|
TTP rejects IS chief’s claim to be ‘caliph’
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan’s Taliban have rejected Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s claim to be the global leader of all Muslims, the movement said in a statement on Saturday.The statement comes after a similar rejection by the Afghan Taliban following pledges of allegiance from low-level commanders of both movements to the Middle East-based Islamic State (IS). Last year, IS, an al Qaeda offshoot, proclaimed its leader as ‘caliph’ - the head of the state. Al-Baghdadi aspires to establish a global caliphate with himself at its head. The latest statement from the Pakistani Taliban comes amid speculation that the movement’s leadership, whose goal is to topple the government of Nawaz Sharif and set up a Sharia state, is actually wary of IS, which is driven by different ambitions that have little to do with South Asia. “Baghdadi is not Khalifa (caliph) because in Islam, Khalifa means that he has command over all the Muslim world, while Baghdadi has no such command; he has command over a specific people and territory,” the Taliban said in a statement. “Baghdadi is not an Islamic Khalifa because his selection is not according to Islamic rules,” the statement said, adding that the IS leader had little control in Muslim countries like Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Afghanistan. Posted by: badanov 2015-12-20 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=439232 |