AN OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR FRASER ANNING. In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful From Zulkifli Mohamad _al-Bakri, Mufti of Federal Territories, Malaysia to Senator Fraser Anning. Peace be upon he who follows the guidance. Your official statement addressing New Zealand Mosque Shooting is of paramount interest to me because | am a Muslim. This issue directly impacts more than 1.8 billion Muslims worldwide. | am primarily concerned about the way you portray Islam, because your information about Islam and the Qur’an seems to be based upon propaganda and rumors. An educated person like you should not rely only on personal judgments or rumors when commenting on a religion which is 14 centuries old and followed by more than 1.8 billion people. Other aspects of this same issue that affect us is your statement “The entire religion of Islam is simply the violent ideology of a sixth-century despot masquerading as a religious leader, which justifies endless war against anyone who opposes it and calls for the murder of unbelievers and apostates.” | believed that the main concern is the misunderstanding of jihad based on many verses of Qur’an such as 2: 191 and 193, 9: 5 and 49: 9. Jihad is not a declaration of war against all non-Muslims. It is worth noting that the Qur’an specifically refers to Jews and Christians as ahi al-kitab (people of the book) who should be protected and respected. Furthermore, warfare in the name of God is not unique to Islam. Historically, other faiths throughout the world have waged wars with religious and political justifications. We acknowledged that there are battles and wars in Islamic history but most of the sanctioned military jihad are defensive in nature (Badr, Uhud, Ahzab, the Conquest of Mecca etc.) and only a small number of it are offensive (especially in 9th and 10th of Hijri) — with strict moral ethics — due to political expansionism. As an example, the Muslims' defensive battles against the Crusaders in medieval times and some responses by Muslims against Byzantine and Persian attacks during the period of the early Islamic conquests. It is stated in various verses of Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that Islam forbids soldiers from destroying and demolishing properties, protecting the right of civilians and those which Muslims vowed to protect, hastening in accepting invitations for peace once the enemy leans towards it, prevention of plundering or brutal and barbaric acts and mercy in treating war captives and forbidding any assaults on them. The concept of war in Islam is governed with restricted rules that makes it one of the noblest formsof warfares and was legislated to defend and preserve human rights, preventing injustice and oppression. In most cases, the terrorist groups invoked jihad in a bid to justify various forms of violence. This misuse of jihad clearly contradicts Qur’an and Islam. On the issue of apostasy, | would like to suggest you to read a monograph that is extensively written by Shaykh Dr. Jonathan AC Brown from Georgetown University entitled “The Issue of Apostasy in Islam”. My view on this issue is also in line with what have been said by HE Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah. A point to ponder; How can you believe there is a religious tradition that allows you to blow up people, children and women, but you are not allowed to kill even a butterfly? Regards, Sahib al-Samahah Dato’ Seri Dr. Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri Mufti of Federal Territories, Malaysia.