Le Statut des Moines

Le Statut des Moines is a short text by classical Muslim jurist Ibn Taymiyyah.

In 1996 in Algeria the Groupe Islamique Armé (Armed Islamic Group or GIA) published an announcement that it considered lawful to murder seven Trappist monks in Tibhirine. This Communiqué no 43 is mistakenly considered by some as having quoted a fatwa of the Muslim jurist Ibn Taymiyya concerning monks.

History

In his short fatwa on monks, Ibn Taymiyya had argued that those in the religious orders who were found outside their monasteries might in certain circumstances be killed; they might also be killed if they had dealings with people outside their monastic community. Ibn Taymiyya's intention was to stop monks abusing their status and participating in the social and economic life of the Muslim community while enjoying fiscal exemption.

Modern use

Nearly seven hundred years after it was written, this tract was reprinted in Beirut in 1997 by Nasreddin Lebatelier (the Belgian Muslim Yahya Michot) under the title Le Statut des Moines, with an introduction which discussed the Groupe Islamique Armé’s Communiqué no 43. To the justifications given by the killers, Michot opposed the consensus (ijmâ‘) of the Muslim community which clearly condemned them and endorsed this consensus. He was accused by Catholic authorities and media of condoning the killing of the seven Trappists.

References

• Ibn Taymiyya. Le statut des moines (Beirut 1997). Nasreddin Lebatelier = Yahya Michot. (Only the Beirut edition contains the statement from the GIA in Algeria.)
• Jihad from Qur'an to Bin Laden. Richard Bonney, p. 122 (quotes Michot's repudiation of the GIA).