Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said he had no intention to hurt the sentiments of Muslims by his recent remarks equating 'jihad' to terrorism and said he was "happy to stand corrected."
"I may assure you that there was no intention to hurt the sentiments of anyone in the Muslim community," Chidambaram said in a letter to M H Jawahirullah, president of Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), who had objected to his remarks on jihad.
He said as a "devout Muslim," Jawahirullah was more informed about the teachings of Islam and the true meaning of the word 'jihad.'
Pointing out that the words 'jihad' and 'jihadi' are in common parlance used to describe militant activities and militants in different parts of the world, including India, Chidambaram said he had used the word as it is used in common parlance.
"Like others,I used the word as it is used in common parlance, and I am happy to stand corrected," he said in his letter.
He said leaders of terror outfits like Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-E-Taiba used the word "jihad" on more than one occasion.
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