[iwar] [fc:The.Islamic.Justification.for.Killing.Non-Combatants.in.War]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2001-09-20 20:45:37


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Subject: [iwar] [fc:The.Islamic.Justification.for.Killing.Non-Combatants.in.War]
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The Islamic Justification for Killing Non-Combatants in War
Commentary
Yael Shahar 
ICT Internet Site Director
Earlier this week, in the Kuwaiti paper, Al-Watan an article appeared that
explained the "justification" in the eyes of "Orthodox" Islam for the
killing of innocent non-combatants in time of war. In the briefest possible
terms, the justification hinges on the fact that -- at least in the case of
Israel -- all non-combatants are either "potential fighters" or "are
involved in complementary activities."
The following translation of this article, published in the September 9
edition of the Jerusalem Post, is now more relevant than any could have
foreseen two days ago. The article opens a window into the thinking of those
behind yesterday's murderous terrorist acts in New York and in Washington
DC. 
The questions: "how could it happen? Who would do such a thing?" seem to
come up again and again whenever people try to encompass the enormity of
what has happened in the United States. This article, if read with
attention, may provide at least part of the answer: there are cultures and
religious streams that place no limits on what they consider "justified in
time of war." 
As the finger of suspicion swings more and more surely to point at Ossama
bin Ladin's "International Front for Jihad against the Crusaders and the
Jews," it would seem more than likely that those behind yesterday's attacks
subscribe to just such a school of thought as that represented by this
article, published only days before in a mainstream Kuwaiti newspaper.
This article presents the justification, from the standpoint of "Orthodox"
Islam, for the killing of Jewish non-combatants in war. Although these
justifications directly refer to "Jewish women and children," the arguments
presented could just as easily apply to all non-combatants living in
democracies. 
The justification, indeed, hinges on the fact that citizens in democracies
are to be held responsible for the actions of their government. After all,
they vote for the government of their choice, and pay taxes to support this
government's policies. In fact all citizens of a democracy are potential
soldiers. What's more, all citizens can be seen as "involved in
complimentary activities": operating computer systems, running the telephone
systems, the electric power grids, and indeed the entire economic foundation
on which the military might of the "enemy" is based.
The casual reader could be forgiven for believing that this article reflects
the opinions of a radical minority in the Arab World. However, to see the
full extent to which such a reading would be mistaken, one need only recall
the scenes of people dancing in the streets in countries all over the Muslim
World, at word of the death of more than 10,000 innocent Americans -- all
non-combatants, and all, according to the article quoted below, valid
targets for murder.
There should be no mistake: the events of yesterday, may be the work of a
small minority of extremists, but they were met with acclaim by many who,
though not directly involved, openly proclaimed their wish that it had been
their fingers on the trigger. These views do not reflect the views of a
"radical minority;" they reflect a military doctrine for war -- a war which
must be seen for what it is, a war of civilization against civilization.


Is killing Jewish women and children forbidden? Translated From The Arabic
By Shira Gutgold  Reprinted with permission from the Jerusalem Post
&lt;http://www.jpost.com Column, "What the Papers Say."  (September 9)
(Al-Watan, Kuwait, August 31)  Religious scholars do not dispute that
Islamic law fundamentally forbids the killing of women and children in Jihad
[holy war], and the evidence for it is in the Hadith [prophetic tradition]
of Ibn-Umar [Vol. 4, Book 52, No. 257]: "A slain woman was found during one
of the Prophet's military campaigns, and following this the prophet forbade
the killing of women and children."  The scholars have also found evidence
for the prohibition of killing those who are not involved in warfare in the
Prophet's message to Khaled Ben-Al-Walid telling him that they shall not
kill a woman or a non-fighting laborer. There are also other sources for the
prohibition of killing civilians.  The scholars have excluded two cases in
which the killing of civilians and women is permitted.  The first one is
when they take part in the fighting, or if they witness it or are involved
in complementary activities such as giving council or propagandizing. The
scholars base their decision on the words of the Prophet who, when seeing
the slain woman said: "She was not capable of fighting," meaning that had
she been fighting, it would have been permitted to kill her.  It should be
noted that in the modern age, when an army is engaged in war, non-fighters
join it who are involved in complementary activities and, at times, the
course of war depends mainly on them. These are, for example, activators of
the army's computer systems that direct military activities, such as
civilian-manufactured computer systems for directing missiles or
sophisticated bombs.  They also include those who work for agencies that
carry out military projects; the reserve forces responsible for summoning
soldiers and preparing them for fighting, even administratively;
intelligence people, and so forth.  All those mentioned fall under the
category of those who fight the Muslims and therefore can be targeted and
killed in war, especially on occupied Muslim lands such as Palestine.  It
also ought to be noted that all Jewish women in the Zionist entity are
fighters, since they are also required to serve in the army. It is common
knowledge that the Zionist society is a military society, and every one of
them takes part in warfare, whether as a soldier in the army, as a
reservist, by paying taxes to the Jewish state and its army which kills
Muslims, or by voting to put [Prime Minister Ariel] Sharon in a position to
give the orders to kill [Mohammed] Al-Dura [the child killed in his father's
arms in Gaza last September] and other Palestinian children.  The second
case when the killing of civilians and women is permitted is when Muslims
must launch a comprehensive attack against their enemies or shoot them from
afar. If civilians, women or children are to be killed in such attacks -
although they must not be deliberately targeted - there is no blame on those
who kill them, as these things happen in wars when bombs are fired at
military posts situated between residential buildings, especially when these
are the posts of the occupying army situated on Muslim lands. In such
incidents civilians, women, and children are unintentionally killed, but
Muslims get killed as well.  Among these attacks are the martyrdom attacks
that aim to kill the occupiers in order to strike terror in their hearts and
force them to end their occupation and withdraw from the country of the
Muslims. In these attacks some women and children are unintentionally
killed, of course, but this is with full right. Places that are designated
for children and frequented only by them are not to be targeted.  The
prophet has shot at the people of Taif with a catapult during his siege to
their town when there were women and children inside. Had he forbidden his
warriors to attack them or shoot at any place where there were people who
were not fighters, it would have led to the paralyzing of Jihad for the sake
of Allah.  It is impossible to avoid killing civilians in a war, especially
in the kind of fighting taking place in Palestine where settlements and
occupied lands are side by side with Muslim areas, and therefore it suffices
that they should not be intentionally targeted.  

The views expressed here reflect the opinions of the author alone and do not
necessarily reflect the views of the International Policy Institute for
Counter-Terrorism

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