By TCN News,
New Delhi: Indian Muslim community leaders have strongly condemned retaliatory attacks on Christians, their religious places and properties in the country in the wake of the alleged burning of some copies of Quran in the US or elsewhere. They rejected provocation as justification to the attacks.
“We disapprove disrespect to any religion or desecration of any sacred scripture or vilification of any religious personality or attack on any religious place, anywhere in the world, and consider it a despicable and uncivilized act. Islam specifically prohibits such acts and behaviour. Therefore, whatever the provocation, we strongly condemn the attacks on Christian properties and institutions in some places in Kashmir and in Maler Kotla in the Indian state of Punjab. We urge the authorities concerned to take stern legal action against the culprits,” the leaders said in a joint statement today.
“We also appeal to our Muslim brethren in India, in particular, and elsewhere, in general, to show restraint in such situations and limit their disapproval and protest against such incidents to peaceful demonstrations, press statements and memoranda to the authorities concerned.”
Signatories to the statement are:
Syed Shahabuddin, President, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat Nusrat Ali, Secretary General, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Asaduddin Owaisi, MP, Leader, Majlis Ittehadul Muslimin
Dr Zafar Mahmood, President, Interfaith Coalition & Zakat Foundation of India
Navaid Hamid, General Secretary, Movement for the Empowerment of Muslim Indians (MOEMIN)
Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, Editor, The Milli Gazette & ex-President, AIMMM