Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Khabar South Asia I October 18, 2014
Muslims across South Asia joined the global condemnation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria ( ISIS ) after it tried to justify its sexual enslavement of captured Yazidi women and girls.
An October 12th article in the ISIS propaganda magazine Dabiq entitled "The revival of slavery before the hour" argues that by enslaving people who hold "deviant" religious beliefs, ISIS has restored an aspect of Islamic sharia law to its original meaning.
The extremist group launched a four-month assault on the Yazidis in northern Iraq, in which it executed hundreds and forced thousands to flee.
According to the Dabiq article, captured Yazidi women and children were divided among ISIS fighters who participated in the Sinjar offensive in Kurdistan territory.
But renowned Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan said the Qur'an and the Hadith are firmly against what ISIS does with its captives.
"In the 7th century, it was a common practice among nations to enslave people who were held as prisoners at the battlefield when the other party was not ready for repatriation," the Centre for Peace and Spirituality founder told Khabar South Asia.
"This practice was totally abandoned later and now it has no relevance at all."
South Asian clerics, citizens denounce ISIS
"One should remember that enslaving the families of the kuffar (apostates) and taking their women as concubines is a firmly established aspect of the sharia ," the Dabiq article read, according to Zee News.
Islamic history scholar and Dhaka University professor Shafik Ahmed dismissed such beliefs as "certainly against the spirit of Islam".
"Those who are saying that Islam permits enslavement of apostates and their wives as concubines are simply distorting the teachings of Islam," Ahmed told Khabar. "In those days, enslaving the vanquished in the battlefield was a normal thing.
"But in the modern world this is simply not tenable, and since Islam is a modern religion, there’s no room for slavery in the present context."
In Lucknow, Eidgah Imam Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahli declared ISIS's treatment of female captives "un-Islamic" and said only experts have the ability to correctly interpret the Qur'an.
"Hurting old people, children , women and the weak is not permitted," Mahli told Khabar. "They should not forget that Islam calls for severe punishment for such rape and adultery."
Muhammad Ibrahim, a small goods vendor near Dhaka's Baitul Mukarram Mosque, said people are "indulging in berating Islam any way they can".
"It is the foremost duty of true believers to be vocal against those people who are out to destroy our religion, especially those who are fighting in the name of protecting Islam from the infidels," Ibrahim said.
Escaped Yazidi women share harrowing stories
Human Rights Watch (HRW) in an October 12th report chronicled tales of abducted Yazidi women sold and subjected to sexual assault by ISIS fighters, saying they "may amount to crimes against humanity".
One 15-year-old girl who escaped September 7th told HRW of the Palestinian fighter who boasted of paying $1,000 for her. He took her to his flat in the group's main hub of Raqa, Syria and sexually assaulted her.
All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) Assistant General Secretary M.S.M. Thassim condemned ISIS's actions and said ACJU would never allow the group to build a base in Sri Lanka.
"This is not Islam. They cannot justify it by Islam," Thassim told Khabar. "Our religion promotes and respects people's liberty and freedom. Enslavement, in any form, is unacceptable."
Kandy school teacher Mohamed Irfaan said ISIS shines Islam in a bad light.
"Their activities have tarnished the image of the religion. We in Sri Lanka never support them," he said. "Their activities are in fact a hindrance to communal harmony in a multi-ethnic society such as Sri Lanka."