Varanasi: Fatwa against those who attack holy places of all faiths

After last week's terrorist attacks, the leading Madrassah school in Lucknow condemned "those who kill innocent people and strike places of worship, whichever religion they belong to."


Lucknow (AsiaNews/INCS) – The leading Madrassah in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, has issued a fatwa against "terrorists and militants" who target "places of worship and innocent people in India". According to the Darul-Ifta Islamic school, "there is no room for terrorism in Islam and the murder of one innocent person amounts to murder of entire humanity."

The sentence was pronounced in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in Varanasi, the "holy city" of Hinduism: three bombs placed in one of the main temples and a train station killed 23 people.

Firangi Mahal, the head of the Madrassah, quoted from Koran when issuing the order: "It is notable that the Prophet never reacted violently even against those who attacked him or against those who tried to harm him in various ways. Muhammad was also totally against causing the slightest harm to any place of worship, belonging to any faith."

"If any Muslim causes harm to any place of worship of indulges in killing of innocent people, Islam would regard it as a crime. This is stated in the Shari'a [Muslim law]," added the fatwa.