Decree From Afghanistan

Excerpts from the decree of the Afghan ulema, or religious council, that had been considering U.S. demands to hand over Osama bin Laden:

“Afghanistan’s ulema is sad about the losses in the United States and hopes that the United States will not launch an attack on Afghanistan, and that the U.S. will show patience and flexibility and will take more time to properly investigate the incident.

“The Afghan ulema demands that the United Nations and the Organization of the Islamic Conference hold an inquiry into the incidents in the United States to know who was behind the incidents and to prevent the killing of innocent people in the future.

“The United Nations and the OIC should take note of the American president’s remarks, who said that the war will be a crusade. These remarks have hurt the feelings of the Muslim community and have posed a serious danger to the world.

“In order to avoid the current tumult and also similar suspicion in the future, this religious council recommends to the political leadership of Afghanistan that it encourage Osama bin Laden to leave Afghanistan voluntarily in good time for another destination.

“If the United States attacks Afghanistan after these proposals, any U.S. action will be against sacred Islamic law. . . . All books of our religious persuasion say that if infidels attack the soil of a Muslim country, jihad becomes an order for the Muslims of that country.”