A screenshot of the
newspaper dated December 18, 2014
After the December 16 attack on the Army Public School in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, in which 132 and a dozen adults were killed, the tide of public opinion is turning against the Pakistani Taliban and different sections of Pakistani society are coming out strongly against them. Recently, the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), an organization of Sunni Clerics of the Barelvi school of thought, issued what it called a "Shari'a Declaration," describing the Taliban as terrorists and their activities as un-Islamic.
The SIC is known for its anti-Taliban views, as the jihadists do not approve of their beliefs with regard to visiting the shrines of Sufi mystics. In the past, a number of Barelvi Sunni religious scholars have issued anti-Taliban edicts, and in return, Taliban militants have targeted Sufi shrines and Barelvi leaders. A Taliban suicide bomber killed noted Barelvi cleric Mufti Sarfraz Ahmed Naeemi in an attack in Lahore on June 12, 2009.
The Shari'a Declaration issued by the SIC was published by Pakistan's mainstream Urdu-language newspaper Roznama Pakistan, edited by prominent journalist Mujeebur Rehman Shami. The newspaper published the Declaration in a report, excerpts from which are shown below, titled: "The killers of students are hell-bound, not jihadis; funeral prayers not permitted for terrorists."
"[Those] Making Muslim Children Terrorists And Suicide Bombers By Promising Them Paradise Are Rebels Of Islam And Traitors Of Pakistan"
"The Muftis [interpreters of Islamic shari'a law] of the Sunni Ittehad Council in their Shari'a Declaration on the Peshawar tragedy said that attack on... the innocent students is an un-Islamic act, a most serious crime, and the worst sin. The killers of students are not jihadis but hell-bound. Offering funeral prayers for barbarian terrorists, responsible for spreading disorder on earth, is not permitted [as per Islamic shari'a law].
"Death-distributing Taliban terrorists' understanding of Islam and the philosophy of jihad is misleading. Islam doesn't permit the killing of innocents. Islam is a religion of peace and love. The terrorists are using Islam for their un-pious designs. It is incumbent upon the nation to support the Pakistan army, which is fighting the terrorists, the open enemies of Pakistan and Islam. The Pakistani Taliban's conduct is un-Islamic, anti-shari'a and contrary to the golden principles of Islam.
"Islam is the biggest opponent of wrongful murder and a champion of the dignity of human life. Islam considers the murder of a single [innocent] person as murder of all of humanity. There is no place for extremism and madness [in Islam]. The attack on the Peshawar school is the worst display of enmity against education. Islam has made it mandatory for every Muslim, man and woman, to acquire knowledge. The Taliban are defaming Islam, not serving Islam.
"The Shari'a Declaration stated that the moratorium on the death sentence [by the Pakistani government in recent years] is un-Islamic. All those terrorists who have been given death sentences should be hanged forthwith. The Ulema [religious scholars] should play their role in stopping the misuse of religion. [Those] making Muslim children terrorists and suicide bombers by promising them paradise are rebels against Islam and traitors to Pakistan."
"The Shari'a Declaration Also Demanded Of The Government To Launch An Operation In The Whole Country Against Terrorists, Their Supporters And Facilitators"
"Terrorism in the name of Islam is not acceptable. [Those Jamaat-e-Islami] religious leaders who do not accept that the soldiers [who died] fighting terrorists are martyrs should change their thinking. Those who consider the Taliban as martyrs are also terrorists. An appeal has been made in the Shari'a Declaration to real religious scholars to come forward to counter the Taliban thinking and reject the Taliban philosophy of jihad. Those not supporting Zarb-e-Azb [military operation in North Waziristan] should be treated as supporters of the terrorists.
"The Shari'a Declaration also demanded of the government to launch an operation in the whole country against terrorists, their supporters and facilitators. National unity and harmony is needed to root out the curse of extremism. This grave situation demands national consensus against terrorism and the whole nation should unite against the Taliban mindset. Time has come for the national leaders to forget their political differences and unite to break the backbone of terrorists.
"If the nation, the rulers and all political parties and religious parties unite against the terrorists, then the Peshawar tragedy can be the last one. Opposition to Talibanization is not possible without national unity.
"Those who released the Shari'a Declaration included Mufti Muhammad Saeed Rizvi, Mufti Muhammad Haseeb Qadri, Mufti Muhammad Muqeem Khan, Mufti Azhar Saeed, Mufti Muhammad Ramzan Jami, Mufti Shoaib Munir, Mufti Mushtaq Ahmed Noori, Allama Sharafat Ali Qadri, Allama Hamid Sarfraz, Maulana Mufti Muhammad Hussain Siddique, Mufti Masoodur Rehman, Allama Muhammad Yaqoob Faridi, Mufti Fazal Jamil Rizvi, Mufti Muhammad Akmal Qadri, Mufti Abdul Haq Darie, Allama Zulfikar Mustafa Hashmi, Maulana Muhammad Akbar Naqshbandi, Maulana Wazir Qadri and others."
Source: Roznama Pakistan (Pakistan), December 18, 2014.
