Shias, Sunnis Appeal for Peace during Iftar in India’s Chennai
Shias and Sunnis came together on Sunday at a city hotel to celebrate Iftar under the umbrella of the Shia Sunni Unity Movement which was launched in the city in April.
"Though there are conflicts between Shias and Sunnis in different parts of the world, Chennai Muslims have sent out a unique message of unity through this Iftar during the Ramadan season," the movement's general secretary Nusrat Ali Khan said.
Condemning the blast in a mosque in Kuwait recently besides attacks by fundamentalists in France and Tunisia, Muslim scholars including Dr Hasan Kumali from Delhi spoke on the message of peace, harmony and co-existence in Islam. Defense researcher Niranjan urged people to practice the true essence of religion, whether it was Muslim, Hindu or Christian faith.
Kumali said all Muslims should get educated and enlightened to understand the unity of mankind and shun all sectarian conflicts.
Additional director general of police, Shakeel Akhtar, said he believed only in God and not sects. "When society is divided into sects, then it ends up facing many problems of religious conflicts and extremism that we are facing today," he said.
Among those who participated were former state minister Sangam Jabbar and the unity movement's joint secretary Mujibur Rahman and treasurer Malik Rabbani who recited Quranic verses that conveyed Allah's message to people to live in unity and peace.
Source: The Times of India
