‘Terrorism has no place in Islam’: Sufi scholar Tahir-ul-Qadri
The
Indian Express
23
Feb 2012
New
Delhi: Sufi scholar Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri Wednesday said that peace is the
source and crux of Islam, and that terrorism has no place in the religion.
Qadri,
the Pakistan-based founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, was delivering a lecture at the
India Islamic Centre to mark the launch of his book, ‘Fatwa on terrorism and
suicide bombings’.
The
book is the English translation of a 600-page fatwa, in Urdu, issued in March
2010. A statement released at the venue described it as, “one of the most
extensive Islamic anti-terrorism rulings, an absolute condemnation of terrorism
without any excuses or pretexts....”
The
Minaj-ul-Quran International is a Lahore-headquartered NGO founded in 1981.
According to the organisation’s website, its aims include, “reviving the true
values and principles of Islam”.
In
his hour-long speech, Qadri sought to separate the usage of the word ‘Islam’
with violence: “...terms like Islamic Terrorism, Islamic Radicalism, Islamic
Terrorists have come to be used in common parlance these days... why don’t we
talk about Islamic Literature or Islamic Economic Theory? On the other hand,
when Islam is used with a word like terrorism, it is implied that the act of
terror is Islamic.”
Earlier
report
Coming:
Pak Islamic scholar who pulls no punches against terror
Pakistani
Islamic scholar Tahirul Qadri, who has been facing threats for his condemnation
of terrorism by various outfits in Pakistan, including Taliban, is scheduled to
visit more than half-a-dozen places across the country from February 25 to March
18 amidst protest by some groups in Gujarat.
Coming
to India on an invitation by Karjan-based Minhajul Quran International (India),
a branch of the UK-based MQI headed by Qadri himself, the Pakistani
academician, who subscribes to Sufi school of Islamic thought, will be
specially focussing on anti-terrorism in his lectures.
After
launching his programme on February 25 from Karjan, a small town 40 km from
Vadodara that has a population of less than one lakh, he will attend functions
in Vadodara, Ahmedabad and Bhuj. He will also deliver lectures in Hyderabad,
Ajmer, Mumbai, Raipur, and Bengaluru.
In
Vadodara, he will address MQI workers at Sayaji Hall on February 27 and
religious groups on February 28 and 29 at Tandalja, a Muslim pocket on the
outskirts of Vadodara.
Asked
about the Qadri’s visit coinciding with February 27, the day Sabarmati Express
in Godhra was torched in 2002 triggering riots, MQI (India) president Nad-e-Ali
Saiyed said the programme was decided six months ago as these dates were convenient
for Qadri.
Saiyed
said Qadri had been invited to deliver anti-terror lectures because India was
also facing terrorism. “Islam is all for peace. There is no place for terrorism
in Islam,” said 50-year-old Saiyed, who has donated 4.5 bighas of his land in
Karjan for MQI (India) headquarters.
Saiyed
said Qadri’s visit was backed by Muslim Ittehadul Muslimin (MIM) MP Asaduddin
Owaisi and Chhattisgarh Congress leader Dr Shivnarayan Dwivedi, Gujarat BJP
minority cell president Mehboob Bawa, human rights activist Yusuf Sheikh and
former Vadodara deputy mayor Chirag Sheikh.
Yusuf
Sheikh and Chirag Sheikh, when contacted, said they were supporting Qadri’s
programmes because he had taken a stand against terrorism.
“We
are supporting Qadri’s visit because he is working for peace and unity, and
taken a strong stand against suicide bombings and terrorism,” said Mehboob
Bawa. He added that Qadri had earlier delivered lectures condemning terrorism
in the UK, US and at the World Economic Forum meet in Davos in the last two
years.
Vadodara
district in-charge Superintendent of Police S U Pandey said, “We know about his
(Qadri’s) visit and working on the security aspect.”
Source:
The Indan Express, New Delhi
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-terrorism-jihad/‘terrorism-no-place-islam’-sufi/d/6711