Amman Message

The Amman Message (Arabic: رسالة عمان) is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan 1425 AH) by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan.[1] Subsequently, a three-point ruling was issued by 200 Islamic scholars from over 50 countries, focusing on issues of defining who is a Muslim, excommunication from Islam (takfir) and principles related to delivering religious edicts (fatāwa).[2]

Content

The Amman Message was delivered in Amman, Jordan, as a Ramadan sermon by Chief Justice Sheikh Iz-al-Din al-Tamimi in the presence of King Abdullah II and a number of Muslim scholars.[3] According to a report issued by the International Crisis Group, "The sermon stressed the need to re-emphasise Islam's core values of compassion, mutual respect, tolerance, acceptance and freedom of religion."[1] The next year, in July 2005, an Islamic convention brought together 200 Muslim scholars from over 50 countries who issued a three-point declaration (later known as 'Three Points of the Amman Message').[2] This declaration focused on:[4]

  1. The recognition of eight legal schools of sharia/fiqh (madhāhib) and the varying schools of Islamic theology viz.[5][6]
    1. Sunni Hanafi
    2. Sunni Maliki
    3. Sunni Shafi'i
    4. Sunni Hanbali
    5. Shia Jaʿfari
    6. Shia Zaydi
    7. Ẓāhirī
    8. Ibadi
    • Forbade declaring an apostate anyone who is a follower of:[5]
    1. the Ashʿari/Maturidi creed
    2. real Tasawwuf (Sufism)
    3. true Salafi thought
  2. The forbiddance from pronouncing disbelief (takfir) upon (or excommunicating) others recognized as Muslims
  3. The stipulations placed as preconditions to the issuing of religious edicts, intended to prevent the circulation of illegitimate edicts

Explaining why the message was issued, King Abdullah stated: "[W]e felt that the Islamic message of tolerance was being subjected to a fierce and unjust attack from some in the West who do not understand Islam's essence, and others who claim to be associated with Islam and hide behind Islam to commit irresponsible deeds."[7]

Conference and declarations

Following are conferences and declarations:[8]

Fatwas and endorsements

Following is the list of some of the many individuals and organizations who have issued fatwas and endorsements in relation to the Amman Message (as per official website listing):[9]

Sr No Name Title Country Sect Fiqh Endorsing Fatwa Website Image
1 Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University Egypt Egypt Sunni Shafiʿi Fatwa Official Website
2 Ali Gomaa Grand Mufti of Egypt Egypt Egypt Sunni Shafiʿi Fatwa
3 Ali Bardakoğlu President of The Grand Council for Religious Affairs, Turkey Turkey Turkey Sunni Hanafi Fatwa Official Website
4 Ahmed Kuftaro Grand Mufti of Syria Syria Syria Sunni Shafiʿi Fatwa Official Website
5 Said Abd Al-Hafiz Al-Hijjawi Grand Mufti of Jordan Jordan Jordan Sunni Shafiʿi Fatwa -
6 Nuh Ha Mim Keller Islamic Scholar of Jordan Jordan Jordan Sunni Shafiʿi Fatwa -
7 Yusuf al-Qaradawi Director of the Sunna and Sira Council Qatar Qatar Sunni Hanafi Fatwa Official Website
8 Abdullah bin Bayyah Vice President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Mauritania Mauritania Sunni Maliki Fatwa Official Website
9 Muhammad Taqi Usmani Vice President of the Islamic Fiqh Academy Pakistan Pakistan Sunni Hanafi Fatwa -
10 Sayyid Shaykh Nazim Al-Haqqani Deceased leader of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus Sunni Hanafi - Official Website
11 Abdullah al-Harari Founder of the Al-Ahbash Ethiopia Ethiopia Sunni Shafiʿi Fatwa Official Website
12 Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri Founding Leader of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, Chief Executive of Minhaj International University Pakistan Pakistan Sunni Hanafi - Official Website
13 Habib Ali al-Jifri Founding Leader of Tabah Foundation in Abu Dhabi, Member of Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman Yemen Yemen Sunni Shafiʿi - Official Website
14 Habib Umar bin Hafiz Founding Leader and the dean of Dar al-Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen Yemen Yemen Sunni Shafiʿi - Official Website
15 Ali Hosseini Khamenei Grand Ayatollah, Supreme Leader of Iran Iran Iran Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
16 Mohammad Said Al-Hakim Grand Ayatollah Iraq Iraq Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
17 Mohammad Ishaq Al-Fayyad Grand Ayatollah Iraq Iraq Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
18 Basheer Hussain Najafi Grand Ayatollah Iraq Iraq Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
19 Hussein Al-Sadr Grand Ayatollah Iraq Iraq Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
20 Fazel Lankarani Grand Ayatollah Iran Iran Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
21 Muhammad Ali Al-Taskhiri Grand Ayatollah
General Secretary of Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Jurisprudence
Iran Iran Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
22 Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah Grand Ayatollah Lebanon Lebanon Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
23 Muhammad bin Muhammad Ismail Al-Mansur
and
Humud bin Abbas Al-Mu'ayyad
Shaykh Yemen Yemen Shia Zaidiyyah Fatwa Official Website
24 Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Wazir General Secretary, The Islamic Unification and Works Movement, Yemen Yemen Yemen Shia Zaidiyyah Fatwa Official Website
25 Ahmad bin Hamad Al-Khalili Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman Oman Oman Ibadi - Fatwa Official website
26 Ali Hosseini Sistani Grand Ayatollah Iraq Iraq Shia Jafari Fatwa Official Website
27 Karīm al-Hussaynī The Āgā Khān IV, Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismailis United Kingdom United Kingdom Shia Ja'fari Fatwa Official Website

Reception

Tony Blair, while Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, gave a speech in which he praised the Amman message and the gathering of numerous scholars, commenting, "This was a clear message that Islam is not a monolithic faith, but one made up of a rich pattern of diversity, albeit all flowing from the same fount."[2]

Despite the ecumenical nature of the Amman Message, since it was issued there has been a marked decline in Shia-Sunni relations as a result of increased sectarian conflict in such countries as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and Yemen.[10]

Criticism

The Amman Message has been criticized by Sunni Barelvi groups.[11] CIFIA, a Sunni Barelvi group based in Hyderabad regards the message as contrary to the teachings of Islam.[11]

Suhail Nakhouda, writing in the Amman-based Islamica, stated that the Amman message did little to effectively address ongoing problems: "There is no water, no pavements; the economy is bad, and many young people are out of work. Peoples' lives, as well as the images they see, stay the same." Nakhouda stated that King Abdullah's message was likely to be dampened by his lifestyle, which he claims is the subject of criticism.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jordan's 9/11: Dealing With Jihadi Islamism", Crisis Group Middle East Report N°47, 23 November 2005
  2. 1 2 3 "SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER THE RT HON TONY BLAIR MP" (04/06/07), British Embassy in Bahrain
  3. "Jordan issues the 'Amman Message' on Islam". Embassy of Jordan - Washington, DC. Archived from the original on 16 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  4. The Amman Message summary - Official website
  5. 1 2 The Three Points of The Amman Message V.1 Archived February 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. Petra News Agency. Summary of the Amman Message (In Arabic)
  7. "King Abdullah calls to end extremism". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
  8. Conference Declarations @ ammanmessage.com
  9. FATWAS OF THE 'ULAMA
  10. Volpi, Frederic, ed. (11 Jun 2014). Political Civility in the Middle East. Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 9781317977810.
  11. 1 2 THE AMMAN MESSAGE, CIFIA

External links

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