Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Il Corano e la guerra

http://www.islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=8343
Question and Answer Details
Name Myoung   - Korea (South)
Topic Ethics & Values
Title Beheading Civilians... Islamic?
Question Is there any rule of beheading in Qur'an? Is that a teaching which
can justify beheading of foreign civilians?
I realized that Muslims are much brutal. How can Muslims cut off civilians'
necks like cutting off animals and why those Muslims shout "Allah" when they
cut off neck? Is it really a great sacrifice for Allah?
Date  2004/9/22
Name of Consultant Jasser Auda
Content of Reply
Salam, Myoung.
Thank you for your question.
Since you are from South Korea, I would like to start by condoling you and
your nation for the horrific tragedy that occurred to your citizen in Iraq.
It saddened me personally and saddened every decent Muslim I know.
Dear Myoung, Islam has nothing to do with these beheadings, even though it
is a distressing fact that some people, who said they were Muslims, carried
them out. That is why I really appreciate your question, "is there any rule
of beheading in Qur'an?" because, yes, the Qur'an is the criterion by which
we could differentiate between Islam itself and any other actions that are
not Islamic.
The Korean employee and other non-military citizens, like journalists and
truck drivers, etc., are non-combatants. Allah in the Qur'an forbade Muslims
from killing non-combatants, and allowed them only to fight against
combatants. The Qur'an, in numerous verses, illustrated that. For example,
the Qur'an says what means:
*{Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress;
for Allah does not love not transgressors.}* (Al-Baqarah 2:190)
And these civilians were clearly not fighters. The Prophet of Islam,
Muhammad (peace be upon him), also forbade his Companions during their
battles from attacking anybody who is not armed. And when he (peace be upon
him) saw a woman from the enemy, who did not look like a fighter, lying dead
in the middle of a battleground, he was enraged and said in anger to his own
Companions, "Why was she killed? She was not a fighter!"
And even if we agree, hypothetically, to the weak argument that says that
those civilians who serve the invading troops are partners in the
transgression, these hostages would then be "prisoners of war" (Arabic:
asraa). And beheading is not the way that the Qur'an, to quote it again as a
reference, dealt with prisoners of war. Among many verses, there are verses
that virtually every Muslim memorizes in Surat Al-Insan 76, describing true
believers, saying what means:
*{And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the
captive of war,- [Saying:] "We feed you for the sake of Allah alone: no
reward do we desire from you, nor thanks. We only fear a Day of distressful
Wrath from the side of our Lord." So, Allah will deliver them from the evil
of that Day, and will shed over them a light of beauty and joy}* Al-Insan
76:8-11)
Therefore, it is an Islamic duty to feed the captives of war, treat them
well, and to respect their humanity. Another verse that specifically talks
about prisoners of war gave Muslims two alternatives: either to free them or
to ransom or exchange them. The Qur'an says what means:
*{When you [Muslims] have overcome them [the fighters], then make them
prisoners, and afterwards either set them free as a favor or let them be
ransomed, until the war terminates.}* (Muhammad 47:4)
In Islam, ends do not justify means. So, although rejecting occupation is an
end that Islam approves, killing of innocent people is a forbidden means
that is, simply, non-Islamic, even if carried out by Muslims and even if
these killers shout some "Islamic" slogans while carrying out their crimes.
I hope this clarifies matters to you. In case you need any more
clarification, please do not hesitate to contact us again. Thank you and
please stay in touch.


Beheading non Civilians... Islamic?
Sai se il ridicolo corano propone delle regole di ingaggio per le truppe  e
abbia una sura dedicata alle armi chimiche?
In tal caso lo passeremmo a testo militare, dove non sfigura.
Saluti Cad Ali'
--
Edward Luttwak, in un'intervista rilasciata al quotidiano Avvenire disse di
Saddam:
 "Quello non è come i principi sauditi, che si spendono gli introiti del
petrolio
 in champagne e donnacce a Parigi. Quello usa i petrodollari per costruire
ferrovie!
 Sta formando una classe di tecnici istruiti! Ancora pochi decenni e l'Iraq
rischia
 di diventare la prima potenza dell'area".