To ignore the Muslim voice is a sin of omission
This article appeared in the 21 September printed issue of Sunday Examiner, the English-language newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. The editor is Australian Columban Fr James Mulroney.
HONG KONG (SE): While the Islamic State continues its rampage of violence and death in Syria and Iraq the voices of Christians and secular authorities have been loud in their condemnation, but where are the Muslim voices?
The Vatican Insider reflects that this may have more to do with a reluctance on the part of the world to listen to their words than their silence. It quotes the Jesus magazine as calling this a sin of omission.
There are Muslims who have paid with their lives in protecting their Christian neighbours and, while these are often referred to as moderates in the western media, it is too weak a term to describe heroes who are martyrs for what they believe in.
“Many Sunni Muslims have raised their voices against the Islamic State, even though this is not always mentioned in the media,” the Jesuit international monthly, Populi, writes in its September issue.
“This is not just the case in the west, but also in more conservative Muslim countries,” it continues.
It quotes the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah Al-Sheikh, as calling both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda the number one enemies of Islam on August 19.
The grand mufti added that they do not share the common faith of all Muslims.
Populi also points out that the Wahhabi movement, which backs the Saudi Arabian regime, does share some of the doctrines subscribed to by the Islamic State, but has made it clear that it does not support its violent approach and the destabilising threat it poses.
The Italian Jesuit monthly also lists the Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar, from Egypt; and Shawqi Allam, as denouncing the Islamic State as a threat to Islam.
It then quotes the head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, Mehmet Görmez, as saying, “The statement made against Christians is truly awful. Islamic scholars need to focus on this, (because it is) an inability to peacefully sustain other faiths and cultures and heralds the collapse of a civilisation.”
Missione Oggi, a magazine published by the Saverian missionaries of Brescia in Italy, adds, “Iraq’s Muslims are not all Islamic State extremists. Many are Muslims who want peace. Some have even died to defend Christians in Mosul.”
It goes on to tell the story of Mahmoud al ‘Asali, a professor of law who lectured on pedagogy at the University of Mosul
.
“He was killed, because he had the courage to tell Islamic State militants that is not the kind of Islam he believed in. He was fully aware of the risk he was running in stating this publicly. He refused to become an accomplice to violence and paid for this with his life.”
The Jesus magazine, in a column in its September issue, East East East, calls the poor media coverage of Al ‘Asali’s murder a sin of omission.
A monthly magazine published by Edizioni San Paolo explains, “His story shows that there are Muslims who are on the side of persecuted Christians. They are often referred to as moderates, but this is too weak an adjective when one considers the incredibly high price such people often pay.”
The latest Muslim voices to the condemnation of the Islamic State come out of France. CWNews describes what is dubbed the Paris Appeal issued on September 9 at the Grand Mosque in Paris as “unambiguously denouncing those terrorist acts, which are crimes against humanity and solemnly declaring that these groups, their supporters and their recruits cannot lay claim to Islam.”
The statement condemns what are referred to as barbarians for brutality, saying, “Their rash calls for Jihad and their campaigns to indoctrinate young people are not faithful to the teachings and values of Islam.”
The Paris Appeal is signed by Dalil Boubakeur, the rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris and president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith; Anouar Kbibech, the president of the Assembly of French Muslims; Abderrahmane Dahmane, the president of the Council of French Muslims; and several others.