Egypt’s Grand Mufti says issuing decrees not a job of terrorists sitting in caves

ISLAMABAD: Endorsing Pakistan’s national narrative against extremism and terrorism —  Paigham-e-Pakistan, Egypt’s Grand Mufti Dr Shawki Ibrahim Abdel Karim Allam has made it clear that issuing decrees is not the job of terrorists sitting in caves as only the scholars having a vast knowledge of Quran, Hadith and Fiqah could issue fatwas on sensitive issues.

Speaking at a roundtable discussion on “Paigham-e-Pakistan: A National Narrative to Counter Terrorism” here on Wednesday, he said that no individual could declare anyone infidel as it is against the very teachings of Islam. He added that declaring anyone infidel is a very dangerous approach and the Muslim Ummah should play its role to counter such trends.

He said that if extremism spreads unchecked in the society, it would definitely lead to enhanced terrorism in the country, adding that the negative thinking must be transformed into positive one with joint efforts.

Egyptian Grand Mufti further said that he had read the Arabic translation of Paigham-e-Pakistan, which reflected the message of the Pakistani state. He added that it was also compatible with the thinking of the world.

He went on to say, “We have to wage jihad to combat the menaces like Daesh, which sends over 30,000 messages daily on twitter.” Keeping in view the importance of modern tools of communication, he stressed the need for using these tools to counter the narrative of terrorist organisations.

“It is a need of the hour to spread Islamic teachings to save the young generation from extremism and terrorism,” Dr Shawki Ibrahim added.

Lauding the efforts of Pakistani Ulema, he said that Ulema and Mashaikh were working in a challenging situation being faced by Pakistan and Egypt. He added that punishing anyone on wrongdoing was the purview of the state and the judiciary and the individuals must not take the law into their hands for punishing the sinners or wrongdoers.

The Mufti further said that Ulema, Mashaikh, scholars and intellectuals will be able to overcome multiple challenges facing the Muslims world with joint efforts.  He further elaborated that the thinking of terrorists was dangerous which will not only devastate them but also innocent people.

Hence Ulema, Mashaikh and intellectuals should make joint efforts to save them and all from certain devastation.

On the occasion, Dr Aftab Ahmed of International Islamic University elaborated Paigham-e-Pakistan with detail.

Dr Farkhanda said that women could play a vital role in the elimination of terrorism and extremism.

CII Member Dr Raghib Naeemi said that Paigham-e-Pakistan narrative has been lauded by Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and various other countries, and it should be taught to the children of schools, colleges and universities.