Is islam a bit like protestantism where everyone gets to interpret the koran as they see fit - or is there a “pope” type of figure who makes the official interpretation.
In other words, what weight with other muslims does this edict carry?
I don’t believe they have a pope....and they have the Sunni / Shia divide as well.
Sunni Islam used to have a “papal” figure, the Caliph, but the last Caliphs were the Ottoman Sultans, and since the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire, the Caliphate has been vacant, and Sunni Islam has become more do-your-own-interpretation than Shia Islam ever was.
The Shi’ites have not, since the last Imam (whether the sect regard the 3rd, 4th or 12th as the last legitimate Imam), had a single central authority, but tend to select particularly learned and well-respected scholars as a “point of reference” and heed their fatwas. (This is one reason why Al Sistani has been such an important figure in post-war Iraq: he is the most respected of living Shi’ite clerics and has the greatest following.)
It seems Qadri is a Sunni, which is good, since Al Qaeda and the Taliban are Sunni operations.