No place for terror - Asian Age

2 Mar 2008

THE unequivocal condemnation of terrorism by Darul Uloom, arguably Asia’s most revered Islamic seminary, is praiseworthy. The silence of the Muslim clergy over terrorist violence had sometimes created avoidable misunderstanding and sparked unnecessary controversy. Over 4,000 ulema from across the country recently attended the All India Anti Terrorism Conference at Deoband and issued a clear fatwa against the scourge...

There is no doubt that the number of bigoted Muslims who indulge in terrorist violence is very small…The Deoband declaration will go a long way in removing the cobwebs of confusion from the minds of this small band of misguided people who misinterpret Islamic teachings to suit their purpose. Significantly, the ulema at Deoband based their denunciation and rejection of terrorism on the same Islam and the Holy Quran which the militants use to justify their unjustifiable acts. Terrorism, the Darul Uloom fatwa pointed out, completely negated “the teachings of Islam.”

Darul Uloom, which has been known for its puritanical and hard-line brand of Islam, is believed to have inspired the Taliban. By declaring a jihad against terrorism, the ulema of Deoband…have sent a clear message: terrorism has no place in Islam… Islam, which clearly prohibited targeting of non-combatants even during wars, equated the killing of an innocent human being with the “killing of the entire humanity”. The Sangh Parivar has always complained that Muslims do not denounce terrorism loudly enough. By emphatically declaring all kinds of terrorism as anti-national and anti-Islamic, Darul Uloom has made it clear that Muslims abhor violence and love peace as much as their non-Muslim compatriots

Source: Dawn and Asian Age