New Delhi: Islam means peace, the exact opposite of extremism and terrorism, said National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval while interacting with a group of Islamic scholars from Indonesia who visited the national capital on his invitation along with the Indonesian minister Mohammed Mahfud MD.
Doval projected the religious values as the core of humanism, peace, understanding and co-existence and termed cross-border and ISIS-inspired terrorism a threat to humanity.
The conference was held on the role of Ulema in fostering a culture of interfaith peace and social harmony in India and Indonesia.
Doval quoted from the Holy Quran to highlight religious prospects in respect of humanity. "As the Holy Quran itself teaches, killing one person is like killing all humanity and saving one is akin to saving humanity. Islam ordains that the most excellent form of Jihad is 'Jihad Afzal' - that is, Jihad against one's senses or ego- and not against innocent civilians," Doval further said.
Indonesian scholars will also interact with their Indian counterparts. There will be three sessions, first on Islam: Continuity and Change, second on Harmonizing inter-faith society: Practice and Experience and the last session will be on Countering Radicalization and Extremism in India and Indonesia.
During the visit, Ulema from Indonesia will also be interacting with leaders from other faiths. Indonesia has the world's largest Muslim population.