Ulema declare polio immunization Islamic

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s religious Ulema have issued a decree declaring polio immunization Islamic, saying the vaccine contains no ingredients that may be injurious to health.

According to a communiqué issued at the conclusion of International Ulema Conference on Polio Immunization here, the Ulema allowed the administration of polio vaccine to the children in Muslim countries.

The Ulema strongly condemned the use of anti-polio drive for gaining political mileage.

They demanded that access to every part of the country be made possible so that polio vaccine can be administered and security of the polio workers be ensured.

They said mere rumours can put at risk the lives of thousands of children.

Top Nigerian Islamic body accuses military over Muslim deaths

ABUJA: A leading Nigerian Islamic group has accused the country´s military of summarily executing Muslims in the name of counter-terrorism, prompting a swift and strongly-worded denial on Tuesday from top brass.

The Jama´atu Nasril Islam (JNI) umbrella group of Muslim organisations said followers of the faith had "become endangered species, murdered and maimed indiscriminately in the guise of fighting terrorism".

"The dimension of extra-judicial killing of Muslims by the military on a mere whim of unsubstantiated suspicion leaves much to be desired," it said in a statement signed by its secretary-general, Khalid Aliyu.

The JNI´s accusation, which follows claims that troops summarily executing hundreds of suspected Islamist fighters, came after a military operation in Nigeria´s central Nasarawa state last Thursday.

The state government said "scores" of Fulani tribesmen, a mainly Muslim ethnic group primarily made up of cattle herders, were killed as troops tried to disarm locals and enforce a peace deal.

The JNI said 15 died, adding that the incident was the latest example of orchestrated state violence where "innocent Muslims were mercilessly massacred".

Tit-for-tat violence between the Fulani and farmers has been commonplace in central Nigeria, where the mainly Christian south meets the largely Muslim north. The violence, which has claimed more than 10,000 lives since 1992, according to Human Rights Watch, has been attributed to disputes over grazing rights but ethnicity and religion have also been blamed.