Saharanpur (UP), Nov 3 Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that india cannot view Islam as an alien faith.

Speaking at the 30th general session of the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind here, Chidambaram said: "We cannot view Islam as an alien faith because this is the land of your of your birth. All Indians share a cause to fight communalism."

"It is a matter of our pride that Islam exists in India along with other major religions," he added.

About 10,000 clerics, besides five lakh followers of Jamiat, are attending the three-day conference, which commenced on November 1.

The conference is being seen as an attempt by the UPA government to reach out to Islamic scholars. (ANI)