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To those holding Simona Toretta and Simona Pari and Rašad Ali Abdul Azziz
and Mahnoaz Bassam.
Dear sirs,
I am writing you this public letter to beg for the release of the two
Italians and two Iraqis you have kidnapped.
I have studied Islam and lived in the Muslim world for the last fifteen
years of my life. In this capacity I met Simona Toretta in Baghdad when I
was there in the spring meeting with international and Iraqi activists who
were struggling and continue to struggle against the US and "allied"
occupation of Iraq. I have been fighting against occupation my entire
adult life: first in Palestine for over a decade and now in Iraq. I have
seen the results of the brutality of occupation--the dead civilians, the
destroyed homes, the violence against entire societies and even the
attempts to quash the life of an entire people.
As someone who has stood against Israeli bulldozers in Palestine and
American tanks in Baghdad I can assure you that Simona and her three
colleagues are as much mujihadin as you against occupation and
imperialism. In fact, while I don't know if Simona is a Muslim in the
formal sense, I can tell you that she is one in the purest sense of the
word: she has submitted her entire life to Allah to fight against
oppression, corruption and violence against Muslims in Iraq. Can there be
a more worthy, more Muslim goal than this? Jihad takes many forms, and
each is called by Islam to do their best and use their talents to struggle
to fight in the way of God to prohibit evil and enjoin the good. Simona
and her colleagues have been doing just that and deserve the full support
of all those opposed to the occupation, even if they don't agree with
their non-violent methods.
Moreover, I beg you to remember that in Islam sins are not transferrable
under shari'a, innocents cannot be directly targeted in jihad; and ahl
al-kitab/dhimmis cannot be treated as kuffar and therefore their lives and
property cannot be jeopardized arbitrarily. More specifically, please
remember that as the very idea of the nation state violates the Islamic
notion of the ummah, one cannot hold individuals accountable because they
happen to carry or not carry a particular passport of a nation state. Most
important, helping the unfortunate is the most emphasized social virtue in
Islam: it is one of the arkaan (in the form of zakat), it is emphasized
often in the Qur'an. Sura al-Ma'un (107) is always quoted to make this
point because it also speaks of the difference between those who do good
works quietly as being superior to those who do them for display.
And so helping the unfortunate is similarly emphasized in sira and hadith.
Islam commands that not only should one not cause people hardship, but
those who try and help others, such as the four aid workers you now hold,
are virtuous people doing good works according to the Qur'an. This is
especially true for someone who gives up on a comfortable life in a
wealthy country to come to a war-torn place to help complete strangers,
and local people who work with these foreigners to help members of their
own community without any regard to whether they are their friends or
relatives etc. The Qur'anic recognition of the importance of this form of
virtue far outweighs any possible association they could have with the
oppressive actions of the states where they happen to be born. They are to
be judged by their deeds, according to which they are close to living up
to Qur'anic ideals of rising above the concerns of tribe and working for
the good of humanity; that is, creating an umma.
I understand your anger at the Italian Government. My anger at my own
government is no less than yours. But I urge you to realize that just
because someone has an Italian or American passport, or happens to have
been born in a particular country, this does not mean that they are guilty
of the crimes of the government of that country. Certainly not when they
are fighting against the very policies of the government. I can tell you
from long experience in Palestine and many deep conversations with members
of Hamas or Islamic Jihad whom I've met that they would never harm the
international activists who are working in Palestine against the Israeli
occupation and to support Palestinians, even though they do not agree with
their non-violent ideology. Moreover, they understand that these activists
have played a crucial role in helping Palestinians continue the
all-important policy of "summud", collective resistance and rootedness,
against the occupation.
In this sense, the four people you have are not just "innocent" bystanders
who according to sharia cannot be harmed, but active participants in the
struggle against those oppressing Muslims. To harm them would be to
violate the most important tenets, principles, laws and historical lessons
of Islam. Would the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) harm people such these; even
if they came from the Quraysh or tribes not aligned with the early ummah?
Were not these people among the most valued allies and even members of
Muslim society? Would the greatest generals and leaders of Muslim history,
from the Rightly Guided Caliphs to Salah ad-Din, harm people such as
these?
Many more Europeans and Americans would like to come to Iraq to join the
struggle against the occupation and wholesale theft of Iraq's resources.
The entire world anti-war and anti-globalization movements well
understands the stakes involved in this struggle. Most believe that
fighting it by matching violence with violence will not succeed in
bringing peace or justice to Iraq or the Muslim world. You may not agree
that non-violence is the best way to fight the occupation or American
power more generally and its oppression of Muslims in various way across
the world; but the fact is that the international peace activists are in
Iraq when no one else would come, risking their lives to fight imperialism
and bring justice to Iraq. And the more international activists that are
in Iraq, the greater tha chance that the occupation's main goals of sewing
chaos, fitnah and violence in the country will not succeed.
In the name of God the Merciful and Compassionate I urge you to look into
your hearts and realize that Simona and her colleagues deserve respect and
thanks, not hatred and violence. There are enough people in Iraq who seek
to harm the country and Islam more broadly. Please do not punish those who
are struggling against them together with Iraqis. Please let Simona and
her colleagues return to their important work.
Sincerely,
Salim Abu Mubarak
Professor at a major US university.
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