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On March 7, 1998 the Board of Ulema of the Italian Muslim Association (AMI) issu ed the following fatwa against the "Nation of Islam." The English translation was rendered by Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Secretary-General of the Italian Musl im Association and Director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Co mmunity. In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace upon His servant a nd Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad ibn 'Abdillah, upon his family, his companion s and those who follow his way till the Day of the Resurrection. Allah, the Mos t High, says in the Holy Qur'an: "Of the people there are some who say: 'We b elieve in Allah and the Last Day,' notwithstanding their unbelief. Fain would they deceive Allah and the believers, but they only deceive themselves, and rea lize it not. In their hearts there is a disease, and Allah permitted this dece ase to increase. Grievous is the penalty they incur, because they are false." (Qur'an 2:8-10) During the past few months a group active in the United States that calls itsel f the "Nation of Islam" has received world wide press coverage. Its leader, Lo uis Farrakhan, met Islamic scholars and heads of State, introducing himself as a representative of American Muslims. Some brothers of ours asked this Board: " Can Mr. Farrakhan and his followers be accepted as 'Muslim' in the sense that th is word is defined by the Shari'ah?" With the permission and the help of Allah , after due investigation of the matter, this Board answers as follows: Praise to Allah, the One Who created good and evil, and who revealed the differ ence between the true and the false. Generally speaking, the 'hukm' (Shari'ah rule) is that each one who claims to be a Muslim must be accepted as such by ot her Muslims, except in the case they have a clear evidence of the contrary. The most common 'hukm' is that "unbelief is not proved by actions," but "is proved by the principles that are believed." The most common way to prove what a man actually believes is by analyzing his speeches and writings. That means that the fact that someone does not usually observe the 'hukm' of th e Shari'ah is not enough to proof his unbelief. This view is held by the Hanaf i, Maliki and Shafi'i schools, but the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal says tha t "unbelief is not proven by actions, expect for the compulsory ritual prayers (salawat)." According to this school, a Muslim who refuses to pray a compulsory prayer must be regarded as a renegade, but the other three schools says he is a Muslim, alth ough a sinner (fasiq). Notwithstanding this divergence, the four schools are una nimous in considering non-Muslim someone who - without being under pressure - s ays "I do not regard prayer as compulsory," or "There is no need to fast on Rama dan," or "There is no harm in drinking wine," etc. That kind of declaration pr oves that a person has rejected one of the clear 'hukms,' about which there is no doubt or possibility of misunderstanding. The consensus of Islamic jurists is that rejecting a single 'hukm' is like rejecting them all, and that missing an element of faith is like missing them all. There is no difference between a 'hukm' concerning things that must be believed by the heart, or things that must be done by the body. As a general rule, it is forbidden to investigate whether Muslims observe the Shari'ah, and even if their belief is correct from all poin

ts of view. Notwithstanding this, as soon as a Muslim hears from his brother som ething that can be identified as a wrong belief, he has the duty to correct him and to teach him the correct doctrine according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In cases when some wrong doctrine can imply unbelief, it is necessary, for the i nvolved person, to repent and to pronounce again the two testimonies (Shahdatayn ). The case is different when a person or a group is openly preaching and teach ing doctrines that look unusual. In that case, the Ulema' are bound to investig ate the matter, and judge whether these doctrines imply heresy (bid'ah) or apos tasy (riddah). Regarding the "Nation of Islam", their official doctrine is that Allah appeared in the form of a human being named Fareed Muhammad, and that this "incarnation of God" chose another man, called Elijah Muhammad, as his Prophet. This is a clear contradiction of the Monotheistic faith (Tawhid), and of the Qur'anic teac hing according to which Muhammad (blessings and peace upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets. That is enough to say that everyone who belongs to the "Nation o f Islam" is not, ipso facto, a Muslim, but an unbeliever. Muslims must declare this truth, and each one of them who keeps silent while li stening to Mr. Farrakhan being called "a Muslim leader" is sinning. Since the ma tter concerns "faith and unbelief," it is not permitted to avoid a judgment due to political or diplomatic considerations. Every marriage between a Muslim an d a member of the "Nation of Islam" is null and void, and whoever, after becomin g a member of this organization, wants to return to Islam, must repent and be r e-converted. In case he was married, he must re-celebrate his wedding; in case he performed the Pilgrimage, he must perform it again. We pray to Allah to make all this clear to our brothers in Islam, and to help t hem never to deviate from the doctrine that was revealed in the Holy Qur'an and that is presently accepted by the Islamic Community. And we call upon Allah as a Witness of what we say. Shaykh 'Ali Mo'allim Hussen, President Board of Ulema' Italian Muslim Association