Taliban militia leader Mullah Mohammad Omar on Sunday summoned senior religious scholars to Kabul to discuss jihad, or holy war, against the United States, officials said.
In a statement printed in the Taliban-controlled Shariat daily newspaper, Omar said the ulema, or senior scholars, would be called on to issue a fatwa, or learned opinion, possibly calling for holy war in the event of a US attack.
"The outstanding ulamas of Afghanistan should come to Kabul to take a Sharia decision about a possible US attack on the sacred and Islamic land of Afghanistan," Omar was quoted as saying in a statement.
"The proud nation of Afghanistan will then defend the Islamic country in the light of their Sharia fatwa."
Culture and Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal said jihad was inevitable if the the United States attacked Afghanistan in retaliation against last week's devastating terrorist atrocities in New York and Washington.
The Taliban is harboring the prime suspect in the attack, Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden.
"It is very clear -- if they attack the only alternative for us will be jihad," Jamal said.
"The Islamic Emirate was founded on the fatwa of ulemas and now again ulemas will gather to make a decision” -- KABUL (AFP)
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