Saudi clerics define terrorism
In secret three-day meeting, top religious figures define terrorism as 'destruction, damage to public recourses, highjacking of airplanes, bombing of buildings.' Clerics also rule that funding terror, on Saudi soil and abroad, is a crime
An unprecedented ruling has been issued by the Saudi Arabian council of religious clerics. After years of deliberations and debates, both in public and behind closed doors, the Saudi supreme council on religious rulings, which in essence applies to the entire Muslim world, has determined a definition for one of the most talked-about words of the past decade – "terrorism".
According to the ruling, terrorism is defined as "the destruction of and damage to public resources, the highjacking of airplanes and the bombing of buildings."
In a secret and rare meeting convened by the council which began on Saturday and concluded Monday evening, the clerics ruled that funding terror is also a crime, and that this ruling is valid all over the world and not just in Saudi territory. The clerics stressed that terror must not be funded, and that anyone funding it is to be considered a full partner in the offence.
According to London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, which reported of the ruling on Tuesday, this is an "important and unprecedented ruling which attests to the war on terror of any kind, and presents it as a crime." However, the ruling did not determine the penalty of anyone who funds terror, and this issue was left to the consideration of the judge.
No objections
The new ruling in essence deems the Word Trade Center bombing in 2001 a terror attack, and brands the highjackers terrorists and criminals. The same applies to other attacks carried out by al-Qaeda on Saudi soil.
The council likely chose to emphasize that the ruling applies to the entire world and not just Saudi territory for this reason. According to the report, the decision was made unanimously, and all 20 members of the council who assembled under Saudi Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul Aziz signed the decree.
The ruling is likely to draw a series of arguments in the Arab world as to the proper definition of terrorism. Nonetheless, this is considered a turning point with regards to the definition of such a loaded term among Muslim clerics at this time.
