Abu Dhabi, March 1: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Friday attended the foreign ministers' meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states where she was invited as 'Guest of Honour'. In her address at the inaugural session of the OIC meeting, Sushma Swaraj made a veiled attack on Pakistan for harbouring terror outfits and said very few Indian Muslims fell prey to extremism.

"If we want to save the humanity, then we must tell the states who provide shelter and funding to the terrorists to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorist camps and stop providing funding and shelter to the terror organisations based in that country," Swaraj said referring to Pakistan. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi skipped the session in protest. She quoted several religious books, including the Quran and Rig Veda, to make the point that every faith teaches that God is one. Masood Azhar in Pakistan But Very Unwell: Pak Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

Swaraj pointed out that the fight against terrorism is not against any particular faith. "Terrorism and extremism bear different names and labels. It uses diverse causes. But in each case, it is driven by distortion of religion and a

misguided belief in its power to succeed...The fight against terrorism is not a confrontation against any religion. It cannot be," she said.

The minister quoted Rig Veda and highlighted how pluralism has been a fundamental principle of India. "India has always embraced and found it easy to embrace pluralism since it is embedded in the oldest Sanskrit religious text 'The Rig Veda' and I quote 'Ekam Sat Vipra Bahudha Vadhanti', which means

God is One but learned men describe him in many ways," she said.

Speaking on Indian Muslims, Swaraj highlighted how they co-exist with their fellow citizens. Our Muslim brothers and sisters are a microcosm of the diversity of India. They practice their respective beliefs and live in harmony with each other and with their non-Muslim brothers. It's this appreciation of diversity and coexistence that has ensured that very few Muslims in India have fallen prey to poisonous propaganda of radicalist and extremist ideologies," the minister said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2019 01:37 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).