2. Previous Functions
Supreme Court Interim Chief Justice Fazel Hadi Shinwari (2005-2006),
National Ulema Council Chairman,

3. Biodata:
Faisal Ahmad Shinwari was born 1931 in Afghanistan. He studied Islamic knowledge in India and Pakistan, and graduated from Arabia Dar-ul-Ulum, an Islamic college in Kabul. In his first year of study he memorised the Koran in six months. He is a staunch conservative Islamist and Sayyaf follower. He is a member of Ittehad-al-Islami Party. Shinwari on Guantanamo: "There are three kinds of prisoners in Guantanamo. There are those that have committed crimes and should be there, then there are people who were falsely denounced, and third there are those who are there because of the mistakes of the Americans." After a stroke Mawlawi Fazel Hadi Shinwari has been in a coma in hospital in India for over eight months (since December 2009), according to government officials (20100803). The government is having trouble finding a suitable replacement, said Mohammad Umer Daudzai, Karzai's chief of staff. (20100912) . He died 21 Feb 2011.

Background of the National Ulema Council:
The Ulema Council, composed of 3,000 mullahs from across the country, has long been counted on to spread a pro-government message to remote villages and keep the Karzai administration informed about popular opinion. The administration pays each mullah a monthly stipend of about $100 and in return expects support for its agenda. In the meantime, 350 Ulema Council members made headlines at a meeting a few weeks ago when they voted to demand that Karzai implement sharia law, a strict Islamic code that includes severe punishments, such as death by stoning for adultery. That was the method the Taliban chose August 2010 for the executions of a young couple who had eloped. Keeping the mullahs on board could be critical as NATO forces ramp up a surge this fall to clear Taliban strongholds and bring security to regions that have become more dangerous, mostly in the south and east. A government "reintegration plan" developed in recent weeks (August 2010) calls for at least one council member to be on each of the provincial teams that will reach out to lower-level Taliban fighters. The mullahs, who preach to thousands of mosque members, exert broad influence in their communities, presiding over births, religious education, marriages and deaths. Five times a day, they're leading prayers in the mosque. If they say one day one word against the United States or foreigners the Afghan Government has a big problem. But if they say one word in the Governments sense it is fine.