BAREILLY: On the last day of Urs-e-Razvi of Dargah Aala Hazrat, nearly 70,000 clerics came together and passed a fatwa against terrorist organizations, including IS, Taliban and al-Qaida. These are “not Islamic organizations,” the clerics said to a sea of followers, adding that the members of these outfits were “not Muslims”. Around 15 lakh followers who visited the Urs put their signatures to a document circulated at the Urs, protesting terrorist strikes.

Mufti Mohammed Saleem Noori, one of the clerics who passed the fatwa told TOI on Tuesday, “From Sunday onwards, when the annual Urs began, members of Dargah Aala Hazrat have been distributing forms among followers seeking signatures to show that those signing stand against terrorism . Nearly 15 lakh Muslims have recorded their protest. Around 70,000 clerics from across the world, who were part of the event, passed the fatwa.”

Noori said he would like to request the media to stop calling terrorist groups “Muslim organizations”.

Hazrat Subhan Raza Khan, chairperson of the influential Dargah Aala Hazrat, said that following the Paris attacks, it was decided that a fatwa should be passed at the Urs this year, so the message went out loud and clear that the Muslim community condemns terrorism.

“It is written in the Quran that killing one innocent person is equivalent to killing all humanity,” said Mohammed Ehsan Raza Khan, Sajjadanasheen (hereditary head) of this shrine.

Mohammad Farogh-ul Quadri, secretary-general, World Islamic Mission, UK, said, “I condemn the barbaric terrorist attack in Paris on innocent civilians and call for an international ban on the radical extremist IS and its counterparts with different names across the world.”

The 97th death anniversary (Urs) of Mujadid Imam Ahmed Raza Khan Qadri, founder of the Barelvi school of Islamic theology, was observed here between December 6 and 8.

Clerics also opposed the move by France and other countries to bomb Syria, saying innocent people, including women and children, have died in such strikes. They said the powerful western nations should focus on stopping terrorists, but not at the cost of taking the lives of innocent people.

Dargah Aala Hazrat has been campaigning against terrorism for the last one year. On Eid this year, clerics here announced that if a man involved in terrorism is killed, “namaz-e-janaza” would not be read during his funeral services. This prayer is an important part of the last rites in Islam.

The madrassa run by this shrine recently introduced a specialization within the Hadith course, titled ‘Islam and terrorism’, for graduate students. As part of the coursework, students compare the original Quran text with translations offered by terrorist groups, to understand how religious texts could be misinterpreted.

Trump inciting hatred: Clerics

Clerics at the Urs-e-Razvi said the US Republican candidate Donald Trump, with his call for a “total and complete” block on Muslims entering his country, was responsible for spreading hatred. The statement suggests that Muslims are responsible for terrorist attacks, clerics said. Mufti Mohammed Saleem Noori said, “If one country imposes such a ban on Muslims, other countries will enforce such bans too, perhaps on other communities. That will only cultivate hatred and divide people.”