Like many people in Pakistanâs capital, college student Ali Raza agrees with a new edict by hard-line Islamic clerics that opposes the possible deployment of Pakistani troops to Iraq. The edict, or fatwa, is severe, warning troops they wonât be eligible for martyrdom if they die helping the US-led coalition forces. The clerics also said that the soldiers wouldnât deserve an Islamic funeral. It makes perfect sense to 20-year-old Raza, who yesterday strolled through the streets of Islamabad dressed in a shalwar kameez, a traditional outfit with baggy pants and a long tunic. âHow can someone helping the infidels be a martyr?â he asked. âInfidels should be fought, not helped.â
| "It don't matter if you're helping the infidels throw out oppressors, nope, nope. It sez so in the Koran somewhere. You could look it up..." |
The clerics issued the fatwa Thursday during Pakistanâs Independence Day at a rally of nearly 10,000 people in Rawalpindi, a city next to Islamabad. The religious scholars, part of an eight-member council, warned that troops sent to Iraq will be âdeprived of their wealth of faith.â
| I'd really rather not have the Paks there, anyway... |
Detail from Pak Daily Times...
The MMA claimed religious scholars from all Islamic schools of thought endorsed the decree, issued by a nine-member committee of the MMA. A former judge of the Supreme Court, justice (r) Muhammad Taqi Usmani, was also on the committee headed by JUI (S) chief Maulana Samiul Haq.
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