Ultra-orthodox Islamic seminary issues fatwa against terrorism

The Darul-Uloom Deoband, the Islamic madrassa in rural India where Taliban leader Mullah Omar studied, this weekend issued a fatwa against terror during a peace conference in Delhi, with Grand Mufti Habibur Rehman declaring:

"The religion of Islam has come to wipe out all kinds of terrorism and to spread the message of global peace. Islam rejects all kinds of unjust violence, breach of peace, bloodshed, murder and plunder and does not allow it in any form."

The fatwa is a significant move for an institution that has been widely viewed as the inspiration behind many Islamic extremists. In the Nov/Dec 2007 issue of New Humanist Edna Fernandes told how she gained unique access to the madrassa while researching her book on Indian fundamentalism. In light of this latest development, it's an article well worth revisiting.