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| Bangladesh |
| 100,000 clerics sign fatwa against militancy |
| 2016-06-06 |
| [Dhaka Tribune] More than 100,000 Islamic scholars, leaders, thinkers and Olemas have finalised a "Fatwa of peace for human well-being" to curb militancy in Bangladesh. The Khatib of Sholakia Eidgah, who took the initiative last year, said more than 100,000 Islamic religious scholars signed the groundbreaking fatwa against terrorism and militancy. Last December, Fariduddin Masuud, secretary general of Jamaat-e-Ulema Maulana, first came up with the idea of using Fatwa to curb militancy and sought assistance from the police and other stakeholders. Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, the Islamic scholar said the main theme of the fatwa was "Fatwa of peace for human well-being." Masuud said they would announce the fatwa on June 18 through a presser in Dhaka city. "We have prepared the main part of the fatwa with 10 questions that had been raised by the Death Eater groups and we answered those questions quoting the holy Qur'an and Hadith." Masuud said 300 Olemas first finalised the draft. "Then we finalised the copy and sent it to Olemas across the country and they sent it back with their signatures. More than 100,000 Olemas signed the Fatwa." The Khatib of the country's largest Eid congregation said the primary target was to publish a pamphlet writing only the main part of the fatwa and to distribute it among 10 million people. "It is our primary target. But we will not seek any assistance from the government, but if government comes forward we will welcome it. If we can reach to 10 million people then it will reach 160 million people automatically," he said. Masuud said the Olemas who signed the Fatwa would also preach it in their mosques and madrasas. "One cannot deny that in Bangladesh, Fatwas can have a tremendous impact. A statement against terrorism by holy mans can be very effective," he said. The Khatib said online and social media would be used to spread the message and to sensitise the public. "We will use Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and so on. Because the young generation gets so much misleading information on online platforms, to counter this, online media should be focused on more." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 unfortunately these 'peace' fatwas have, in the past, always had enough ambiguity and loopholes to allow honor killings, forced marriages, blasphemy killings, etc. to continue |
| Posted by: lord garth 2016-06-06 10:56 |