Khalis, Mawlawi Mohammad Yunus (1919-)

A Khugianay Pashtun from Ningrahar Province, Mawlawi Mohammad Yunus Khalis is a traditional scholar in Islamic studies and a specialist in formal logic. He served the precommunist governments as an official in the departments connected with the promotion of Islamic studies. He was the editor of Payam-e-Haqq, a journal of the Ministry of Justice. When he joined the Islamic Movement is unknown, but from an early date he argued with those whom he considered to be holding un-Islamic views. Tolerant of opposing arguments, he holds that “you should continue your jehad with the available means without hoping to become a state ruler. Obey anyone whom the Council for Resolution and Settlement chooses on the basis of qualification and competence.” After the failure of the Islamists in 1975, Khalis, Hekmatyar, and others set up the Islamic Party. Khalis was chosen to lead it, perhaps because of his status as an elder. The unity did not last long. Differences arose over whether the jehad was for the conquest of state power or the liberation of Afghanistan. Khalis stood for the latter view and set up a party of his own under the same name. Although over sixty years of age, he personally took part in jehad; famous commanders emerged in his organization, which soon became a major resistance party of the Islamist type.