With one voice: Clerics condemn Taliban endorsement of church attack

LAHORE: A day after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) condoned the Sept 22 twin suicide attacks at Peshawar’s All Saints Church, a group of clerics from the Barelvi school of thought said that the Taliban were defaming Islam. TTP spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid told the BBC Urdu on Friday that his group did not carry out the church attack, but it believed the bombing was according to the Islamic Shariah. Leaders of the Sunni Ittehad Council said that Shahid’s statement was contrary to the teachings of Islam, a religion that calls for respecting all places of worship. “The Taliban’s claim that the church attack is in line with the principles of Islam is wrong and un-Islamic,” said the clerics in a joint-statement. “Islam forbids damaging the places of worship of all religions.” The leading ulema and scholars who issued the statement included Nazim-e-Aala Jamia Naeemia’s Maulana Raghib Hussain Naeemi, Pakistan Sunni Tehreek chief Sarwat Ijaz Qadri, National Mushaikh Council Pakistan President Pir Khawaja Ghulam Qutubuddin, Khairul Ummam Foundation Pakistan President Pir Karamat Ali, Tahafuz-e-Namoos-e-Rasalat Mahaz Vice President Allama Razae Mustafa and Sunni Ittehad Council’s Pir Atharul Qadri. They said Islam provides complete security to religious minorities and affiliating terrorist activities with Islam is tantamount to defaming the religion. The TTP has flouted the principles of Islam, they said. “Shahid’s statement is based on the ideology of terrorists, which has no connection with or roots in Islam. Such a stance is against the Holy Quran and Sunnah,” they added. The scholars and leaders also opposed the decision to hold peace talks with Taliban, saying the government was rubbing salt on the wounds of the 50,000 victims of terrorism across the country. “If the government holds peace talks with the Taliban, it should also hold dialogues with all prisoners who have committed heinous crimes,” the clerics stated. SIC chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza in a separate statement said that the state must fight with rebels otherwise existence of the state would be endangered. Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2013.