More than 100,000 Islamic scholars, leaders, thinkers and Ulemas on Sunday finalised and signed a fatwa against militancy and terrorism in Bangladesh. The khatib of Sholakia Eidgah, Fariduddin Masuud, who came up with the idea of a “fatwa of peace for human well-being” in December last year, said, “One cannot deny that in Bangladesh, fatwas can have a tremendous impact. A statement against terrorism by clerics can be very effective.”

The fatwa, which is a ruling on a subject pertaining to Islamic law given by a recognised authority, was prepared using answers from the Quran and Hadith to 10 questions posed by militant groups. Among these were whether Islam supported crime and terrorism, or the indiscriminate killing of people, and whether jihad and terrorism meant the same in Islam, the Dhaka Tribune reported.

Masuud, who is the secretary general of Jamaat-e-Ulema Maulana and khatib of the country’s largest Eid congregation, said the primary target was to publish a pamphlet carrying only the main part of the fatwa and to distribute it among 10 million people. While he had sought assistance from the police and other stakeholders to bring his idea to fruition, he now asserted that they will not seek any assistance from the government. “But if the government comes forward, we will welcome it,” he added.

The Islamic clerics will announce the fatwa on June 18 at a press conference in Dhaka, Masuud said, adding that the Ulemas who signed the fatwa will also preach it in their mosques and madrasas. Social media will also be used to spread the message. “Because the young generation gets so much misleading information on online platforms, to counter this, online media should be focused on more,” he said.