This is addressed to the young men who bear arms against their own nations and destroy both country and countrymen. You have abandoned all values and made enemies of the world. We call on you to pause, reflect, and heed this counsel for the sake of all who want good for our community.
As an introduction to the statement, we present these four quotations for serious consideration.
1. A verse from the Qur’an follows:
Have not crops and livestock, as well as the elderly and women and children, been destroyed? Is this not violence and corruption in the land, which God abhors?
2. A statement from the Prophet, God’s peace and blessings upon him, from his last sermon given on the Farewell Pilgrimage follows:
لاَ تَرْجِعُوا بَعْدِي كُفَّارًا يَضْرِبُ بَعْضُكُمْ رِقَابَ بَعْضٍ
“Beware (or Woe unto you)! Listen! Do not revert back to disbelief after I have gone— [that is by] some of you killing others.”
Note the use of the phrase “beware” or “woe unto you” that signifies a stern warning. The Prophet, God’s peace and blessings upon him, rarely used such phrases. Furthermore, the scholars of Islam say that this hadith indicates that some will excommunicate others in order to justify killing them. Is this not the excommunication and killing that the Prophet, God’s peace and blessings upon him, forbade?
3. A statement of the Caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may God be pleased with him, from his last sermon follows:
“Whoever pledges allegiance to someone not appointed by the consultative process of the believers, neither he nor the one to whom he pledged allegiance are to be followed, out of fear of foolishly exposing themselves to being killed with them.”
Has the one who claims to be the caliph of the Muslims consulted the Muslim world, or is he placing himself and those who pledge allegiance to him at risk of being killed? Is this not the disregard of the people which the Caliph ‘Umar warned of?
4. A statement from the great Sunni Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may God have mercy on him, made to the people of Baghdad [during his time] follows:
“Do not shed your own blood nor the blood of other Muslims along with you. Consider the eventual effects of your actions.”
He spoke these words to those who wanted to overthrow the Abbasid Caliph al-Wathiq after he proclaimed [the heresy] that the Qur’an was created. Is this not just like the bloodshed that Imam Ahmad warned the people of Baghdad against?
We ask you, out of concern, to reflect on these enlightening statements and to re-evaluate your positions, for turning to truth is better than persisting in falsehood.
We are not ignorant of the injustices that exist, and we earnestly call for them to cease; yet we believe that the chances for justice are better when there is peace, not war.
Everywhere the widespread wars must stop, and the mindless civil strife must halt so that we may gain life and not lose both this world and the hereafter.
We ask God, most high, to guide everyone. Amen.
From:
This is Not the Path to Paradise - Response to ”IS”
[binbayyah.net]
Shaykh Abdallah bin Bayyah
President, Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies September 14, 2014
Abu Dhabi
Document written by 250 muslim scholars and thinkers.
Institution of an annual prize for the promotion of peace.
"There is a culture of peace in the Islamic heritage." (Shaykh Abd Allah bin Bayyah)
blogs.reuters.com
- expired link (before 2017) - snakhooda.smugmug.com/Events/Forum-for-Promoting-Peace-in-M/
”Over 250 of the world’s leading Islamic scholars, academics and thought leaders attended the opening of the “Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies” under the patronage of HH Sheikh Abdallah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Forum is the first global conclave of scholars ever organized to form a unified front against the scourge of extremist ideologies, sectarianism, and terrorism that has afflicted the Muslim world for decades. The ground-breaking initiative is led by Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, President of The Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, one of the world’s foremost Islamic scholars who wields enormous influence over Muslim scholars and intellectuals from various denominations from around the world.”
”The only way to counter the forces that are tearing the Muslim world apart is to get to the roots of the misinformation, misunderstandings and heresies that drive extremist ideologies, sectarian hatreds, and murderous and destructive violence,” said Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah. Shaykh Bin Bayyah added: “The Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies is a landmark initiative that aims to refute extremist ideologies absolutely with a true understanding of Islam as a religion of wisdom, compassion, tolerance and forbearance clearly articulated in the Qur’an and the Traditions of the Prophet Mohamed.”
Go to part 2 - A Statement to the Muslim World and its Leaders 
vs.2.2
