The beheading of US photo journalist James Foley claimed by the so-called Islamic State has sparked angry condemnations from Muslims around the world as a barbaric act that goes against the true teachings of Islam. “We strongly condemn this gruesome and barbaric killing as a violation of Islamic beliefs and of universally-accepted international norms mandating the protection of prisoners and journalists during conflicts,” the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a statement.
“The Geneva Conventions, the Quran — Islam’s revealed text - and the traditions (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) all require that prisoners not be harmed in any way. There can be no excuse or justification for such criminal and bloodthirsty actions.
“We also call on those holding Steven Sotloff and other prisoners to immediately release them unharmed so they may return to their loved ones.”
Foley’s murder appeared in a video released by the Islamic State (IS) on Tuesday. IS claimed that the killing of the journalist, who went missing in Syria in 2012, was revenge for US air strikes against its fighters in Iraq.
In the video, titled ‘A Message to America’, a man identified as James Foley is dressed in an orange jumpsuit, kneeling beside an armed man dressed in black.
He gives a message to his family and links his imminent death to the US government’s bombing campaign of IS targets in Iraq.
Clearly under duress, he says: “I call on my friends, family and loved ones to rise up against my real killers, the US government, for what will happen to me is only a result of their complacency and criminality.”
Then the masked militant, who speaks with a British accent, delivers a warning to the US government: “You are no longer fighting an insurgency. We are an Islamic Army and a state that has been accepted by a large number of Muslims worldwide.
Other Muslim leaders condemned beheadings carried out by the IS, terming them deplorable atrocities that tarnish the image of Islam including Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi and Grand Mufti of Australia.
“These guys are lunatics,” Dr Ameer Ali, former chairman of the Federation of Islamic Councils in Australia told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, August 20.
“They are talking about a caliphate but really they are just a medieval, barbaric group who have nothing to do with Islam,” he added. The Muslim Council of Britain has also condemned the barbarity of IS.
Each day IS seeks to carry out an act more barbarous than the day before, craving the oxygen of publicity to give credibility to their heinous acts,” MCB said in a statement cited by Gloucester Citizen.
“We condemn unreservedly their psychopathic violence, whether it is on minorities, on civilians, or on fellow Muslims.”
Today’s condemnation echoed similar statements by MCB last June in which the group called for joint action to ensure the poison of extremism and sectarianism is not injected into our communities.
“IS does not speak for Islam, and has been repudiated by all Muslims. Their message only appeals to those who are easily duped by their twisted message purporting to be Islam. They seek to glamorise their violence, and unfortunately, the media has a part to play in adding to that glamour,” MCB said.
“We urge the media in refraining from giving them any further undue exposure beyond conventional reporting. And we urge Muslim communities to re-double their efforts in coming together, condemning the barbarity of ISIS and persuading those gullible enough to take in their message that they are on a path to futility.”
Also in UK, Exeter mosque opened its doors giving Devon residents a chance to tour the mosque after the deplorable murder, Mid Devon Gazette reported. People will be given the chance to ask questions about Islam and tour the building at the open day, which runs from 2pm to 5pm.
Muslim community leaders, who were quick to deplore Foley’s murder, will be available to offer any answers needed regarding Islam or the mosque.
In Bosnia, Mufti Mustafa Ceric deplored the murder on Twitter where he wrote: “We are appalled by brutal killing of an American journalist James #Foley Again, we repeat our full condemnation of this pure evil! #ISIS”.
www.onislam.net
