Suicide bombing is unIslamic, say Hyderabad religious leaders

By Syed Akbar
Hyderabad: In a significant development, two city-based Muslim  religious institutions have declared suicide bombings as "un-Islamic" and called upon the "misguided" Muslim youth to desist from anything that cause 
harm to life or property.
The fatwas (religious decrees) come in the wake of suspected first-ever  suicide bombing in the city. The 130-year-old Jamia Nizamia and the Jamiatul Mominath have described suicide bombings as an act of cowardice 
and "haram" (prohibited action). Those killing people or damaging property are going against the tenets of Islam and are punishable under law.
In an unanimous decree, the five-member Mufti bench of Jamiatul Mominath on Friday said life was a trust of the Almighty and no one had any right, whatsoever, to take it. The Darul Ifta (department of decrees) comprising 
head Muftis Muhammad Hasnuddin and Muhammad Mastan Ali Quadri and women Muftiyas Nazima Azeez, Rizwana Zareen and Sayeeda Fatima declared in an oral fatwa that violence had no place in Islam.
"Life is sacred. One cannot kill people whatever be the reason behind the killings. Muslims who take to suicide bombings are outside the purview of Islam. God will never forgive them. And Muslim society will also not forgive 
them for they are bringing bad name to the religion," Mufti Mastan Ali Quadri told this correspondent.
In another fatwa issued some time ago, the Jamia Nizamia, held that killing people or damaging property is the handiwork of Satan. "The Holy Quran clearly states that if anyone kills a person it is as if he has killed the entire 
humanity. And if anyone saves a person it is as if he has saved the life of all mankind. The Holy Prophet, Hazrat Muhammad, preached religious tolerance. There's no compulsion in Islam," the Nizamia fatwa points out.