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RUSSIAN MUFTIS CAUTION MOSLEM COMMUNITY AGAINST
DECLARING HOLY WARS
MOSCOW, APRIL 3, RIA NOVOSTI - The Russian Muftis Council has cautioned Moslems across the world against declaring holy wars on nations, calling it an "impermissible and dangerous" practice.
Regrettably, some members of Russia's Moslem community seek to kindle the Iraq war instead of trying to bring it to an end, the Council points out in a statement, signed by the chairman, Sheik Ravil Gainutdinov. Thus, for instance, the organization identifying itself as the Islamic Spiritual Administration of Holy Russia has reportedly drawn up a plan of arms supplies for the Iraqi fighters. This fact serves as a vivid proof of the timeliness of the recently enacted federal law on counter-extremism measures, Gainutdinov believes. Such acts violate not just Russia's extremism legislation, but also its Penal Code, he notes.
As authoritative Moslem theologians have stated, the Iraqis are now waging a jihad against the American and British invaders. But in helping the people of Iraq, Moslems living elsewhere may not use means outlawed by the nations they are part of, the Muftis Council emphasizes in its statement.
The Russian Moslems condemn aggression, and are praying to God for an end to the bloodshed in Iraq. They can provide the Iraqi people with humanitarian and any other type of aid not prohibited by Russian legislation. But they may neither launch fund-raising campaigns for the purchase of arms abroad, nor use those arms against another state with which Russia is not at war, nor form illegal paramilitary groups, the Muftis Council points out. In conclusion, it says the Russian Moslems are standing behind their government and that they appreciate its efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Iraqi conflict.
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