Muslim clerics endorse anti-terror fatwa

This Fatwa came from India where the secular Indian government and the majority Hindu population will not tolerate Islamist extremists. The Indian state will, also, not hesitate to crush any Muslims who try to use violence or force, or who attempt to attack other religions. The Mullahs and Imams in India are well aware of this. There is, also, a strong Sufi strain of non-violence amongst many of the Muslims who remained in India after the partition. All of this leads to a more moderate version of Islam in India than exists in many other countries. Also, the strong position of the Indian government against terrorism and extremism gives the moderate Muslims cover and support against the more fanatical ones.

I hope this makes a difference in the mad violence in those countries. I believe that much of the hatred is directed toward the West by the government and clerics to keep the people from destroying their own country, due to poor living conditions and general upheaval.

What would be cool is if they could redirect all that energy into something constructive and make their country and lands better than they are now, so that they are a happier nation.

This isn't a new phenomenon. Clerics have been condemning extremism for about as long as it's been going on.

Most of us have established that most of us don't like murder.

This is a good step, allbeit just as much of a PR exercise as any of the anti-terror outbursts from our media. Where are the actual initiatives?

if muslims have all this solidarity , then why haven't they taken it upon themselves to weed out the "extremists" instead of us having to go out and kill them along with innocents ? muslims worldwide should ban together and have their own kind of anti-insurgent apparatus . maybe this is a step in that direction .

This is a big step towards ending dangerous stereotypes of Muslim's. I'm very proud of the Muslim higher powers for taking an initiative to solve their interior problems.

i don't think this is a validation of the Bush Doctrine, (watever that is to begin with cause it changes everyday) or any other doctrine for that matter. this is an attempt made by the 'Real' muslims to have their voce heard and to bring their faith back to the values of peace.

FINALLY! IT LOOKS LIKE THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH ENOUGH LIKE TO START USING THEIR BRAINS? It looks like the Bush Doctrine wasn't that Bad after all?

Yes, this is yet too late and irresponsibly too late for everyone to just "let it go"... Time will tell.

30 years too late!

This is great to hear! Peace normally gets so little press, so I'm glad to see this getting onto TV. This is a great step towards peace by Muslim clerics who are looked up to by youth. If true Muslims decree that terrorism is wrong early on, then those who try to brainwash young people using a false interpretation of Islam won't get their chance.

Among all the congratulations going around, let us not forget that this mandate is a representaion of a more moderate islam, represented by the educated indian middle class. This should not be interpreted as some sort of debunking of terrorists and their activities and the grassroots level. These individuals are idolized and revered ampong those who practice terrorist philosophies. Due to unfavorable social and economic conditions, there are millions of youth still out there who can be brainwashed by relegious terrorists.

And the person who chose the photograph for this article should take note that this is the Taj Mahal!!! It is a tomb for Mugal Emperor Shahjahan and his wife's mausoleum and not a place of worship for muslims.

Let's give the Muslim Peace more press time for sure! This is the time for Islamic leadership to step up to help find peace. Hooray for this!

Major ups to anyone who rejects the violent extremism of their neighbors. An act like that requires true courage and true humanity. From one human to another, thanks.

This is a story that we covered in an earlier article:

Influential Seminary Passes Edict: Terrorism Is Un-Islamic

http://thinkingpoints.thengia.org/2008/02/28/influential-seminary-passes-edict-t...

This came out in February of this year without any fanfare and slipped below the radar as well.

While this is certainly a great step in the right direction is the main problem is the hijackers of Islam (bin Laden, the JI, Abu Sayeef, Muslim Brotherhood and others) continue to grab the headlines and affect the younger generation for the identity of Islam. The more we can expose their hypocritical distortions of the religion, the more chance we stand of achieving something we all want, peace.

Another problem that we have is the constant blaming of the current administration for the terrorism problem. Here is a list of terrorist attacks:

1. April 1983: 17 dead at the U.S. embassy in Beirut;

2. October 1983: 241 dead at the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut;

3. December 1983: five dead at the U.S. embassy in Kuwait;

4. January 1984: the president of the American University of Beirut killed;

5. April 1984: 18 dead near a U.S. airbase in Spain;

6. September 1984: 16 dead at the U.S. embassy in Beirut (again);

7. December 1984: Two dead on a plane hijacked to Tehran;

8. June 1985: One dead on a plane hijacked to Beirut;

9. 1993 World Trade Center bombing;

10. 1996: Khobar Towers attack;

11. 1998 U.S. East African embassies attack;

12. 2000 U.S.S. Cole attack in Yemen.

So before the year 2000, can somebody directly point to the connection of those terrorist incidents and the Bush administration? These are major incidents that affect the US and this is not taking into account the other terrorist incidents in the world that have been propagated against the West and the East in the name of the Islamists (this is a term which defines those who want the return of the world to the 14th century and everybody being a follower of the strict version of Islam).

So please let us take our head out of the sand and discuss this issue as more than a Bush problem, this is a clash over the identity of a religion and those who work for the reestablishment of the Caliphate are a threat to everybody in the world.

Vierotchka wrote:
but this was never published in mainstream media since it countered the false image of Muslims and Islam which the Bush administration imposed through various means.
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Were is your support for this crap. How can one man shut up all avenues of the media. No one at the time wanted to target muslims, just the ilk that caused the destruction of the World Trade Centers and the death of 3000 plus people. You are irresponsible for posting such garbage. It just comes out of your hatred for Bush. And please don't write me supporting what you said by sending someone else's opinion you saw online.

very encouraging. a bit more of this sort of level-headedness would do everyone some good.

This is great! I'm not a Muslim, but have just a bit upset because quiet majority (the good Muslims) have stayed out of it. Maybe we Christians can learn a lesson from these 6,000 Muslim Cleric's.

Hopefully this can lead to the West and the Islamic world to understand each other a little more...

This is great news. Islam is a truly beautiful (and actually quite gentle) religion. Unfortunately, the extremists give it a bad name. There needs to be better understanding and tolerance... and this is a good start.

Now, we can hope that Muslim clerics in the Arab world and worldwide will follow the courageous example of these Muslim clerics in India, and denounce violence committed in the name of religion.

Finally.
Good for them.
It is heartening to at last hear Muslim clerics stand up against the violence of terrorism.

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, only peaceful non-violence can ever bring an end to war and injustice.

I have heard muslims that are against terrorism...mainly individuals, a few leaders It should have been main stream media, all of it,every single uttered word. I hope that this show of unity between the two will help begin communication on all levels, for everyone.

This is a great and historic event, however Notice, even now, not many people are paying attention to this or responding. People seem to be interested only in the bad news, and the mainstream media feeds off that.

Since 9/11, a great many Muslim leaders have spoken against terrorism, but this was never published in mainstream media since it countered the false image of Muslims and Islam which the Bush administration imposed through various means.

Fantastic! A result of the two, muslim and christianity, meeting! Wonderful! I was very happy when I heard the outcome of the meeting. Very, very hopeful and inspiring.

Can we finally shed the light that Muslims aren't terrorists?