After the 7 July 2005 London bombings , journalist Mona Eltahawy published an op-ed in the '' Washington Post '' noting the fact that there were " 22 imams and scholars who met at London 's largest mosque to condemn the bombings but who would not criticize all suicide attacks " , such as Sayed Mohammed Musawi , the head of the World Islamic League , who said " there should be a clear distinction between the suicide bombing of those who are trying to defend themselves from occupiers , which is something different from those who kill civilians , which is a big crime " . After the knighting of Salman Rushdie in June 2007 , Pakistan 's acting Minister of Religious Affairs Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq publicly justified and called for a suicide attack against him . There have been conflicting reports about the stances of Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy ( who was then the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar - he is now deceased ) and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb ( who was then the Grand Mufti of Egypt and is now the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar ) . Shortly after the September 11 attacks Sheikh Tantawy issued a statement opposing suicide attacks . However , a translation from Al Azhar website quotes him as supporting suicide attacks on Jews in Israel as part of the Palestinian struggle " to strike horror into the hearts of the enemies of Islam " . Yet , in 2003 he was quoted again as saying " groups which carried out suicide bombings were the enemies of Islam " , and that all suicide attacks were sinful including those against Israelis . His comments condemning all suicide attacks were echoed by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Lebanese cleric Husam Qaraqirah
7 July 2005 London bombings
7 July 2005 London bombings
Istishhad