Muslim clerics to take on Taliban in conclave - Mumbai - City - The Times of India
MUMBAI: Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud's pronouncement that he will turn to India once "goals'' in Pakistan are achieved has outraged leading
clerics and Muslim leaders in India. Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind, a body of religious leaders, is convening a three-day conclave in Deoband in the first week of November where Taliban's ideology of sanctioning suicide bombing will be roundly denounced.
Disturbed at Mehsud's provocative statement, the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind is gearing up for an ideological fight with the so-called jihadis. "The Taliban, who sanction suicide bombings, are enemies of Islam. Committing suicide is haram (prohibited) in Islam and suicide bombers will go straight to jahanum (hell),'' said Maulana Hameed Noamani, Jamiatul Ulema's spokesperson.
A series of suicide bombings over the past few days have convulsed Pakistan. The Taliban have brainwashed a band of volunteers who are ready to blow themselves up. This growing tendency of killing themselves and others has distressed the Indian ulema too.
"This cannot be called a war in the name of Islam. Even during a legitimate jihad, which is fought not by a rag-tag army of some misguided men but by state against the identified aggressors, Islam has set certain principles-in jihad you cannot harm the old, the sick, women and children. You cannot attack places of worship. But the terrorists kill people indiscriminately. They are earning Allah's severest punishment,'' said senior cleric Maulana Abu Hassan Nadvi.
Maulana Mehmood Daryabadi of All India Ulema Council said imams in mosques would be asked to denounce suicide bombings in their Friday sermons. "Many imams already do it, but we will make fresh appeals to the imams to mention the dangerous mentality in their weekly sermons,'' said Maulana Daryabadi.
Burhanuddin Qasmi, who heads Markazul Maarif, a socio-cultural institution, said ,"The future is bright for Muslim youth in India. They should grab the opportunities and be assets to the country. God can't be pleased by those who organise mass murder.''
AIUDF meets guv over terror
Mumbai: "It is now the matter of India's security and sovereignty,'' said the president of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Tarun Rathi, while condemning the acquittal of the alleged mastermind of 26/11 attacks, Hafiz Saeed, by a Pakistani court. The group, which submitted a three-page memorandum to governor S C Jamir, also discussed the threat India faces at present from countries like China and Pakistan, and demanded diplomatic pressure from our government against both countries.
"Terrorists use the Muslim community as a shield to hide their identity. We bear the brunt of hatred from the society then. It has come to a point where we have to prove our love for the country. And so we will,'' said one of the members on the panel.
MUMBAI: Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud's pronouncement that he will turn to India once "goals'' in Pakistan are achieved has outraged leading
clerics and Muslim leaders in India. Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind, a body of religious leaders, is convening a three-day conclave in Deoband in the first week of November where Taliban's ideology of sanctioning suicide bombing will be roundly denounced.
Disturbed at Mehsud's provocative statement, the Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind is gearing up for an ideological fight with the so-called jihadis. "The Taliban, who sanction suicide bombings, are enemies of Islam. Committing suicide is haram (prohibited) in Islam and suicide bombers will go straight to jahanum (hell),'' said Maulana Hameed Noamani, Jamiatul Ulema's spokesperson.
A series of suicide bombings over the past few days have convulsed Pakistan. The Taliban have brainwashed a band of volunteers who are ready to blow themselves up. This growing tendency of killing themselves and others has distressed the Indian ulema too.
"This cannot be called a war in the name of Islam. Even during a legitimate jihad, which is fought not by a rag-tag army of some misguided men but by state against the identified aggressors, Islam has set certain principles-in jihad you cannot harm the old, the sick, women and children. You cannot attack places of worship. But the terrorists kill people indiscriminately. They are earning Allah's severest punishment,'' said senior cleric Maulana Abu Hassan Nadvi.
Maulana Mehmood Daryabadi of All India Ulema Council said imams in mosques would be asked to denounce suicide bombings in their Friday sermons. "Many imams already do it, but we will make fresh appeals to the imams to mention the dangerous mentality in their weekly sermons,'' said Maulana Daryabadi.
Burhanuddin Qasmi, who heads Markazul Maarif, a socio-cultural institution, said ,"The future is bright for Muslim youth in India. They should grab the opportunities and be assets to the country. God can't be pleased by those who organise mass murder.''
AIUDF meets guv over terror
Mumbai: "It is now the matter of India's security and sovereignty,'' said the president of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Tarun Rathi, while condemning the acquittal of the alleged mastermind of 26/11 attacks, Hafiz Saeed, by a Pakistani court. The group, which submitted a three-page memorandum to governor S C Jamir, also discussed the threat India faces at present from countries like China and Pakistan, and demanded diplomatic pressure from our government against both countries.
"Terrorists use the Muslim community as a shield to hide their identity. We bear the brunt of hatred from the society then. It has come to a point where we have to prove our love for the country. And so we will,'' said one of the members on the panel.
