ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prominent religious scholars have delivered a fatwa in which they unanimously declared all forms of terrorism and suicide attacks un-Islamic.
Their fatwa (decree) was summed up in a document called “Paigham-e-Pakistan” — or “Message from Pakistan” — which was released at a ceremony they attended at the Presidency in the presence of the leading stalwarts of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party.
Expressing his confidence in the decree, President Mamnoon Hussain told the audience that the document would be pivotal in countering sectarianism, terrorism, and extremism. He said that the consensus among religious scholars to issue the decree was a monumental step toward progress, adding it would not only present a positive image of the country but also highlight Islam as a religion of peace.
A copy of the 49-page document obtained by Arab News is signed by 1,829 clerics from all Islamic schools of thought in the country. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif urged the citizens to accept the decree and support state institutions in their war against terrorism.
Asif said that the government would not allow Pakistani soil to be used for militant training and recruitment or launching attacks against other countries.
“The fatwa, which condemns terrorism and extremism, has also been endorsed by Pakistan’s Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Education and Religious Affairs,” said President House spokesperson Farooq Adil, adding that it “is also our comprehensive state narrative against terrorism.”
Adil told Arab News that the decree document was drafted on the request of the state. The task was given to the International Islamic University, which not only has religious experts but also communicates with other religious scholars, sects, and civil society. After numerous meetings and deliberations over a span of several months, the decree was unanimously drafted and agreed.
Sharing its salient features, Adil said the fatwa was based on the Constitution of Pakistan, which “is an Islamic constitution that is built upon the Qur’an and the Sunnah.”
Some of the major points of the decree state that the “Constitutions of Pakistan is an Islamic and Democratic document and it is a social contract between all (federating) units of Pakistan, which enjoys the support of (Islamic) scholars of all schools of thought.”
The document adds that “in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, there is nothing in Pakistan which is contrary to the Qur’an and the Sunnah and no individual or group has the right to start any sort of armed struggle against the state of Pakistan and its institutions in the presence of this constitution.”
The document also condemns the groups who use force in the name of implementing Shariah, saying their acts are repugnant to the basic teachings of Islam. “Moreover, revolt against the Constitution of Pakistan and imposing one’s own ideology on others with force is contrary to the injunctions of Shariah and is thus riot on earth. This is also a national crime according to the constitution and laws of the Islamic Republic. In order to put an end to such destructive activities, comprehensive administrative, educational, ideological and defense measures will be taken.”
Paigham-e-Pakistan also maintains that “there is a need for modern establishment of Pakistani society in line with the requirements of the Constitution of Pakistan, which eradicates the tendencies of hate, narrow-mindedness and intolerance.”
“We have seen many fatwas in the past, but this is a comprehensive one and has covered all issues in an effective manner,” said Qari Mohammed Hanif Jalandhri, secretary-general of the largest federation of Islamic seminaries, Wafaqul Madaris Al-Arabia, while speaking with Arab News.
The decree may not be enough to stop terrorists acting as “soldiers of Islam,” but it would prevent misinterpretation of the religion, said Dr. Yaseen Zafar of the Salafi Madrasa Board.
“We wanted to send out a clear message that all religious scholars are against extremism and terrorism. Hopefully, this will also deoxygenate militant networks and gradually make them irrelevant,” Zafar told Arab News.
Former Chairman of the Madrasa Education Board of Pakistan Dr. Amir Tauseen agreed that it was important to issue a fatwa with consensus. However, he added that what was more important was its implementation.
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Pakistani religious scholars pass fatwa against terrorism
Pakistani religious scholars pass fatwa against terrorism
US judge orders curbs on immigration agents’ tactics toward Minnesota protesters
- Arrests and tear-gassing of peaceful demonstrators prohibited
- Observers also protected from arrests, crowd-control munitions
MINNEAPOLIS: A federal judge in Minnesota on Friday ordered that US immigration agents deployed en masse to Minneapolis be restricted in some of the tactics they have taken against peaceful demonstrators and observers, including arrests and tear-gassing.
Handing a victory to local activists in Minnesota’s most populous city, US District Judge Kate Menendez issued an injunction barring federal agents from retaliating against individuals engaged in non-violent, unobstructive protest activity.
The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed against the US Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies on December 17, three weeks before an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, spawning waves of protests and putting the city on edge.
The court case was brought on behalf of six protesters and observers who claimed their constitutional rights had been infringed by the actions of ICE agents.
The 83-page order explicitly prohibits federal officers from detaining people who are peacefully protesting or merely observing the officers, unless there is reasonable suspicion that they are interfering with law enforcement or have committed a crime.
Federal agents also are banned from using pepper spray, tear gas or other crowd-control munitions against peaceful demonstrators or bystanders observing and recording the immigration enforcement operations, the judge ruled.
Menendez wrote that the government, in defending the street tactics of its immigration officers, had failed to “explain why it is necessary for them to arrest and use force against peaceful observers.”
Stopping or detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles when there is no reason to believe they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with federal agents is likewise prohibited, according to the court order.
Order comes amid heightened tensions
“There may be ample suspicion to stop cars, and even arrest drivers, engaged in dangerous conduct while following immigration enforcement officers, but that does not justify stops of cars not breaking the law,” Menendez wrote.
The DHS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The ruling comes nearly two weeks after the Trump administration announced it was sending 2,000 immigration agents to the Minneapolis area, bolstering an earlier deployment in what the DHS called its largest such operation in history.
The surge in heavily armed officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and Border Patrol has since grown to nearly 3,000, dwarfing the ranks of local police officers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Tensions over the deployment have mounted considerably since an ICE agent fatally shot Good, a mother of three, behind the wheel of her car on January 7.
At the time, Good was taking part in one of numerous neighborhood patrols organized by local activists to track and monitor ICE activities.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, one of the federal officials named in the lawsuit, said after the shooting that Good had been “stalking and impeding” ICE agents all day and had committed an act of “domestic terrorism” by trying to run over federal officers.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and local activists disputed Noem’s account, saying Good posed no physical threat to ICE agents. They pointed to video clips of the incident they said showed that Good was trying to drive her car away from officers and that the use of lethal force against her was unjustified.
Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have repeatedly demanded that the Trump administration withdraw the immigration agents, asserting that the operation is being conducted in a reckless manner endangering the public.
While largely siding with the plaintiffs in the case, the judge did not grant all their requests, declining to ban the federal government from actions not specifically taken against those who filed suit. She also limited the injunction to officers deployed in the Twin Cities, rather than extending it statewide.
Handing a victory to local activists in Minnesota’s most populous city, US District Judge Kate Menendez issued an injunction barring federal agents from retaliating against individuals engaged in non-violent, unobstructive protest activity.
The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed against the US Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies on December 17, three weeks before an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, spawning waves of protests and putting the city on edge.
The court case was brought on behalf of six protesters and observers who claimed their constitutional rights had been infringed by the actions of ICE agents.
The 83-page order explicitly prohibits federal officers from detaining people who are peacefully protesting or merely observing the officers, unless there is reasonable suspicion that they are interfering with law enforcement or have committed a crime.
Federal agents also are banned from using pepper spray, tear gas or other crowd-control munitions against peaceful demonstrators or bystanders observing and recording the immigration enforcement operations, the judge ruled.
Menendez wrote that the government, in defending the street tactics of its immigration officers, had failed to “explain why it is necessary for them to arrest and use force against peaceful observers.”
Stopping or detaining drivers and passengers in vehicles when there is no reason to believe they are forcibly obstructing or interfering with federal agents is likewise prohibited, according to the court order.
Order comes amid heightened tensions
“There may be ample suspicion to stop cars, and even arrest drivers, engaged in dangerous conduct while following immigration enforcement officers, but that does not justify stops of cars not breaking the law,” Menendez wrote.
The DHS did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The ruling comes nearly two weeks after the Trump administration announced it was sending 2,000 immigration agents to the Minneapolis area, bolstering an earlier deployment in what the DHS called its largest such operation in history.
The surge in heavily armed officers from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency and Border Patrol has since grown to nearly 3,000, dwarfing the ranks of local police officers in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Tensions over the deployment have mounted considerably since an ICE agent fatally shot Good, a mother of three, behind the wheel of her car on January 7.
At the time, Good was taking part in one of numerous neighborhood patrols organized by local activists to track and monitor ICE activities.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, one of the federal officials named in the lawsuit, said after the shooting that Good had been “stalking and impeding” ICE agents all day and had committed an act of “domestic terrorism” by trying to run over federal officers.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and local activists disputed Noem’s account, saying Good posed no physical threat to ICE agents. They pointed to video clips of the incident they said showed that Good was trying to drive her car away from officers and that the use of lethal force against her was unjustified.
Frey and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have repeatedly demanded that the Trump administration withdraw the immigration agents, asserting that the operation is being conducted in a reckless manner endangering the public.
While largely siding with the plaintiffs in the case, the judge did not grant all their requests, declining to ban the federal government from actions not specifically taken against those who filed suit. She also limited the injunction to officers deployed in the Twin Cities, rather than extending it statewide.
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