Top Pak Islamic scholar issues 600-page ‘fatwa’ against terrorism, suicide bombings

ISLAMABAD - Influential Pakistani scholar Dr Tahir ul-Qadri has issued a 600-page ‘fatwa’ against terrorism and suicide bombing.

Speaking to reporters after releasing the ‘fatwa’ here, Qadri said suicide bombers are ‘destined for hell’ and that Islam does not support violence in any form.

“Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence, and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it,” The News quoted Qadri, as saying.

Qadri said the Al-Qaeda has not been sufficiently challenged and that his global ruling against terrorism completely dismantles the banned terror organisation’s violent ideology.

In his 600-page ruling, Qadri said Islam forbids the massacre of innocent citizens and suicide bombings.

The fatwa also challenges the religious motivations of would-be suicide bombers who are inspired by promises of an afterlife.The famous Muslim scholar developed his document last year as a response to the sudden increase in suicide bombings across Pakistan.

The fatwa, which is being promoted in Britain by Qadri”s organisation, Minhaj ul-Quran International, covers global issues in an attempt to get its theological arguments taken up by Muslims in western nations.

Terming the fatwa as ‘hard hitting’, Minhaj ul-Quran International’s spokesperson Shahid Mursaleen said the ruling would inject doubt into the minds of potential suicide bombers.

“Extremist groups based in Britain recruit the youth by brainwashing them that they will with certainty be rewarded in the next life. Dr Qadri’s fatwa has removed this key intellectual factor from their minds,” Mursaleen said. (ANI)