and asked the MWL to coordinate between them.

He said Islamic principles are based on moderation, creating a unique balance between duties and rights in Muslim society and in relation between humans.