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| Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan, Pakistan Seek A Fatwa Against Suicide Attacks |
| 2013-02-09 |
| The Muhammad Mustafa mosque sits in a fairly well-off part of Kabul where government employees and some high-ranking officials live. Muhammad Ehsan Saiqal, a moderate, 54-year-old Muslim who welcomes girls into his Quran classes, is the imam. The slight, gray-bearded cleric preaches against suicide bombings. "Islam doesn't permit suicide attacks," he says. "If someone kills any Muslim without any cause, under Shariah law [Islamic law] it means that he kills the whole Muslim world." For the past decade or so, suicide bombings have become a standard tactic for Islamist militants in Afghanistan and its neighbor Pakistan. In an effort to stem these deadly bombings, the Afghan government convinced its neighbor to convene a joint council of religious scholars to issue a fatwa, or Islamic decree, banning suicide attacks. But so far, the two countries have spent more time arguing about the conference rather than organizing it. Saiqal supports the proposed conference of senior Islamic scholars, or ulema, to deal with the issue. "Of course it will be very effective because ulema have proficiency in Islam," he says. "They have reliable and rational explanations that will decrease the level of suicide attacks." That's if the conference actually takes place. |
| Posted by:tipper |