London Declaration for Global Peace and Resistance against Extremism 2011
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On 24 September 2011, Minhaj-ul-Quran organised a major "Peace for Humanity Conference" at Wembley Arena in London at which, under the auspices of Pakistani Islamic scholar Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, its 12,000 attendees announced a global declaration denouncing racism, interfaith intolerance, extremism and terrorism.[http://www.islamonline.net/cs/ContentServer?packedargs=locale%3Den&c=IOLArticle_C&childpagename=IslamOnline%2FIslamOnlineLayout&p=News&pagename=IslamOnlineWrapper&cid=1278409039853 12,000 Muslims attend London peace conference]{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}[https://archive.today/20120707054004/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-24/uk/30198086_1_peace-rally-islamic-scholar-terrorism "Thousands of Muslims Rally against Extremism in London", The Times of India, 24 September 2011]
Minhaj-ul-Quran strategist Joel Hayward[http://www.minhaj.org/urdu/tid/13634 Urdu statement] wrote the declaration text for Qadri{{Cite web |url=http://www.joelhayward.org/londondeclaration.htm |title=Joel Hayward's Books and Articles: London Declaration |access-date=2011-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111000819/http://www.joelhayward.org/londondeclaration.htm |archive-date=2011-11-11 |url-status=dead }} and was its second formal signatory after Qadri himself. Senior Al-Azhar University leaders and dignitaries then signed it before Minhaj-ul-Quran opened it up via the internet for public signing.{{Cite web |url=http://www.londondeclaration.com/sign-the-declaration/ |title=Sign The Declaration |access-date=2011-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215133506/http://www.londondeclaration.com/sign-the-declaration/ |archive-date=2012-02-15 |url-status=dead }} They aim to get one million signatures within a year.
The London Declaration for Global Peace and Resistance against Extremism is intended as an interfaith document which unequivocally condemns all extremism and terrorism, "because at the heart of all religions is a belief in the sanctity of the lives of the innocent."{{cite web|url=http://www.londondeclaration.com/shtml |title=London Declaration for Global Peace and Resistance against Extremism |accessdate=2011-10-05 }}{{dead link|date=May 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Declaration adds: "The indiscriminate nature of terrorism, which has in recent years killed far more civilians and other non-combatants than it has combatants, is un-Islamic, un-Judaic, un-Christian and it is indeed incompatible with the true teachings of all faiths." The London Declaration also "unequivocally condemn[s] anti-Semitism (including when sometimes it is disingenuously clothed as anti-Zionism), Islamophobia (including when it is sometimes disingenuously dressed up as patriotism) and all other forms of racism and xenophobia."
Muslim extremists tried to prevent the success of the Declaration via cyber-attacks on the website hosting it.[http://www.metro.co.uk/news/876601-extremists-block-muslim-website-just-hours-after-it-appears-online Extremists block Muslim website just hours after it appears online, Metro, 26 September 2011]
See also
References
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External links
- [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15044797 BBC News:Muslim peace conference to condemn terrorism]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120119142619/http://www.londondeclaration.com/ Official Website of The London Declaration for Global Peace & Resistance against Extremism 2011]
- http://www.facebook.com/TheLondonDeclaration Official Facebook Page of London Declaration
Category:Islam in the United Kingdom
Category:Islamic fundamentalism