Plea for peace

We are saddened to witness the tragic events that unfolded in London last Wednesday. It was a sad day for all humanity.

We scholars, imams, academics and researchers offer our condolences for the atrocities committed on that day against innocent civilians, and voice our concerns against all barbaric acts committed against the human race anywhere in the world.

God states in the Koran: ‘Whoever kills a person not in retaliation for a person killed, nor (as a punishment) for spreading disorder on the earth, is as if he has killed the whole of humankind, and whoever saves the life of a person is as if he has saved the life of the whole of humankind.’ (5:32)

The sanctity of life and its protection are beliefs clearly enshrined in Islam and in all heavenly-revealed religions. They are also part of the human instinct and predisposition.

This is a time for us all to work together to achieve global harmony, the realities human civilisations yearn to acquire. Islamic history is testament to that co-existence which all communities living under its canopy enjoyed until the present day.

All of us are invited to maintain that status quo and avoid entering into conflicts which will only shed the blood of innocent men, women and children.

For lasting peace and harmony in the world, it’s the responsibility of every individual, community and state to engage at all levels with each other to reconcile and mend the fences. That is an urgent call for action, before it is too late.

ZUBER KARIM, ABDUL KALAM AZAD, ARNOLD YASIN MOL, FADEL SOLIMAN, YAHYA ADEL IBRAHIM, MOHAMMAD SOHAIL ASHFAQUE, ZUBAIR FAROOQ AKHTAR, ABU BAKR ISAKJEE, ASIF ABDURREHMAN and AQIF NAQASH,

Broughty Ferry, Dundee.