Pakistan Frontier Fatwa Declares the Taliban Takfir

AJ at Stratasphere has important news that appeared, and then disappeared from The Nation today.  If you follow the link in Google now, you get a different story.

The story said that a cleric in the frontiers had issued an edict declaring the Taliban “un-islamic”. This is a turn of the tables on the Taliban, for it’s the Taliban who are used to declaring other Muslims Takfir when they disagree with the Taliban tactics, intimidation and murder of other Muslims.

UPDATE: Jawa Report was able to dig up the story here.

I’ve said in the past that important news in the frontiers doesn’t always make it from the Urdu-language papers to the online dailies, and here is a case where perhaps some did. Luckily AJ cut and pasted part of the story: 

The alleged militant group familiarly known as “Taliban” was declared “out of Islam” by 73 different sects of Muslims through an edict (Fatwa) circulated in parts of the narrow tribal strip of Darra Adamkhel.

The edict in Urdu language was circulated on behalf of Mufti Zainul Aabideen on Friday night. The one page edict focuses on Talibans’s terrorists’ acts in the area, particularly slaughtering of human beings and suicide attacks.

It is for the first time that a religious scholar declared “Taliban” as being “out of Islam.” The edict said that all the acts of Taliban are against the basic norms of Islam and humanity. “Even the Taliban leaders are considering themselves and their directives as superior to true Islamic principles and directives as ordained by Almighty Allah,” the edict said.

Here’s the important part:

Elaborating his point of view, the author of the edict states that the Taliban declare those infidel who oppose their ideas and interpret Islam according to their own needs and ideas, which is contrary to the all-embracing ideas of Islam.
In this respect, the author of the edict invited the attention of Taliban Mufti Khalid Shah’s edicts against internationally recognized Islamic scholars like late Maulana Hassan Jan, Allama Taqi Usmani, Maulana Tariq Jameel and others. He said that such edicts of Mufti Khalid Shah against such highly credible and respectable religious scholars were available on Tliban-made CDs. 
Mufti Zainul Aabideen further states that Taliban, despite chanting slogan of “Allah’s rule on Allah’s land” are ignoring this slogan in the areas under their control. They not only impose the system of their choice in these areas, but also forcibly collect the so-called taxes and fines from the people. They justify their terrorist acts discussing in mosques, schools and other public places and claim, “There is no sin in killing 100 innocent persons for one guilty person.” Islam prohibits killing of innocent people whereas the Taliban are killing innocent Muslims. Even they congratulate the terrorists and suicide bombers on, what they claim, “entrance into the heaven for killing the innocent people.”
The author of the edict further states that Taliban give preference to the directives of their amirs (heads or commanders) instead of following the directives of Allah Almighty and sayings of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Even Taliban affiliated to different groups are reluctant to recognize each other’s amirs (heads or commanders).
The author of the edict has in particular denounced slaughtering and beheading of the innocent people at hands of the Taliban. 
In the light of this edict, the author has requested Ulema and religious scholars to come forward to denounce such inhuman and immoral acts on the part of the Taliban.

More at The Post from a letter writer who pleads with the Ulema to speak out as well.