In a statement on Thursday, 60 Muslim scholars issued a religious edict stating that the independence of southern Sudan was in contravention to Islamic Law.
They called for the thwarting of what they described as a “premeditated plan" to split Africa's largest country into two parts.
The edict was endorsed by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, president of the International Union for Muslim Scholars; Nasr Farid, Egypt's former grand mufti; and Youssef Nour al-Dayem, supervisor-general of the Muslim Brotherhood movement in Sudan.
“Sudanese Muslims must not vote for the independence of southern Sudan,” al-Qaradawi asserted on his website, calling an upcoming referendum in Sudan–which will decide the issue on 9 January–an "evil plot.”
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
