Thousands of clerics and volunteers of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, the biggest body of Indian Muslims, are meeting fellow Muslims in towns and villages with the message that a right understanding of Islam would defeat perceptions that Muslims are "fundamentalist" and "militant".

"Our aim is to explain to the community that the true values of Islam do not talk about jihad as an excuse to take up arms," Rahamat Ali Khan, a senior Jamaat leader, told Reuters in Kolkata.

None of India's 140-million Muslims have been found to be members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda but dozens of Islamist militants have been arrested or killed in recent years in connection with separatist violence or terrorist attacks.

The Jamaat commands widespread influence among Muslims, especially in the countryside, and has around 5 million members and volunteers.

About 80 percent of India's 1.1 billion people are Hindus and Muslims account for about 13 percent of the officially secular nation.

Jamaat's campaign started last month after a study ordered by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the status of Muslims revealed they felt they were seen by other communities as unpatriotic and needed to prove they were not terrorists.

It also said Muslims were among the least literate and poorest, along with Hindu Dalits, formerly "untouchables", and were likely to be in prison in disproportionate numbers.

The literacy rate for Muslims is lower than the national average and the status of Muslim women is worse, with many unaware of their rights.

"We are calling for education for all family members, especially girls, and equal rights for women as this is what Islam really preaches," Khan said.

Muslims, especially in rural areas, often follow the Fatwas or edicts of local Islamic clerics. Many Muslims also live in urban ghettos and worry about the possibility of religious riots breaking out.

Analysts say Muslim alienation has increased since the early 1990s after hardline Hindus razed a disputed mosque in northern India, sparking riots that left thousands dead.

Jamaat members are telling Muslim women that under Islamic law, if their husbands die, their brothers-in-law and fathers-in-law have to look after them and not allow them to become destitute by throwing them out of their houses.

They are also meeting Muslim families and educating them of their rights and leaders say thousands are attending meetings in several states.

"The response to our call has been overwhelming," said Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, another Jamaat leader.