Is this fair, should a whole community be blamed for isolated individual cases, which are a “very peripheral, fringe phenomenon,” wonders Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Bangalore president, Dr Belgami Mohammed Saad. 

Islam, asserts Belgami, has always advocated peace, tolerance and harmony in the society. That’s reason enough to say with conviction that terrorist acts in the name of Islam has no religious sanction. “The Quran says that if you kill one person it is like kililng the entire humanity. If you save one, it’s like saving the whole mankind,” he notes.

But Belgami, like most Muslims, has a problem with the connotation that goes with “Islamic” terror.

“Terrorism is not something restricted to only Muslims. There are the Naxals, the Ulfa, the linguistic terror groups. Naxals, in fact, are on a killing spree. It is part of a general trend in society towards militancy. Aggression is part of this phenomenon.”

He says that terror is anathema to Islam. But that does not stop it from being blacklisted. “An entire community is maligned to create an atmosphere of hatred and suspicion. Even the media is responsible,” he asserts.

But what drives individual Muslim youth to violent radicalism?  Belgami blames denial of opportunities by the state and provocations from radicals from the majority community. “More often than not, such

youngsters become victims of the state. They themselves might have been victims of discriminatory attitude or their families were victims of riots. It could be reactions to being pushed to the wall,” he says.

Islamic radicalism essentially stems from globalised anti-Americanism. Should Indian Muslims be party to it? Does the concept of universal brotherhood drive them to such adventurism?  Belgami wants the Indian Muslims to make a clear distinction between what is happening in the Middle-East and democratic India.

He notes that “There are avenues here for debate and democratic dissent. In a democratic country, one should adopt the mode of dialogue. In any case, indiscriminate violence against innocents is not proper anywhere. All credible Islamic movements have promoted only peace, although there are few bad apples here and there.”  

He does not agree that Islam’s concept of universal brotherhood is an inspiration for violence. “The
brotherhood is a very positive thing, not directed at any country,” he says.