ActionPlan against Death Fatwa: Islam’s Extrajudicial Murder in the Name of Allah

Death Fatwa is an Islamic religio-judicial ruling, based on Sharia law, calling for the death of those, who oppose or criticize Islam or Prophet Muhammad, which is deemed a capital crime in Islam publishable by death. There have been series of death fatwas by Islamic clerics and politicians in recent years and decades, the latest being against American makers of the film “Innocence of Muslims”, which amounts to calling for death of someone for practicing Freedom of Speech, which is one’s Human Rights in Western Constitutions and the UN Charter.

And incredibly, not one major political figure in the Republican or Democratic Party has called for the arrest of the proclaimers of the fatwa or condemned the governments of those countries that give protection to such heinous inciters of murder.

Issuing a death fatwa on someone for practicing his/her human rights is the worst incitement of violence, and by doing so, the proclaimer becomes an accomplice to the intended murder. It would be as if Al Capone or other mafia leaders called publicly for the death of their opponents, offering generous reward for anyone for executing the death order.

Plan of action needed against fatwas

We must demand that the US and all Western Governments immediately implement a four-part strategy to defend the human rights of all world citizens from political murder.

APPLICATION OF THE LIFE, LIBERTY, PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS  CLAUSE OF THE US DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE US CONSTITUTION AS CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS TO ALL PEOPLES OF ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD FROM EXTRAJUDICIAL MURDER

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

These are powerful, timeless words. They stand as a beacon for all humanity. These words are not only the Constitution of the United States – they are the Constitution of ALL mankind. EVERY HUMAN BEING has the full Constitutional human right to equality and unalienable rights – Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

There can be no life without liberty and no liberty without life. Freedom of expression is the very essence of liberty and meaningful life. The imposition of Islamic totalitarianism will be the death-knell of liberty.

The issuance of death fatwas is a criminal act of inciting extrajudicial murder, denying the right to life, liberty, freedom of expression, and happiness to its victims. Arrest warrants must not only be issued against the fatwa proclaimer, but also governments that protect such vile criminals and inciters of terrorism also be censured and referred to the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

On its part, the US Congress should declare that ALL peoples of the world have been granted Constitutional protection of their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, and individuals and governments that disrupt or imperil those rights of an individual can be sued in the US courts. This means that all those against whom fatwas have been issued as well as individuals or group—Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, or otherwise—who have been denied equality, could sue their oppressors of Muslim countries in US courts. Even Muslim women, whose human rights are violated or are denied equality, can sue for the protection of their rights, and equality with Muslim men, in US courts. The US courts would punish individuals, such as proclaimers of death fatwas, with arrest warrants as well as those governments with measures such as denying visas to UN delegations to withdrawal of monetary assistance and even economic sanctions.

Class action lawsuits should immediately be launched in US courts on behalf of those oppressed in Muslim lands or elsewhere, and all those living under death fatwa. This will be a historical event toward ensuring the rights and dignity of individuals irrespective of their residence or nationality, which will change history.

USE THE GRANTING OF VISAS TO UN DELEGATIONS OF ALL 57 ISLAMIC COUNTRIES AS A WEAPON TO FIGHT NOT ONLY FOR TOTAL PUNISHMENT OF THOSE ISSUING FATWAS BUT ALSO FOR THE EMANICIPATION /EQUALITY OF MUSLIM WOMEN, EQUALITY OF CHRISTIANS/JEWS/HINDUS, TOTAL EQUALITY FOR GAYS AND TOTAL PROTECTION FOR APOSTATES OF ISLAM IN THEIR COUNTRIESOR BE DENIED VISAS TO THEIR UN DELEGATIONS.

Can you imagine that UN delegations of oppressive Islamic countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan etc. are denied entry to the US soil, until they arrest all the proclaimers of death fatwas and all political leaders who supported those fatwas and who have allowed the murdering of Christians, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists etc., as well as until they establish complete inequality and liberty of women, gays and apostates. That will be a day of freedom never seen in history.

INITATE AN IMMEDIATE $100 BILLION US CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IN US COURTS AGAINST IRAN/EQYPT FOR THE ISSUANCE OF FATWAS SEEKING DEATH

Immediately an $100 billion US class action lawsuit should be initiated in US courts against Iran and Eqypt for the issuance of death-fatwas against Salman Rushdie, Geert Wilders, Jerry Falwell, through to Shahin Najafi, a Germany-based Iranian singer and a blanket fatwa calling for the killing of all those who insult the Quran, including anyone who burns the Islamic holy book issued by Ayatollah Naser Makareme Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani on Sept 13 2011. In addition, international arrest warrants to be issued against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamene, Ayatollah Naser Makareme Shirazi and Ayatollah Hossein Nouri-Hamedani and all others in Iran, who have issued such fatwas. International arrest warrants must also be issued for Egyptian President Morsi, Sheikh Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti, Ahmad Fouad Ashoush, Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud, Brigadier General Magdy al-Shafei, and from Lebanon – Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah.

INITATE AN IMMEDIATE $500 BILLION US CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT IN US COURTS

Immediately a $500 billion US class action lawsuit must also be initiated against Islamic countries for the violation of the constitutional protections of the rights and dignity of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, gays, apostates and Muslim women, seeking compensation for the above groups, who have lost loved ones and/or suffered economic privations.

List of fatwas

In this context, let us review the people currently under death fatwa from Islamic cleric, governments and political leaders.

1) Fatwas related to “Innocence of Muslims” film: Egypt has issued arrest warrants for eight individuals linked to the movie “Innocence of Muslims”. Charges, which could result in the death penalty, are being brought against Florida Pastor Terry Jones, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, supposed maker of the film, and six other Coptic Christians. Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud referred the eight people believed to be involved in making the "Innocence of Muslims" to Cairo Criminal Court on Tuesday, and ordered that they be taken into custody on charges of producing a film that defames Prophet Muhammad.

"The warrant of arrest was issued [in Egypt] against the defendants after the prosecutor accused them of committing crimes harming the unity of the nation and defamation of the Islamic religion," said the head of Egypt's Interpol office, Brigadier General Magdy al-Shafei.

"Prominent Salafi-Jihadi Cleric Issues Fatwa Sanctioning Killing Of U.S. Ambassadors, Including Chris Stevens," from MEMRI, September 20.

Following the September 11, 2012 killing of U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, a number of queries were sent in to the Salafi-jihadi website Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad (MTJ) regarding the legitimacy of this action. Answering on behalf of the website's sharia committee, Sheikh Abu Mundhir Al-Shinqiti issued a fatwa in which he approved of the killing of the U.S. ambassador and other U.S. diplomats, and refuted religious arguments raised by some Islamic scholars against such actions.

Ahmad Fouad Ashoush issued the religious edict this week via jihadist Internet forums. In addition to producer Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the fatwa is directed at everyone involved with the film including the cast and crew of the film.

“I issue a fatwa and call on the Muslim youth in America and Europe to do this duty, which is to kill the director, the producer and the actors and everyone who helped and promoted the film,” the edict reads.

He urged Muslim youth in America and Europe to “teach those filthy lowly ones a lesson that all the monkeys and pigs in America and Europe will understand” for insulting the name of the prophet Muhammad.

The presidents of the German political parties – Pro Deutschland and PRO NRW – Manfred Rouhs and Markus Beisicht have also found their names and address on the death list of the Egyptian imam Ahmed Fuad Ashoush.

FATWA FROM LEBANON: Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah issued a fatwa – calling on young Muslims in Western countries in particular to carry out the death sentence of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the film's creator and an Egyptian-American Coptic Christian, as well as the film's actors and all those involved in its making.

"I issue a fatwa and call on the Muslim youth in America and Europe to do this duty, which is to kill the director, the producer and the actors and everyone who helped and promoted the film," Nasrallah said, the Daily Telegraph reported.

2) Fatwas on Salman Rushdie: The Iranian government fatwa against author Salman Rushdie for his 1989 novel, The Satanic Verses, is probably the most well-known Islamic fatwa in living memory. Rushdie had to live under hiding for nearly two decades for the fatwa, although he has started living a normal life in recent years in the US. Although, in 1998 Iran stated it was no longer pursuing Rushdie’s death, the decree was again reversed in early 2005 by the present theocrat, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Although Rushdie has got back his freedom of some sorts, his Japanese translator, Hitoshi Igarashi, was stabbed to death in Tokyo in 1991, and his Italian translator was beaten and stabbed in Milan. In 1993, Rushdie's Norwegian publisher William Nygaard was shot and severely injured in an attack outside his house in Oslo. Thirty-seven guests died when their hotel in Sivas, Turkey was torched by locals protesting against Aziz Nesin, Rushdie's Turkishtranslator.

Rushdie has also been caught up in the “Innocence of Muslims” films hysteria as an independent Iranian clerical body has revived the death fatwa against him and even raised the price on Rushdie’s head to $3.3m.

“I am increasing the reward for the killing of Salman Rushdie another 500,000 dollars. The one who puts this demand into action will immediately receive the whole amount,” the news agency Reuters quoted from a statement by Hassan Sanei, the president of the state-friendly foundation “15th Chordad” to the Iranian ISNA news agency.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei confirmed the validity of Islamic legal opinion against Rushdie. This is supported by the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

3) Iranian death fatwas against rapper Shahin Najafi: An Iranian rapper named Shahin Najafi living in Germany has been forced into hiding after hardline clerics offered a $100,000 bounty for his murder, because of his song which satirized the Tehran regime and making allegedly irreverent remarks about the tenth Islamic imam.

Fatwa against Geert Wilders: Internationally well-known politician, Geert Wilders, is one of many Dutch politicians, carrying a fatwa against him. In 2008, Wilders received 285 death threats, with a further 264 aimed at all Dutch politicians. There were a total of 145 protection orders for Wilders in 2006; in 2005, there were 110. An Australian imam named Feiz Muhammad has issued a fatwa calling for the Dutch politician’s beheading, as of 2010.

4) Fatwa against Jerry Falwell: In an interview given on September 30, 2002, for the October 6 edition of 60 Minutes, American Christian minister Jerry Falwell said: "I think Muhammad was a terrorist. I read enough by both Muslims and non-Muslims, [to decide] that he was a violent man, a man of war."

The following Friday, Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, the spokesman of Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a fatwa calling for Falwell's death, saying Falwell was a "mercenary and must be killed." He added, "The death of that man is a religious duty, but his case should not be tied to the Christian community."

5) Death fatwas against Taslima Nasreen: Fundamentalists in Bangladesh proclaimed a similar fatwa against Taslima Nasreen in 1993 against a series of newspaper columns in which she was critical of the treatment of women under Islam. The next year she wrote Lajja (Shame) which described the abuse of women and minorities in Islamic Bangladesh. Again there were calls for her death, and her passport was confiscated. Within the legal system, she felt that she might have faced a jail term of up to two years, where she was likely to be murdered. She managed to escape the country via Calcutta, was granted asylum in Sweden, and then lived in Paris, and finally came to India. Even in India, she had to flee the city of Calcutta and move to Delhi under Indian government's strict orders following riots in Calcutta.

6) Fatwa against Isioma Daniel: Mamuda Aliyu Shinkafi, the deputy governor of Zamfara state in Nigeria, issued a fatwa in November 2002 calling for the death of journalist Isioma Daniel for comments suggesting that Muhammad may have chosen a wife from one of the Miss World contest.

7) Fatwa against Raheel Raza? Raheel Raza, a Muslim human rights activist who has advocated for gender equality, especially for Muslim women, became the first woman to lead mixed-gender Muslim prayers in Canada, in 2005, and said: "I already have a fatwa against me".

Similar fatwas are hanging against others, such as Iraqi Kuridsh author Mariwan Halabjaee, issued by Mullah Krekar, threatening to kill Halabjaee for writing the book, Sex, Sharia and Women in the History of Islam. Both Krekar and Halabjaee reside in Norway. "I swear that we will not live if you live. Either you go before us, or we go before you," said Krekar. Krekar compared Halabjaee with Salman Rushdie and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Ulil Abshar Abdalla, an Indonesian writer, was also issued a death fatwa by a group of Indonesian Islamic clerics from Forum Ulama Umat Islam for an article that Ulil wrote in Kompas in 2002, "Menyegarkan Kembali Pemahaman Islam" (Rejuvenating the Islamic Understanding) that was considered heretical by the clerics. In March 2011, a letter filled with explosives addressed to Ulil at Komunitas Utan Kayu exploded, injuring a police officer.

How can our government sit idly by while another country allows its citizens to declare death sentences against our citizens and the citizens of our allies? This is outrageous. This must end.