Imam of Kaaba: Afghan war an evil; it has to be ceased forthright

Ulema of the Muslim world called the Afghan war an evil, saying that only Muslims are being killed on both sides of the conflict. Participants of a conference on Afghan peace in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, unanimously urged the Afghan Taliban to take President Ghani’s peace offer and put an end to the ongoing fratricide in the country.
Speaking at the conference, Saleh bin Abdullah bin Muhammad Al Humaid, Imam of Kaaba, said the current situation in Afghanistan can no longer be tolerated.
“We support Afghanistan in its peace process. Those who want peace are perfect Muslims, but those who oppose peace are following the way of devil,” Saleh said.
He said that peace and faith were inextricably intertwined, so one cannot exist without the other.
“Wherever there is a Muslim there has to be peace too. Afghan war is an evil, it has to be stopped immediately,” he concluded.
Speaking to the Ulema gathered from different Muslim countries, the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen said Muslim world Ulema should play active role in resolving the Afghan conflict, urging the Taliban to sit for peace talks with Afghan government.
He reiterated his previous stance on the war, saying that the military activities ongoing in Afghanistan are in discordance with Islam.
“Islam is a religion of mercy, in which killing of human being is strictly prohibited. I don’t know what religion they believe in that they are killing people. During fighting, both sides are chanting Allah Hu Akbar,” he argued.
On behalf of Afghan delegation, Dr. Mohammad Shafiq Samim, a member of High Peace Council, requested attendees of the meeting to help Afghanistan in restoring peace and stability. Samim requested that a delegate should be formed from participants of the summit for talks with the Taliban.
He also asked the Saudi King to invite Taliban representatives for peace talks to Haramin Sharifin, requesting the OIC to call a special meeting of Ulema from the Muslim world for discussion about Afghan peace.
In addition, he called on Ulema of Muslim world to support efforts of their Afghan counterparts for peace and stability.
The conference is scheduled to continue for a second day on Wednesday in Mecca.
This comes as Afghan government has stepped up efforts to find a political solution to the decades-long war in Afghanistan. However, Taliban have so far refused to sit for direct peace talks with Afghan government, saying that they will only speak to US after complete withdrawal of foreign forces.