In the period it was issued, this fatwa was
completely valid, but contemporary conditions make it
obsolete. Most of groups today make the Haj (Pilgrimage
to Mecca) by flight, and there is no difficulty when the
group-leader is not able to ride animals.
Juridical categories like "Dar
al-Islam" (Realm of Peace) and "Dar al-Harb"
(Realm of War) are not revealed in the Qur'an as fundamental
principles.
On the contrary, they were created by fuqahas
(jurists) to explain the situation when the world was divided
into two areas.
According to a fatwa from Imam Abu Hanifah
(the founder of the most ancient, orthodox school of Islamic
Law), "Dar al-Islam is a territory ruled by an Islamic
Amir al-Mu'minin (leader of the Believers, a Caliph that is
accepted as such by the consensus of Islamic scholars) under
the Jurisdiction of the Shari'ah."
Today there is neither a "Khilafat
ar-Rashida" (rightly guided Caliphate) nor a
"Khilafat al-'amm" (general Caliphate).
Islamic scholars only acknowledge as
legitimate the Caliphates of Abu Bakr, 'Omar, 'Othman and
'Ali. The last form of general Caliphate was the
Ottoman sultanate.
Today, none is called "Amir
al-Mu'minin" by the consensus of Sunni scholars, and no
part of this world is "Dar al-Islam" according to
the Shari'ah.
The world is divided into countries where
Muslims are either a majority or a minority.
Areas where they are a majority are only
"Bilad al-Islam" (Islamic countries), and not
"Dar al-Islam" (Realm of Peace).
According to a fatwa from Shaykh Sha'rawi
(the eminent scholar who came to Jerusalem with Anwar Sadat
and prayed in the al-Aqsa msoque), a country where Muslims
are free to practice their religion - and especially to
assemble five times a day for the compulsory prayers - is not
"Dar al-harb" (Realm of War), but must be named
according to a new category, "Dar al-islah" (Realm
of Prosperity); Muslims must be loyal citizens of "Dar
al-islah" countries.
During the period when Shaykh Gadu el-Haqq
was the Rector of al-Azhar University, this fatwa was taught
as an integral part of the curriculum prepared by the
Department of Legal Studies and Ijtihad.
I personally studied it under my teacher, the
late Shaykh Hussein al-Khalwati.
So-called scholars like Mr. Yasin and Mr.
Sabri (whose juridical background is doubtful and whose
affiliation is not Sunni, but Wahhabi, Salafi or Ikhwani) are
applying to the contemporary era criteria that were only
valid during the Middle Ages.
They are making Israel the only exception to
the Islamic principle of adapting legal rulings to current
realities.
As in most American and European countries,
Muslims living in Israel have their religious freedom legally
guaranteed by the Knesset. The Israeli legal system
also recognizes Shari'ah jurisdiction in matter of personal
status, following the Ottoman system.
Today, Eretz Yisrael is "Dar
al-islah" (Realm of Prosperity), and Muslims living
there have to options: islah or hijrah.
Islah means "abiding by the local Law as
a loyal citizen, notwithstanding the fact Muslims are a
minority and the ruler is a non-Muslim."
The second option is for all those who think
that living in a non-Muslim country is a limitation for their
religious freedom. Each one who feels so must emigrate
from Dar al-islah to Bilad al-Islam (Islamic
countries). As long as he does not emigrate, disobeying
the local Law or committing anti-governmental activities is
condemned by the Shari'ah as "fitnah," a sin that
is regarded as worse than homicide (intentional murder).
Islamic scholars have no difficulty in
saying: "America, Italy and Spain are Dar al-islah
(Realm of Prosperity)."
Due to political considerations, many of them
are afraid to proclaim a truth acknowledged by all Muslim
scholars: "Israel is not a country where there is
religious persecution against Muslims, and is nothing but Dar
al-islah (Realm of Prosperity)."
To disguise this clear truth, wicked imams
apply the terms "Dar al-Islam" and "Dar
al-harb" today, notwithstanding the fact that, when a
caliphate is not in existence, these categories are not
applicable.
May Allah guide us to a period when Islam is
not anymore used to preach intolerance, backwardness and
inter-Abrahamitic rivalry.
May He let our eyes see endless peace between
Ishmael, Edom and Yaakov.
Shabbat Shalom,
Sheikh Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi