Senior Muslim Scholars’ Official: Islamist Attacks on Syrian Kurds ‘Unacceptable’

 

Ali Qaradaghi, who holds the number two position in the World Union of Muslim Scholars, says that his international organization does not believe in Muslims going to Syria for jihad against the embattled regime of Bashar Assad, and that it wholly opposes attacks by al-Qaeda affiliates in Syria against the Kurds.  He tells Rudaw that the Kurdistan Region can help the Syrian opposition, but not by acting against its own interests.  “Whatever it does it has to take Turkey, Iran, and Iraq into consideration. But for things like sending donations and goods, it is okay,” Qaradaghi explains. Here is an edited transcript of his interview:

Rudaw: Your union issues fatwas regularly. Do you have a fatwa on the Syrian refugee crisis, particularly the Kurds who are pouring into the Kurdistan Region?

Ali Qaradaghi: Yes, of course. We already have issued fatwas in this regard, in the name of the Union of Scholars. We have condemned the oppression and injustice exercised against the Kurds in Syria. In the meantime, we have advised the Kurds to stay away from becoming apparitions for the Syrian regime. We see all of those who help Assad’s regime -- whether it’s a Kurd, Arab, Turkmen or Christian -- with the same eye.

Rudaw: What about those who fight against Assad’s regime, including the radical Jabhat al-Nusrah group?

Ali Qaradaghi: We have issued a communiqué about that. We have said that pledging loyalty to Ayman Zawahiri (chief of al-Qaeda) is wrong. This is not compatible with Islam. That is because Zawahiri is not a companion of Prophet Muhammed, therefore loyalty cannot be pledged to him.

Rudaw: What do you think of the al-Nusrah group attacking the Kurdish areas of Syria?

Ali Qaradaghi: We have issued two statements about the al-Nusrah front. What they do now is very inappropriate. I mean, you have Syria to liberate. Go liberate Syria, then worry about the Kurds. Now that you are assaulting the Kurds, that is unacceptable.

Rudaw: Is there a reason for young men to go to Syria for jihad?

Ali Qaradaghi: We say Kurds, Arabs or the Syrians do not need fighters. They need support, weapons, etc. External actors have to stay out of the affair. If we allow Iraqi Kurdistan to intervene, then we have to allow Saudi Arabia to intervene as well. Therefore, we have adopted a very clear stance on that. We have prohibited youths (to go to Syria for jihad). We have experience from Afghanistan. Afghanistan was a lot of trouble.

Rudaw: Then if Kurdistan wants to support jihad, it has to send weapons and goods?

Ali Qaradaghi: Yes, precisely.

Rudaw: What about the refugees from western (Syrian) Kurdistan that have found their way here?

Ali Qaradaghi: I have personally donated $20,000 to the refugees. Also, the Islamic al-Rabita charity organization has donated $30,000. The second fatwa calls on Muslims to help the refugees, and deems it a religious and national duty. Now, as Kurds, we have two duties, a religious duty, and a national one.

Rudaw: Do you believe that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) should support jihad in Syria by sending weapons?

Ali Qaradaghi: I will tell you my opinion: The KRG is accountable to God and the people for its responsibility over this nation in Iraqi Kurdistan. Now, the Kurdish nation in Syria needs help. We have to help them. However, this help must not be incompatible with the interests of the Kurdish nation in Iraq. As we all know, Kurdistan is not yet a state. Therefore, whatever it does it has to take Turkey, Iran, and Iraq into consideration. But for things like sending donations and goods, it is okay.

Rudaw: Do you think Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to revive the Ottoman Empire?

Ali Qaradaghi: No. I have met with Erdogan a few times. I have had long hours of discussion with him. He does not have an expansionist vision. He intends to protect Turkey. He wants to make Turkey a very strong state.

Rudaw: But going into Syria and Iran is not expansionist?

Ali Qaradaghi: No, I do not think so. Turkey has its own interests. Turkey has a 90-kilometer-long border with Syria, so it is a normal thing.

Rudaw: But Turkey is a part of the front against the Syrian regime. 

Ali Qaradaghi: Of course. But in the meantime, before the war Turkey -- especially Erdogan -- had a very strong relation with Assad’s regime. But when the people rose up Erdogan advised Assad. So did we. We advised him to solve the problem peacefully. We asked him to compromise. Unfortunately, he did not listen to the advices. He chose war. Not only Muslims, but anyone with the right mind cannot tolerate this. Now, European powers do not want Islamists to go to Syria. But they still have to support it for humanitarian reasons.

Rudaw: Have you ever tried to unite Kurdistan’s Islamic parties, especially when it is said that you have great influence in the Muslim Brotherhood?

Ali Qaradaghi: I am a member of the World Union of Muslim Scholars. This Union is for Muslims all over the world, not for a particular group or party. In the Union I am the second person, and I can say I am the highest executive. I am also the head of the Islamic al-Rabita organization. But I have no responsibilities or rank in the Brotherhood movement.

Rudaw: But have you made any attempt to unite the Islamist parties of Kurdistan?

Ali Qaradaghi: My attempts are to form a front wider than that of only the Islamist parties. I want to unite all the Kurds.