Le Statut des Moines
Encyclopedia
Le Statut des Moines is a short text by classical Muslim
jurist
Ibn Taymiyyah.
In 1996 in Algeria
the Groupe Islamique Armé (Armed Islamic Group
or GIA) published an announcement that it considered lawful to murder seven Trappist monks in Tibhirine
. This Communiqué no 43 is mistakenly considered by some as having quoted a fatwa of the great Muslim jurist Ibn Taymiyya concerning monks.
s who were found outside their monasteries
might in certain circumstances be killed; they might also be killed if they had dealings with people outside their monastic community rather than living a completely isolated life. Ibn Taymiyya's intention was to stop monks abusing their status and participating in the social and economic life of the Muslim community while enjoying fiscal exemption.
in 1997 by Nasreddin Lebatelier
(the Belgian Muslim Yahya Michot
) under the title Le Statut des Moines, with an introduction which discussed the Groupe Islamique Armé’s Communiqué no 43. To the justifications given by the killers, Michot opposed the consensus (ijmâ‘) of the Muslim community which clearly condemned them and he endorsed this consensus. He was nevertheless unjustly accused by Catholic authorities and media to have condoned the killing of the seven Trappists. The significance of the event is that, given the extreme polarization of opinion concerning violent radical groups and their self-justifications, scholars risk vilification and/or being misunderstood if they enter into the arena of debate. Yet if they do not enter into the arena, the debate risks sensationalism or being trivialized.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
Ibn Taymiyyah.
In 1996 in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
the Groupe Islamique Armé (Armed Islamic Group
Armed Islamic Group
The Armed Islamic Group is an Islamist organisation that wants to overthrow the Algerian government and replace it with an Islamic state...
or GIA) published an announcement that it considered lawful to murder seven Trappist monks in Tibhirine
Martyrs of Atlas
On the night of 26–27 March 1996, seven monks from the monastery of Tibhirine in Algeria, belonging to the Roman Catholic Trappist Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance , were kidnapped in the Algerian Civil War. They were held for two months, and were found dead on 21 May 1996...
. This Communiqué no 43 is mistakenly considered by some as having quoted a fatwa of the great Muslim jurist Ibn Taymiyya concerning monks.
History
In his short fatwa on monks, Ibn Taymiyya had argued that those in the religious orderReligious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s who were found outside their monasteries
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
might in certain circumstances be killed; they might also be killed if they had dealings with people outside their monastic community rather than living a completely isolated life. Ibn Taymiyya's intention was to stop monks abusing their status and participating in the social and economic life of the Muslim community while enjoying fiscal exemption.
Modern use
Nearly seven hundred years after it was written, this tract was reprinted in BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
in 1997 by Nasreddin Lebatelier
Nasreddin Lebatelier
Nasreddin Lebatelier is the pseudonym of Jean Michot , a Belgian Muslim who gained some notoriety in the late 1990s for publishing Le Statut des Moines in Lebanon in 1997....
(the Belgian Muslim Yahya Michot
Nasreddin Lebatelier
Nasreddin Lebatelier is the pseudonym of Jean Michot , a Belgian Muslim who gained some notoriety in the late 1990s for publishing Le Statut des Moines in Lebanon in 1997....
) under the title Le Statut des Moines, with an introduction which discussed the Groupe Islamique Armé’s Communiqué no 43. To the justifications given by the killers, Michot opposed the consensus (ijmâ‘) of the Muslim community which clearly condemned them and he endorsed this consensus. He was nevertheless unjustly accused by Catholic authorities and media to have condoned the killing of the seven Trappists. The significance of the event is that, given the extreme polarization of opinion concerning violent radical groups and their self-justifications, scholars risk vilification and/or being misunderstood if they enter into the arena of debate. Yet if they do not enter into the arena, the debate risks sensationalism or being trivialized.