Najma Heptullah denounces terrorism

By Our Staff Reporter

PATHANAMTHITTA, OCT. 22. In a scathing attack on terrorism, the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson, Dr. Najma Heptullah, today said that terrorism itself had become a religion, an infamous one, which has no root at all in any accepted religion in the world.

Dr. Heptullah was inaugurating the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Thiruvalla Mar Thoma College at the college auditorium at Kuttappuzha, near Thiruvalla.

According to Dr. Heptullah, Islam never preaches terrorism in any form. The very essence of the preachings of Prophet Mohammed was tolerance and acceptance, she added.

``However, it is sad that certain vested interests have been promoting terrorism in the name of Islam by misinterpreting the Islamic philosophy and the Prophet's preachings,'' she said.

Dr. Heptullah lamented that over 40,000 Muslims had been killed in Jammu and Kashmir over the past few years in the name of the "Kashmir liberation struggle".

Terrorism in Ireland too reveals a similar sorry message as Christianity never preaches terrorism or religious fundamentalism, Dr. Heptullah said.

The sorry state of affairs with the present day world dogged by terrorism in different forms is that it has ultimately made life miserable to the majority of innocent people who have always been craving for social peace and communal harmony, Dr Heptulla added.

Denouncing terrorism in all forms, She said that it was nothing but a religion of convenience being promoted at the instance of certain vested interests.

Dr. Heptullah said that no true Muslim would support massacres and brutal killings in the name of Islam.

Lauds MTC role

She lauded the services of the Christian Churches, especially the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, for their contributions to the education sector in Kerala.

The Church has been doing a praiseworthy service in the field of education in the State and it owes much to the educational institutions run by various Churches for the high literacy and standard of living.

Recalling her younger days as the principal of a school which she herself had founded in the name of Abdul Kalam Azad in Bhopal, Dr. Heptullah said education plays a vital role in the nation building process.

She said that Kerala was a roll model for the other States in the country in terms of educational development.

In his presidential address, the supreme head of the Mar Thoma Church, Dr. Philippose Mar Chrisostum Mar Thoma Metropolitan, said that the aim of education should be ``to discover the undiscovered.''

The Metropolitan said education should not be confined to the four walls of the college or school campus. Education should be channelised in such a way that it ensured the wellbeing of society and equipping the people for a better social living.

Mr. Justice K. T. Thomas of the Supreme Court, who laid the foundation stone of the Dr. Alexander Mar Thoma Golden Jubilee Complex, said the main motto of education should be the liberation of society from ignorance and superstition.

The Former Union Minister, Prof P. J. Kurien, delivered the Alexander Mar Thoma memorial lecture.

The college principal, Dr. Abraham George, welcomed the gathering. The local MP, Mr. Ramesh Chennithala, Mr. Mammen

Mathai, MLA, the Thiruvalla municipal chairman, Mr. Varghese John, and the college union chairman, Mr. Jomon. V. Varghese, also spoke.

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Section  : Southern States
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