Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Posts tagged: Ulema

Ulema

Covid-19 in Afghanistan (9): Into the third wave

Thomas Ruttig • Rohullah Sorush •

Afghanistan has entered the third wave of the Coronavirus pandemic amid an unprecedented rise in confirmed cases. Doctors in various provinces detected signs of the impending new wave soon after the start of the Afghan new year (21 March), but the government only imposed contact restrictions on 28 May and enlisted religious scholars to urge […]

Economy, Development, Environment Read more

The Killing of Farkhunda (2): Mullahs, feminists and a gap in the debate

Borhan Osman •

From ultra-conservative Salafis to secular-minded feminists, an astonishingly diverse range of voices have found their heroine in Farkhunda, the young woman who was lynched by a mob in Kabul on 19 March 2015. She has become the rare victim of violence to be almost unanimously called a shahid, a martyr. The consensus on her status, however, […]

Rights and Freedoms Read more

Is the Taleban Insurgency a Holy or an Unholy War? An Afghan-Pakistani ulema debate

Borhan Osman •

The Pakistani ulema were never particularly vocal supporters of the current Taleban’s insurgency in Afghanistan until the Afghan government approached them to talk about peace. Or at least their support had not been expressed publicly before. Then one Pakistani mulla, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, head of the Pakistan Ulema Council, made such controversial remarks about suicide […]

War and Peace Read more

Despite Growing Ulema Conservatism: Afghans Managed to Celebrate Nawruz

AAN Team •

Increasingly, during the last few years, the millennia-old celebrations of Nawruz, the New Year which starts at the spring equinox, ie around 21 March, has become the object of a religious debate in Afghanistan. Although the spring festivity is a major official holiday and continues to be a popular occasion for families to go on […]

Context and Culture Read more

National Ulema Council Seeks More Executive Power

admin •

ToloNews, 24 November 2012 The Ulema Council of Afghanistan is seeking more authority via the establishment of a new Dar al-Ifta – a scholarly institute with the authority to issue binding decrees concerning Islamic law or ‘fatwas’. The council discussed their demand with President Hamid Karzai on Friday during a meeting requested by the president […]

Recommended Reads Read more

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