Amman Message

The Amman Message (lang-ar|رسالة عمان) is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued on 9 November 2004 (27th of Ramadan (calendar month)|Ramadan 1425 Islamic calendar#Numbering the years|AH) by Abdullah II of Jordan|King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan. Subsequently, a three-point ruling was issued by 200 ulama|Islamic scholars from over 50 countries, focusing on issues of defining who is a Muslim, excommunication from Islam (takfir), and principles related to delivering religious opinions (Fatwa|fatāwa).

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 Abdullah II of Jordan|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 (later known as 'Three Points of the Amman Message'). This declaration focused on:

1. The recognition of eight legal schools of sharia/fiqh (Madhhab|madhāhib) and the varying schools of Islamic theology viz.
   1. Sunni Islam|Sunni Hanafi
   2. Sunni Maliki
   3. Sunni Shafi'i
   4. Sunni Hanbali
   5. Shia Islam|Shia Ja'fari jurisprudence|Jaʿfari
   6. Shia Zaidiyyah|Zaydi
   7. Ẓāhirī
   8. Ibadi
   • Forbade declaring an apostate anyone who is a follower of:
   1. the Ash'ari|Ashʿari/Maturidi creed
   2. real Tasawwuf (Sufism)
   3. true Salafi thought
2. The forbiddance from pronouncing disbelief (takfir) upon (or excommunicating) others recognized as Muslims
3. 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: "[W]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:

• The International Islamic Conference: True Islam and Its Role in Modern Society, (Amman, 27-29 Jumada II 1426 ah / 4–6 July 2005 ce)
• Forum of Muslim 'Ulama' and Thinkers, (Mecca, 5-7 Sha'ban 1426 ah / 9–11 September 2005 ce)
• First International Islamic Conference Concerning the Islamic Schools of Jurisprudence and the Modern Challenges, (Al al-Bayt University, 13-15 Shawwal ah /15–17 November 2005 ce)
• The Third Extraordinary Session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, (5-6 Dhu'l-Qa'da 1426 ah / 7–8 December 2005 ce)
• The Second International Conference of the Assembly for Moderate Islamic Thought and Culture, (25-27 1 Rabi' 1427 ah / 24–26 April 2006 ce)
• The International Islamic Fiqh Academy Conference Seventeenth Session, (Amman, 28 Jumada I - 2 Jumada II 1427 ah / 24–28 June 2006 ce)
• Muslims of Europe Conference, (Istanbul, 1–2 July 2006 ce)
• The ninth session of the council of the Conference of Ministers of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs, (Kuwait, 20-21 1426 AH / 22–23 November 2005 CE)
• Amman Message in the Eyes of Others: Dialogue, Moderation, Humanity, (The Hashemite University, September 20–21, 2006)

Fatwas and endorsements

Following is the list of some of the many individuals and organizations who have issued fatwas and endorsements in relation to the Amman Message (as per official website listing):

Sr No	Name	Title	Country	Sect	Fiqh	Endorsing Fatwa	Website	[[Image
1	Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy	Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University	Egypt Egypt	Sunni	Shafiʿi	Fatwa]	Official Website
2	Ali Gomaa	Grand Mufti of Egypt	Egypt Egypt	Sunni	Shafiʿi	Fatwa		File:Ali Gomaa.JPG
3	Ali Bardakoğlu	President of Presidency of Religious Affairs|The Grand Council for Religious Affairs, Turkey	Turkey Turkey	Sunni	Hanafi	Fatwa]		File:Ali Bardakoğlu 2009.jpg
4	Ahmed Kuftaro	Grand Mufti of Syria	Syria Syria	Sunni	Shafiʿi	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:الشيخ أحمد كفتارو.jpg
5	Said Abd Al-Hafiz Al-Hijjawi	Grand Mufti of Jordan	Jordan Jordan	Sunni	Shafiʿi	Fatwa	-
6	Nuh Ha Mim Keller	Islamic Scholar of Jordan	Jordan Jordan	Sunni	Shafiʿi	Fatwa	-
7	Yusuf al-Qaradawi	Director of the Sunna and Sira Council	Egypt Egypt flagicon|Qatar Qatar	Sunni	Hanafi	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:Qaradawinn.jpg
8	Abdullah bin Bayyah	Vice President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars	Mauritania Mauritania	Sunni	Maliki	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:BinBayyah.jpg
9	Muhammad Taqi Usmani	Islamic Fiqh Academy	Pakistan Pakistan	Sunni	Hanafi	Fatwa]	-	File:Mufti Taqi Usmani.jpg
10	Sayyid Shaykh Nazim Al-Haqqani	Deceased leader of the Naqshbandi Haqqani Sufi Order	Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus	Sunni	Hanafi	-	Official Website
11	Abdullah al-Harari	Founder of the Al-Ahbash	Ethiopia Ethiopia	Sunni	Shafiʿi	Fatwa]	Official Website
12	Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri	Founding Leader of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, Chief Executive of Minhaj International University	Pakistan Pakistan	Sunni	Hanafi	-	Official Website	File:Muhammad Tahir-Ul-Qadri - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011.jpg
13	Habib Ali al-Jifri	Founding Leader of Tabah Foundation in Abu Dhabi, Member of Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman	Yemen Yemen	Sunni	Shafiʿi	-	Official Website	File:HabibAli.jpg
14	Habib Umar bin Hafiz	Founding Leader and the dean of Dar al-Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen	Yemen Yemen	Sunni	Shafiʿi	-	Official Website	File:Habib umar bin hafiz.jpg
15	Ali Hosseini Khamenei	Grand Ayatollah, Supreme Leader of Iran	Iran Iran	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:Seyyed Ali Khamenei.jpg
16	Muhammad Saeed al-Hakim	Grand Ayatollah	Iraq Iraq	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa	Official Website	File:Muhammed Saied Al-Hakeem.JPG
17	Mohammad Ishaq Al-Fayyad	Grand Ayatollah	Iraq Iraq	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa	Official Website	File:Eshaq fayyaz.jpg
18	Basheer Hussain Najafi	Grand Ayatollah	Iraq Iraq	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:Grand Ayatollah Bashir al-Najafi (cropped).jpg
19	Hussein Esmaeel al-Sadr	Grand Ayatollah	Iraq Iraq	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:Ayatollah Esmael Al Sadr.jpg
20	Fazel Lankarani	Grand Ayatollah	Iran Iran	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:Mf-jf (cropped).jpg
21	Muhammad Ali Al-Taskhiri	Grand Ayatollah General Secretary of Forum for Proximity of the Islamic Schools of Jurisprudence	Iran Iran	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa]	Official Website]	File:Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri by Tasnimnews 03.jpg
22	Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah	Grand Ayatollah	Lebanon Lebanon	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa]	Official Website	File:Sayed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.jpg
23	Muhammad bin Muhammad Ismail Al-Mansur and Humud bin Abbas Al-Mu'ayyad	Shaykh	Yemen Yemen	Shia	Zaidiyyah	Fatwa]	Official Website
24	Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Wazir	General Secretary, The Islamic Unification and Works Movement, Yemen	Yemen Yemen	Shia	Zaidiyyah	Fatwa]	Official Website
25	Ahmad bin Hamad Al-Khalili	Mufti of the Sultanate of Oman	Oman Oman	Ibadi	-	Fatwa]	Official website	File:أحمد بن حمد بن سليمان الخليلي Ahmed bin Hamad al-Khalili 01 (cropped).jpg
26	Ali Hosseini Sistani	Grand Ayatollah	Iraq Iraq	Shia	Jafari	Fatwa	Official Website	File:Al-Sayyid Ali al-Husseini al-Sistani.jpg
27	Karīm al-Hussaynī	The Āgā Khān IV, Imam of the Shia Nizari Ismaili|Imami Nizari Ismailis	Portugal Portugal	Shia	Jafari (Nizari Ismaili branch)	Fatwa]	Official Website]	File:Agha-Khan-IV.jpg

Reception

Tony Blair, 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 Magazine|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.