July
12, 2006
“Terrorism has no religion”
For the first time in
Mumbai’s history, Muslim religious leaders representing virtually
every sect came together on Thursday evening to condemn the serial
bomb blasts in the city as a “barbaric”, “inhuman” and “cowardly”
act.
“We teach in our
madrassas that you have to be a decent human being first before you
can call yourself a Muslim. How can an act which is inhuman ever be
considered to be Islamic?” said Maulana Gulzar Azmi, national
council member of the Jamiat-ul-ulema-e-Hind.
“We are one with all
citizens of Mumbai and the country in condemning such wanton acts of
terror, expressing our solidarity with the family members of the
victims and we share their grief and sorrow”, said Maulana Mustaqim
Azmi, member Ulema Council.
They were addressing
a press conference jointly with other senior Muslim clerics
representing the Jamiat-ul-ulema-e-Hind, Ulema Council, Milli
Council, Jamaat-e-Islami, All-India Sunni Jamiat-ul-ulema, All India
Sunni Tablighi Jamaat, All-India Qazi Board and Bombay Aman
Committee among others.
The maulanas
expressed their readiness to extend the fullest cooperation to the
Mumbai police in their efforts to identify and nab the perpetrators
of the dastardly act. They also announced their plan to visit the
homes of the bereaved families in the coming days to share their
sorrow and offer help.
After the press
conference, the maulanas had an hour long meeting with CPM MPs
Sitaram Yechuri and Brinda Karat. “Terrorism has no religion”, one
of the maulanas told the communist leaders while several others
reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of terrorist acts. They
also bemoaned the fact that while the overwhelming majority of
Muslim religious leaders in the country had repeatedly condemned
terrorism as inhuman and un-Islamic the mass media failed to
communicate this message to fellow Indians.
The meeting was
facilitated by the journal Communalism Combat and Muslims for
Secular Democracy.