JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia – Top religious scholars working under the world's largest bloc of Islamic countries say they strongly condemn the kidnapping of more than 270 Nigerian schoolgirls, and are calling for their immediate release.
The kidnappings three weeks ago by the extremist group Boko Haram have led to worldwide condemnation. The group's leader has used Islamic teachings as justification for threatening to sell the girls into slavery.
The Islamic Fiqh Academy, which is based in Saudi Arabia and dedicated to the advanced study of Islam, said Thursday that this "crime and other crimes committed by the likes of these extremist organizations contradicts all humanitarian principles and moral values and violates the provisions of the Quran and Sunnah," or teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.
The academy is part of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
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