Deoband: A fatwa against terror

Image via WikipediaIslamic seminary Darul-Uloom Deoband issued a fatwa against terrorism on Saturday, stating Islam had come to wipe out all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace. In February, Darul-Uloom denounced terrorism for the first time....


Saturday's fatwa, signed by Darul-Uloom's grand mufti Habibur Rehman, asserts that ''Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder and plunder and does not allow it in any form''.

Citing the ''sinister campaign'' to malign ''Islamic faith…by linking terrorism with Islam and distorting the meanings of Quranic verses and Prophet traditions'', Mahmood Asad Madani, leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, had wanted Deoband to spell out the stand of Islam on world peace. The fatwa, issued before a huge gathering of Muslims at Delhi's Ramlila Ground for the Anti-Terrorism and Global Peace Conference, went on to say, ''It is proved from clear guidelines provided in the Holy Quran that allegations of terrorism against a religion which preaches and guarantees world peace is nothing but a lie.

The religion of Islam has come to wipe out all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace. Allah knows best.''

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New Delhi: The fatwa call against terrorism by Islamic seminary Darul-Uloom Deoband was the highlight of the conference held in Delhi, which was addressed by Jamiat chief and Darul-Uloom's deputy rector Hazrat Maulana Qari Sayed Mohammed Usman.

He called the conference historic as Muslims of different sects and ideologies — including Nadwatul Ulama Lucknow, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and All India Muslim Personal Law Board — ratified the fatwa against terrorism. The exclusively-male turnout that read an ''oath of allegiance'' to the fatwa.................

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind leader Madani, an MP, stated that the fatwa should be welcomed by the entire Islamic world. ''Killing of innocent people is not compatible with Islam. The biggest challenge faced by us today is terrorism (which) threatens to strike at the very root of the secular structure of our society besides causing irreparable loss,'' stated Madani.

.............. the fatwa is viewed by many as a significant step forward towards rallying the public opinion against terrorism. Coming after the February 25 denunciation, it is seen as reflective of the growing recognition on the part of clerics to counter misgivings about interpretations of scriptures.

Deoband has lately been under intense focus because many of the terrorist groups — from Taliban to Jaish and Harkat — are widely perceived to be Deobandi in orientation....

''Terrorism is the gravest crime as held by Quran and Islam. We are not prepared to tolerate terrorism in any form and we are ready to cooperate with all responsible people,'' he said.

http://politiconews.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/a-fatwa-against-terror-first-time-ever-in-india/

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Bill

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