According to a newly published book, a group of at least 1,800 Pakistani Muslim clerics has endorsed a fatwa forbidding Muslims from committing suicide bombings. The book is endorsed by Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain, who also explains within the book:
This Fatwa provides a strong base for the stability of a moderate Islamic society. We can seek guidance from this Fatwa for building a national narrative in order to curb extremism in keeping with the golden principles of Islam.
It’s clear that President Hussain still wants Pakistan to be a supposedly “Islamic” country. He and the clerics are taking a stand against terrorism, but not against political Islam.
In their fatwa, the clerics also declare that “no individual or group has the authority to declare and wage jihad.” The book is produced by Pakistan’s International Islamic University and was released Tuesday, January 16.
The release of the book and the fatwa comes shortly after President Donald Trump attacked Pakistan on Twitter, saying that the country gives “safe haven to the terrorists” the U.S. hunts in Afghanistan:
The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018
Although it’s not the first time that a group of influential Muslim clerics and heads of state have condemned suicide attacks, it’s nonetheless important that they do so again. After all, radical Islamic terrorists continue to use this tactic. Many even argue it’s their most effective weapon. Discrediting it is of vital importance.
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