COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The lead cleric of the Masjidil Haram or the Mecca Mosque, the holiest place in Islam, has rejected the extremist Islamic State (IS) and rallied Muslims to be moderate and amicable.
Sheikh Maher bin Hamad al-Mueaqly visited this city on Tuesday and joined locals in prayers at local mosques.
Sources, who attended the prayers that al-Mueaqly had headed, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Wednesday that the cleric urged Muslims to be righteous and “respect others, including the ‘People of the Scriptures’ such as the Christians and the Jews” even as he cited several fatwa (edicts) that labeled IS “enemy of Islam.”
The IS – made up of extremists claiming to be Sunni Muslims – is fighting for an Islamic caliphate devoid of Christians and Jews.
The Saudi cleric also underscored the need for Muslims to be guided by the Koran so they would not deviate from the real teachings of Islam.
Al-Mueaqly cited the fatwa (edict) issued by Sunni clerics in Saudi Arabia against the extremist form of Islam in maintaining his stance against the IS, the sources said.
During the Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh had made public the contents of several fatwa, which Filipino Muslim pilgrims and preachers have been reflecting on.
These included the fatwa issued by 21 Saudi senior clerics, which described the IS as among the enemies of Muslim nations that have been trying to spread “chaos and confusion.” The fatwa stated that the IS should be “hit with an iron hand.”
“Your religion is threatened. Your security is threatened,” he said in a news dispatch by the official Saudi Press Agency.
“These criminals carry out rapes, bloodshed and looting,” al-Sheikh said, adding that “these vile crimes can be considered terrorism.
Al-Sheikh called the perpetrators of this terrorism as tyrants with deviant ideology. They had nothing to do with Islam, he said.
Saudi clerics, who are also Sunni, have been denouncing IS.
In August, al-Sheikh also cautioned Muslim youth against “calls for jihad… on perverted principles,” and described Al-Qaeda and IS as Islam’s top enemy.
“Extremist and militant ideas and terrorism which spread decay on earth, destroying human civilization are not in any way part of Islam, but are enemy number one of Islam, and Muslims are their first victims,” al-Sheikh had said.
Al-Mueaqly, according to the sources, said that these edicts were enough to guide Muslims away from undue influence that could lead them astray. With a report from Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao
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