On February 5, 2011, the leader of the Gaza-based Salafi-jihadi group Jama'at Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad, Sheikh 'Ahed Ahmad 'Abd Al-Karim Al-Sa'idani, known as Abu Al-Walid Al-Maqdisi, issued a fatwa in response to a question about Islam's position on the killing of innocent civilians in the course of "martyrdom operations" such as the 9/11 attacks. The fatwa, posted the website of prominent Salafi ideologue Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, stated that while Islam prohibits the killing of innocents, Jews and Christians may be targeted because they are not innocent but "aggressive combatants."
Abu Al-Walid Al-Maqdisi said that even the danger of harming innocent Muslims did not justify halting or delaying jihad operations, because jihad against the infidels must continue.
Following are excerpts from the fatwa:
"Our shari'a forbids killing innocent people, be they Muslims or infidels... However, in the course of a jihad operation, mistakes can always happen, and this in no sense means that jihad [operations] may be stopped or delayed. ...
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