India TV News: World Sufi Forum rejects all forms of terrorism; calls for revival of Sufism
New Delhi: The World Sufi Forum on Sunday rejected all forms of terrorism outright and urged governments across the world to support the ‘revival’ of Sufism to combat this menace.
The Forum made the appeal even as influential Pakistani-Canadian cleric Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri identified terrorism as the common enemy of both India and Pakistan and asserted the two countries will have to fight it out together.
A declaration adopted at the end of the first international conference of representatives of Sufism from 22 countries brought together by the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) also came down heavily on the present-day growing sectarianism in the societies of Muslims and others.
"We openly condemn all forms of terrorism in clear and categorical words whether it is intellectual, social religious, political and economic or ideological terrorism. We reject all forms of terrorism outright," it said.
The Forum while requesting the governments of the world to extend its full cooperation for the revival of Sufism asserted that the remedy for the elimination of radicalism and extremism ideologies is in the ideology of Sufism only. The Forum participants also slammed Taliban, al Qaeda, ISIS and all other terrorist organisations who have destroyed the brotherhood of mankind.
"We condemn the brazen violation of Islam and human rights and strongly appeal to Muslim youth to shun extremist organisations and wrong interpretations of the Quran and Hadith that go against the consensus of the Ummah," it said.
In his speech on the concluding day of the conference, Qadri urged the Indian and Pakistani establishment to reflect as to whether they will remain 'enemies forever?' "I request the governments to refrain from spending on lavish lifestyles and instead focus on eradication of poverty and end the enmity. Seventy years have passed since independence. Four wars have been fought. Are the two countries going to be enemies forever?"
"For god's sake end this enmity now. And stop spending your Budget money on enmity. Spend your budget for promotion of peace. India should understand Pakistan is not its enemy and Pakistan should realise that India is not its enemy. The common enemy of both the countries is terrorism," Qadri said.
Qadri, whose massive protest in Islamabad a year-and-a- half ago had shaken the Nawaz Sharif regime, identified poverty as the root cause behind terrorism and extremism.
Sufis ask govt to spell out steps taken to tackle riots
Noting there is a ‘sense of fear’ among Muslims due to riots, an outfit representing Sufis urged the government to alleviate this. It also urged the Ministry of Home Affairs to spell out steps taken with regard to small or big communal incidents and riots that have taken place ‘so far’ across the country.
All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) president Syed Mohammad Ashraf asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ‘rectify historical blunders’ and pay heed to the community's demands including initiation of measures to tackle the trend of replacing Sufism by extremist ideologies.
Speaking at a mass congregation marking the conclusion of the first World Sufi Forum here, Ashraf said there has been a lack of representation for majority of the Muslim populace on key positions and urged the government to look into it.
At the gathering at Ram Lila Maidan, AIUMB also released a 25-point declaration, which reads: "There is a sense of fear among Muslims due to riots. Government should alleviate this fear and Union Home Ministry should spell out what steps have been taken with regard to all the small or big communal incidents and riots that have taken place so far in different parts of the country.”
"We request all governments of the world, especially the Government of India, to extend full cooperation for the revival of Sufism," it added.
On intolerance, Ashraf said, "We cannot determine the picture based on a few incidents. We should treat these as causes for alarm. We should try and ensure that our Ganga-Yamuna culture is not affected since there are signs that it is being weakened. Then we should try and strengthen it."
The four-day World Sufi Forum, inaugurated by the Prime Minister and being attended by delegates from 22 countries, concluded on Sunday with the declaration of the 25-point agenda by AIUMB.
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