Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Soul of Islam

The article “War for the soul of Islam in India” (June 11) is an excellent diagnosis of the problem our society faces. The Darul-ul-Uloom Deoband is highly respected. Its fatwa against terrorism is both timely and significant.

The article begins with the Deoband of 1867. One may find interesting what Syed Imdad Ali wrote around the same time (Akhbar-ul-Akhyar, Feb. 15, 1871): “Syed Ahmed of Bareilly (styled as Imam Homan in 1820) used to collect money for jihad and declared Hindustan as Dar-ul-Harb (country of infidels). He was killed fighting in the Punjab. After his death, his followers made a statue of leather and placed it on a hilltop in Afghanistan, and showed it to the people from a distance saying the Imam of jihad was alive. They continued to do this for a long time to collect immense sums of money. May god save all Musalmans from the snare and fraud of these misguided and bigoted men.”

Deepak Kumar,

New Delhi

The unequivocal denouncement of the supposedly Islam-inspired terrorism as un-Islamic by Dar-ul-Uloom, Deoband, is a laudable step. However let us not lose sight of the fact that terrorism is not the fiefdom of a particular religion. While Islamist terrorism gets all the attention, there is another brand of terrorism that goes largely unnoticed.

The vicious campaign of hate and violence that has been unleashed against the minorities by the Hindutva brigade over the last half-a-century is no less a crime and its perpetrators are no better than the so-called jihadis.

Now that the Deoband, the largest Islamic seminary in the world and the supposed spiritual home of the Taliban, has taken a bold step, it is for Hindu religious leaders to reciprocate the gesture in equal measure. The time has come for them to issue a fatwa condemning the actions of the sangh parivar and its affiliates as a blot on Hinduism.

M. Abdaal Akhtar,

Guntur

The observation that only a small section of Muslims support the acts of violence by jihadis is right. But the suggestion that jihadis draw inspiration from the Salafi sect is untenable.

The followers of the Salafi sect (also called Ahle Hadith and Wahabbis) give more prominence to the teachings and practices of the Prophet than to the interpretations of Imams or the tenets of Sufism. There is nothing like radicalism in the Salafi viewpoint.

Syed Sultan Mohiddin,

Kadapa

The article is right in saying that violent jihadists may not be persuaded by the Deoband’s rejection of jihad. But is it not true that in every religion there are some elements that do not subscribe to the saner majority view? Should not the investigative agencies concentrate on scientific investigation instead of rushing to pre-mediated conclusions by targeting a particular community?

The illegal detention and mental torture of innocent persons like Rashid Hussain and Mohammed Sajid (since released) in connection with the Jaipur blasts reiterates the need for a change in the mindset of the investigating authorities.

Kasim Sait,

Chennai

The article has argued well that the Deoband’s rejection of jihad will not influence the jihadis to end their campaign.

This was evident from the e-mail sent by the Indian Mujahideen after the Jaipur blasts in which it called all those who condemned terrorism “ulema-e-kuffar.”

Syed Abbas Haider,

Meerut

I do not agree that the Deoband’s rejection of the jihad will do nothing to persuade violent Islamists to end their campaign. Every view or fatwa of the Deoband has had a great impact on Muslims, besides the media, politicians and Hindus. The criticism of terrorism by the clerics will definitely have a deep impression on the minds of all students of the madrassas throughout India.

The article, which gave information on the origin, funding and outcomes of madrassas has failed to recognise the importance of the views aired by Muslim clerics against terrorism.

Faraz Ali Zaidi,

Muzaffarnagar

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