Muslim Imams Should Unveil Faces Of Extremism In Friday Sermons – OpEd

http://www.eurasiareview.com/30112015-muslim-imams-should-unveil-faces-of-extremism-in-friday-sermons-oped/ 

BY GHULAM RASOOL DEHLVI NOVEMBER 30, 2015

“The terror outfits such as ISIS are shedding blood of innocent civilians loudly proclaiming to be Islamists and chanting “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the great). Obviously, this has defamed Islam, the religion of peace and tranquillity. The acts of terror perpetrated by the extremist fighters of the ISIS fall into the category of Ashad Haram (severely forbidden in Islam)”.

These views were expressed by the Sunni-Sufi leader in India, Syed Muhammad Ashraf Kichhochhawi, founder president of All India Ulama Mashaikh Board in his most recent press release.

Syed Muhammad Ashraf further said that “any extremist organisation waving Islamic flags and misusing the holy Qur’an such as Daesh have actually no endorsement in the ambit of Islam. They are nothing but terror outfits which are tarnishing the image of Islam in the very name of Islam.”

Ashraf appealed to the Muslim clerics, particularly imams of mosques, to categorically denounce and refute the terrorist ideologies in their Friday sermons and other religious talks. He said that any open or tacit support to extremist activities through any means is forbidden according to the basic principles of Islam and that their extremist interpretations of Islam are only aimed at serving their nefarious political agendas.

Syed Muhammad Ashraf appealed to the Mosque Imams and Muslim preachers across India to unite against terrorism and devise new strategies to tackle, eradicate and refute terrorism and its ideologies. He said: “It’s time for us to seriously ponder over the radical interpretations of political Islam and the damages it has done to Muslims across the world since its inception.”

Addressing the mosques’ imams and Islamic clergy, Syed Muhammad Ashraf said: “we need to restore the respect for mankind instilling essential humanitarian values in the minds of people, particularly Muslim masses.”

Stressing the need and significance of respect for mankind, Syed Muhammad Ashraf Kichhochhawi quoted a Prophetic saying: “Those who are merciful will be shown mercy by the Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One above the heavens will have mercy upon you. The womb is derived from the Merciful, so whoever keeps relations with his family then Allah will keep relations with him, and whoever abandons his family then Allah will abandon him.” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1924).

*Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, English-Arabic-Urdu Writer, Columnist, Translator, Speaker & Trainer and Doctoral Research Scholar, Centre for Culture, Media & Governance (JMI University); NET Holder in Arab Culture and Islamic Studies; M.A in Comparative Religions & Civilisations; M.A in Islamic Studies; and Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic Scholar). He can be contacted atgrdehlavi@gmail.com