Stressing that India embraced many religions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that every religion flourished in India."Every religion found life here, it grew here. Every Indian is proud of this virtue, no matter what langusge he speaks, no matter what religion he practices," the Prime Minister said at a conference on 'Islamic Heritage: Promoting Understanding and Moderation' in the presence of Jordan's King Abdullah II."Be it Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi, the fragrance of peace and love has spread across the world from India. India has given the idea of 'Vasudev Kutumbakam' -- which means that the whole world is our family. India found its identity in considering the people of this world as their family."WPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the campaign against terrorism and extremism was not aimed at any religion but against a mindset that was misleading the youth to harm innocent people."Those who commit crimes against humanity perhaps do not know that they are harming the very religion that they claim to stand for," Modi said at an event organised by the India Islamic Cultural Centre in which King of Jordan Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein delivered a special address on "Islamic Heritage: Promoting Understanding and Moderation" here."The campaign against terrorism, extremism and radicalisation is not a campaign aimed at any particular faith," he said. "Rather, it is aimed against that mindset that is misleading our youth into torturing innocent people."The Prime Minister said that India is a land where every religion flourished."Every religion found life here, it grew here. Every Indian is proud of this virtue, no matter what language he speaks, no matter what religion he practices," he stated"Be it Buddha 2,500 years back or Mahatma Gandhi in the last century, the fragrance of peace and love has spread across the world from India. India has given the idea of 'Vasudev Kutumbakam' -- which means that the whole world is our family. India found its identity in considering the people of the whole world as one family," he said.
Modi said that in India the efforts are on for all-round development taking everyone along because the prosperity of a nation is inextricably linked to the happiness of all the people."The large gathering here today shows that you all want to guide the coming generation to the right path," he said."It also indicates that you want not only the progress of the youth but you want to instill human values in them."Modi said that overall development and happiness would be possible only when a Muslim youth is seen with a Quran in one hand a computer in the other.Stating that inhuman acts are not represented by any religion, he said that all faiths, sects and communities exist to promote human values."Therefore it is essential that our youth should keep the humane aspects of Islam in their mind on one hand while on the other make use of advances in modern science and technology for their own development," he said.Stating that there were two Indians are among the signatories to the Amman Declaration, Modi assured King Abdullah that India will march side by side with him in his efforts against de-radicalisation.The Amman Declaration is a statement calling for tolerance and unity in the Muslim world that was issued in November 2004 by King Abdullah.In his special address, King Abdullah said that the global war against terror was not a fight between different religions but between moderates and extremists."Today's global war against terror is not a fight between different religions or people. It is between moderates of all faiths and communities against extremism, hate and violence," the King said.
"What is heard in the news and what is shown about religion is what separates people," he said.He added that around the world, suspicions are inflamed by what different groups don't know about others. "Such ideologies of hate distort the word of God -- to stir up conflicts and justify crimes and terror. "We need to take these things seriously...they should never be allowed to distract us from the truth that faith should draw humanity together," he said.He said faith inspires countries like India and Jordan where different religious and ethnic groups have lived together. "It is faith that brings together different civilisations. Compassion, mercy, tolerance are values shared by billions of Muslims and non-Muslims around the world. These values put us together to act for our coming future," he said.Earlier on Thursday, the Jordanian King, who arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day state visit, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here Last month King Abdullah hosted Modi at his residence in Amman. Jordan had facilitated the transit of Modi to Palestine in what was the first ever Indian prime ministerial visit to that West Asian nation. will be celebrating Holi tomorrow, there will be a celebration of Buddha Jayanti, that will be followed by the month of Ramzan -- a symbol of the country's unity and diversity."