AMMAN, 5 July 2005 — Jordan’s King Abdallah yesterday lashed out at extremists who he said were harming the image of Islam, urging a unification of the religion’s disparate schools of thought to create greater moral clarity.
“Acts of violence and terrorism practiced by some groups and organizations ... do not correspond to the principles and spirit of Islam,” the king said as he opened an international conference aimed at improving Islam’s image.
The Jordanian monarch singled out “what is going on in Iraq, Pakistan and other Muslim countries in the form of accusations of apostasy and the killing of Muslims in the name of Islam”.
King Abdallah told the 180 clerics and scholars that such acts contributed to harsh criticism from the West against Islam, particularly since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States claimed by the Al-Qaeda network.
“Such practices generate turmoil and corruption on earth because they give justification to non-Muslims to judge Islam according to acts that Islam disavows, and subsequently interfere in Muslim affairs,” he said.
He urged delegates representing the eight Islamic schools of jurisprudence attending the three-day conference to unify their message and ensure that fatwas, or religious edicts, are not issued haphazardly.
“Acknowledgement of the schools of jurisprudence within Islam would permit the emergence of a fundamental methodology in the issues of fatwas and the definition of who is qualified for this undertaking,” the king said. “This, with God’s will, would end the practice of defaming others as apostates and close the door on ignorant people who practice killing and terrorism — of which Islam is innocent — in the name of Islam,” Abdallah said.
Jordanian Religious Affairs Minister Abdel Salam Abbadi told a press conference last week that “a sense of chaos has prevailed in the way fatwas are issued”, blaming some “unqualified clerics” of giving religious opinions without guidance.
He said the conference will strive to find “clear mechanisms to confront” those who promote extremism in Islam “as well as a clear base for fatwas”.
King Abdallah said Islam is a religion of “moderation, forgiveness, mercy and rational, scientific dialogue”.
“Islam is not the religion of violence and terrorism, or prejudice and isolation,” he said.
Officials in Jordan and other Muslim countries have repeatedly insisted that efforts should be made to present to the world a moderate and modern image of Islam, particularly after stereotypes that emerged since the Sept. 11 attacks.
