Location: Afghanistan
Type: Civil society
The Ulema Council is made up of religious leaders. They have played a significant role in CIED in Afghanistan. They have often preached peace and denounced IED attacks. They have often used their position to call out the use of terrorism and explain that these attacks are againt the teachings of Islam.
Over recent years the Ulema Council many IED attacks across Afghanistan, in particular those that target civilians. They have also urged citizens to rally behind the Afghan National Security Forces.
It should be remembered though, that other Ulema’s, such as in Pakistan have been supportive of some IED attacks by terrorist groups.
Many countries have asked the Ulema Council and other religious leaders within their respective borders to denounce IED attacks, particularly suicide attacks, as they understand the influence the clerics have within Islam.
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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