'Everyone must fight extremism individually'

Story by  ATV | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 2 Years ago
Sri Lankan Ambassador to India  Freddy Svane, Maulana Mehmood Madani (Pictures: Manmeet Singh Khalsa)
Sri Lankan Ambassador to India Freddy Svane, Maulana Mehmood Madani (Pictures: Manmeet Singh Khalsa)

 

Abdul Hai Khan/New Delhi

Everyone must individually counter the growing threat of extremism, terrorism, and regionalism in the world. This idea was put forth by speakers at the two-day international seminar on “Extremism - a threat to global construction”. The seminar is organized by the Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak.
 
Maulana Mahmood Madani, President, Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to India, Milinda Moragoda, Ambassador of Denmark to India, Freddy Svane, and journalist MJ Akbar were the main speakers on the first day.
 
Speaking about global extremism, Maulana Mahmood Madani said that India is a country where people of all religions have coexisted for thousands of years and lived in harmony, peace, and love.
M J Akbar, Freddy Svane, Milinda Moragoda, Maulana Mehmood Madani and  IIM Rohtak representative
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He said today the people speak in terms of their religion is good and the others not so good. There are no longer people who follow their respective religions in peace and allow others to do the same.
 
He clarified that no religion allows extremism and violence and said the governments must think about how to fight extremism and terrorism through legal ways.
 
Maulana Madani said while it’s wrong to associate Jihad with only violence, it's important to look at the complex issues in countries like Pakistan or Afghanistan without referring to Jihad.
 
He said that religion should not be used by politicians. “Today religion is being used to say that Islam is in danger, or Hinduism is in danger. It’s wrong because those who say so are using religion for personal gains. It is now the job of society to expose the evil intentions of the wrong people around them.”
 
Sri Lankan Ambassador to India Melinda Mora Gowda said that extremism has spread to most parts of the world today. A recent example of this was the killing of a Sri Lankan factory Manager Priyantha Kumara in Pakistan. He said if such incidents happen frequently maintaining peace will become a challenge and the world will get embroiled in the cycle of hatred.
 

Speakers with the team of organisers
 
Denmark’s ambassador, Freda Savannah, said it was time for everyone to take a personal initiative to make others aware of the dangers of extremism as this is the only way to combat this scourge.
 
On the other hand, politicians should fulfill their responsibilities towards people and have an even-handed approach towards all. This way people will also realize how beneficial democracy is. “We should not look for help; we are our own government. We want to live in peace and we have the right to live as human beings,” he said.
 
Veteran journalist and former Minister MJ Akbar said that most countries and regions in the world are suffering from terrorism. He said the Taliban were raised in our neighbouring country (read Pakistan). This group was raised and sheltered by the late Benazir Bhutto. “The Taliban have established a government in Afghanistan through war and weapons. How can the regime be recognized when it has come into power by force?