There may be individual Muslims in Malta who sympathise with extremist views but they do not believe in terrorism, the Imam, Mohammad Elsadi, has said.
The Imam yesterday said these individuals may have experienced personal injustice but stressed he would immediately report any knowledge of terrorism.
The leader of the World Islamic Call Society was answering journalists at the end of a brief demonstration against terrorism organised on the grounds of the Paola mosque after Friday prayers.
“I always try to guide people down the right path by preaching peace in my Friday sermons,” he said, adding he had no information that there were terrorists in Malta.
The crowd, made up mostly of men, carried placards denouncing terrorism and calling on people not to lump all Muslims in the same basket.
Imam Elsadi said some members of his community had experienced rare instances of intolerance and discrimination
A placard said Isis, also known as Islamic State, wanted to “cause hatred, fear and clash of faiths”, while another read “I am a Muslim and I am not a terrorist”. A representative of the community read out a statement expressing “shock, sorrow and grave concern” over terrorist acts committed in countries such as Lebanon, Yemen, Libya, Mali, France, the UK and the US.
Imam Elsadi said some members of his community had experienced rare instances of intolerance and discrimination when asked about the fallout from terrorism on Muslims in Malta.
He urged people not to generalise.
“It is unfair to label all Muslims as terrorists and I urge people not to generalise because this is precisely what the terrorists want,” he said, adding that”Muslims were as much victims of terror as anyone else”.
He said terrorists were abusing Islam and destroying the reputation of Muslims all over the world.
Asked the reason for the protest, Imam Elsadi said terrorist acts in France, the US and the UK had spawned misconceptions about the true nature of Islam.
“Islam prohibits the killing of innocent people irrespective of their faith or alleged justification for such criminal acts,” he said, adding that the Muslim community was grateful for the tolerance and hospitality shown by Maltese society.
In the statement the community said terror had no religion and no borders.
“Terror has no justification and it doesn’t serve any just cause,” the statement said, thanking Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Opposition leader Simon Busuttil for affirming the Islamic community’s peaceful integration in Malta.
He urged the international community to join hands against IS and other terrorist organisations.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com