I also added: “I agree that no religious community should be tarred with the brush of terrorism. I condemn those Hindus who, explicitly or implicitly, hold Islam to be a religion of terror. Nevertheless, isn’t it equally wrong to malign a tough stand against terrorism as being anti-Islam and anti-Muslim?”
I recall this conversation in light of the widely reported declaration adopted at an All India Anti-Terrorism Conference organised by the Islamic Madrassas Association on 25th February, under the aegis of Darul Uloom, Deoband. The conference, representing a wide spectrum of Muslim religious thought, declared terrorism to be un-Islamic. Stating that “Islam has taught its followers to treat all mankind with equality, mercy, tolerance, justice,” it condemned “all kinds of violence and terrorism in the strongest possible terms.” It also appealed to Muslims “not be employed as tools of evil by anti-Islamic or anti-national forces.” Darul Uloom Deoband, established in 1866, is one of the most influential seminaries in the Islamic world. Many of the ulemas associated with it had played a heroic role in the anti-British struggle, especially in the 1857 War of Independence. Some of them had also opposed India’s partition in 1947 on the basis of the Muslim League’s Two-Nation theory.
Therefore, Deoband’s denunciation of terrorism deserves to be widely welcomed. Nevertheless, in the interest of a free, frank and all-sided debate, I have to point out certain features of the Deoband declaration which dilute its main anti-terror message. For example, its censure of the Congress-led UPA Government for targeting innocent Muslims is far more elaborate and overt than its condemnation of terrorism in the name of Islam. Look at the exaggeration, bordering on distortion, in the declaration: “The situation has worsened so far that every Indian Muslim, especially those associated with madrassas, who are innocent with good record of characters, are always gripped by the fear that they might be trapped by the administrative machinery anytime. Today countless number of innocent Muslims are spending their lives behind the bars.”
... contd.
