The attacks on London in the past two weeks have sparked a fierce battle among Islamic theologians over how Muslims should react to the atrocities. But the dividing lines are not what might be expected: even some of the most radical clerics are split over whether to condemn the bombings or not.

One of the most extreme Islamic groups in Britain, al-Ghurabaa, laid responsibility for the two waves of attacks not on the terrorists but on the government and population at large.

It also condemned the “secular and moderate so-called ‘Muslims’” whose leaders met Tony Blair and other politicians in Downing Street last week to discuss how to deal with extremists.

Yet the London-based Syrian scholar, Abu Basir al-Tartusi, who has been regarded as a radical close to Algerian fundamentalists, took the opposite tack.

He published a fatwa, or religious opinion, condemning the killing of innocent civilians and describing it as “a disgraceful and shameful act, with no manhood, bravery or morality”.

“We cannot approve it nor accept it and it is denied Islamically and politically,” a statement on his website recorded, emphasising the social alliance of Muslims in Britain with the British government and society. “If this act was done by British Muslims it does not mean that Islam or the Muslim community in the UK approve of this act.”

Even the mentor of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the man held to inspire much of the carnage in Iraq, has condemned the use of “soft” targets.

Abu Mohammed al-Maqdesi, a Jordanian-Palestinian scholar closely connected to jihadi organisations, stunned many supporters by arguing, just days before the London bombings, that “indiscriminate attacks might distort the true jihad”.

Though he was probably referring to al-Zarqawi’s activities in Iraq, his comments reveal a growing uncertainty even in the most radical circles about the strategic wisdom of killing civilians.

Beyond the radicals and clerics, the broad swathe of ordinary Muslim opinion is clear: the attacks were murderous acts with no justification in Islam. But within that consensus a significant number of British Muslims, according to polls, have some sympathy for the motives of the attackers.

According to a YouGov poll published yesterday, some 6% of British Muslims consider the attacks were justified. That equates to about 100,000 people who, while they may not be willing to carry out such acts, are willing to support those who do.

Meanwhile, one in four British Muslims — while in no way condoning the bombers’ actions — express some understanding for the feelings and motivations that drove them to commit the crimes.

The poll also reveals that some 56% say that, regardless of whether or not they sympathise with the bombers, they do comprehend why some people might carry out such acts.

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