Amman Message


The Amman Message is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 by King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. Subsequently, a three-point ruling was issued by 200 Islamic scholars from over 50 countries, focusing on issues of defining who is a Muslim, excommunication from Islam, and principles related to delivering religious opinions.

Content

The Amman Message was delivered in Amman, Jordan, as a Ramadan sermon by Chief Justice Sheikh Iz-al-Din al-Tamimi in the presence of King Abdullah II and a number of Muslim scholars. According to a report issued by the International Crisis Group, "The sermon stressed the need to re-emphasise Islam's core values of compassion, mutual respect, tolerance, acceptance and freedom of religion." The next year, in July 2005, an Islamic convention brought together 200 Muslim scholars from over 50 countries who issued a three-point declaration. This declaration focused on:
  1. The recognition of eight legal schools of sharia/fiqh and the varying schools of Islamic theology viz.
  2. #Sunni Hanafi
  3. #Sunni Maliki
  4. #Sunni Shafi'i
  5. #Sunni Hanbali
  6. #Shia Jaʿfari
  7. #Shia Zaydi
  8. #Ẓāhirī
  9. #Ibadi
  10. *Forbade declaring an apostate anyone who is a follower of:
  11. #the Ashʿari/Maturidi creed
  12. #real Tasawwuf
  13. #true Salafi thought
  14. The forbiddance from pronouncing disbelief upon others recognized as Muslims
  15. The stipulations placed as preconditions to the issuing of religious edicts, intended to prevent the circulation of illegitimate edicts
Explaining why the message was issued, King Abdullah stated: "e felt that the Islamic message of tolerance was being subjected to a fierce and unjust attack from some in the West who do not understand Islam's essence, and others who claim to be associated with Islam and hide behind Islam to commit irresponsible deeds."

Conference and declarations

Following are conferences and declarations:
Following is the list of some of the many individuals and organizations who have issued fatwas and endorsements in relation to the Amman Message :
Sr NoNameTitleCountrySectFiqhEndorsing FatwaWebsiteImage
1Muhammad Sayyid TantawyGrand Imam of Al-Azhar University EgyptSunniShafiʿi
2Ali GomaaGrand Mufti of Egypt EgyptSunniShafiʿi
3Ali BardakoğluPresident of The Grand Council for Religious Affairs, Turkey TurkeySunniHanafi
4Ahmed KuftaroGrand Mufti of Syria SyriaSunniShafiʿi
5Said Abd Al-Hafiz Al-HijjawiGrand Mufti of Jordan JordanSunniShafiʿi-
6Nuh Ha Mim KellerIslamic Scholar of Jordan JordanSunniShafiʿi-
7Yusuf al-QaradawiDirector of the Sunna and Sira Council Egypt
Qatar		SunniHanafi
8Abdullah bin BayyahVice President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars MauritaniaSunniMaliki
9Muhammad Taqi UsmaniVice President of the Islamic Fiqh Academy PakistanSunniHanafi-
10Sayyid Shaykh Nazim Al-HaqqaniDeceased leader of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order Northern CyprusSunniHanafi-
11Abdullah al-HarariFounder of the Al-Ahbash EthiopiaSunniShafiʿi
12Muhammad Tahir ul-QadriFounding Leader of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, Chief Executive of Minhaj International University PakistanSunniHanafi-
13Habib Ali al-JifriFounding Leader of Tabah Foundation in Abu Dhabi, Member of Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman YemenSunniShafiʿi-
14Habib Umar bin HafizFounding Leader and the dean of Dar al-Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen YemenSunniShafiʿi-
15Ali Hosseini KhameneiGrand Ayatollah, Supreme Leader of Iran IranShiaJafari
16Muhammad Saeed al-HakimGrand Ayatollah IraqShiaJafari
17Mohammad Ishaq Al-FayyadGrand Ayatollah IraqShiaJafari
18Basheer Hussain NajafiGrand Ayatollah IraqShiaJafari
19Hussein Esmaeel al-SadrGrand Ayatollah IraqShiaJafari
20Fazel LankaraniGrand Ayatollah IranShiaJafari
21Muhammad Ali Al-TaskhiriGrand Ayatollah
General Secretary of Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Jurisprudence		 IranShiaJafari
22Mohammad Hussein FadlallahGrand Ayatollah LebanonShiaJafari
23Muhammad bin Muhammad Ismail Al-Mansur
and
Humud bin Abbas Al-Mu'ayyad		Shaykh YemenShiaZaidiyyah
24Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-WazirGeneral Secretary, The Islamic Unification and Works Movement, Yemen YemenShiaZaidiyyah
25Ahmad bin Hamad Al-KhaliliMufti of the Sultanate of Oman OmanIbadi-
26Ali Hosseini SistaniGrand Ayatollah IraqShiaJafari
27Karīm al-HussaynīThe Āgā Khān IV, Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismailis PortugalShiaIsmaili

Reception

, while Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, gave a speech in which he praised the Amman message and the gathering of numerous scholars, commenting, "This was a clear message that Islam is not a monolithic faith, but one made up of a rich pattern of diversity, albeit all flowing from the same fount."
Despite the ecumenical nature of the Amman Message, since it was issued there has been a marked decline in Shia-Sunni relations as a result of increased sectarian conflict in such countries as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain and Yemen.

Criticism

Suhail Nakhouda, writing in the Amman-based Islamica, stated that the Amman message did little to effectively address ongoing problems: "There is no water, no pavements; the economy is bad, and many young people are out of work. Peoples' lives, as well as the images they see, stay the same." Nakhouda stated that King Abdullah's message was likely to be dampened by his lifestyle, which he claims is the subject of criticism.