An ultra conservative Muslim seminary in India, which is said to have inspired the Taliban, issued a fatwa, or edict, against terrorism during a meeting attended by thousands of clerics and students. The Darool-Uloom Deoband, a 150-year-old institute controlling thousands of smaller Islamic seminaries in India, vowed late on Saturday in New Delhi to wipe out terrorism, a senior rector said. "Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder and plunder and does not allow it in any form," rector Habibur Rehman said.
Teachings of the Deoband school and its strict interpretation of Islamic law have spread to many countries, including Britain and Afghanistan. But Deoband has always denied any connection with the Taliban and many experts describe the Taliban as their "naughty children," who twisted their ideology.
| "Oh, yasss! What they learned from us is nothing like what we teach!" |
Muslims make up about 13 percent of India's officially secular but predominantly Hindu population — giving it the third largest Islamic population after Indonesia and Pakistan.
Analysts described the meeting and fatwa as a significant step towards addressing terrorism and bringing relief to India's 140 million Muslims, who feel the acts of some individuals were tarnishing the image of the community as a whole.
| "That's right, Dean Wormer! A few bad apples spoil the whole barrel!" |
During the rally, thousands of clerics and students wearing white skull caps and spotless tunics cheered as Rehman read out a statement: "The religion of Islam has come to wipe out all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace."
| So they should begin hunting down the Talibs and killing them any time now, right? |
Rooters of course neglected to mention this:
"However, it was when the deputy rector of Deoband, Usman, came down heavily on "the dual policy of America" that the massive crowds cheered the most. "Whenever Christian and American interests are hurt in any part of the world, they take prompt action to set things right even at the cost of human lives. They maintain silence though when Muslims are the victims," he said, further criticizing the US for its support to Israel. " |
| The faithful should take note that we 'take prompt action to set things right'. And remember what that might entail. |
|