Abd-al Mun'em Mustafa Halima Abu Basir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sheikh Abd-al Mun'em Mustafa Halima Abu Basir aka Abu Basir al-Tartusi, is a Syrian Islamist living in London. He has been described as "primary Salafi opinion-makers guiding the jihadi movement."^[1]

Abu Basir leveled harsh criticism against the 7 July 2005 London bombings. Two days after the bombing he published a fatwa on his website that protested the killing of British civilians as a “disgraceful and shameful act, with no manhood, bravery, or morality. We cannot approve it nor accept it, and it is denied islamically and politically.” Abu Basir’s fatwa drew angry responses in Jihadi forums, which led him to publish another online declaration, “The Love of Revenge or the Legal Ruling,” on 11 July 2005.^[2]

On the other hand, he has condemned Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif's book Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World which calls for a stop to jihad activities both in the West and in Muslim countries, as “numbness and discouragement” because it tells Muslims that they are too weak to engage in jihad or overthrow their oppressive rulers. He is quoted as saying “More than half of the Koran and hundreds of the Prophet’s sayings call for jihad and fighting those unjust tyrants,” Tartusi exclaimed on a jihadist Web site. “What do you want us to do with his huge quantity of Sharia provisions, and how do you want us to understand and interpret them? Where is the benefit in deserting jihad against those tyrants? Because of them, the nation lost its religion, glory, honor, dignity, land, resources, and every precious thing!”