Source: Reuters
On March 11, 2005 Reuters reported, "Spain's leading Islamic body has issued a religious order declaring Osama bin Laden to have forsaken Islam by backing attacks such as the Madrid train bombings a year ago. The Islamic Commission of Spain timed its 'fatwa' for Friday to coincide with the first anniversary of the attacks, which killed 191 people and were claimed in the name of al Qaeda in Europe. The commission's secretary-general, Mansur Escudero, said the fatwa had moral, rather than legal weight, and hoped it would spur similar pronouncements from Muslim groups worldwide. 'We declare ... that Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda organisation, responsible for the horrendous crimes against innocent people who were despicably murdered in the March 11 terrorist attack in Madrid, are outside the parameters of Islam,' the commission said."