CIP
A Guide to Shariah Law and Islamist Ideology in Western Europe 2007-2009
9. ECFR and Other Transnational Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE, EMN, EMU)
The present survey includes frequent mention of the activities of the European Council for Fatawa and Research (ECFR) in formulating Shariah for Muslims in Europe. In an examination of two volumes of fatwas published by the group, it is noticeable that few of them, except that reflecting whether house mortgages involving interest income are permitted for Muslims, would reflect on Muslim relations with non-Muslims. ECFR’s First Fatwa Collection The 43 fatwas in the first collection published by ECFR267 are composed in a language that often appears moderate. The accompanying ECFR recommendations reaffirm the traditional Islamic injunction to obey the laws of the countries that 126
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have admitted them and, specifically, to avoid applying for public assistance or welfare payments if they have jobs or operate businesses. At the same time, fatwa No. 1 states that Muslims are obligated to leave non-Muslim lands, if, in the language of the text, the Muslim lives “without a Muslim identity”. unless the Muslim can find no other solution for pursuit of a life. This argument is based on the presumption that a Muslim may find himself in “an environment where he fears for his religion, for himself and for his family”. The same text permits emigration to non-Muslim societies as “hoped for and desired” if to “an environment that offers a greater possibility of respecting the prescriptions of religion”. The rest of the fatwas in the first collection deal with various topics, in a fundamentalist vein. These include definition of the “saved” sect among Muslims – a common issue in Islamic fundamentalism; repentance of sin; and the question of death sentences against apostates from Islam. The latter problem is treated ambiguously by ECFR, which says that application of death sentences for apostates can only be decided by an Islamic state, and that local groups and mosques should avoid concerning themselves with it. In the same fatwa (No. 4) ECFR points out that early Islamic scholars denied that an apostate should be subjected to a death sentence unless the individual preached apostasy, sought to divide the Muslims, and insulted the Creator, the Prophet Muhammad, and the believers. Finally, however, ECFR states that “apostasy” should be considered a crime similar to “high treason”, with the implication that since some Western countries impose capital punishment for the latter crime, it is justifiable in cases of leaving Islam. The spirit of this fatwa
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