(Telegraph-UK) - An influential Iranian cleric connected to hardliners in Teheran denounced suicide bombings against civilians Sunday as a "crime." Sayed Safavi, brother of the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, also called for a dialogue of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian religious leaders to help to resolve the Arab-Israeli dispute. Safavi said that even in a military "jihad," or holy war, Islam does not permit the targeting of the innocent. "For Muslims to kill civilians unconnected with any attack on them is a crime. This is not in accordance with Islam," he writes. "The principal law of Islam is, 'Don't attack civilians.' This includes Jewish, Muslim, or Christian civilians."
2003-07-02 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive