Indian Muslims will live and die for India: Modi

New Delhi: Indian Muslims will live and die for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, maintaining that they will not dance to the tunes of terror outfit Al Qaeda.

"My understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional. Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India - they will not want anything bad for India," he told CNN in a rare media interview.

He was asked about Al Qaeda head Ayman al Zawahiri's video message in which he announced the creation of a India wing saying he wants to free Muslims from the "oppression" they face in Kashmir and Gujarat.

When asked why India's Muslims have stayed away from Al Qaeda, Modi said the threat from Islamist militancy was not about country or one race, but a fight between "humanity and inhumanity".

"But the question is whether or not humanity should be defended in the world. Whether or not believers in humanity should unite. This is a crisis against humanity, not a crisis against one country or one race. So we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity, nothing else," Modi said.