ISIS Is A True Product Of Salafism: Terrorism And Salafism From Sheikh Kalbani's Perspective
By New Age Islam Staff Writer
30 March
2024
ISIS Is
A True Product Of Salafism, And We Must Deal With It With Full Transparency
Main
Points:
1. Sheikh
Kalbani denounces the Salafi ideology that forms the basis of ISIS and related
groups.
2. He
emphasizes the need for a rational analysis of Islamic history to prevent the
spread of terrorist ideology.
3. He
criticizes the rise of terrorism among young people, citing neglect from various
sectors.
4. He urges
scholars, teachers, and clergy members to educate children on the correct
teachings of Islam to prevent the spread of terrorist ideology.
5. He argues
that the Takfiri terrorist groups aim to instil in children the belief that
they are the only true Muslims and that all others are grave worshippers,
polytheists, or apostates.
6. Kalbani
emphasizes the need to stop the spread of Takfiri theology, which justifies the
killing of Muslims and others.
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Sheikh ‘Aadel Al-Kalbani, former imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca has
announced that ISIS is the result of the Salafi version of Islam, and therefore
there needs to be changes within the Salafi sect itself.
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“ISIS is a
true product of Salafism, and we must deal with it with full transparency.”
This
assertion was stated by Sheikh Kalbani, a Salafi and former imam of the Grand
Mosque in Makkah, rather than by any non-Wahhabi or Salafi Muslims. He made
this assertion in his tweet on August 15, 2014 (@abuabdelelah).
Following the outcry on social media, ten days later, on August 24, Sheikh Kalbani penned an article headlined "Is Terrorism a Salafi Product?" for Al-Riyadh.
Speaking
out against ISIS and calling the group a product of Salafism, Kalbani is not
the first Salafi to do so. Although other Saudis have also condemned the
actions of ISIS, Kalbani has gone one step further in his criticism. He has
openly denounced the Salafi ideology that forms the basis of ISIS and related
groups, arguing that a rational analysis of Islamic history and its
applicability to the present day is preferable to a mindless re-enactment of
it.
In his
article, Sheikh Kalbani criticises the rise of terrorism among young people,
pointing out neglect from parents, religious leaders, educators, preachers, and
sociologists. He emphasises the importance of educating children on the correct
teachings of Islam to prevent the spread of terrorist ideology. He urges
scholars, teachers, and clergy members to ensure that the children of the
Muslim community receive an appropriate education and are not misled by ideas
of terror. Failure to do so could lead to regretful consequences.
Additionally,
Sheikh Kalbani condemns people who falsely claim to be Salafis, issues Takfiri
Fatwas, and pass judgment on Muslims harshly, calling them apostates, Mushriks,
and accusing them of deviating from the straight path. This makes it possible
for anyone to declare their opponents to be heretics and to legitimise their
killings, giving them the right to kill and leave whoever they choose.
Declaring a
Muslim to be an apostate and a Kaafir to justify his murder has become a cancer
that no one dares to confront. Our children are being taught that members of
one sect are polytheists, members of another sect are Kaafir, and members of
still another sect are apostates. The situation is so dire that even our
renowned scholars are not immune to their Takfiri decree.
He also
takes issue with extremists propagating misinterpreted Islamic teachings and
holding onto ideas that contradict Islam. Takfiri terrorist groups portray
themselves as genuine advocates of truth and monotheism, which exposes the
terrible distortion of Islamic concepts and values.
According
to Kalbani, there is no connection between Salaf followers and these Takfiri
groups. The Salaf style of life is centred on forgiveness, fraternity, peace,
and security. Living a life of justice, peace, and tranquillity with Muslims
and non-Muslims is what the Salaf preaches.
The Takfiri
terrorist groups wish to instil in our children the belief that they are the
only true Muslims and that all others are either grave worshippers,
polytheists, or apostates who should be killed. Kalbani asserts that the
"Salafists" must cease disseminating Takfiri theology, which
justifies the killing of Muslims and other people. Until we succeed in this, we
cannot rightfully refer to ourselves as Salafists. He wants to emphasise the
stark contrast between the ideology of the present Salafist movement and the
teachings of the Salaf.
Additionally,
the Takfiri terrorist groups wish to instil in our children the belief that
nobody else is pious except for their Ulama and scholars. They consider
everyone else to be a traitor to the virtuous Salaf, while they consider
themselves devoted disciples of Salaf. We will continue to witness murder and
bloodshed if we do not put an end to these ideas and beliefs.
He places a
strong emphasis on protecting a healthy, productive plant from ideas and
viruses that could make its fruits and seeds poisonous, as well as on taking
good care of the roots of the plant. In his closing words, Kalbani argues that
rather than destroying the past, it must be used as a building block in order
to construct the present and the future. You may read his article in its
entirety as follows:
Is Terrorism a Salafi Product?
By
Sheikh ‘Aadel Al-Kalbani
Whenever we
watch the nets of temptation snatching our young people and its threads pulling
them into an abyss from which they only emerge with blood-soaked fangs, we
remark, regretfully biting our fingers, "Where did this come from?"
And how did they fall into it, as if we hadn't been able to do anything
previously? They have strayed primarily as a result of our neglect. By our
neglect, I mean the neglect of the parents’ generation as well as the neglect
of the honourable members of society such as clerics, teachers, preachers,
jurisprudents, and sociologists who are directly involved in that society. The
words, the books, the sermons, the dramas, and all the artistic creativity and
the essential link [to the audience] that these people present in all the
media, whether print, radio, or television, [allow them] to monitor the ideas
of the young people and to participate in balancing them. I exclude, of course,
the tiniest of minorities whose throat is parched from warning about the
extremism of the Salafis.
Yes, this
is the plant that has sprouted in the garbage dump of those who excessively
pass judgment on others and pretend to represent Salafism. How gravely they
have accused others of apostasy, of deviating from the right path, of heresy,
and of licentiousness—as if the arena lies open before them and there is nobody
to condemn them and no judge to punish them. Furthermore, they are received
with feigned respect and admiration, and opportunities have been opened to them
to plant in the minds of our young people that this one has gone astray and
that one is an infidel and the other one is lax in religion. Even the greatest
of clerics, past and present, are not spared their arrows.
They spread
the principles of Islam in a twisted manner that makes them incomprehensible or
distorted, and they preserve things that negate Islam. They measure the judge,
the educated, the student, and even the simple folk by what they [i.e., these
extremists] have learned by heart but do not understand, and they think that
they are entitled to rule that the above-mentioned are apostates and to call
down upon them the punishments of Allah that are no longer implemented, and by
so doing, they think that they will restore the glory and splendour of
monotheism.
“This group
thinks that no one but itself and its supporters is the source of good and the
defenders of monotheism—because [its members] imbibed with their mother’s milk
[the view] that all Muslims worldwide do not understand [monotheism] and that
they are not worshipping only Allah but are polytheists who worship graves...
and that there are no just clerics besides their own clerics and their
disciples.
[They think
that] only a cleric whom they love, whom they heed and obey, and on whose say
they reject or validate [others]—only he holds the truth and acts in accordance
with the ways of [Islam’s] just forefathers...
They spread
out and multiplied, and they publicly called for following in the footsteps of
some sheikh and for accepting his words in full. They have begun to classify
people, preachers, and clerics—for example, this sheikh shouldn’t be listened
to because he is more loathsome than the Jews and the Christians, and that
fatwa deviates [from the right path], so it is forbidden to pray behind anyone
who adopts it, or to sit with him, eat with him, or respect him. They have
begun to separate the young people from the clerics who understand the result
of [this activity by them] and what difficulties they are going to cause the nation.
Actually,
there is no connection between the path of these extremists and the [true] path
of the Salafis, which is tolerance, compassion, and gentleness, and in which
there is no place for extremism and [religious] fanaticism. [Salafism] is a
path that spreads love, brotherhood, and acceptance of the other among Muslims
and coexistence with non-Muslims. But the thing is to understand it and to
implement it—and not just pretend to do so—in a way that is compatible with the
deep roots of the past and with the demands of the present.
However,
what is needed is a perception of reforming ideas, not admonitions, reproof,
reactions, and word-sparing that deal with the symptom and ignore the disease!
There is still enough time to rehabilitate [these ideas], ideologically and
practically, and to prevent society from splitting into sects and groups that
throng after dignitaries who are enveloped in an aura of immunity [to sin and
error] and sanctity, with each group thinking that it has the right to guide
the nation and recruit its young people.
“A plant is
always like its roots. If we want a good, fruitful plant, it is incumbent upon
everyone to care for its roots, its water sources, the spread of its branches,
and the fertility of the earth [from which it grows], and to protect it from
ideas and viruses that turn its fruit and seeds to poison from which the
generations sip and on which the young people grow up; from [these seeds]
sprouts a plant that has in it no place for compassion and to whom love and
friendship are totally alien.”
“We Remain
Trapped in the Dungeons of the Very Distant Past”; We Should “Rely on the Past
as a Foundation” for Building the Present and Future, Not Destroying Them
[End of the
Article]
Source: Senior Saudi Salafi Cleric, Sheikh
‘Aadel Al-Kalbani: ‘ISIS Is a True Product of Salafism’
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URL: https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/terrorism-salafism-sheikh-kalbani-isis/d/132037
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