A group of prominent religious scholars in Pakistan has issued a fatwa against suicide attacks, armed insurgency, and the use of force with the aim of imposing Shari’a law.
The fatwa, or religious decree, was issued in Islamabad on May 27 and was signed by 31 noted Islamic scholars at an event organized by the Islamic Research Institute of the International Islamic University.
The fatwa condemns terrorism and extremism and labels suicide attackers and those who support them as traitors.
It also states that waging jihad is a prerogative only of an Islamic state.
The scholars issued a separate declaration calling for more action against extremism and for the proper implementation of Pakistan’s blasphemy law, while at the same time condemning the vigilante enforcement of the law.
The 22-point declaration was presented to address the issue of peaceful coexistence, tolerance, Takfir and Jihad.
Professor Masoom Yasinzai presented the unanimous declaration while Mufti Rafi Usmani read out the religious edict signed by all religious scholars which condemned terrorism and extremism, declared suicide attackers and their supporters as traitors, declared jihad a jurisdiction of Islamic state and disallowed use of force in name of enforcement of Islamic laws.
