Islamist Debate: Are Muslim U.K. Visa Holders and Muslim U.K. Citizens Permitted to Carry Out Attacks in Great Britain?

Islamist Debate: Are Muslim U.K. Visa Holders and Muslim U.K. Citizens Permitted to Carry Out Attacks in Great Britain?

Recent discussions in the online Islamist forums regarding the benefits of attacking France have sparked a religious debate among Islamist forum members. [1] At the core of the debate is the Islamic concept of "assurance of protection" (aman), which is referred to in the discussion below as "the covenant of security." In this case, the covenant of security pertains to the aman granted to a Muslim by a non-Muslim, whereby if a Muslim enters a non-Muslim country, or even an enemy country, with an assurance of protection from that country (e.g. as a merchant or a tourist) he must not violate this covenant by harming the country in any way. [2]

The following are excerpts from the forum discussions on the subject:

"With British Troops Murdering Muslims, There Can Be No Covenant of Security in the U.K."

On January 18, 2008, a member of the Al-Ekhlas English forum (www.ek-ls.org ) posted the following inquiry in English: "Can anyone [provide clarification regarding] the covenant of security [i.e. assurance of protection]? (...)