New statement from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: "Regarding the Scheduled U.S. Conference Under the Name of Islamic Scholars"

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.
Seventeen years have passed since invasion of the blessed land of Afghanistan by America and her allies and the toppling of the legitimate Islamic government. In response to this invasion, Jihad started against them and consequently, as a result of huge sacrifices of our nation; the invading forces are now being compelled to accept defeat in the war and leave the Islamic country of Afghanistan.
But, yet frustrated infidels have resorted to other conspiracies to silence the voice of independence of our pious and freedom-loving nation and thus spoil our enormous sacrifices.
On March 18, 2018, the commander of American invading forces, General John Nicholson said during a press conference that US has a plan to apply different pressures on Taliban this year. He added, “a combination of religious, social, diplomatic and military pressure will be applied on the Taliban”. Religious pressure means that conferences under the name of religious scholars from Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Islamic countries will be held and they will issue a Fatwa (Islamic verdict) against the Taliban in these conferences to undermine legitimacy of their struggle from a religious perspective.
In this series, according to the US plan, first gathering of religious scholars was convened in Bogor, Indonesia on 11 May of the current year. They were considering similar conferences to be held in Kabul, Islamabad and Saudi Arabia after this conference.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this process under the title of conferences of the Islamic Scholars as an absolute anti-Islamic US process whereas its idea, logistical support and implementation is directly led by the US itself. The US wants through these conferences to find justification for their military occupation, legitimize their stooge Kabul Administration and thus weaken the Jihadic resistance of Afghan Muslim nation being put up against them.
But, Americans and their allies should understand that as they have failed in fighting, political sphere and in the field of propaganda, likewise, Allah, the Almighty will stymie this scheme of invaders as well. Allah, the Almighty says:
يريدون ليطفئوا نورالله بأفواههم والله متم نوره ولو كره الكافرون.الصف ۸
They seek to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths; but Allah will complete His light, much as the disbelievers may dislike it (Chapter 61, Verse: 8)
The Islamic Emirate urges religious scholars to reject these conferences which are a scheme of the invaders. We wish to convey to those scholars who might argue that they are participating in such gatherings to speak the truth and defend the cause of Mujahideen, that even if you will speak the truth in such conferences, the final declaration, propaganda and media are in the hands of the invaders. They can distort your assertions and utilize it for their own interests. As you have witnessed that rational views and opinions of some religious scholars were omitted by the media, and to humiliate the scholars, they propagated that dollars were distributed to the participants of the conference in specific envelops.
Similarly, as you witnessed in the Kabul conference that some scholars were invited and then a pre-written statement was announced under the name of Fatwa and was labeled as the agreed upon verdict of all scholars. As far as we have followed the process of these conferences and studied their decisions, this Fatwa is not Sharia–based and holds no rational argument to de-legitimize the current lawful Jihad. They spokes generally about moral values, criticized civilian casualties in the fighting and placed the blame on Mujahideen for killing innocent civilians, children and women. We wish to make is clear that the goal of our jihad is not to kill innocent people. We are expending our utmost efforts to avoid civilian causalities in our Jihadic attacks. For this reason, we have established a separate commission for the prevention of civilian casualties. Our hot line number is active and we have punished our Mujahideen in cases of negligence. But these are the reciprocal effects of a war that civilian casualties will happen. Sometimes civilians were even killed unintentionally by the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) during Ghazawat. Religious scholars have never rejected legitimate Jihad because of unintentional civilian casualties.
Secondly, the argument put forward during these conferences to de-legitimize the current Jihad is that Jihad can only be declared by the ruling government or a head of a state who is in power otherwise it has no justification in Shariah (Islamic Law). We say, lets deeply study the contemporary history of Islamic resistance. During eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when Islamic world was under occupation by Spain, France, British, Russia, Holland, Italy and other European countries and from northern Africa to Caucasus, from central Asia to Middle East and the Indian sub-continent, all Islamic lands were occupied by European colonialists and the invaders established their tyrant governments in these countries and continued their political, military, ideological and economical occupation until a military resistance was launched against them in these areas. In fact, no one can deny that this resistance is a golden chapter of our Islamic history. These military resistances against invaders were not declared by any government rather such movements were started by the individual efforts of Saeed Ahmad Shaheed, Imam Shamil Daghistani, Abdul Qadir Aljazairi, Mullah Mushk Alam, Omar Mukhtar, Izzuddin Qassam, Muhammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi Al-Sudani, Ibrahim Baig, Sheikh ul hind Mullana Mahmood ul Hassan (may Allah be pleased with them) and other heroes worried who felt the pain of the Muslim Ummah. But after a passage of time, these resistances turned into national uprisings and forced foreign colonialists to leave the Muslim lands.
None of the scholars of the Islamic world have criticized the Jihad of these heroes so far nor has any scholar called it illegitimate because it was a popular resistance not permitted by a government. Similarly three decades ago, Afghan Mujahideen started Jihad against Soviet Union and all religious scholars of the world defended their resistance whereas Mujahideen had no government at the beginning of their Jihad.
Furthermore, our current Jihad is defensive because infidels have invaded our Muslim land and defensive Jihad is started against them. As far as defensive Jihad is concerned, when infidels attacks a land of Muslims then all books of Fiqh (Jurisprudence) say that Jihad becomes obligatory upon every man, woman, slave, freeman and upon all Muslims. All should wage Jihad without permission of anyone otherwise all are sinners and have shunned a mandatory obligation. Therefore, there is no need for permission from a state in cases of defensive Jihad.
But even if we suppose that the permission of Jihad has to be announced by a government who is in power, even then our Jihad would be legitimate because its verdict was passed during the reign of the Islamic Emirate led by Amir-ul-momineen Mullah Muhammad Omar Mujahid. For that reason, few days before American invasion on 21 September 2001, one thousand and five hundred scholars issued a Fatwa that if the Americans were to attack Afghanistan then Jihad against them would become obligatory. At the time of this verdict 95% land of Afghanistan was under the control of the Islamic Emirate and it was even recognized by multiple countries. So this issue is clear as broad day light that because of invasion, tactical retreats from the capital and other big cities of the country do not nullify the Shariah based status of an Islamic government. Therefore as the Islamic Emirate was an Islamic state and government at that time, it is still an Islamic government and state which controls more areas of Afghanistan as compare to the Americans and their stooge Administration.
Therefore all the arguments are irrational and baseless according to Shariah for above evidence. Furthermore, they only blame Mujahideen and do not utter a single word against corrupt and infidel invaders nor consider their open brutal aggression as illegitimate hence it clearly shows that they are in the service of invaders. Therefore, we want to tell the religious scholars that they should fear the torment of this world and the Hereafter about this sensitive issue of considering the rightful Jihad as illegitimate.
They should know that America is the biggest tyrant of this time which has usurped the rights of the Muslims in every corner of the world. They have occupied Baitul Muqqadas, the first Qibla of Muslims and are oppressing Muslims everywhere. You know that the Mujahideen of Afghanistan are not fighting against the enemy with stones and pellets like those of Palestine rather they are fighting against them with modern weapons seized from Americans and their allies as a spoils of war. They are giving crushing blows to the Americans with their own weapons and every day, you are witnessing victories of the Mujahideen. Even the Americans themselves admit that more than 2500 soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and tens of thousands have been injured and are suffering from mental disorders. So on the basis of Shariah, it is impermissible for Muslims especially religious scholars to come to the aid and rescue of the brutal enemy and wounded dragon trapped in Afghanistan. Because helping the American tyrant is a great sin and deviation from Islam, May Allah, the Almighty protect our religious scholars from it.
To end, once again we respectfully urge the religious scholars of Afghanistan and the Muslim world to cooperate and help the Muslim nation and Mujahideen instead of assisting and participating in the conferences of the secret service of the enemy so that Allah the Almighty thwarts the plots of occupation and reinstates the dignity and independence of Muslim nation.
And this is an easy task for Allah, the Almighty.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
۱۲/۱۰/۱۴۳۹هـ ق
۵/۴/۱۳۹۷
هـ ش ــ
2018/6/26
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