By Mustafa Makumba

The modern world has no shortage of tyrants and opportunists, but few have matched the arrogance of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Their reckless policies, war crimes, and open contempt for human life have left a trail of bloodshed, injustice, and humiliation in their wake.

The latest chapter in this long list of atrocities was their reported discussion of assassinating Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. That world leaders would casually entertain such an act of political murder is appalling enough; that it barely registered global condemnation speaks volumes about the moral decay infecting international politics.

A united voice did rise, however, from among the Muslim scholarly community. Over 100 respected Muslim scholars and academics from across the world issued a joint statement, branding Trump, Netanyahu, and other Israeli leaders as “enemies of God and corrupters on earth.” Their choice of words was deliberate, and the Qur’an warns: “Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against God and His Messenger and strive upon earth to cause corruption is none but that they be killed, or crucified, or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides, or that they be exiled from the land. …” (Qur’an 5:33)

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) warned of leaders who would plunge nations into corruption and tyranny. He said: “The most evil of rulers are those whom you hate and who hate you, whom you curse and who curse you.” (Sahih Muslim, 1855)

Is it not true that millions curse the names of Trump and Netanyahu for the devastation they have sown? Their hands are stained with the blood of innocent Muslims and non-Muslims alike. For too long, such leaders have hidden behind diplomatic immunity and superpower alliances. But before God, no tyrant is immune.  The call by Muslim scholars was not mere protest but it was a moral duty. To remain silent in the face of such oppression is a betrayal of Allah’s commands.

The Muslim world must not forget, and must not forgive, until justice is served. These men, and those like them, will one day answer before a Judge who is never deceived, and whose justice never fails.