Our Cairo Correspondent
The new Shaikh of Al-Azhar in Egypt, Dr Muhammad Sid Tantawi, who is better known for his trendy opinions on social issues than for firing off pointed fatwas on the hot political issues of the day, has reacted spiritedly to the challenge of Israeli rabbis, who invited him to condemn ‘suicide’ attacks on Israeli targets in the wake of the double bombing in Jerusalem’s Mahneh Yahuda market on July 30 - declaring such operations legal, and accusing them of fuelling the violence that cause them.
Asked about his response to the rabbi’s public challenge, he told the Arabic daily Al-Hayat that he had no option but to urge the Palestinians to ‘defend yourselves, your rights, your land and the honour of your women - with all the means sanctioned by Islam and good morals.’ While Islam did not permit the killing of women, children and the elderly, those who had carried out the Jerusalem operations had done so in ‘lawful self-defence against aggressors incapable of feeling pity for children, women and the elderly,’ he added (It must be pointed out that the operation was not carried out by Hamas, despite Israeli allegations - Editor).
Asked specifically to state the position of the Shari’ah on someone who kills himself in an explosion, Tantawi said: ‘Those who say such action is haram must first ask themselves: what is the reason behind it? Why do youths feel compelled to sacrifice themselves? What do we expect the Palestinians to do when the Israeli prime minister repeats everyday that al-Quds is Israel’s permanent capital - a statement no mind, religion or law can accept?’
‘Injustice leads to explosion, and when human beings are confronted with excessive injustice, they tend to sacrifice themselves,’ he said adding that ‘honourable people prefer death to life in dishonour.’
Addressing Israelis who accuse religious leaders in Egypt of instigating Palestinians to commit violence, Tantawi held them responsible for all that is going on. He said: ‘When you confiscate land and pile on injustice, anger prevails and explosions follow - all in self-defence. And then when I see Jewish religious leaders instigating the commission of injustices, do I stand aside, silent? I say to Palestinians defend yourselves and whatever you hold sacred, with lawful means. And to Jewish religious leaders I say, tell the truth ad ask your government to observe justice and to end its racist and extreme policies.’
This is sensational stuff from Tantawi, who recently became Shaikh ul-Azhar, leaving his old post as Egypt’s official Mufti. As Mufti, he confined himself to social issues such as family planning, avoiding collision with government policy but always succeeding in publicly disagreeing with his predecessor as Shaikh ul-Azhar, Shaikh Gadd al-Haq. Tantawi, for instance, supported family planning programmes as being in conformity with the Shari’ah, while Gadd al-Haq took the opposite view.
But while Tantawi’s response to the rabbis and other Israelis is a radical new departure, his position as an establishment alim in a secular nation-State does not seem to allow him to carry it to its natural conclusion.
For instance, he does not believe that the same duty which requires Palestinians to defend their faith against the Israelis denotes a corresponding duty on non-Palestinian Muslims to join the struggle. Nor does he believe that that duty would be too onerous to discharge unless Muslims were allowed to fight those who fund, arm or otherwise aid Israel, such as the US and its Arab proxies.
On the contrary, Tantawi seems to believe that even if individual Israelis commit a capital offence against Islam, it is for the Israeli authorities, not Muslims, to prosecute them, and that the issue of peace and war with Israel can only be resolved by Muslim rulers, the role of the ulama being the elucidation of the Shari’ah rules on the topic.
On August 3, only a day before the publication of his response to the rabbis, Tantawi told students at summer camps organized by Alexandria University, that insulting Prophets constitutes a capital offence under the Shari’ah. Respect for the Prophets was one of the pillars of religion, and jurists are unanimous that whoever insults them should be killed, he said in reference to the insult hurled at Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, on June 27, when Zionists in Hebron distributed those notoriously profane posters.
Stressing that those responsible should receive capital punishment, he said that, neverthless, their presence in Israel ‘precluded us from bringing them to justice.’ Only Israel was competent to punish its own citizens, he added. This is like saying that the UK was the only competent authority to punish Salman Rushdie for blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace.
On August 12, Tantawi, in a long interview with Al-Hayat, returned to the issue of ‘terrorism’ and the Arab struggle with Israel - saying that anyone defending his or her religion, country and honour should be called Mujahid and not terrorist but that the issue of war and peace with Israel was a matter for rulers rather than ulama.
Tantawi also sought to put new limits to his original opinion on ‘suicide bombers,’ saying that operations against Muslim targets, such as Muslim embassies, like the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan, were unacceptable. He also ruled out ‘suicide’ bombings in Muslim countries such as Algeria.
In his interview, the Shaikh ul-Azhar was clearly reluctant to criticise any Arab government or official body. Asked whether the Arab League failed in its task of confronting Israel, he said that it was not for him, but for the organization’s secretary-general, to answer questions on its shortcomings.
The conundrum Dr Tantawi has to resolve is how can the Palestinians declare a jihad on the combined force of Israel and America with Muslim help or without extending the jihad to the US and its Muslim proxies, as Osama Bin Ladin often advocates?
Muslimedia - September 1-15, 1997
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