Hallo,
misschien wel interessant voor diegenen die denken dat het de schuld is van de religie: de daders worden zeker niet heilig verklaard.
Joost
----------------
> Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2001 16:39:16 -0500
>
> For Immediate Release:
>
> The faculty members of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and
> Cultures at Indiana University have been watching with shock and
> horror the news reports about the vicious hijacking of the airliners
> that were used to attack targets in New York and Washington, D.C. We
> are outraged at this act of cowardly violence, condemn those
> responsible and are certain that the U.S. government will find and
> punish all those connected with this immoral act. We offer our
> deepest condolences to those who have suffered because of this
> violence.
>
> As members of the Indiana University faculty involved in the study of
> Middle Eastern religions and civilization, in the teaching of
history
> and cultures of the Muslim world in general and the Middle East in
> particular, we state categorically that these violent acts are in no
> way justifiable by reference to Muslim religious beliefs and
> practices. Islam, like all other world religions, forbids suicide
and
> those committing suicide cannot be buried in consecrated ground or
> given a Muslim funeral prayer. Therefore, we would like to stress
> that there is no room for martyrdom in Islam by means of homicide,
> suicide or the harming of innocent people. Islam also stresses
> individual moral responsibility-i.e., that the innocent cannot be
> blamed or punished for the sins of others. Furthermore, extremist
> fringe elements with misguided understanding of religious beliefs
> should not be labeled "fundamentalist," as they are often lunatics
> bringing nothing but harm to the religious communities with whom they
> claim affinity. (These facts have been made clear in statements of
> condemnation by the highest Islamic religious authority-the Supreme
> Imam of Al-Azhar University, in Cairo, Egypt- and all Muslim and Arab
> organizations in the US).
>
> Those who perpetrated the hijacking of the airliners, whatever their
> identities and affiliations may be, have hijacked not only those
four
> airplanes and their innocent passengers, but also more than 1.2
> billion peaceful Muslim believers world wide, and as a result have
> victimized Muslim societies and civilization forever. We commend the
> cautious approach of the U.S. government and many media
> representatives in distinguishing between the desperate elements who
> may have committed these crimes and the masses of peaceful Muslims
> citizens of the United States and beyond. We are also impressed by
> the reports of care and compassion shown by countless Americans
> towards their American Muslim neighbors, friends, co-workers and
> acquaintances during this period of communal sorrow.
>
> As educators we hope that this tragedy which has brought the peoples
> of the United States together in an unprecedented manner, will also
> offer the opportunity to combat the unjust socioeconomic and
> political conditions that breed extremism in other parts of the
world,
> especially in the Middle East. It is also our hope that this tragedy
> will bring about greater education and understanding of shared
values
> between world religious communities and civilizations, especially
> those of Islamic and Western civilizations rooted in Abrahamic
> religious traditions.
>
> Signed for the Faculty of the Department of Near Eastern Languages
and
> Culture