Mawlawi Mujib Rahman Ansari, a preacher at a mosque in Herat province, in northwest Afghanistan, was killed as a result of the explosion in Herat on Friday, according to the Taliban authorities.
The Taliban government’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, expressed his condolences in a tweet on Friday, September 2, stating that the religious scholar, Ansari, was martyred in a “cowardly attack by the enemies of the religion.”
Earlier on Friday, at around 12:40, during the Friday congregational prayer, a deadly explosion occurred in the Guzargah mosque in the province of Herat, leaving at least 20 people dead, according to local sources.
The explosion occurred inside the mosque where Mawlawi Ansari was leading Friday prayers, according to a Taliban spokesman, who also said that those responsible for the deadly act will be held responsible and punished.
No group or organization has yet taken responsibility for the explosion at the Herat mosque.
38-year-old Mawlawi Mujib Rahman Ansari was a hardline clergyman whose views have always been adversarial and harsh.
Previously, Mawlawi Ansari, who was also an attendee of the Taliban’s all-male religious grand gathering, stated that anyone who rebels against the Islamic regime should be beheaded.
Mawlawi Ansari, who previously spoke at the Taliban’s grand gathering, said that the Ulema should be grateful for the sacrifices of martyrs and that even the “slightest move” against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan should result in beheading.
He once declared that any male who has a wife who does not completely cover herself in public is a “coward.”
He also advised stoning alleged adulterers and chopping off the hands of thieves, even when the previous government did not succumb to the Taliban.
In addition, he asserted that Covid-19 was a divine punishment and eradication of non-Muslims.
The explosion at Guzargah mosque in Herat province comes as the Taliban’s Deputy Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, went to Herat for an official meeting.
