Muslim youth band against terrorism-The Times of India
Martedì, Dicembre 2nd, 2008 | Senza categoria
MUMBAI: In a bold move, Muslim youths from the city and its suburbs have floated an organisation to openly oppose moves by vested interests to mislead the community’s young people in the name of Islam. The Muslim Youth of India (MY India) feels that the word ‘jehad’ is being misinterpreted by certain forces to recruit many young Muslim men for nefarious purposes. The move is significant in light of the fact that the outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) has been indoctrinating Muslim youths and encouraging them to walk the path of terrorism. MY India has organised a public meeting, ‘Muslims against Terrorism’, at Khilafat House, Byculla, on Thursday evening to debate the misuse of religion as a tool to meet social and political ends. “For long, the Muslim youths have been misled in the name of religion. Anti-Indian and anti-Muslim forces are exploiting the youth to serve their political agenda and to carry out terrorist activities. We will gather in large numbers on Thursday to denounce such anti-Islamic activities and make the youth aware of the trap,’’ said Sayeed Khan, the 30-plus convener of MY India. Moderate thinkers in the community, members of the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI, a pan-Indian socio-religious group) and journalists will participate in the meeting. Former president of the JeI and vice president of the Ulema council, Maulana Riyaz Khan, and journalist Sayed Iftikar Ahmad, who edits a Marathi weekly, will address the gathering. The decision to set up MY India was taken after weeks of debate among Muslim youths in the wake of the series of blasts allegedly engineered by SIMI in Mumbai recently. “Our community is being branded by many people as anti-national solely because of the acts of a few black sheep. The guilty should be punished. The need of the hour is to provoke a debate and ensure that our community is not trapped in the gun culture,’’ Fareed Patel, an active member of MY India. A programme has already been chalked out by members of MY India to dissuade Muslim youths from getting involved in terrorist activities. “Islam does not advocate violence or killing of innocents. Our endeavour is to make them realise the true path of religion and give them the correct understanding of the teachings of the holy Koran,’’ said Mr Khan. He said that discrimination against the minority community in the wake of the Gujarat riots and the widespread unemployment of Muslim youths have made them easy recruits for terrorist activities. “However, it is now the responsibility of the Muslim intelligentsia and the elite to save these youths. MY India is a small step in that direction and we will work for the betterment of the community,’’ Mr Khan added.