KABUL, Afghanistan 

At the international symposium on Imam Abu Hanifa, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday urged the Taliban to respect the teachings of the Great Imam and shun violence in the country.

An estimated 3,000 notable religious figures from Afghanistan, Turkey, Egypt, Russia, Central, South and East Asia deliberated on various aspects of the life and teachings of the 8th century Muslim theologian and the founder of Hanafi school of Sunni jurisprudence at this symposium.

Speaking on the occasion, Ghani said Abu Hanifa promoted harmony among Muslims and did not allow or approve violence and conflict. He directed measures to establish research academies and mosques to honor and spread the wisdom of Abu Hanifa nationwide besides naming the Great Imam’s ancestral village in Parwan province of Afghanistan after him.

Veteran Afghan Jihadi figure, Abdul Rab Rasul Sayaf, said on the occasion there are no reasons or justifications for the raging war in Afghanistan. He said the internal differences should be resolved peacefully in light of the teachings of Imam Hanifa.

Born to a family of an Afghan trader in Kufa, Iraq during the Umayyad Caliphate, Abu Hanifa died during the Abbasid Caliphate in 767. The hallmark of Abu Hanifa’s legacy was the use of reason in his legal rulings. Named after him, the Hanafi school followers has the largest number of followers among Muslims.

Turkey is set to hold next symposium in this connection next year. From Ankara, theology teachers Prof. Ismail Hakki Unal, Prof. Enbiya Yildirim and member of the board of world scholars and UMAD vice president Omer Korkmaz also attended the moot in the Afghan capital.