Entries Tagged 'WMD' ↓

Nasir al-Fahd’s May 2003 ruling on WMD has been making the rounds on Ekhlaas as part of the general hubbub surrounding the nuke video. It’s worth a review since Jihadis refer to it often not only to justify their quest for WMD, but to justify indiscriminate killing of noncombatants in general.

Fahd, a Saudi cleric who was put in jail soon after writing this ruling, argues that Jihadis can use WMD if they have no other way to repel the evil of their enemies. The scriptural proofs for this position are of two types:

The first type of scriptural proof (mainly from the Qur’an) says that you can strike your enemy with what they use to strike you. There is no need for other proof in this situation. Since the infidel enemy has killed ten million Muslims through direct and indirect means, then Muslims can kill ten million of them. This is a non sequitur (if we didn’t kill them with WMD, then how does this fall under Fahd’s principle of tit-for-tat weaponry?), but there it is.

The second type of scriptural proof are hadith (words and deeds of the Prophet not found in the Qur’an) that indicate it is legitimate to use WMD, even if the enemy hasn’t used them against you. These proofs are of three kinds:

1. Hadith which demonstrate that killing noncombatant women and children unintentionally is acceptable
2. Hadith that justify burning the land and homes of your enemy
3. Hadith that justify the use of a mangonel (a type of catapult), since it causes indiscriminate damage

Fahd then cites rulings from the four Sunni law schools on the legitimacy of the medieval versions of WMD, like poisoning a water supply.

Finally, Fahd goes through the anticipated objections to his ruling:

1. Muslims are prohibited from killing women and children
   • Rebuttal: you can do it if it is impossible to distinguish between them.
2. Muslims cannot commit evil
   • Rebuttal: you can if you are preventing a greater evil, like allowing the infidel to live and spread his unbelief
3. WMD will inevitably kill some Muslims
   • Rebuttal: the potential of killing Muslims cannot delay a jihad if it is necessary. Also, if the enemy is hiding behind some Muslims, using them as human shields, they can be killed if necessary.

Document (Arabic): nasir-al-fahd-ruling-on-wmd (حكم استخدام أسلحة الدمار الشامل)

Akram Hijazi, a Jordanian professor who’s a big favorite on the Jihadi forums, blogged about the nuke tape that was posted on May 25 on the Ekhlass forum with the title: “The Prayer, The Prayer (Answered)–Allah Akbar America Has Been Destroyed–By a Fatal Jihadi Nuclear Strike.” The video, which Evan Kohlmann dismissed as poorly-made amateur propaganda, was posted by Ekhlaas member p2l0a0g8u9e and contains a description of Islam’s position on the use of various kinds of WMD.

Hijazi notes that thousands of people viewed the post and hundreds commented on it, asking for the source. He also points out that this is p2l0a0g8u9e’s only posting, which means he wants to conceal his identity from the other forum participants. Some of the Ekhlaas commentators figured out that the name of the poster, p2l0a0g8u9e, is a rudimentary code for plague2008-9. Hijazi observes that this date corresponds to September 2008, also the time of this year’s Ramadan. Since the poster’s name is “plague” and his video talks about plagues that can kill cells, Hijazi concludes that he must be alluding to a microbiological attack.

Like Kohlmann, Hijazi notes that the video did not come via any official AQ channel (e.g. Sahab, Fajr, Furqan), but he does think it is well made. At the very least, he remarks, it has revived the discussion forums, which are now humming with talk of an impending strike. I’ve already posted some of these hummings and I’ll post more tomorrow.

Document (Arabic): 5-28-08-akram-hijazi-aq-and-wmd (الجهاد النووي: قمة الإرهاب)