Published: Mar 2, 2010

A Sufi Islamic cleric released a 600-page fatwa Tuesday in Britain describing suicide bombings and terrorism as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

Muhammed Tahir ul-Qadri, a Pakistani Islamic scholar, wrote the fatwa for his Sufi Minhaj-ul-Quran organization, which offers an alternative to radical Islamic preaching, reports The Times of London.

The fatwa, circulated in Pakistan in December, draws on the Koran to describe suicide bombings and terrorism as "absolutely against the teachings of Islam and that Islam does not permit such acts on any excuse, reason or pretext."

Radical Islamic teaching alludes to phrases in the Koran, the Islamic holy book, that equate the principles of holy war with violence against so-called infidels.

Shahid Mursaleen, a spokesman for Minhaj-ul-Quran, told The Times the fatwa strikes at the heart of the principle of martyrdom used to advocate suicide terrorism.

"This fatwa injects doubt into the minds of potential suicide bombers," he said.

Minhaj-ul-Quran is a non-government Islamic organization with affiliates in 80 countries. The group's London branch teaches courses offering a counter viewpoint to misguided Islamic perceptions of jihad, said the Pakistani scholar.