AMU urges HRD Ministry to roll back JNU's 'Islamic Terrorism' course

The Students' Union of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on Thursday urged Union Minister for Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar to ask Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to roll back its proposed introduction of course on 'Islamic Terrorism'.

President of the Students' Union, Maskoor Ahmad Usmani said in the letter that it is "disgusting and shocking" to see how JNU is giving "religious colour to terrorism."

"It perhaps reflects their deep rooted agenda to malign a specific religion," he said.

A course titled 'Islamic Terrorism' will only promote a disconcertingly convenient understanding. It will not urge the students to take a plunge into the inner folds of this complex phenomenon. It will push them into subscribing to a black-and-white understanding of an issue/theme that thrives on ambiguities and paradoxes," Usmani mentioned.

He later urged Javadekar to "intervene in this serious issue and make sure that this course is rolled back by the university in the larger interest of nation and society."

The JNU Academic Council has reportedly passed a proposal to set up a Centre for National Security Studies under which there would be a course on 'Islamic Terrorism'.

On May 22, The Delhi Minorities Commission issued a notice to the registrar of the Jawaharlal Nehru University seeking to know the reason behind the proposal to start the course, which has been opposed by sections of teachers and students at the JNU.