Letter to Baghdadi


Letter to Baghdadi is an open letter to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria as a theological refutation of the practices of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. It is signed by numerous Muslim theologians, lawmakers and community leaders.

Overview

The letter includes a technical point-by-point refutation of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's actions and ideology based on the Qur'an and other classical texts, using a style that is unfamiliar to liberal or even uninformed Muslims.

Background

In September 2014, the letter, initially signed by 122 Muslim scholars from around the world and was presented at Washington, D.C. by Nihad Awad of the Council on American Islamic Relations. Stating that the purpose of the letter was not to warn Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi but to dissuade potential radicals from joining the ranks Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, he said:
"You have misinterpreted Islam into a religion of harshness, brutality, torture and murder". "This is a great wrong and an offense to Islam, to Muslims and to the entire world."

Summary

Principle signatories include:
Other signatories include Shabir Ally, televangelist and founder of Imam of Islamic Information and Dawah Centre International, Toronto, Canada and Sheila Musaji editor of The American Muslim.

Reception

said that the open letter is "meticulously blasting its ideology."
The MuslimMatters.org website endorsed the letter but questions the inclusion of Ali Gomaa, who supported the August 2013 Rabaa massacre and Ed Husain, proponent of the Iraq War and an adviser to Tony Blair's controversial Faith Foundation as signatories.