Middle East Focus: History: Egypt Fatwa Adapts to the Zeitgeist, of Omar and Ali and the Two American Rices...........

Arabia Deserta

History: Egypt Fatwa Adapts to the Zeitgeist, of Omar and Ali and the Two American Rices...........

Rattlesnake Ridge

BFF

"Dar Al-Ifta, the official authority for issuing fatwas (religious opinions), affirmed the permissibility of pluralism, according to a statement issued Monday. The fatwa clarified that no particular political system was specified by Islamic Sharia, which left the matter open to what was agreed upon and interpreted “by the nation’s scholars,” since the time of the Prophet. Political pluralism itself was defined in the fatwa as “the multitude of political opinions, emanating from ‘political parties’ formed by a group of people with converging views, attempting to apply such views by parliamentary or ministerial representation, or even through access to the presidency.” The fatwa also referred to the methods of appointment of the first three Caliphs (successors to the Prophet) as jurisprudential evidence. “The Prophet never specified his successor, and the Muslims chose Abu Bakr, who in turn appointed Omar as a successor, and Omar appointed six of which one would be elected,” it said. The fatwa also cited further evidence in the dealings of the Prophet with his companions in matters of mutual disagreement, such as “[the Prophet’s] discourse with Omar on the day of Al-Hudaybiyah, and with Al-Ansar in the Battle of Hunein.” The two incidents demonstrate “the admittance of the prophet of disagreement” and his engaging into dialogue with those who disagreed.........."

Great: fatwas for the new Zeitgeist. Now that Mr. Mubarak is out, the fatwas in Egypt are coming out fast and furious in favor of plurality. Now, how about sending copies of these fatwas to Riyadh and Damascus and Algiers and Abu Dhabi and Yemen and.....
Why not adopt them for the League of Confused Arab States? Let the Arab kings read it carefully or, better yet, have someone read it for them.

A history lesson: The death of the Prophet Mohammed created 'some' hard feelings. The assassination of Omar and ascension of Othman created even harder feelings as Islam started to split into its two major sects. The assassination of Othman and ascension of Ali solidified the schism between Shi'as and the Sunni 'orthodoxy'. The Assassination of Ali and the usurpation of the Caliphate by the Umayyad monarchy made the schism permanent. Then came the tragedy: the massacre at Karbala introduced an emotional element that has transcended many centuries and still stirs violent emotions that no Western Arabist or official can even begin to understand. Not even Condi Rice of the screaming cluster-bombed Beirut (2006) of the silly "birth pangs New Middle East". Not even Susan Rice of "what is all this shit about a Palestinian state?".
Maybe if they understood that history they can begin to understand many other things about our region, including the complexity and tenacity of Hezbollah and the Palestinians, among others.
Cheers
mhg

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com