Hearts and Minds

2 June 2008



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Islamic Seminary Issues Fatwa Against Terrorism

The Darool-Uloom Deoband, a 150 year-old India-based institution of ultra-conservative Islamic scholarship, has issued a fatwa against terrorism. This is a significant development in the battle for the hearts and minds of the Islamic world because the body includes the Taliban who misruled Afghanistan. It is thought to be an inspiration for numerous madrassas in Pakistan and elsewhere that provide Al Qaeda wth recruits. Its members aren’t quite friends of the west yet, but this fatwa may have far-reaching effects over the next generation.

In Delhi on Saturday, the Darool-Uloom Deoband held an outdoor peace conference with thousands in attendance. Back in February, the group condemned terrorism, but Saturday, it did so openly and publicly with thousands actually cheering. Darul-Uloom grand mufti Habibur Rehman’s fatwa stated that terrorism is the “most inhuman crime.” He added, “The religion of Islam has come to wipe out all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace. Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder and plunder and does not allow it in any form.”

What is important here is the source. The Darool-Uloom Deoband is not one of the more liberal, cosmopolitan seminaries of Islam, such as the Mofid University in Qom, Iran. It is one of the guiding lights of the Al Qaeda and Taliban varieties of Islam. Yet, they appear to realize that the linking of Islam with terrorism only harms their cause. Some blamed outsiders who slander the “Islamic faith . . . by linking terrorism with Islam and distorting the meanings of Koranic Verses and Prophet traditions.” Outsiders sympathetic to decent everyday followers of Mohammed, peace be unto him, might argue that those who are slandering Islam are false followers of the faith.

Be that as it may, the largest cheers on Saturday, came when deputy rector of the Darul-Uloom, Hazrat Maulana Qari Sayed Mohammed Usman, said, “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.” That is a perception that must change before the full value of this fatwa is realized, and it can only be done when the West accepts that the Islamic world has grievances worthy of attention. That said, this statement gives an opening to a less violent form of fundamental Islam, which is clearly a step forward in a long march.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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