Sayyid Tantawi is the Grand Imam of al-Azhar University and is regarded as
the highest spiritual authority by Sunni Muslims. In statements to the
West
he condemns suicide bombing as contrary to ****'a law. Regarding the
bombing
of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya he stated that:
"Any explosion that leads to the death of innocent women and children is a
criminal act, carried out only by people who are base, cowards and
traitors,
because a rational man with jus a bit of respect and manliness, refrains
from such operations altogether." "Al Quds" 17 Aug 1998, MEMRI, Inquiry
and
Analysis 2 May 2001.
Similarly he condemned the September 11 atrocity. On 3 December 2001
following a wave of suicide attacks on Israel he said that shari'ah:
"rejects all attempts on human life, and in the name of Shariah we condemn
all attacks on civilians, whatever their community or state responsible
for
such attacks."
He rejected the view that all Israelis are legitimate targets. In 2003 at
an
international conference of Islamic scholars he declared that suicide
bombers are enemies of Islam.
These are just the assurances that we non-Muslims in the West asked for:
declarations that these atrocities are contrary to Islam; and such an
authority will be believed. Tantawi could do nothing more designed to
raise
the standing of Islam and Muslims. But what do we find? In 1997 following
a
call by Israeli Rabbis Tantawi declared suicide attacks on civilian
targets
legal. He told "al-Hayat" that the suicide bombers acted in selfdefence
and
were justified under Shari'a. ("Muslimedia 1- 15 Sept 1997). In another
interview with the Arab daily in 1998 he said "It is every Muslim,
Palestinian, and Arab's right to blow himself up in the heart of Israel."
"al-Hayat" 27 April 2001 MEMRI 2 May 2001.
In April 2001 he was quoted by "al-Hayat" as stating that:
"Suicide operations are selfdefence and a kind of marytrdom, as long as
the
intention behind them is to kill the enemy's soldiers and not women and
children." MEMRI 2 May 2001.
In 2002 he went further and declared explicitly that even the killing of
women and children was permitted and should be intensified. (MEMRI 7 April
2002.) And so the list of his pronouncements in favour of terrorism
continues - see Patrick Sookhdeo's recent book "Global Jihad."
Tantawi is clearly not vacillating, but practising taqiyya: telling the
West
what will be to the advantage of Islam, while denying his apparently
reasonable and responsible pronouncements when before a Muslim audience.
This accepted and legitimized Muslim practice makes it very difficult for
non-Muslims engaged in debate or negotiations with them. How can one ever
judge that they are acting in good faith? What a primitive system of
ethics.
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