In a first, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday addressed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting at Abu Dhabi as a guest of honour. She quoted verses from Quran and Rig Veda to underline that the menace of terrorism is caused by “distortion of religion” and “misguided belief”.
Swaraj quoted the Holy Quran saying, "Let there be no compulsion in religion”. She also also added a verse from Sura Al Hujurat of the holy book that cited , “O Mankind! We created you from a single pair of male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may know one another, not that you may despise one another...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 and brotherhood”, the external affairs minister said.
Swaraj, who had attended the inaugural plenary of the two-day meeting in Abu Dhabi as the guest of honour, further read out a couplet of Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism. She said, “First, Allah created light; then, by his creative power, he made all mortal beings. From that one light, the entire world came into being. So, who is good, and who is bad?”
Swaraj also made reference to the oldest Sanskrit text the Rig Veda to say, “God is One but learned men describe Him in many ways.” During her speech, Swaraj emphasised that “the fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion.”
Foreign Minister had called for building pressure on the countries that support terrorist groups to dismantle terror infrastructure on their soil and stop funding such outfits. Her comments on terrorism at the OIC came in the backdrop of hightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the suicide attack that killed as amny as 40 CRPF soldiers in south Kashmir Pulwama district.