As I'm sure you're aware, Sunnis & Shias consider each other to be heretics, so that is obviously not valid.
"As I'm sure you're aware, Sunnis & Shias consider each other to be heretics, so that is obviously not valid." So if ISIS is mainly comprised of sect X (Shia I am guessing) , then the fatwa has to come from : 1. Imam of sect X 2. Who are respected in their world community or are based in a Muslim nation with a greater standing among sect X. So on #2 such a fatwa coming from an Islamic council of Imam in Iran is probably going to be heeded a lot more seriously than one coming from the Islamic council of Imam in Isleworth.
No! IS are Sunnis, trying to overthrow the Shia dominated Iraqui Gvt. That's why (Shia) Iran are suddenly friends of the Iraqis. The Fatwa was issued specifically against British Muslims joining IS. Why would Iran get involved?
If ISIS are predominately Sunni, then I still think we are still down to the Imam 'rankings' (council of Isleworth joke etc) . In the "devout" heads of these idiots, from whom will a fatwa be treated as 'WTF are they ?? Ignore em' , and whose will trigger a 'we better stop and think about this one, we might be going to hell' ??
Going back to square one, it will make those who are motivated to go by genuine religious motives think very seriously about the consequences. Also, I doubt that the Fatwa was issued without consultation with the highest Muslim authorities in the UK.
"Going back to square one, it will make those who are motivated to go by genuine religious motives think very seriously about the consequences." And this is where we disagree. These people can be truly deeply devout, and yet still seek to rationalise their actions in the context of this fatwa by the perceived importance or standing of the issuers. So for a Sunni, if this fatwa was issued or publicly endorsed by a leading council of Imam in Saudi Arabia it would IMHO give much more food for thought to these idiots than coming from a council of UK Imam.
As you say, we disagree. As far as I understand it, a Fatwa can only be issued by the most senior Muslim clerics. The Fatwa was issued by a UK Iman as that's where these idiots are - many of them British citizens who couldn't find Saudi Arabia on a map!..
"many of them British citizens who couldn't find Saudi Arabia on a map" If they are devout they certainly can, because they would have done the Hajj at least once, right.
We'll be a majority Muslim state in England in a couple of decades or so so get your grandaughter's daughters to start learning how to wear the Burka.
Those that can afford it, yes. An old mate of mine who worked out there - sadly dead now, told me a very amusing story about the Hajj. I think this goes back to the seventies. Anyway, Saudi were, in a fit of largesse, paying to have Muslims from obscure parts of the world flown over to Mecca. From memory, I think this was some lost tribe from Ethiopia. Most of these people had never seen a plane before, let alone been on one. Anyway, on they get, complete with assorted beasts. The plane comes in to land at Saudi, skids off the end of the runway, and ends up on it's side in the sand. The tribe calmly sort themselves out, and get off the plane. As they'd never seen a plane before, they seemed to think that this was all perfectly normal!
"Those that can afford it, yes." Is the Hajj nowadays the equivalent of "millionaire slumming" in terms of cost ?? I could understand it being so if you do it during the Ramadan period, but not all year.
I believe you are called upon to do it at least once in your life. But exceptions are made for those who cannot make the trip, for one reason or another.
TBH, if there is one thing I would have thought the Saudi government could subsidise, it would be the construction of reams of state-owned fair accommodation for the hordes of average worldwide pilgrims descending on Mecca. Private developers can build the odd palatial hotel for the whims of the millionaire Hajj slummers.
I expect that Saudi has more than enough money to pay for virtually every Muslim on the planet to make the trip, if they so chose. But hey, business is business!....
Its funny that the person quoted thanks God that he can afford to go, but doesnt blame God for the fact he cant afford to take his family. Looks like God cant lose.
<quote> Zakat: giving 2.5% of one’s savings to the poor and needy </quote> Given 2.5% of a lot of oil money so the poor and needy have a chance to do the Hajj would seem to me to make the Saudi autocracy ultra "Zakat" .
