Grand Mufti of the Kingdom: Death Sentence Against Convicts in the Hmoud Church Attack Aligns with the Provisions of Islamic Sharia

Al-Taj News – The Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, Ahmad Al-Hasanat, said on Sunday that the death sentence issued by the State Security Court against the three convicts who carried out the terrorist attack on St. George’s Church in the town of Hmoud in Karak Governorate aligns with the provisions of Islamic Sharia.

Al-Hasanat explained that the crime is not considered an ordinary murder crime, but rather affects the security of the entire Jordanian society, and falls legally under Sharia within the crimes of Hirabah (highway robbery/waging war against society), in which the right belongs to the state and the ruler, and not to the next of kin of the victim, unlike murder crimes that fall under the provisions of Qisas (retribution) where the family of the killed person has the right to pardon.

He added that the sentence issued of death by hanging until death represents, according to his Sharia characterization, the deserved punishment for what the convicts committed of killing and terrorizing the Jordanian society, affirming that what was issued by the State Security Court complies with the Sharia provisions related to such crimes.

Al-Hasanat praised the integrity of the Jordanian judiciary, considering that the ruling restored rights to their rightful owners, and affirmed the ability of the judicial apparatus to apply the law with independence and integrity.

Regarding extremist ideas, Al-Hasanat affirmed that the flaw is not in religion or religiosity, but rather in terrorist groups that understand Sharia texts according to their whims, and employ them outside their correct context to justify takfir (declaring others apostates) and violence.