TERM `FATWA' IS MISUSED BY AL-QAIDA.

Byline: Omar Ricci

ON July 28, more than 145 Muslim-American organizations did something their fellow Americans had been looking for since Sept. 11 - they issued a fatwa against extremism, terrorism and suicide bombing.

The logical question that comes to mind is: ``What took so long?'' The answer is not simple. It deals with issues of breaking scholarly taboos, form over substance, understanding the American psyche and the national media.

To clarify, the term ``fatwa'' means a nonbinding Islamic religious opinion rooted in sources of Islamic law - the Quran and the authentic sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad, or ``Sunnah.'' (See ``Demystifying the Fatwa'' at www.mpac.org.)

The use of this term by al-Qaida and the like to psychologically conscript ill-guided followers has also led Americans to view a ``fatwa'' as a binding Islamic edict - much like the Vatican issues binding edicts to its followers. To lay-Americans, the issuance of a fatwa, from any corner of the Muslim world, implies a force majeure in the lives of all ordinary Muslims and therefore cause for concern.

But to Muslims in America and around the world, a ``fatwa'' is not viewed with any binding force and is in many respects similar to a legal opinion without being law. So when Osama bin Laden issued his fatwa in 2002 calling upon Muslim Americans to fight in the West, it was shrugged off because Muslims did not agree, and moreover they viewed bin Laden as a criminal and not a religious scholar.

Since Sept. 11, Muslim-American organizations have been tirelessly engaged in counterterrorism and counterideology efforts, all of which are directly sourced in the Quran and Sunnah. But why have these organizations not labeled their anti-terrorism efforts as ``fatwas?''

The answer stems primarily from a deeply rooted scholarly desire not to cheapen the meaning or spirit of the term and not stoop to the level of al-Qaida in how it has demeaned the use of a fatwa. Besides, leaders of these organizations thought, the Quranic basis from which anti-terrorism efforts emanate clearly refutes the ideological beliefs of al-Qaida.

Why is it then that America isn't getting the message? Why are Muslim-American organizations having a monumental P.R. crisis at such a critical time?

The answer to this question lies both at the doorstep of Muslim-American organizations as well as the national media. For Muslim-American organizations, there was a gross failure to recognize the co-opting of the term ``fatwa'' by Muslim terrorist groups. There was also a failure to recognize the psychological impact the term ``fatwa'' had on fellow Americans.

These failures cost Muslim Americans dearly. They allowed right-wing media pundits, with their politically motivated ignorance of Islam, to put form over substance and discredit an entire community as not having done enough to condemn terrorism. Their current dominance of the national microphone influenced those who didn't hear any counterweight.

The national media, the modern day mountaintops from which to shout, are also culpable.

An example comes from an interaction between the Muslim Public Affairs Council and CNN in September 2004. Catherine Mitchell, a segment producer from ``NewsNight with Aaron Brown'' flew to Southern California and spent several intensive days interviewing local imams, FBI agents and Muslim community leaders about the MPAC's ``Grassroots Campaign to Fight Terrorism.''

The campaign, with its ``12-Point Mosque Guidelines'' and ``Partnering with Law Enforcement'' components, was being implemented in Southern California. CNN presumably wanted to report on Muslim Americans taking steps to counter terrorism. However, to date, CNN has not aired a single second of its extensive taping, even though we were told by Mitchell that broadcast had been slated for later that month.

Follow-up phone calls netted creative responses for the nonairing - ``it's been rescheduled'' or ``it's been a busy week in Iraq,'' etc., all understandable in some respect, but for nearly a year?

Muslim Americans have been and are doing their share to protect the nation. But it is frustrating that such efforts are analogous to a tree falling in the forest, either because of issues of style over substance or the lack of reporting by national media.

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Photo:

Muzammil Siddiqi, right, of the Fiqh Council of North America, speaks about the anti-terrorism fatwa, July 28, in Washington.

Lauren Victoria Burke/Associated Press