Feb. 25: The Darul Uloom today denounced all acts of terror as unIslamic, severing its umbilical cord with the jihadi brand of Islam propagated by the Taliban and others claiming to follow the Deoband school’s teachings.

“We don’t have any link or association with terrorism, terrorists, whatsoever. We reject terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Maulana Marghoob-ur Rahman, the chief rector of Darul Uloom, said at a conclave in Deoband, 475 km from Lucknow.

“Terrorism completely negates the teachings of Islam, which is the faith of love and peace.”

The move of the Deobandis — considered the most puritanical school of Muslim thought — to dub all acts of extremism, including suicide bombing, unIslamic and haram (prohibited) is not new.

Religious heads starting from the grand imam of Mecca mosque and the rector of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University to leaders of Islamic seminaries in Hyderabad and Lucknow have spoken in similar vein earlier.

But these voices have made little headway on the ground.

Today’s pronouncements are, however, significant as they betray a deep sense of anxiety among the clergy over the reported involvement of “misguided Muslim youths” in acts of militancy and terror. The leaders fear that involvement of “criminals” in dastardly acts could pose political and social challenges.

“Any terrorist activity that targets innocent people directly contradicts Islam’s concept of peace,” the statement said.

But it accused the government of being “partial” in terror probes and alleged that police have been carrying out a “malicious campaign” against madarsas and seminaries.

Many Muslim leaders and scholars are sceptical how effective the Deoband school’s call will be beyond its obvious politically correct rhetoric.

The statement comes at a time the countdown to general elections appears to have begun and days before the All India Muslim Personal Law Board meets in Calcutta this week. The board is expected to make reformist declarations at the session.

It is an open secret that many politically inclined Deobandis (close to the Samajwadi Party and the Congress) privately nurse a grudge against the apolitical and umbrella character of the law board.

That the pronouncements have come from the most radical school of Muslim thought carries its own significance. In the last six months, Deoband has issued dozens of fatwas (directives).

Some were so outlandish that mainstream Muslims chose to ignore them. A fatwa termed wearing of jeans by girls haram. Another prohibited watching religious discourses or Islam-based programmes on television.

The Deoband statement is likely to be circulated to madarsas on Monday. Thousands of madarsas in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and India follow the school’s brand of Islam based on five fundamental principles, including the concept of jihad for the cause of God.