Al-Azhar Urges Boko Haram to Release Abducted Girls
The center, which is the highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning, issued a statement on Tuesday asking the terrorist group to set the girls free.
It regarded doing any harms to the girls as running totally against the teachings of Islam.
The group kidnapped 276 students from their secondary school in the town of Chibok on April 14.
According to security forces, 53 of the girls managed to escape but 223 are still being held.
Boko Haram has threatened to sell the girls. In a 57-minute video obtained by AFP on Monday, Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the group, claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the schoolgirls, calling them “slaves”. “I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market,” Shekau said.
Boko Haram -- whose name means “Western education is forbidden” -- says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government.
It has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly gun and bomb attacks in various parts of Nigeria since 2009.
