At least 50 Islamic scholars belonging to the Sunni Ittehad Council have declared the Taliban attack on 14-year-old Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousufzai as 'un-Islamic'.
At least 50 Islamic scholars belonging to the Sunni Ittehad Council have declared the Taliban attack on 14-year-old Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousufzai as "un-Islamic".
The council represents the Barelvi sect of Islam which is influenced by Sufism and defends traditional Sufi practices from the criticisms of Islamic movements like the Deobandi, Wahhabi and Ahl al-Hadith, reports The Dawn.
The fatwa (Islamic ruling) stated that the Taliban's interpretation of Islam was incorrect and was deviant from the actual interpretation of Islamic laws. It added that the Taliban were misguided and their mindset was driven by ignorance.
"Islam does not stop women from acquiring education and by attacking Malala the Taliban have crossed the limits of Islam," the fatwa said.
"Prophet Muhammad had regarded the sanctity of Muslim's life and property more important than the sanctity of the 'Kaaba' (sacred Muslim place)," it added.
The scholars, in response to the Taliban's interpretation of killing females 'for the greater good of the religion', said that Islam discourages killing of females.
The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had used Islamic laws to defend the attack on Malala. They said that although they do not believe in attacking women, "whom so ever leads a campaign against Islam and Shariah is ordered to be killed by Shariah".
TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan had argued that it is "not just allowed ... but obligatory in Islam" to kill such a person involved "in leading a campaign against Shariah and (who) tries to involve whole community in such campaign, and that personality becomes a symbol of anti-Shariah campaign.
Malala, who earned international fame for raising voice against Taliban oppression in Swat, was shot in the neck and head and two other girls sustained injuries when the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) opened fire on their school van in Swat valley on Tuesday
Malala, a National Peace award winner, became the voice of all the girls in Swat when she began maintaining a diary on the website of the BBC under the pen name of "Gul Makai".
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