Muslim clerics to hold anti-terror rally in Delhi

May 21, 2008 19:06 IST

In the wake of the Jaipur blasts and subsequent threats to Muslim clerics for raising their voices against the strikes, leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, Deoband, on Wednesday said campaign against terrorism will continue even as a mass rally has been convened in Delhi later this month in this regard.

Condemning the terror attacks carried in the name of religion, Darul-uloom Vice Chancellor Moulana Ahmad Khazir Shah said: "Islam is a religion of peace and to give it a bad name, unscrupulous elements are carrying acts of violence and bloodshed, which is highly regrettable."

Moulana, on a five-day visit to the Kashmir valley, told a gathering in his ancestral village of Anwarabad-Lolab in Kupwara asked Muslims community to isolate "those who try to give a bad name to Islam by their acts and speeches".

General secretary of Ulema-e-Hind Altaf Ahmad Masoodi stressed on the inclusion of subjects like IT, computer science and science in madarsas to "broaden the horizons of upcoming students".

He also said it was the right of Indian Muslims to be the part of Organisation of Islamic Countries. In Muzaffarnagar, deputy VC of Darul-uloom Moulana Kari Usman said campaigns and rallies against anti-Islam activities would continue.

"Our stand against terrorism will not be affected by threats from terrorists," Usman said.

As many as six Muslim clerics were apparently threatened by terror group Indian Mujahideen, which also claimed responsibility for the May 13 Jaipur blasts that killed 64 people, for their voice against terrorism.

Meanwhile Ulemas and intellectuals will participate in a mass anti-terror rally in Delhi on May 31.