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Originally posted by queer:
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[QUOTE]
Originally posted by mAd_ScIeNtIsT:
Actually, Islam allows the death of innocents if it is the only way to accomplish a military objective. If nuclear weapons are required to crush India's economic and industrial infrastructure so as to wreck their ability to wage war (hence accomplishing a military objective), then their use against cities is permitted.
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Someone please tell me this load of crap isnt true.
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The scholars have excluded two cases in which the killing of civilians and women is permitted.
The first one is when they take part in the fighting, or if they witness it or are involved in complementary activities such as giving council or propagandizing. The scholars base their decision on the words of the Prophet who, when seeing the slain woman said: "She was not capable of fighting," meaning that had she been fighting, it would have been permitted to kill her.
It should be noted that in the modern age, when an army is engaged in war, non-fighters join it who are involved in complementary activities and, at times, the course of war depends mainly on them. These are, for example, activators of the army's computer systems that direct military activities, such as civilian-manufactured computer systems for directing missiles or sophisticated bombs.
They also include those who work for agencies that carry out military projects; the reserve forces responsible for summoning soldiers and preparing them for fighting, even administratively; intelligence people, and so forth.
All those mentioned fall under the category of those who fight the Muslims and therefore can be targeted and killed in war, especially on occupied Muslim lands such as Palestine.
The second case when the killing of civilians and women is permitted is when Muslims must launch a comprehensive attack against their enemies or shoot them from afar. If civilians, women or children are to be killed in such attacks - although they must not be deliberately targeted - there is no blame on those who kill them, as these things happen in wars when bombs are fired at military posts situated between residential buildings, especially when these are the posts of the occupying army situated on Muslim lands. In such incidents civilians, women, and children are unintentionally killed, but Muslims get killed as well.
As an example, the army of the city of Taif which was hostile to the Prophet (SAWS) fortified itself within the walls of the city. The Muslim Army, led by Khalid Bin Al-Walid (RA) fired catapults into the city with the aim of killing soldiers. However, catapults were inaccurate weapons - whilst they could kill soldiers fortified behind the city walls, they were also likely to miss and land on residences, killing women and children.
However, the Prophet (SAWS) permitted the use of catapults, as civilians we not being intentially targetted - their deaths were a side-effect of killing the enemy soldiers.
