A Dutch Muslim politician has called on Muslims around the world to stop blindly following decrees issued by extremists and to start thinking for themselves.
GreenLeft Party MP Tofik Dibi said that as a ''normal, ordinary Muslim'', he wanted his ''final fatwa'' to ensure that the debate about Islam included a more ''reasonable, free-thinking Muslim voice''.
There are about 800,000 Muslims in the Netherlands, about 5% of the population, who are mainly of Moroccan or Turkish origin.
As in many other European countries, much of the debate over immigration and Islam centres on concerns about integration.
Dibi's ''final fatwa'' calls on Muslims to reject all fatwas issued by extremists and to reclaim their religion.
Such fatwas ''reduce a Muslim to a mindless and heartless machine'', he said on Saturday.
''On 11 September 2001, terrorists not only hijacked planes and killed innocent people, they also hijacked the religion of Islam,'' he told Reuters.
Freedom Party politician Geert Wilders, who wants to stop immigration, particularly from Muslim countries, tweeted in response:
''Dibi's fatwa calls for an end to Islamic extremism. What we need is a fatwa to end Islam.''
