CAIRO
Nigerian Mufti Sheikh Ibrahim Saleh al-Hussaini has called for declaring members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group as "infidels."
Al-Hussaini's statements came during a conference on Wednesday in Cairo devoted to "combatting extremism and terrorism."
The event was organized by Egypt's Al-Azhar, the world's oldest seat of Sunni Islamic scholarship.
The two-day event is being attended by 120 representatives of various states and international organizations.
"A Muslim who fights another Muslim is an infidel," al-Hussaini asserted.
"Extremists like the [ISIL] commit mass murder and [rape] while claiming they are setting up an Islamic caliphate," he added.
"Alongside military action, combatting [the ISIL] and other extremist groups requires promoting the right understanding of religion and giving advice to those who sympathize with the extremists," al-Hussaini said.
He went on to urge Muslim countries to work on "staunching the flow of funds and supplies" to the ISIL and other extremist groups active in the Islamic world.
Earlier this year, the ISIL captured large swathes of land in both Iraq and Syria, upon which it declared the establishment of an "Islamic state."
www.aa.com.tr/en
