“Bangladesh: Bangladesh Islamic conference portrays soft Islam,” from Asian News International, with thanks to Skeetstreet:
Dhaka, Bangladesh, which has attracted worldwide attention recently, because of activities of groups supporting Islamic extremism, is making attempts to promote liberal Islam and Islamic solidarity.
A conference was convened by, Bangladesh’s Islamic party, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, with Maulana Syed Asad Madani as the chief guest. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the leader of opposition in Pakistan, also attended the conference.
Addressing the conference, Maulana Madani said, “We must never do anything that is against the will of Allah. Whatever one is ordered to do, they have to follow it. This is the only way to escape the fire of hell. Follow this path and save yourself and your children”.
“To safeguard ourselves and our children from lies, evil, from temptation is the duty of every Muslim man and woman. It is our duty to make our children into devout Muslims,” he added.
Besides Maulana Madani and Maulana Fazlur a host of religious leaders also attended the conference in the presence of thousands of supporters.
During his last visit to Bangladesh during December 2004, Maulana Madani has called upon the Muslims of Bangladesh to follow the path of moderate Islam and in that context emulate the experience of Indian Muslims.
In recent years Bangladesh has witnessed the rise of radical Islam, which has created uncertainty in a number of areas bordering India.
Addressing a gathering in December, he said that, “Islam is being mostly misunderstood, and we need to dispel this misconception through education”….
Ah, the glorious complexity of Islam! Millions of Muslims — devout, serious, Qur’an-reading Muslims — misunderstand it, you see. Simplistic souls, they think Islam is exhorting them to violence against unbelievers. And all over the world they think this! Maulana Madani has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do.