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November 4, 2009

Kartik Shuddha Dwitiya, Kaliyug Varsha 5111

New Delhi: In an attempt to reach out to an important segment of the Muslim clergy, home minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday sought the support of Deoband ulema in the country's war on terror.

Making a significant gesture, he addressed a massive gathering of clerics, Islamic scholars and their followers at the historic seminary in western Uttar Pradesh, calling for their backing to fight all shades of communalism and terror.

Appreciating that the Deoband institution had already issued a religious fatwa against terrorism, he said, "I regard the decree as a call to duty to not only Muslims but to all right thinking people."

The Darul Uloom fatwa of 2008 said, "Islam rejects all kinds of unwarranted violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, killing and plunder, and does not allow it in any form."

He urged the religious leaders to come out with more such pronouncements to lend support to the campaign against terror.

Chidambaram's presence at the 30th annual conference of Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind was an important step as much from the point of view of the organisers as the Centre.

Explaining the government's perception of terrorism, he made it clear that communalism of the Hindutva brand would be opposed as intensely as the threat from jihadi terrorists. "The demolition of Babri Masjid was a manifestation of religious fanaticism and an act of extreme prejudice," he said.

Striking a balancing note, Chidambaram talked of a `golden rule' of majority Hindus protecting the Muslim minority elsewhere in the country, and the Muslim majority in Jammu and Kashmir defending the other communities in that state.

Taking note of the situation, he said, "Alas, some think that the golden rule is dispensable or that it can be applied selectively."

Terming communalism as the "negation" of pluralism, he said, "Communalism also opposes modernity, rejects the idea of civil society and opposes political freedom to the people."

Making a strong plea for denunciation of every shade of religious extremism, he said, "I would urge that more voices be raised, loudly and clearly, against terrorism and all forms of violence."

Source: TOI

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