"By refusing to come out with a categorical rejection of terrorism, Muslim leaders and opinion-makers are helping perpetuate a situation in which no one is safe. The 9/11 attacks against the United States were based on the claim, made by al Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, that all citizens of democratic countries could be murdered because, being actual or potential voters, they have a share of responsibility for the policies of their governments.
The assumption that only Americans and Israelis are targeted has proved false as Islamists have murdered hundreds of peoples from all faiths, including Islam, in a dozen countries in the past three years. Today, it is enough for anyone to designate himself as an Islamic 'Mujahid,' fighting for Palestine and opposing the 'occupation' in Iraq, to get carte blanche from millions of Muslims, including many in authority, for kidnapping and 'exhibition killing.'
That no one, Muslim or 'infidel,' is safe was made clearer by a statement from Abu Anas al-Shami, the self-styled 'mufti' of al Qaeda, who was reportedly killed in Iraq in an American air attack last month. 'There are times when Mujahedeen cannot waste time finding out who is who in the battlefield,' he wrote. 'There are times when we have to assume that whoever is not on our side is the enemy.'
Al-Shami's position echoes a fatwa of the late Ayatollah Sadeq Khalkhali, one of the founders of the Islamic Republic in Iran. Ayatollah Khalkhali wrote: 'Among those we seize hostage or kill, some may be innocent. In that case, Allah will take them to his paradise. We do our job, He does His.'"
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