His Majesty King Abdullah II
Speech at the Opening
Session of
the Organization of the Islamic Conference
Extraordinary Summit in Mecca
December 8, 2005
In the name of God, the most
Merciful, the Compassionate
And praise be to God, the Lord of all the worlds,
And prayers and salutations on our master Mohammad, and the righteous and
sincere members of His House,
Your majesties, your excellencies, your highnesses, kings, presidents and emirs
of Muslim states,
Peace be upon you, God's mercy and His blessings,
The convening of this extraordinary summit, in Mecca, by a gracious invitation
from the custodian of the two sacred mosques King Abdullah Ben Abdulaziz, comes
at a time when the Muslim ummah (nation) is facing several challenges that
cannot be confronted or overwhelmed except through casting aside the differences
within the ummah, through enhancing cooperation and complementarity among them
and through unifying their word, their ranks and their stances towards these
different issues and challenges, with a unified vision and rules based on the
essence of Islam — Islam that brings people together and does not divide them,
and that calls for the unity of Muslims irrespective of differences in color,
gender or madhab (school of thought).
In spite of our conviction of the importance and vitality of the subjects and
topics listed on the working agenda of this summit, and the draft of the
ten-year program for action for the Organization of the Islamic Conference, we
still reaffirm anew, in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, that the subject that
should have priority over all these subjects is the consensus among us as
Muslims on who is a Muslim and on the conditions of ifta. The absence of
consensus on these two issues has led to divisions and differences, accusations
of apostasy (takfir) and internecine fighting. It is not plausible for us to
talk about cooperation and complementarity among Muslims or about uniting our
ranks and stances in facing the challenges of our age or our relations with
other nations and peoples, before we agree among ourselves that an adherent to
any madhab is a Muslim, and on the conditions of ifta which regulates relations
among us and unifies our stances towards the issues and challenges of this age.
With Almighty God's praise, and with the success that He granted us, we convened
in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan the International Islamic Conference, in
Amman from July 4-6, 2005, in which more than 170 scholars participated. The
scholars hailed from different Muslim countries and were adherents to the eight
Islamic schools of jurisprudence (madhahib). These scholars, in accordance with
the fatwas issued unanimously by all the Muslim religious authorities, approved
the following:
First, whosoever is an adherent to one of the four Sunni schools of
jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali), the two Shiite schools of
jurisprudence (the Ja`fari and the Zaydi), the Ibadi school of jurisprudence,
and the Thahiri school of jurisprudence, is a Muslim. Declarations proclaiming
any one of their followers an apostate is invalid. Verily his (or her) blood,
honor and property are sacrosanct. Moreover, it is not valid to declare
whosoever subscribes to the Ashari creed or whoever practices true Sufism an
apostate. Likewise, it is not valid to declare whosoever subscribes to true
Salafi thought an apostate.
Equally, it is not valid to declare as apostates any group of Muslims who
believes in Allah (God) the Almighty and Sublime and His messenger (may peace
and blessings be upon him) and the pillars of faith, and respects the pillars of
Islam and does not deny any necessary article of religion.
Second, between the various schools of jurisprudence, there is more in common
than there is difference. The adherents to the eight schools of jurisprudence
are in agreement as regards the basic principles of Islam. All believe in Allah
the Almighty and Sublime, the One and the Unique; that the noble Koran is the
word of Allah revealed and that our master Mohammad, may blessings and peace be
upon him, is a prophet and messenger unto all mankind. All are in agreement
concerning the five pillars of Islam: The two testaments of faith (shahadatayn);
the ritual prayers (salat); almsgiving (zakat); fasting the month of Ramadan (sawm);
and the pilgrimage (Hajj) to the sacred house of Allah. All are also in
agreement about the foundations of belief: Belief in Allah, His angels, His
scriptures, His messengers, and in the Day of Judgment, in divine providence —
good and evil. Disagreement within the ulama is only with respect to the
ancillary branches of religion (furu) and not the principles and fundamentals (usul).
Disagreement with respect to the ancillary branches of religion is a positive
thing. Long ago, it was said that variance in opinion among the ulama “is a good
affair.”
Third, acknowledgement of the schools of jurisprudence within Islam means
adhering to a fundamental methodology in the issuance of fatwas: No one may
issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications which each school of
jurisprudence defines. No one may issue a fatwa without adhering to the
methodology of the schools of jurisprudence. No one may claim to do absolute
ijtihad and create a new school of jurisprudence or to issue unacceptable fatwas
that directs Muslims away from the principles and certainties of the Sharia and
what has been established in respect of its schools of jurisprudence.
We presented the recommendations of this conference to Mecca's Forum of Muslim
Scholars and Intellectuals, which was convened in Mecca by an invitation from
the custodian of the two sacred mosques. The participating scholars in the
forum, especially the Committee for Islamic Thought, Culture and Education,
adopted these recommendations, in order to facilitate their presentation to this
summit.
On this basis, we reaffirm our stance that it is necessary to include the text
of the above mentioned recommendations and decisions of the International
Islamic Conference, convened in Amman, in the final communiqué of this summit;
and to designate these recommendations and decisions as a term of reference and
a basis to settle differences among Muslims, and to close the door on some of
those who practice ifta without having the right to do so, declaring some
Muslims apostates and killing them in the name of Islam, when Islam disavows
illegitimate practitioners of ifta.
This is the essence of the Amman Message, which is in complete harmony with the
Civilization Islam (Islam Hadari) project which was submitted in Malaysia.
Finally, I would like to extend deep gratitude and appreciation to the custodian
of the two sacred mosques King Abdullah Ben Abdulaziz, the brotherly Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia and the Secretariat General of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference for hosting this conference, and for the meticulous arrangements and
preparations for this summit.
Peace, God's mercy and His blessings be upon you.