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Ammon News - KHOWST PROVINCE, Afghanistan (DVIDS) – Imams with the Jordanian Armed Forces, Jordanian Engagement Team, met with village elders, mullahs and Afghan National Security Forces from Paktika and Khowst provinces June 11.

The Jordanian imams, leaders or teachers of the Muslim religion, have been working on engagement teams since 2006 and spreading the Amman message, a calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II first stated the Amman message, Nov. 9, 2004. It is based upon points of unanimous consensus from approximately 500 leading Islamic scholars and leaders worldwide and are what Jordan’s military engagement efforts are based upon.

“We want to make sure peace and prosperity prevail in Afghanistan,” said Capt. Imam Sabri Ahmad Ali Alqudah, senior Imam with the Jordanian Engagement Team based out of Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. “We give assistance with Islam doctrine to the scholars and people of Afghanistan, as well as members of the [Afghan National] Army.”

Through the use of radical Islamic doctrine, the Taliban has been gaining recruits which in turn causes strain for Afghan National Security Forces and Mullahs alike.

The Mullahs and village elders expressed their wish for the imams' message to help keep that from happening.

“We all agree with the Jordanian Muslim scholars,” expressed Mullah Izhar Udin, a religious scholar from Khowst, Afghanistan. “We need the Imams to tell the Mullahs [supporting the Taliban], to prove to them, that the reason they are killing people is wrong.”

“We want the people to stop the competition, stop the fighting and have peace for all parties involved,” stated said Capt. Imam Sabri. “To be a good nation, people need to do the right things, stay away from the bad as was stated by Allah.”

Delivering that message and preventing the Taliban from misusing Islamic doctrine to gain members, is the drive behind Jordan’s use of religious outreach and Teams.

“My two imams and I came from Jordan to help and assist [the people of Afghanistan] in recommendation, consultation and clarification of Islamic doctrine and the Amman message,” said Maj. Abdel Latif, the officer in charge of the JET. “I would like for the commanders, Mullahs, village elders and citizens [of Afghanistan] to come together and put their hands together to build a better future for Afghanistan.”



* Photo: Capt. Imam Sabri Al Qudah with the Jordanian Engagement Team, based out of Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, talks to soldiers of the Afghan National Army’s 5th Kandak during a meeting June 11, 2013, in Khowst province, Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo Sgt. Justin Moeller, 4th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs)