Taliban's actions totally 'unIslamic', claims top cleric

Islamabad, June 19 (ANI): Top cleric and rector of the Darul Uloom Waqf (Deoband), Maulana Salim Qasimi, has denounced the Taliban for its unIslamic viewpoints and actions, saying that the banned outfit does not qualify for any affiliation with Jama'at Deoband.

"It is totally against Islam to blow up the barber shops, education organizations and tombs," said Qasimi.

He added that the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan was 'unIslamic'.

Referring to the Taliban's statement in which it termed the democracy and the court of law as Kufr, Qasimi said it was sheer ignorance on part of them.

"The concept of democracy is also present in Islam, but it has various manifestations," The News quoted Qasimi, as saying.

When asked to comment on the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Qasimi said he (Rehman) was more a political leader than a religious scholar.

Another top preacher of the Darul Uloom Deoband, Maulana Habibur Rehman, also criticized the Taliban for destroying girls' education institutions across the country, and acting against women education.

"Women have right to get all kinds of education including modern education, and its opposition is nothing but ignorance," Rehman said. (ANI)