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| Clerics Condemn Suicide Bombings as 'Un-Islamic' |
| People of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier fully support declaration |
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Ghafar Ali Khan (ghaffar)  |
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Published 2007-04-19 05:57 (KST) |
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People in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP)of Pakistan Wednesday welcomed a joint declaration issued by a clerics' convention terming suicide attacks and the enforcement of Sharia by force un-Islamic.
"We do support the Muslim clerics against the militants who have killed law enforcement officials and innocent people in different suicide attacks during the last few month," said Adeel Saeed, who lives in an area where a suicide bomb attack took the lives of the Peshawar police chief, elected representatives and others in January of this year.
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| He said that such acts create terror among the people and no one considers himself or herself safe.
To counter the increasing trend of militancy and to present a softer image of Islam, a convention of Muslim clerics in the capital city of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Tuesday declared suicide attacks and the enforcing of Sharia (Islamic Law) by force un-Islamic.
Around 2,000 religious leaders representing seminaries around the country and tribal area participated in the convention. All those who spoke on the occasion denounced the suicide attacks, the enforcement of Sharia (Islamic law) by force, the prevention of girls from attending schools, the forbidding of barbers from shaving beards and threatening music centers.
During the last few months acts of suicide bombing in the country, particularly in NWFP, have increased and suspected militants distributed pamphlets in various parts of the province and tribal areas warning against girls' education, shaving off beards and playing music. In Mardan, Peshawar, Darra Adamkhel and Bajaur agency music centers, girls' schools and barber shops were blown up.
"It's barbaric to deprive girls from education and threaten female teachers to refrain from teaching girls," said Noor Alam Khan, a lawyer and chairman of the Voice of Prisoners said. The clerics' convention declaration, he said, is a step in the right direction as people in other countries might consider all Pakistanis as terrorists and militants, which is clearly not the case. This declaration, he said, will at least improve image of the country.
Khan said that there are a handful of young people brainwashed by some militants groups for suicide bombing and other activities that creates disturbances and chaos in society.
The convention was hosted by opposition leader in the parliament, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party, which is a partner in the government with other religious parties in NWFP under the coalition umbrella-MMA. Interestingly no leader of the MMA's second major partner, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), participated in the convention.
The provincial chief of JI had already announced support for the Lal Masjid administration activities. Clear differences have emerged between the two major component parties of MMA after the Lal Masjid issue came to the fore.
After Sharia Courts were set up in the Islamabad Lal Masjid warning of suicide attacks if the government took any action against them, the ulema around the country decided to convene a convention from where a joint declaration denouncing these acts could be issued.
"Government is responsible for the enforcement of Sharia in a country and not an individual or a group," said Irfam Ahmad, a professor at Peshawar University. He said that those people who want to enforce Islam by force are themselves acting against Islam. "Persuasion and not force is sanctioned by Islam for preventing someone from vices or immoral activities," he said.
At the end of the convention a joint declaration containing six resolutions was announced by JUI-F member of the upper house of parliament, Maulana Gul Naseeb. In one of the resolutions, they disapproved acts of subversion carried out recently in many parts of the country by some extremists.
Issuing letters containing threats to video shops, barbers and administrations of girls' schools are un-Islamic acts. "Some invisible forces are behind the suicide attacks against the people of an Islamic country causing harm to innocent Muslims," another resolution said.
The declaration accused "secret forces" of plotting suicide attacks against Muslims.
The convention asked heads of all seminaries focus only on learning activities. Religious institutions should only be used for educational activities and nothing else.
The declaration said that people were being instigated through provocative statements, pamphlets, telephonic address and slogans to rush to Islamabad and participate in Jihad.
The declaration said that the recent "Islamic" movements started in Malakand and Khyber Agency and in some parts of the country in the past were initially peaceful, but later turned to militancy and violence because the activists took the law in their own hands.
It said that Lal Masjid, Islamabad, administration is exploiting people's sentiments and the announcement of Sharia in the jurisdiction of the mosque is uncalled for.
It demanded that the government resolve the issue through talks and avoid the use of force. However, the clerics unanimously declared that no person should challenge the writ of the law.
NWFP Chief Minister Akram Durrani made it clear that no madrassa in the province and the tribal areas was involved in terrorism, adding that some "secret forces" were creating law and order problems to bring a bad name to the provincial government.
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©2007 OhmyNews
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 Comments Note: Kindly refrain from personal attacks and profanity. |
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1. Hello Sir,
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mariama , 2007-04-20 05:09
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