At least 2,000 Afghan religious scholars from around the country issued a fatwa, an Islamic directive, on Monday, saying “the ongoing war in Afghanistan is illegal and has no root in the Sharia law”.

For years, Afghanistan has been plagued by violence by militants, who often use suicide bombers and claim that their struggle is a holy war to impose Islamic rule.
 
“War in its all types is illegal according to Sharia and Islamic laws and it is nothing but shedding the blood of Muslims,” the religious scholars said in the fatwa.
 
Suicide attacks in Afghanistan are frequently condemned as fanatical and immoral, especially when civilians are killed, but insurgents view the tactic as their most effective weapon.
 
“Suicide attacks, explosions for killing people, division, insurgency, different types of corruption, robbery, kidnapping and any type of violence are counted as big sins in Islam and are against the order of the Almighty Allah,” the Afghan clerics said. 
 
The religious scholars said that according to the Holy Quran, killing of Muslims is "Haram" and “illegitimate”.
 
Meanwhile, the religious scholars repeated their call on the Taliban to accept the Afghan government’s “unconditional” peace offer. 
 
“We the religious scholars call on the Taliban to give a positive response to the Afghan government’s peace offer in order to prevent further bloodshed,” the religious scholars said.
 
The fatwa by Afghan clerics comes a day after three children lost their lives in a roadside bomb explosion in Nangarhar province – in the east of Afghanistan – on Sunday.