Express News Service By

HYDERABAD: Accusing Urdu media of radicalising the Muslim community, former BBC Urdu journalist Tufail Ahmad urged strict action against Islamic preachers such as Brother Imran of Hyderabad and others for inciting Muslims.

Speaking at the launch of his book ‘Jihadist Threat to India’, the author and director of the South Asia Studies Project, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), US said that Islamism is a methodolgy and that Jihadism is the weaponised version of Islamism.

The book talks about the growth of Islamic extremism in India and Indian Muslims response and role in it.

“Through Islamism, Islam succeeded in wiping out Hindus from Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he said.

On Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s announcement of 12 per cent quota for Muslims, Ahmad opined that reservation be given to BPL families and all communities will be covered in it. Endorsing Uniform Civil Code, Ahmad said that the Code has been abused and misunderstood.

New Age Islam website editor Sultan Shaheen said the violent verses of Islam were contextual and do not hold relevance in the 21st century.

“The binary interpretation of Muslim-Kafir, Muslim-Mushrik has to go and more reflection needed as the Quran asks all Muslims to reflect on what is written,” he said. Terming suicide as completely banned in Islam, Shaheen said that the present situation is such that armies of suicide bombers are emerging from Muslim communities. He attributed rise in conservatism among Muslims to Saudi Arabia for propagating extremist form of Wahabi Islam since the last 40 years.