HYDERABAD: Leaders of various religious minority groups led by Maulana Vali Rahmani, general secretary, and Maulana Sajjad Noumani, member, of All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMLPB) have denounced the militancy of Islamic State (IS).
On the sidelines of an international conference on the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad, organised by Al Mahad Ul Aali Al Islami here on Tuesday, they adopted eight resolutions, one of which said: “Terror outfits like the ISIS are not even remotely associated with the idea of Islam. Their deeds are absolutely un-Islamic and against humanity.”
However, responding to a question, Noumani was quick to clarify that the resolutions were adopted as part of the conference and were not the official stand of AIMPLB. He called ISIS militants misguided youth who could be brought to the right path through counselling.
Other religious leaders present at the event included Bishop Raja Rathnam, general secretary of Christian Education India; Nanak Singh Nishtar of a Sikh association; and Srikanth Chintala representing Buddhists association.
Speaking to mediapersons, they maintained that Muslims in the country were at the receiving end of injustice. “To control the menace of ISIS propaganda, only religious scholars cannot be held responsible for de-radicalisation of youth. Our message to the public does not even reach them as the media wishes to highlight only negative news. If social media is being used for spreading propaganda, lawmakers have to think about it and find ways to check it,” added Moulana Noumani who said that religion mandates its followers to follow the law of the land.
JNU Row
When asked about the row at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Noumani said the government should not forget the country’s culture of dialogue and negotiation as it was not proved yet if anti-national slogans had been raised. “They are all our children. If youth are disturbed by SC/ST discrimination and poverty and are pushed to a state of uprising, there will be anarchy in the country. The government should look at the root-cause of issues and solve them through dialogue,” said the Moulana.