Muslim scholars and organisations on May 10 severely criticised efforts to equate terrorism with Islam. In the anti-terrorism conference thousands of Muslims gathered at Urdu Bagh, Delhi, protesting against countries that use random acts of violence perpetrated by some radical groups as an excuse to damage the popular perceptions of Islam, a religion that denounces such acts of violence.
Islamic theologians also condemned the US-led invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, describing the wars in those countries and the killing of innocent civilians as the most brazen acts of terrorism. They also warned people against those groups who would try to create friction among the country’s Hindu and Muslim communities with the intention of inciting hatred against the latter. Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind President Maulana Arshad Madni, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Secretary Maulana Rafeeq Qasmi and member All India Muslim Personal Law Board Dr S.Q.R Ilyas and other prominent Muslim scholars addressed the conference.