Ayatollah Sistani Issues Fatwa, Calls for Fighting ISIL Terrorists
Sheikh Abdul Mahdi Karbalayi, Ayatollah Sistani's representative in Karbala, read out the Fatwa on Friday, al-Hadth news website reported.
The Fatwa came as Iraqi army and security forces continue their battle against the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The ISIL is an Al-Qaeda offshoot that is also active across the border in neighboring Syria.
The terrorist group has attacked several cities in north of Iraq and threatened to take their acts of violence to other Iraqi cities, including the capital, Baghdad.
Ayatollah Sistani in his Fatwa called on people to take up arms and defend their country against the ISIL militants.
Iraqi men from all walks of life are flocking to recruitment centers to join the army in its fight against the ISIL extremists.
Meanwhile, a major Islamic center in Egypt has issued a religious decree forbidding Muslims from joining the Takfiri militants of the ISIL.
Dar al-Ifta Spokesman Ibrahim Negm announced the Fatwa on Friday, saying the ISIL’s terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq “serve the enemies of Islam.”
The Sunni cleric also condemned the extremist group for committing crimes in Muslim nations in the name of religion. Negm said the ISIL has adopted the wrong interpretation of Islam.
http://www.iqna.ir/fa/News/1417153
