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Deoband took a creditable step of hosting a conference on anti-terrorism and resolutely condemning terrorism to be un-Islamic. It is a good step which should have happened a few years back. Yet der aye aur taqriban durust aye. The conference was attended by more than 10,000 religious leaders from across the country. But the declaration could have gone a bit further by being more specific about the terror acts in India. Also this declaration should not be seen as an end in itself but should become the starting point of a more mature dialog.
The declaration opens with a clear statement that condemns mischief, rioting and murdering as sins in Islam.
Islam has given so much importance to human beings that it regards the killing of a single person the of (sic) killing the entire humanity, without differentiation based on creed and caste. Its teaching of peace encompasses all humanity. Islam has taught its followers to treat all mankind with equality, mercy, tolerance, justice. Islam sternly condemns all kinds of oppression, violence and terrorism. It has regarded oppression, mischief, rioting and murdering among severest sins and crimes.
It takes the positive step of appealing to the Muslims to be loyal to the country and not be used as tools by anti-national forces.
(This) Conference …appeal to all Muslims to continue, as they always did in the past, their loyalty towards the dear motherland and love and respect towards humanity. It appeals to them to fully understand the present alarming situation, the gravity and intensity of the time, and feel the pulse of the present world so that they might not be employed as tools of evils by anti-Islamic or anti-national forces
It also questions the government over the harassment of the innocent and asks for impartial investigations
The administrative machinery should be demanded to conduct impartial investigations in activities disturbing public peace in the country and to punish only those found guilty. It also demands to free the accused if he is found innocent and punish severely those officials who accused him of crimes of terrorism. No person of any particular community should be suspected without solid reasons. In short, the government agencies must fulfill their duty justly without any prejudice and bias so that real peace and security may prevail in the country.
But there were also things in which the declaration is wanting. While it mentions about Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Bosnia and South American countries regarding state-sponsored terrorism it misses to mention the specific instances of terrorism that have happened throughout India. By being specific it would have been much easier for the common man to relate with this as to what amounts to terrorism. By being specific it could have mentioned the blasts at Sankat Mochan temple, Jama Masjid, Ajmer Sharif, Makkah Masjid, Sabarmati Express, Mumbai trains and UP Courts. It could also have re-iterated the points in an earlier fatwa where groups having Islamic names and involved in terror acts were condemned.
It could also have added a paragraph or a few sentences about the possible starting points and why are they not justifiable. For instance, the heinous acts of Gujarat carnage or Babri Masjid demolition which are barbaric but yet they cannot justify any violence, in reaction. It could have more strongly spoken about the right course of action that is allowed in Islam in the context of India if one is oppressed; which would be the legal recourse that is constitutionally allowed. In this context only, the government should have been brought to task about the inefficiencies in the whole mechanism and the rampant abuse that is going on by putting innocents in extra-judicial renditions which is totally counter-productive in stopping terrorism.
The declaration ends with a note on having such conferences at state level.
This meeting of working committee of All India madarsas association feels necessary to hold state-wise conferences as it held this grand conference in view of the existing situations.
This is a positive step but at the same time it would be much more useful if these state-level conferences are more inclusive and more specific so that the message is not lost to the common people.
But all said such calls would be useful only if they are widely made known. The mainstream English media has done a good job in highlighting it. Most of English newspapers have highlighted the news very positively. The name of Deoband has an impact on many people in India and merely the headlines of Deoband condemning all terrorism as un-Islamic moves the discourse ahead.
The reaction from BJP has been again unnecessary. BJP Spokesman VK Malhotra commenting on it mentioned that this would be welcome only if it is put into effect. Why should welcoming the message depend on its absolute acceptance? Just at the time the conference is saying that that Terrorism is un-Islamic in his reaction the spokesman has chosen the words that “Islamic Terrorism is on the rise throughout the world“.
We should now move beyond this debate, which often gets childish, with one side saying ‘Islam supports terrorism’ and the other making straight-jacketed statements like ‘Islam means Peace’. The men need to replace the boyish mentality. The proposed state-level conferences should be more inclusive. Once the religious scholars have spoken it would be better to shift from purely religious to more socially inclined conferences. It would be more useful to invite the police officials at the IG levels, the investigative agency officials as well as people from the wider spectrum including from the BJP think tank to engage in a constructive dialogue over this issue.
