Location: Pakistan
Type: Civil society
The Pakistan Ulema Council has been criticised in the past for its support of some IED attacks. However, in recent years the Ulema have become more critical and raised their voice to condemn IED attacks, more and more often.
In 2015, 200 scholars issued a decree against suicide attacks. The attacks were decreed unlawful under Islamic law. The scholars also warned that the teachings and actions of groups such as the Pakistani Taliban – Tehrik-i-Taliban – al-Qaeda, and other ‘Islamist’ jihadi groups were ignorant and un-Islamic.
Sermons against unlawful killings were also delivered in about 400,000 mosques. This action recognises the CIED and counter-terrorism role religious leaders can take in wider efforts.
This profile is part of AOAV’s investigation into counter-IED (C-IED) actors around the globe. To see the list of all C-IED actors recorded by AOAV, see here. To see those engaged in the Middle East, the Sahel, North Africa or other highly impacted countries please see here, here, here, and here respectively. This research was made possible by funding from the NATO Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED COE). To read the full report, ‘Addressing the threat posed by IEDs: National, Regional and Global Initiatives’, see here.
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