IB Times UK: Moderate Muslim declares 'intellectual and spiritual war' against extremism ahead of first 'anti-terror' camp

August 6, 2010 1:08 PM BST

Tomorrow around 1,300 British Muslims are expected to begin a three-day conference designed to tackle extremism amongst the Muslim community in Britain.

The event is being hosted by Minhaj-ul-Quran UK, which was founded by Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, who earlier this year issued a 600 page fatwa that declared those who commit terrorist acts to be "unbelievers" and said that terrorism could never be justified.

The conference, "al-Hidayah 2010", aims to explain Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri's fatwa to young Muslims and is also intended to help those attending to identify extremism in their own communities and give them the "theological tools" to tackle Islamic extremism wherever it may be found.

According to the anti-extremist Quilliam Foundation the conference is the largest ever held for young British Muslims and not only condemns terrorism under any circumstances, but also challenges Islamist ideas such as the establishment of the Caliphate and the implementation of single interpretation of the Shari'ah into state law.

Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri said, "I have announced an intellectual and spiritual war against extremism and terrorism. I believe this is the time for moderate Islamic scholars who believe in peace to stand up."

Shahid Mursaleen, spokesman of Minhaj-ul-Quran UK, commented, "This is the first anti-terror camp of its kind Britain has witnessed and I believe this will change the concepts of many Muslim youth who will learn directly from the scholar who issued the Fatwa on Terrorism. It will be a severe blow to extremist groups in the UK."

The conference will take place at the main campus of the University of Warwick.

Source: http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/41472/20100806/moderate-muslim-declares-intellectual-and-spiritual-war-against-extremism-ahead-of-first-anti-terror.htm