LAHORE, Jan 17: The Jamaat-i-Islami leadership has decided to contact the local Taliban in Swat and Waziristan and persuade them to give up their activities which are creating an impression in the world that Islam is a religion of violence.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the JI leadership held after the conclusion of its Shoora here on Thursday. Qazi Husain Ahmad presided over the meeting.

According to a source, all the participants of the meeting belonged to the NWFP, except secretary-general Munawwar Hasan.

The source said the party expressed concern over the beheading of state functionaries, bombing of audio and video shops and forcing closure of shops of barbers and ladies tailors in tribal areas.

The meeting directed JI Swat Amir Fazle Subhan and party leaders in Swat, Waziristan and Mohmand Agency to convince the local Taliban that the violent methods they were using to promote their ideologies were not Islamic. It called upon them to stop such activities so that the West might not use them to tarnish the image of Islam.