The fight against terrorism is not against any religion: Sushma at OIC
Abu Dhabi: Speaking in the backdrop of an India-Pakistan tension over terror attacks and counter strikes, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the OIC Friday said the fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi earlier announced that he will not attend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in UAE owing to the attendance of Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj.
"It cannot be. Just as Islam literally means peace, none of the 99 names of Allah mean violence. Similarly, every religion in the world stands for peace, compassion & brotherhood," she said.
Without naming Pakistan, she said terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels.
"It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion, and a misguided belief in its power to succeed," she said.
She said: "India has always embraced and found it easy to embrace pluralism since it is embedded in the oldest Sanskrit religious text “The Rig Veda” and I quote "à¤à¤•à¤‚ सदà¥à¤µà¤¿à¤ªà¥à¤°à¤¾ बहà¥à¤§à¤¾ वदनà¥à¤¤à¤¿", which means “God is One but learned men describe Him in many ways".
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