AUSTRALIA’S GRAND MUFTI: DON’T TRUST ‘SHEIKH GOOGLE AND SHEIKH YOUTUBE’
Sydney, 13 Dzulhijjah 1435/7 October 2014 (MINA) – The spiritual leader of Muslims in Australia has warned young people not to trust “Sheik Google and Sheik YouTube”, saying they are “very dangerous and they have no moral or religious authority”.
While speaking out about the potentially harmful influence of social media, Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, the Grand Mufti of Australia, reached out to all Australians, reassuring them they have nothing to fear from their Muslim neighbours.
“I would like to say to my fellow citizens that we are all Australians and the safety and security of this country must be a shared part of all our culture and ethics,” Dr Ibrahim said, according to the The Sydney Morning Herald reports monitored by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA), Tuesday.
“We are the first ones to oppose anyone who may think of harming Australian society.”
Dr Ibrahim spoke to Fairfax Media last week amid speculation that the terror threat level would be raised and after two men were arrested in Brisbane on terrorism-related charges.
Dr Ibrahim had spent the week meeting with politicans and religious leaders, particularly Christian leaders, to whom he expressed compassion over the situation in Iraq and Syria.
“Muslims, unfortunately, have been bearing the brunt of the disproportionate carnage for more than a decade.” he said. “Sadly today people of other faiths, including Christians, have been caught up in the current conflict in Iraq and are becoming the target of violent extremists.
“These criminals are committing crimes against humanity and sins against God. Forced eviction, threats of execution and burning of places of worship including churches have no place in any faith.”
Dr Ibrahim said he wanted to set the record straight about his position on the so-called Islamic State. As the highest Islamic religious authority in Australia, he said that he wanted all Muslims to know that the term Islamic State has been “hijacked” and used for political and terrorist purposes.
He said since the group had been established “we have been very clear about denouncing their lies and betrayal of our faith”.
“[It] is not a state, it is not Islamic and there is nothing about the name that deserves to be linked with Islam,” Dr Ibrahim said. “I have said this in sermons and on radio and in the community.
“They [Islamic State] have killed more Muslims than Christians. They hurt Islam more than any other faith but no one has conveyed our concerns until things got worse. Until people started talking about ISIS more and more.”
Dr Ibrahim, who is based in Fairfield, the heartland of Iraqi Christians, has been speaking to communities, congregations and on radio to denounce Islamic State fighters. He said imams were actively speaking against them and had played a large role in stopping people travelling to the region.
He has advised people who have religious questions or may be tempted to join Islamic State to get proper, religious advice from knowledgeable, respected and qualified sheiks.
Dr Ibrahim said that when he and other religious leaders met Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop last week, the mainstream media were not interested in reporting it – despite them contesting the government’s military involvement in Iraq and preferential support for Israel during the recent Gaza war – unless they had had a major disagreement.
Dr Ibrahim said people need to be reminded that the term “Islamic State” refers to an era when Muslims, Christians and Jews lived together in peace and harmony.
“That is why that terminology ‘Islamic State’ is attractive to Muslims,” he said. (T/P3/P2)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
