Afghan religious scholars call for military operations against the Taliban.
The United Afghanistan Front has announced that at least 180 religious scholars from across Afghanistan have issued a fatwa calling on the front to launch military operations against the Taliban. According to the front, the fatwa was issued during a gathering of religious scholars and Islamic researchers in Kabul.
The United Afghanistan Front said in a statement on Thursday, the fifth of Sunbula, that the fatwa was issued by a number of religious scholars, Islamic academics, and researchers specializing in Quranic exegesis, theology, Hadith, jurisprudence, the Prophet’s biography, Islamic creed, and other fields of religious studies.
According to the statement, the fatwa was issued by a center for religious scholars that was established in 1394 (2015–16) with the aim of providing a clear interpretation of Islam and Islamic law and combating superstition, religious innovations, moral degradation, and sectarian division.
The United Afghanistan Front said that, in a separate letter addressed to the front, the religious scholars described the current situation in Afghanistan as being “occupied by the tyrant” and characterized liberating citizens from this situation as a “religious duty.”
The letter calls on the United Afghanistan Front to take up armed resistance and take action to what the scholars described as the “liberation of citizens from the evil of the tyrant.” The front says the fatwa was issued on behalf of religious scholars from across Afghanistan.
The United Afghanistan Front said it had accepted the scholars’ call and reaffirmed its commitment to continuing its military campaign against the Taliban. The front described military operations against the Taliban as a “religious obligation” and said it would continue its struggle until the Taliban government is overthrown.
Sami Sadat, leader of the United Afghanistan Front and a former Afghan army general, announced in early Asad that the front had begun military operations against the Taliban. In recent weeks, the front has also claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against the Taliban in several Afghan provinces.
However, the claims regarding the issuance of the fatwa, the number of participating religious scholars, and the military attacks reported by the United Afghanistan Front have not been independently verified in this report.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
