Pakistani Clerics Issue Fatwa against Suicide Bombings

More than 1,800 Pakistani Muslim clerics have issued an Islamic directive, or fatwa, forbidding suicide bombings, a book says. The country has for years been plagued by violence by Islamist militants who often use suicide bombers. Seeking to curb terrorism that has resulted in tens of thousands of casualties since the early 2000s, the clerics declared suicide bombings to be forbidden, or “haraam”. “This Fatwa provides a strong base for the stability of a moderate Islamic society,” Pakistan’s President Mamnoon Hussain wrote in the book.  The Pakistani scholars, who declared that “no individual or group has the authority to declare and wage jihad”, said suicide bombings violate key Islamic teachings and are as such forbidden. The book was prepared by the state-run International Islamic University.
(Extracted from Reuters)