Pahalgam killings against tenets of Islam, says Darul Uloom Deoband

AGRA: Prominent Muslim institutions and groups across UP on Thursday strongly condemned the Pahalgam terror attack. Darul Uloom Deoband, one of the largest Islamic seminaries in the sub-continent which is known for issuing ‘fatwas', in a strongly-worded statement against the terrorists, emphasised that "targeting innocent civilians is grossly inhuman and directly against the tenets and teachings of Islam".

VC of Darul Uloom, Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, called the "cowardly act" a threat to the nation's unity and integrity and demanded strict action against the perpetrators. He also appealed to the people of India to remain united and maintain peace and harmony.

Maulana Arshad Madni, chief of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, expressed similar sentiments. "Those who kill innocent people are not human, they are beasts... There is no room for terrorism in Islam," he said.

In Aligarh, hundreds of students from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) held a candlelight vigil on Wednesday night to mourn and stand in solidarity with the victims' families. "Such acts are deliberately done to undermine the very fabric of our society and disrupt peace," said prof Naima Khatoon, VC of AMU.

Meanwhile, in a rare show of unity, residents of different communities in Muzaffarnagar's Khalapar -- an area that witnessed some intense communal violence during the 2013 riots -- took to the streets possibly for the first time, raising slogans like ‘down with terrorism'.

Faizur Rahman, Meerut province convenor of Muslim Rashtriya Manch, said, "Our country is mourning today. We need to give them a befitting reply..."