Kidnapping foreign visitors: an Islamic perspective

1. Kidnapping is an assault on another, whether a Muslim or non-Muslim. It is an unjust act that God forbids and prohibits: "Allah commands justice, the doing of good and giving to kith and kin, and He forbids all shameful deeds, and injustice and rebellion: He instructs you, that ye may receive admonition" (Koran, 16:90). God stressed that the mere differences in religion, even if in the context of a conflict, do not justify assaulting another.

2. Kidnapping is considered an act of war. [In any case, it is prohibited to kill a prisoner of war], he is absolutely destined to be released: "... afterward either grace or ransom...." (Koran, 47:4).

3. It is prohibited, in the case of actual war, to kidnap innocent people or civilians, who are [technically speaking] of the enemy. No act of war could be aimed at them. The civilians, from an Islamic perspective, are noncombatant women, children, and the elderly who have nothing to do with war, and monks and those who live in monasteries.

4. If kidnapping takes place during actual fighting, the kidnapped become prisoners of war, and should be treated according to the teachings of Islamic sharia regarding captives, which we summarize as follows: (a) Prisoners of wars should be turned over to the authorities to decide what to do with them. The person who caught the prisoner of war has no right or authority over him. (b) It is a religious obligation to be kind to the prisoners of war, to treat them well, to be generous to them, to provide them with food and clothing, and not to torture them: "And they feed, for the love of Allah, the indigent, the orphan, and the captive" (Koran, 76:8). (c) The prisoners of war should be ultimately released.

5. It is prohibited to hold civilians from among the enemy as hostages and threaten to kill them because of an action that is performed, or not, by others, while they are not responsible for it, and they cannot stop it: (a) One of the most important rules of justice among people is that no one should be responsible for the actions of others, and no one should be held accountable for crimes done by others. This law of sharia was confirmed by the Koran in many verses: "No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another" (Koran, 17:15).

It is clear that the message of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, headed by Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, calls for the prohibition of harming civilians in any way, including kidnapping, even in a state of war.

We should not allow frustration to drive us to the use of violence, or to solve problems, regarding issues of internal change, through the use of arms. And we have to give nonviolent resistance a general chance to prove whether it is a valid or invalid method. This is only possible through experimentation.

We should see in every foreigner a potential friend whom we can bring to actuality through kindness and benevolence. This is a path strewn with the thorns of ignorance; it can be cleared with tools of knowledge and patience, without getting bored or tired. The Koran says:

"Nor can goodness and evil be equal. Repel [evil] with what is better: Then will he, between whom and thee was hatred, become as it were thy friend and intimate.

"And no one will be granted such goodness except those who exercise patience and self-restraint, none but persons of the greatest good fortune." (Koran, 41: 34-35).

• Mustafa Abu Sway is a professor of philosophy and Islamic studies at Al Quds University in East Jerusalem. A longer version of this article was originally published by the Palestinian daily, Al-Quds.

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