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Saturday, 25 July 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
'Following is the declaration made by Muslim religious and civil society organisations in
Sri Lanka on the ‘Issue of IS (ISIS) and Extremism’
We, the representatives of the main Muslim organisations in Sri Lanka, present at the anti-extremism conference organised by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU), held on 22 July, condemn in unequivocal terms all forms of violence and extremism.
Islam is a religion of mercy for all humanity. It is the fountainhead of eternal peace, tranquillity, security and brotherhood. Islam attaches such value to human life that it equates the killing of a single being unlawfully with the killing of the entire human race, without differentiation based on creed or caste.
Its teachings of peace and brotherhood encompass all humanity. Islam teaches us to treat all mankind with equality, mercy, tolerance and justice. Islam sternly condemns all kinds of oppression, violence and extremism. It regards oppression, mischief, rioting and murders amongst the severest sins and crimes.
The IS (ISIS) is a violent extremist organisation which acts against the fundamental teachings of Islam. It is an absolutely deviant organisation which operates against all the principles and tenets of Islam. Unfortunately, the word ‘Jihad’ has been misinterpreted by the Western media to mean killing or waging unjust wars. Any organisation that kills innocent people under the guise of Jihad, it is totally outside the pale of Islam. We endorse the booklet published by the ACJU which explains the correct spiritual concept of Jihad based on authentic Islamic religious texts.
We appreciate the initiatives taken by the ACJU to expose the ISIS as an un-Islamic and extremist organisation, in an informative broadcast through the SLBC on 6 July 2014 and the statement issued to the media on 30 August 2014. Subsequently several international Islamic institutions and countries have condemned the ISIS as an extremist organisation engaged in acts contrary to Islamic teachings.
We strongly and unequivocally condemn any person associated with the ISIS or any other extremist organisation operating under the guise of Islam. We do not condone any person or organisation that engages in extremism in any form.
We strongly call upon the Government to take action against any individual involved in any form of extremism. We also wholeheartedly offer our fullest support and cooperation to all Government agencies to identify such anti-social and criminal elements in order to eliminate this menace from our Motherland.
We call upon the media to act with responsibility and objectivity. We also urge them not to sensationalise such issues as not to endanger peaceful co-existence prevailing amongst the communities in Sri Lanka.
We Muslims have, over the centuries, demonstrated our patriotism and loyalty to Sri Lanka. We affirm that we will not act in any manner that it detrimental to our Motherland.
