Perth/Dubai, Dec. 10 : Bearded Muslim South African cricketer Hashim Amla has said that any man perpetrating or involved with last month’s terror attacks in Mumbai, which claimed nearly 200 lives, would never be thought of as a right thinking Muslim.

Steering clear of making any statement that could suggest political or religious overtones, Amla who is here to play a Test series against Australia, said: "I''m quite not involved in politics from that perspective. If you look at Islam, the way that I have been taught and the way I have learnt Islam to be, the way I accept it, certainly it gives me a lot of stability and discipline as well.

"Personally, I don''t think that if a Muslim appears to be doing something like that (the Mumbai attacks) ... it is certainly condemned in Islam,” the Sydney Morning Herald quoted him as saying.

"To the person playing cricket, I don''t think people have to separate religion and sport. I really don''t see myself as a role model but I think as a sportsman it would be very naive that a sportsman is anything but a real role model as well,” Amla said.

Meanwhile, Aijaz Zaka Syed from Dubai in an article for the Khaleej Times, has a similar view on the attacks in India’s financial capital.

Syed says: “It’s all very well for us to say Islam has nothing to do with extremism and terrorism. We can go on deluding ourselves these psychopaths do not represent us. However, the world finds it hard to accept this line of argument because it sees the extremists increasingly assert themselves and take the centre-stage while the mainstream Islam remains silent.

“The great religion that preaches and celebrates universal brotherhood, equality of men and peace and justice for all has been hijacked by a demented, miniscule minority. (ANI)