It would be presumptuous to imagine that Tuesday’s fatwa by Pakistan’s clerics will readily have a sobering effect on the mortal Islamist fundamentalism that has roiled the nation and countries further afield. Across such fearsome labels as the Taliban, Al Qaida, ISIS, LeT, JeM and the like, it is the extremist groups that will be expected to reflect on the clarion call by no fewer than 2,000 religious scholars, representing different schools of thought. Chiefly, the fatwa has condemned suicide bombings as forbidden, according to the tenets of the Shariah.

The clerics have in effect, although belatedly, questioned the praxis of the fundamentalists in the subcontinent, the Arab region, and Europe. Judging by that critical prism, the decree will hopefully be endorsed both by the civilian government and the omnipotent military. Unanimity is the striking feature of the fatwa and unprecedented must be the concerted initiative of the theocratic class in Pakistan which, alone in the Islamic world, has advanced a robust appeal to militants with the forthright assertion that armed insurgency against a state and use of force in the name of imposing Shariah law is forbidden in Islam.

Advertisement

That enunciation lends no scope for a spin, almost invariably driven by calculated malevolence. Markedly, in the immediate aftermath of the fatwa, political leaders and religious scholars have called for unity and what they call a “unanimous narrative” to counter terrorism in Pakistan.

The fineprint of the message is pretty obvious ~ the Shariah cannot be used as a facade to kill and kill with abandon. It is significant too that the religious decree has been issued after madrasas in Pakistan have been accused of involvement in terrorism and brainwashing of insurgents. Indeed, the content of the syllabi is the thread that binds the madrasas across the Radcliffe Line to similar schools in the Kashmir Valley.

Though the President of Pakistan traditionally does not play a pivotal role in the overall construct, it is a salutary development that President Mamnoon Hussain has expressed the hope that the decree issued by religious scholars would “help address the challenges posed by terrorism, extremism and sectarianism”.

To issue a fatwa, drafted after a consultative process, is a step in the right direction, he said. “It will portray a soft and positive image of Pakistan and highlight Islam as a religion of peace, brotherhood, tolerance and accommodation.

The Pakistan Ulema Council has issued a decree on the terror activities and the fatwa states that the country is an Islamic state and that Islam is the religion of equality, justice and brotherhood. Islam has denounced terrorism, bloodshed and suicide attacks,” the President has asserted. The message is directed as much to the terrorists as to the ineffectual government. Pakistan will be a different place if both sides defer to the directive of the clerics.