In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

In the article by Jason Burke [may Allaah guide him], it was stated:

Before providing the link for the knowledge based details on this subject matter, let us once again quote Imaam Ibnul Qayyim [may Allaah have mercy upon him] and the commentary on his statement by Al-Allaamah Saaleh Al-Fawzaan [may Allaah preserve him]. Imaam Ibnul Qayyim said, “It is obligated on you to give detail and make a distinction, because unrestricted and general [statements] without clarification has indeed corrupted this existence [i.e. the world], and misguided the intellects and views [of the people] in every era”. Al-Allaamah Saaleh Al-Fawzaan said, “There has to be detail explanation. The one who is not proficient in giving detail should keep quiet, because benefit is not acquired from his speech. And every time error occurs, its cause is due to an absence of detail explanation regarding truth and falsehood. There has to be detail explanation and distinction and not to mix up [affairs]. Indeed, it may be that there is something of truth and falsehood in an opponent’s statement, so all of it is neither deemed to be false nor truth; rather there has to be a distinction between its truth and falsehood. All of it is neither rejected nor accepted; rather a distinction is made regarding the truth and what is correct and the falsehood and error in it. And if you are not proficient in giving detail, then you should not enter into this field”. [Source: An Excerpt from At-Ta-leeqaat Al-Mukhtasar Alaa Al-Qaseedah an-Nooniyyah: Vol: 1 page: 216. Slightly paraphrased]

Secondly, with regards to the above quote from Jason Burke’s article, then indeed the statement needs clarification and detail. The statement without the quotation marks is ambiguous, because indeed a Muslim can make Takfeer of another Muslim, but the question is who amongst the Muslims is authorized to make Takfeer? All praise is due to Allaah, because the people of Sunnah are well acquainted with the fact that the upright and well-known scholars of the Islamic World – those who fear Allaah and do not speak except with sound knowledge – are the ones who can make Takfeer. Read here about the principles of Takfeer and who can make Takfeer:

http://www.salafipublications.com/sps/downloads/pdf/MNJ090006.pdf

As for the statement in quotation marks, then there is no doubt that making Takfeer of a Muslim is a mighty affair and all our Muslim rulers [may Allaah strengthen them] do take measures to close that evil door, otherwise the deviants will openly promote the satanic methodology of Sayyid Qutb, Usaamah Bin Laadin, Ayman Az-Zawaahiri, Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaida, Boko Haram and other deranged Khaarijites. Visit links: http://www.takfiris.com/takfir/index.cfm    http://www.islamagainstextremism.com/

Finally, we ask Jason Burke once again that he abandons ambiguities and refrain from speaking about that which he is not qualified to address, otherwise we remind him once again that the scholars of Islaam say, “Silence beautifies the scholar and conceals the affair [i.e. ignorance] of an ignorant person”. And as Al-Allaamah Saaleh Al-Fawzaan [may Allaah preserve him] says, “And if you are not proficient in giving detail, then you should not enter into this field”. May Allaah guide Jason to that which is correct Aameen.