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Islamic Scholars in Pakistan Issue Edict Against Suicide Attacks


FILE - People help an injured man at the scene of a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Sana'a, Yemen, March 20, 2015.
FILE - People help an injured man at the scene of a suicide bombing inside a mosque in Sana'a, Yemen, March 20, 2015.

About 200 religious scholars in Pakistan have issued an edict against terrorist suicide attacks, decreeing that they violate Islamic law.

The fatwa issued Sunday in Lahore said that the Islamic State, the Taliban, Boko Haram and other groups carrying out suicide attacks were operating "in an un-Islamic manner." The fatwa described their thinking as flawed, saying it is based on ignorance.

The scholars' decree condemned those who carry out attacks on health care workers conducting polio immunizations, calling them "misguided people."

The edict said, "Those killing women health workers are the worst criminals," and that attacks on the places of worship of non-Muslims are the worst sins. It said that protecting non-Muslims is mandatory for an Islamic state.

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