Sunday, April 2 2006 11:22 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Coming down heavily on terrorism, Muslim intellectuals and religious scholars have vowed to root out this global ill and urged the need to involve school children in eliminating terror. At the special lecture organised by the National Islamic Foundation at Jabir Hall of Islamic Gymkhana at Marine Drive last week, special prayers were also conducted for world peace and work with full force against terrorism.

In a thought-provoking speech on `Islam, Jihad and Terrorism', renowned religious scholar Maulana Usaid-Ul-Haque Mohammed Asim Qadri said that terrorism is against the tenets of Islam.

Quoting a theorist, Qadri, a religious scholar from Al Azhar university of Cairo in Egypt, said, "War is the natural condition, while peace is the transitory period in between."

He said that history books prove this and human beings have always condemned wars that bring death and destruction.

He made it very clear that Islam does not permit or justify terrorist activities that are being carried out by certain groups.

"There should not be any double standards in dealing with terrorism," he said and added that Indian Muslims are with their compatriots in fighting against terrorism.

He appealed to teachers to make children aware of theills of terrorism and teach them to be united and fight terrorism. A large part of the audience comprised teachers from different schools and madarsas across the city.

A special inter-religious prayer was also held at the conclusion of the event which was also attended by Christian priest Reverend Dr Francis Swami and noted Jain guru,Yativarya Gorji Sushil Kumar Maharaj Saheb.