Source: Inside Bay Area/San Mateo County Times

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/faith/ci_2860006

On July 14, 2005 San Mateo County Times ran an opinion piece by Iftekhar Hai, president of the United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance, on the need for Muslims to speak out against terrorism. Hai writes, "Muslim leaders in the past have been slow to condemn terrorist attacks, but this time they acted fast. All over the Bay Area and nationwide, they renounced the attacks as 'heinous and barbaric'... The United Muslims of America Interfaith Alliance is encouraging an intense theological debate to condemn the extremist version of Islam that sanctions terrorism. We want to come up with the 'fatwa,' a religious declaration, signed by all the Islamic scholars in the United States honoring life, renouncing the use of force and making mandatory peaceful negotiations as the only means to conflict resolutions. I have found tremendous support for this fatwa. With a collective partnership and the Internet spreading our message all over the world, it is only a matter of time before American Muslims will lead the rest of Islamic world in re-interpreting scriptures in the light of 21st century values and ethics."