Peace be upon you and the mercy of God, dear beloved. Media outlets have reported the incident of a boy being killed in Syria under the pretext that he had insulted the Prophet, peace be upon him. We would like to clarify in this statement how the media has handled this incident and the Islamic stance on dealing with the media and actions attributed to jihad and jihadists.
Firstly, dear brothers, and for the sake of emphasis, we say: The interviews with the boy's family indicate that this incident indeed occurred, and that people wearing distinctive attire and claiming to be jihadists killed him because he said, "If Muhammad, peace be upon him, were to come or descend, I would not give him the debt." We will not discuss the authenticity of the story, nor will we divert our efforts to criticizing the media's focus on this incident more than the crimes of Bashar's regime; for we do not see this comparison as an appropriate response, nor is this the appropriate time to discuss the ruling on insulting the Prophet, peace be upon him. Such a discussion seems to be an acknowledgment of the attribution of the killing to the jihadists from the outset.
What shall we discuss then? Firstly: the media's distortion in reporting the incident. The Syrian Observatory did not attribute the incident to any specific party on the first day, yet the most widely circulated channel in the Arab region published the news on its website with a picture of soldiers from the "Nusra Front" raising their flags, striking a psychological chord to associate the name of Nusra with abhorrent acts.
Then, the Nusra Front in Aleppo issued a statement denying any connection to this killing, clarifying that it was an unauthorized act. However, this channel did not bother to publish the statement. This was on the same day that this channel itself published on its website operations by the "Islamic Movement of Free Men of the Levant" in liberating battalions in Raqqa, attributing them to others in a clearly deliberate manner. Journalists from the movement have repeatedly reviewed this channel and others for correction, but these channels did not respond nor correct.
Thus, the achievements of the Islamic factions are stolen media-wise, while acts they are innocent of are attributed to them without evidence. All of this is part of a systematic defamation campaign after the Security Council listed a jihadist faction on the terrorism list.
As an example of the media's role in inciting public opinion; in a poll conducted after the events of September, the percentage of those convinced that the Iraqi regime had a role in the events reached around 70%, after it was only 3%! It is the media.
At the same time, state security courts in Muslim countries criminalize those who participate in a jihadist forum under the name of "cybercrimes" and punish them with imprisonment for years, so that only one side's narrative is heard, and you are not allowed to hear the jihadists' defense of themselves and the good they do.
Nevertheless, it is not surprising that the channels in our region or their websites sometimes publish positive facts about the jihadist factions; for that achieves credibility with the people so they can insert what they want in the details. Also, large institutions of this type have diverse intellectual currents, but the main course is what matters, and it is futile to think that the country where the largest American bases exist will have free media.
The Justice of Sharia Courts in Liberated Areas
The Islamic factions have known in the past two years the success of their Sharia courts and the acceptance of the people for them, as seen in videos posted on the internet, where they listened to witnesses and reviewed evidence in cases other than murder, and ruled on the liberated areas with justice as the existing regimes never did.
Can it be imagined that after that, their members would kill a boy in the field without considering his maturity and accountability, or without investigating whether his words were an insult or not, or without the presence of witnesses or the convening of the court, or without considering the state of war and the inability to prevent the great harm resulting from such a killing? Why was the incident not put in the context of the success of the Islamic factions in the past period in dealing with violations and their precision in Sharia courts so that it is known that they would not commit such an act?
The Divine Method in Dealing with News
Brothers, God Almighty has guided us to the correct way of dealing with news when He said, "O you who have believed, if there comes to you a rebellious one with news, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and then become regretful for what you have done." And by God, if we accuse the jihadists of ignorance and hand them over to our enemy, "Would that when you heard it, the believers, men and women, had thought the best of themselves and said, 'This is an obvious slander.'"
They are from us and from ourselves, indeed our pride. The principle in any news against them is to say, "This is obvious slander." If God Almighty has revealed this verse on the occasion of accusing a believer and a believer, then how about accusing all the jihadists at this difficult time? We always sing the verses and hadiths that explain the virtue of jihad and the honor of the jihadist before God. What have we gained from them if they do not urge us to think well of our brothers and defend them? They are not infallible, but they are the most deserving of our love and trust that most of them are on the right path, and that we defend them.
Possibilities of the Perpetrator: Infiltration and Individual Mistakes
So who is the perpetrator? Who killed the boy? We cannot be certain of anything, but we mention an important issue, which is the infiltration of elements from Bashar's army and others trained in neighboring countries into the ranks of the revolution, pretending to have an Islamic appearance in order to tarnish the reputation of the jihadists. The "Syria Relief Body" and the jihadist factions have identified many of these individuals.
Undoubtedly, those conspiring against the Syrian revolution have learned from the lesson of Algeria that this is the strongest way to fight the jihadists and turn people against them; to throw in bearded infiltrators who kill people and commit crimes while boasting.
Suppose that those who carried out the act are indeed people claiming to be jihadists. In that case, their sin is upon themselves, and "no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another." Does this justify us to disassociate ourselves from all the jihadists? Why do we generalize with the jihadists specifically while we do not see it as just with anyone else?
Imagine with me that non-religious Turks entered Syria to defend its people and excelled in that for years, but a group among them committed a repulsive act. I think if someone issued a generalization and said, "The Turks are criminal terrorists," we would attack him and say, "You are crazy, where is your justice? You left all their work and focused on a group that represents only itself!" Why do we not possess the same logic in dealing with the jihadists? Let our enemy not succeed in psychologically tarnishing us so that in our entity there is a microscope that magnifies the mistakes of those who claim to be jihadists?
Jihad: The Soul of the Ummah and the Project of Its Revival
We must understand that jihad is the soul of the Ummah. Allah the Almighty says: "O you who have believed, respond to Allah and to the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life." The scholars have explained this to mean jihad, for without it, the Ummah dies.
Our Ummah, which has been lost in the alleys of Ba'athism, nationalism, and democracy for many generations, what does it have left for its revival, liberation, honor, dignity, and the betterment of its worldly and hereafter life, except to embrace the jihadi project and make it the project of an Ummah that rises up and stands tall against servitude to anyone other than Allah the Almighty?
Therefore, when we defend jihad, this is not a defense of a strange agenda belonging to a particular group. This is a defense of the soul of the Ummah. We have no choice but to uphold it. Can anyone do without their soul, which gives them life? If you, servants of Allah, forsake what Allah describes as that which gives you life, then you will live a life of humiliation. And if you abandon jihad in the path of Allah, He will subject you to a humiliation that will never be lifted. Where is the slogan "Death rather than humiliation," servants of Allah?
Conclusion: Our Responsibility Towards the Jihadi Project
Our duty, brothers and sisters, is to purify jihad from what has been attached to it and from those who infiltrate it and tarnish its reputation. If you abandon it and prefer the world over Allah, His Messenger, and jihad in His path, then wait until Allah brings His command. We expose ourselves to the wrath of Allah the Almighty if we wrong the mujahideen, generalize their mistakes, abandon them, and hand them over to our enemy and their enemy. They are not the losers; we are. They are promised one of two good outcomes: victory or martyrdom. As for us, at that time, we will have: "So wait until Allah brings His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people."
Therefore, my brother and sister in Allah, let us deal with the news justly, as Allah has commanded: with clarity and good assumptions about Muslims, especially the mujahideen. Let us not bear the burden of others' sins and know that abandoning the jihadi project is not an option at all, for it is our soul.
Let us focus on these divine rules in our hearts. Otherwise, even if you are convinced by my words now, you will return to confusion and believe the media with every doubt they cast, wasting your energies instead of directing them towards supporting the oppressed and repelling the conspirators. I ask Allah to make us righteous, to have mercy on the Ummah of Muhammad, and to make us His tools in supporting His religion.
Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.