- News code: 15955
The Dalai Lama Tuesday hailed Islam as one of the great religions of the world, saying true jihad was about fighting 'negative emotions' within oneself.
Speaking after receiving an honorary Doctor of Letters (D. Litt) degree from Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia university, the Tibetan spiritual leader said that some mischievous elements were bringing a bad name to Islam.
'I defend Islam,' the Dalai Lama said, 'we should not generalize Islam due to few mischievous people. Such mischievous people are there among Hindus, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, and all religions'.
'Islam is one of the very important religions for many centuries, in the past, present and future it is the hope of millions of people,' he said.
'Some Muslims in this country (India) told me genuine Islam practitioner must extend love and compassion to all creatures. If a person creates bloodshed they are not Muslims,' he said adding, 'the meaning of jihad is a struggle within ourselves against all negative emotions like anger, hatred, attachment, that creates problem in the society'.
He said though he received similar honour from many universities around the world, he was particularly honoured to receive it from a renowned Islamic institution of higher learning in India.
Indo-Asian News Service
