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"Islamic scholars" split on legitimacy of Afghan election
A day late and a dollar short.
The landmark October 9 presidential poll has thrown up strong divisions in the Islamic clergy, between those who view the election as consistent with religious law and those who attack the poll as anti-Islamic. Leading religious scholars in the Afghan capital have voiced support for the recent presidential election. In contrast, several mullahs in outlying villages condemned the poll, saying it was the work of Europeans and Americans. One has even urged supporters to wage war against the new government.

Much of the disagreement centres on the interpretation of Islamic law as to whether religious scholars alone have the right to choose a country's leader, or whether ordinary people have a right to participate. Mullahs in Afghanistan wield considerable influence. As the majority of the population is illiterate, the word of religious scholars, particularly in rural areas, is greatly feared respected. One of those most vehemently opposed to the election is Mullah Azizurrahman, 45, a fundamentalist mullah who has a mosque just outside Kabul city. He said the government should be chosen by Islamic scholars and not by ordinary people. "Anyone who cast a ballot and took part in the election has committed a major sin," he told IWPR. Azizurrahman's view represents the extreme end of the spectrum. In his view, even the interim and transitional governments of Hamed Karzai are in breach of Islamic law. He gauges their credentials by asking what "hudud" — punishments sanctioned by Islamic law, such as flogging, amputation, stoning to death and burying alive - have been put into practice by the Karzai-led governments...
"Cuz if it don't got shari'a, it don't got nuttin'..."

Posted by: Anonymoose 2004-10-28
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=47178