Jamiat leads protest against France terror attacks

KANPUR: Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind organized a protest against the mass killing in serial terror attacks in France on November 13. A large number of Muslims attended the event at Shikshak Park in Parade on Wednesday.
During the protest, the Jamiat described the recent terror activities in Paris, Turkey, Lebanon and other countries as "an act of shame" and said "terrorism had no place in Islam.
Jamiat members later handed over a memorandum condemning the France terror attack to the district magistrate. A copy of the memorandum would be sent to the President, United Nation's Secretary General and embassies of France, Turkey and Lebanon. A number of Muslim clerics too joined the protest march and openly displayed banners and posters denouncing the ISIS.
They also raised slogans against the perpetrators of these attacks and expressed solidarity with the victims.
A large number of Muslim youths too joined the protest and denounced shedding of innocent's blood in the name of the religion. "It is bringing bad name to Islam," said one of them.
General secretary of Jamiat's Kanpur unit Maulana Matinul Usama Qasmi termed the attacks 'inhumane' and said that his organization was opposed to terror organizations. There is no space for terrorism in any civilized society, he added.
"It is a challenging situation as these terrorists indulge in inhuman activities in the name of Islam. However, Islam has nothing to do with such barbaric and cruel acts," he said.
He also expressed concern over people equating terrorism with 'jihad' and relating it to Islam. "Jihad is a creative process of fighting against injustice and to end torture. It is not meant to kill innocent people," he added.
Qasmi said, "Safeguarding the innocents and protecting the image of Islam were two major concerns. The adverse situation created by these terrorists was resulting in worldwide exploitation of Muslim youths."
Local Jamiat unit's president Maulana Anwar Ahmad also condemned the brutal attack.