There are at least some peacemakers in the religion of Peace.

A Muslim Indian seminary which is said to have inspired the Taliban has issued a fatwa against terrorism, insisting that Islam is a religion of peace.

Senior clerics from the 150-year-old Darul Uloom Deoband issued the edict saying they wished to wipe out terrorism. "Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder and plunder and does not allow it in any form," said the rector, Habibur Rehman, to the cheers of thousands of students. Many held placards saying "Islam means peace", while others chanted.

"The religion of Islam has come to wipe out all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace," Mr Rehman added.

The Deoband institute was established in the aftermath of the 1857 uprising against British rule, an uprising that was brutally suppressed by the imperial forces. Highly influential, it controls thousands of smaller seminaries and madrassas around the world, from Britain to Afghanistan.

Of Britain's 1,400 mosques, about 600 are run by Deobandi-affiliated clerics. Seventeen of the UK's 26 Islamic seminaries follow Deobandi teachings, which produce about 80 per cent of all domestically trained Muslim clerics.

Now, if only the terrorists will listen. After all, given the decentralized nature of Islam, there is no Pope to issue decrees that are binding upon all the faithful. In this particular case, I certainly wish there were.

Posted by: Greg at 10:23 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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