Britain's top Muslim scholars are to issue a "fatwa" which will condemn the terrorists behind the bombings, in an unprecedented move to repudiate the Islamist militants suspected of the atrocities. It is expected that the religious ruling, which will be drafted this week, will effectively outlaw the bombers among Muslims by stating the attacks were a breach of the most basic tenets of Islam. Under Islamic law, it is impossible to strip someone of their right to call themselves Muslim. Unlike the right of Catholic Popes to excommunicate, in Islam, that power is reserved to God.From the
New Zealand HeraldApparantly, even the secular newsmedia can find occasions when excommunication and papal autority are useful.
