Hyderabad, Nov 9 (IANS) Islam is a religion of peace and humanity and the acts of a few individuals should not be linked to Islam or any other religion, said speakers at a massive public meeting organised by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind here Sunday night.
Strongly condemning attempts to link terrorism with Islam or any other religion, the speakers called for dealing sternly with terrorist activities without any discrimination.
The speakers included Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Swami Agnivesh. Thousands of people attended the public meeting, organised by the Jamiat, at the end of its two-day conclave.
As many as 6,000 clerics from across the country attended the two-day meeting to discuss several issues faced by the Muslim community. It also endorsed a ‘fatwa’ issued by the Darul Uloom Deoband, the leading institution of Islamic learning, declaring terrorism as un-Islamic.
The public meeting unanimously passed a resolution condemning terrorism in all its forms and decried attempts to link terrorism with any religion. The resolution demanded that the government agencies deal sternly with terrorists without any bias and discrimination.
While pointing out that members of some organisations affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were found involved in the Sep 29 Malegaon blasts, the Jamiat disapproved use of the word Hindu terrorist. “This meeting appeals to administrative agencies and the media not to link terrorism with any religion,” it said.
The resolution also condemned attempts to compare ‘jihad’ with terrorism. “Jihad is a holy word and a development process while terrorism is an act of subversion,” it said.
Sri Sri Ravi Shanker of the Art of Living said terrorists have no religion. “An atmosphere has been created the worldover linking terrorism with Islam. We have to join hands to remove this misconception,” he said.
Voicing his concern over growing violence, he noted that India accounted for the second largest number of casualties after Iraq. “Be it left-wing extremism, encounters and bomb explosions, the second largest number of casualties has occurred in India and we can’t allow this to continue,” he said.
“Even if a member of our family is indulging in such activities we should bring him to book,” he said while hailing a statement by a woman from Kerala that if her son proved to a terrorist she would disown her.
Swami Agnivesh also condemned attempts to link terrorism with Islam. He termed US President George Bush as the biggest terrorist of the world and said he had to bite the dust for maligning Islam.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, deputy chairperson of Rajya Sabha Rehman Khan, Jamiat leader and Rajya Sabha member Moulana Mahmood Madani, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, leaders of various Muslim organisations and eminent clerics from top Islamic institutes of learning addressed the meeting.