ISLAMIC CLERIC STARTS ANTI-TERROR CAMP

Someone in the Muslim community is finally standing up against Islamic terror.

Islamic cleric, Shaykh Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, a Pakistani, is fighting back by holding an “anti-terror camp.” “Al-Hidayah,” an Islamic retreat at the University of Warwick, in the UK, is the first of its kind, a three day camp designed to tackle Islamic extremism and terrorism.

There Ul-Qadri preaches peace, love and tolerance and promotes the fatwa he issued earlier this year – a 600-page religious edict that denounces terror attacks. It condemns suicide bombers to hell and disowns them from Islam. Available online in English, Arabic and Urdu, the fatwa sources the Koran and other classical Islamic texts. The fatwa is considered by some to be the most comprehensive theological refutation of Islamic terrorism to date.

Ul-Qadri also tackles women’s rights, saying women should be allowed to pray with men in mosques with no separation.

Al Hidayah has been running for six years in the UK. About 1,500 participants came this year, many of them teenagers from across Europe and North America. This year the focus is exclusively on fighting extremism. Next year, Al Hidayah will take place in London and more than 5,000 participants are expected.