MI Imams Condemn French Muslim Killer

I am a part of this committee.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MI Imams Condemn Murder of Paratroopers, Rabbi and Jewish Children in France

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(WARREN, MI, 3/21/12) – The religious leaders (imams) of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan (CIOM) today condemn in the strongest terms the recent murders of three French Muslim paratroopers, a rabbi and three Jewish children, which were reportedly committed by a French national named Mohammed Merah.

Merah has been named as a chief suspect in recent shootings in which he allegedly killed three fellow Muslims for serving in the French military in Afghanistan as well as a rabbi and three Jewish children due to revenge of injustices perpetrated against Palestinian children by the Israeli military.

The imams reaffirm our previously stated position the Islamic teachings stress the sanctity of all human life and that respecting the rule of law is incumbent upon all Muslims.

The Qur’an, Islam’s revealed text, states: “Whoever kills a person, unless [as punishment through due process] for murder or mischief in the land, it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (Qur’an, 5:32)

Though the imams recognize that many innocent civilians have been killed in Afghanistan and elsewhere, the imams also state that there is no justification for the wanton violence that has taken place in France in response to the previously stated injustices.

Prophet Muhammad said there is no excuse for committing unjust acts: “Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well, and that if they do wrong you will do wrong to them. Instead, accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong (even) if they do evil.”

The imams also note that Muslims and Jews have peacefully co-existed for centuries in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and that tensions related to the Arab-Israel conflict is not indicative of the historical relationship between Muslims and Jews.

 

The imams offer their condolences to the families of the victims and pray for calm and peace.

 

The imams Council of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan represents a coalition of Muslim religious leaders (imams) in the Metro-Detroit area.

 

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CONTACT: CIOM’s Imams Council Co-chairs, Imam Baqir Berry, (313) 903-1222bberrymiis@yahoo.com  or Imam Steve Elturk, (248) 210-4156,ameer@ionaonline.org. Email to CIOM: admin@ciomonline.com

 

 

DawudWalid

Dawud Walid is currently the Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI), which is a chapter of America's largest advocacy and civil liberties organization for American Muslims and is a member of the Michigan Muslim Community Council (MMCC) Imams Committee. Walid has been interviewed and quoted in approximately 150 media outlets ranging from the New York Times, Wall St Journal, National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, FOX News and Al-Jazeera. Furthermore, Walid was a political blogger for the Detroit News from January 2014 to January 2016, has had essays published in the 2012 book All-American: 45 American Men on Being Muslim, the 2014 book Qur'an in Conversation and was quoted as an expert in 13 additional books and academic dissertations. He was also a featured character in the 2013 HBO documentary "The Education of Mohammad Hussein." Walid has lectured at over 50 institutions of higher learning about Islam, interfaith dialogue and social justice including at Harvard University, DePaul University and the University of the Virgin Islands - St. Thomas and St. Croix campuses as well as spoken at the 2008 and 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Conventions alongside prominent speakers such as the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Congressman Keith Ellison. In 2008, Walid delivered the closing benediction at the historic 52nd Michigan Electoral College in the Michigan State Senate chambers and gave the Baccalaureate speech for graduates of the prestigious Cranbrook-Kingswood Academy located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Walid was also a featured speaker at the 2009 and 2010 Malian Peace and Tolerance Conferences at the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa. He has also given testimony at hearings and briefings in front of Michigan state legislators and U.S. congressional representatives, including speaking before members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in Washington, D.C. Walid has studied under qualified scholars the disciplines of Arabic grammar and morphology, foundations of Islamic jurisprudence, sciences of the exegesis of the Qur’an, and Islamic history during the era of Prophet Muhammad through the governments of the first 5 caliphs. He previously served as an imam at Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and the Bosnian American Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, and continues to deliver sermons and lectures at Islamic centers across the United States and Canada. Walid was a 2011 - 2012 fellow of the University of Southern California (USC) American Muslim Civil Leadership Institute (AMCLI) and a 2014 - 2015 fellow of the Wayne State Law School Detroit Action Equity Lab (DEAL). Walid served in the United States Navy under honorable conditions earning two United States Navy & Marine Corp Achievement medals while deployed abroad. He has also received awards of recognition from the city councils of Detroit and Hamtramck and from the Mayor of Lansing as well as a number of other religious and community organizations.

2 Comments

  1. Revenge? Can’t buy it. Why was this Muslim not mentioned as a Muslim French National ? What are the injustics anyhow?

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