Islamic hackers penetrate main Bosnian Muslim party's website, threaten leader
BBC Monitoring Europe (Political) - July 24, 2006, Monday

Text of report by M. Pargan entitled "Islamic hackers post threatening messages on website of Party of Democratic Action, condemning Sulejman Tihic, Muslim apostates to death" published by Bosnian newspaper Slobodna Bosna on 20 July

"It is haram [forbidden] to every Muslim believer to cast their votes for Sulejman Tihic [chairman of the Party of Democratic Action - SDA], because he sent troops to Iraq and expressed readiness to send another batch to Afghanistan. He supports the continued existence of the [Bosnian] Serb Republic and has moved away from the Young Muslims' ideology that was championed by [former President] Alija Izetbegovic. Brothers, we must close our ranks. We have stood by your side in times of trouble and will never leave you alone. We thank Allah for giving us the knowledge and enabling us to do all this. Allahu Akhbar!"

Hackers of the Islamic Army in Bosnia on Tuesday [18 July] penetrated the official website of the Party of Democratic Action and posted a message that began with the above warning. Their intention was to warn the SDA voters to be careful whom they vote for in the coming election. An unknown organization called Bera Ibn Malik brigade claimed responsibility for the hacker incursion aimed at reminding Muslims of their obligations when electing their leaders and issuing death threats against Muslim apostates. By posting the threatening message, the Islamic Army in Bosnia, which supports the radical faction of the SDA, has only confirmed reports of a deepening rift within the party, as well as differences in contemporary interpretations of Islam in B-H.

Referring to Muslim apostates, the hackers of the Islamic Army warn that those who once embraced Islam and then renounced it (murted in Islamic terminology) "are not entitled to inheritance (dowry), nor can they remain married to Muslim women. Such marriages are terminated instantaneously. Muslims are not allowed to eat meat from animals that were slaughtered by murted. According to Islamic belief, apostasy is a graver sin than infidelity. Those who were born as infidels and remain so throughout their lives will be treated more mercifully than those who were born in Islam, stayed in Islam for some time, and then renounced it. Furthermore, the apostasy demonstrated by leading Islamic officials through a failure to establish Islamic rule is a graver sin than the failure of ordinary Muslims to adhere to the principles of Islam. Muslims have an obligation to fight against those who have publicly renounced the shari'ah rules. All Muslim scholars agree on it. This rule holds even if they repeat the kelime-i shehadet [profession of belonging to Islam] and declare themselves as Muslims. If they profess their belonging to Islam (kelime-i shehadet) and fail to perform the five daily prayers, it is our obligation to declare war against them. It will remain in force until they start performing daily prayers or are killed disgracefully. The same goes for those who fail to give zekat [charity]. Islamic leaders are obliged to send an army to make them carry out this farz [religious duty] established by Allah. The same applies to those who fail to carry out Islamic duties such as fasting, hajj, jihad, the promotion of good and the prevention of evil. Muslims are obliged to wage jihad against those who have not been subjugated to Islam, until they are made to humbly pay jiziya [tax]. The same is applicable in the event of introducing various novelties (bid'ati) into Islamic society and embracing them, particularly those that are not in conformity with the teachings of the Koran and the Sunnah [life and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad]. It is our obligation to work towards rooting them out."

This religious, or rather pre-election message from the Islamic Army in Bosnia, rendered in the form of a public statement, explicitly calls on Muslims in B-H to eliminate all those who "renounced Islam like Sulejman Tihic". The authors of the text quoted a certain Ibn Tejjmije: "Everyone who joins their ranks, whether an officer or an ordinary soldier, is considered an enemy, just like they are. Their apostasy from Islam is equal to their deviation from Islamic rules."

Source: Slobodna Bosna, Sarajevo, in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian 20 Jul 06 pp 14,15

Copyright 2006 British Broadcasting Corporation
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