Al-Azhar strongly condemned the deadly explosion that targeted a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul during Friday prayers, killing at least two people, and injuring at least 16 other worshipers.
Furthermore, Al-Azhar stressed in a statement that “Targeting places of worship and killing innocent people are terrorist acts which violate the teachings of Islam and all religions, which all call for respecting and protecting places of worship and criminalising any transgression against them.”
One of the victims is a preacher, Samiullah Raihan, who was a supporter of the Western-backed Afghan government which Taliban militants are trying to bring down. He was also a member of the National Ulema Council, Afghanistan’s top Muslim clerical body.
Firdaws Faramarz, a police spokesperson, said explosives were apparently placed near the altar of the Al-Taqwa Mosque, a place used by the mosque’s imam to initiate prayers, according to Reuters.
The neighbourhood where the bombing took place is dominated by Sunni Muslims. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban and Islamic State fighters regularly stage attacks in the capital.
The explosion hit at a time when dozens of men had gathered for prayers.
