Two leading European Muslim organizations have condemned the threats issued by al-Qaeda in Iraq on the lives of Swedish artist Lars Vilks and newspaper editor Ulf Johansson.
The Dublin-based European Council for Fatwa and Research labelled the death sentence haram, or prohibited by the Islamic faith, and said it planned to issue a counter-fatwa. "We don't agree with what al-Qaeda is supposed to have said. We do not agree with killing people like this because this is not in Islam," secretary general Hussein Halawa told Sveriges Radio.
The 29-nation Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe also distanced itself from the death sentence and said it was working to prevent the conflict from spreading. |