The Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah issued a communiqué in which he deemed as prohibited the Vendetta crimes, that have been lately on the increase in several locations, and that are causing dangerous security and social turmoil.

He said:

There are several phenomena that have plagued our Muslim and Arab communities and that have a negative impact on its stability, security and harmony. One of the most dangerous of these phenomena is that of revenge, which takes place when someone reacts to killing those whom he thinks responsible of the killing of his relative. Such a judgment is based on suspicion and does rely on a judicial or legal proof, since Islam did not give the people the right to take the law in their own hands. Moreover, such crimes would sometimes involve the killing of one of the relatives or a tribe member of the supposed murderer, who is totally innocent. And some might reach the extent of committing a brutal aggression of arson, plunder, vandalism and the like that would entail anyone related to the accused.

This barbaric behaviour is a horrendous crime, as well as a condemned and religiously unlawful act. It indicates how deep-rooted the tribal mentality of backwardness, ignorance and fanaticism is; such a mentality approves of punishing the innocent for the crime of the guilty, in violation of the humanitarian principle the Glorious Quran has emphasized. ”and no bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another”.

We vehemently condemn such acts and call for confronting it decisively as an act of mischief in the land, in the light of Allah's saying whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men. We also call as all those concerned whether religious scholars, or social and cultural organizations to act in a decisive and consistent manner to educate the society on the humanitarian and religious values, in an effort to reduce the effect of the tribal fanatic mentality since these habits find a fertile land in the climate of ignorance and backwardness, as well as the weakness of the power to execute just law.

We call on political authorities as well as all political parties and all concerned not to provide cover or protection to those who commit such crimes, and to stop all those who try, whether directly or indirectly, to undermine social stability leading to chaos and turmoil and ultimately to social collapse.