As part of the schedule of the delegation of scholars from the Ummah visiting Afghanistan under the leadership of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, the delegation held a meeting with one of the most eminent scholars in Afghanistan, H.E. Sheikh Mawlawi Matiullah Muhammad Anas Khalis, Chairman of the Afghan Red Crescent, on the evening of Saturday 16 Safar 1445, corresponding to 2 September 2023, at the delegation’s residence in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The meeting began with a welcome speech by H.E. Sheikh Mawlawi, expressing the great gratitude of the current Afghan authorities for the visit of the delegation of scholars, thanking them for this visit which testifies to their attachment to the Afghan people, who love, appreciate and respect scholars. His Excellency spoke of the emirate’s major achievements in all fields over the past two years, particularly in the areas of security and the economy, as well as the assistance provided to needy widows and orphans. He also spoke of the difficulties faced by the authority in meeting the needs of the needy and those affected by the brutal wars waged in Afghanistan over the past four decades, and called on the Islamic world to support the Afghan people by providing aid and assistance to those in distress and need. He concluded his speech by referring to the financial difficulties faced by the authority following the cessation of all aid provided by other countries during the occupation. The sheikh pointed out, for example, the lack of support from countries to print school curricula and contribute to the payment of teachers’ salaries, adding that the authority is still working hard to reopen schools and universities for males and females after the printing of the new curricula dveloped by the authority.

For his part, H.E. Prof. Koutoub Moustapha Sano, Secretary General of the Academy and head of the delegation, expressed his sincere thanks and great appreciation to His Excellency for meeting the delegation at his residence, praising the esteemed efforts of the Afghan Red Crescent in the field of aid and assistance to families, especially orphans and widows who number in the millions, following the wars that Afghanistan has been the scene of over the past decades. His Excellency also expressed the delegation’s satisfaction with what it had heard and seen concerning the country’s security and economy, as well as the Afghan government’s intention to reopen schools and universities for men and women as soon as the new textbooks have been printed. On this occasion, His Excellency called on the authorities to make maximum use of the programs and practical experiences in female education in force in certain OIC member states, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as they have enabled males and females to receive education, both religious and secular, at all levels, while adhering to the values and principles of Sharia.

His Excellency stressed that the OIC is fully prepared to mobilize the support of its member states to print the curricula and help ease the burden on the Afghan government with regard to teachers’ salaries. Consequently, the delegation of scholars calls on the authorities to allow girls and women to receive education, both religious and secular, and at all levels, just like boys and men, stressing that this is a matter of trust on the shoulders of the authority, “because education, both religious and secular, and at all its stages, is considered a sacred and legal right for women and men, and a great duty imposed by God on the family, society and the state, and it is not permissible in sharia to deprive a woman or a man of any kind of science”.

The participating scholars, both men and women, then delivered a speech in which they called on the authorities to allow Afghan males and females to receive education, both religious and secular, and at all levels. At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Afghan Red Crescent assured the delegation that their appeal would reach the leader of the Islamic Emirate, hoping for a further meeting with the scholars in times to come.