Don't judge all Muslims by actions of extremists, says Muslim cleric

Published: 2004-09-24

OXFORD, England (CNS) -- A prominent European Muslim cleric said Muslims should not be judged by the actions of extremists. Iman Abduljalil Sajid, chairman of Britain's Muslim Council, said terrorist acts such as the Sept. 3 massacre at a public school in Beslan, Russia, do not represent Islam. "And any attempt to attribute it to Islam is a gross misconduct by perverted individuals," Sajid told Catholic News Service. He said every reputable Muslim group worldwide had denounced the Beslan massacres by Chechen rebels, making it unfair to accuse Muslims of failing to "distance themselves definitively" from terrorism. He said Muslims needed to rebuild their image of "legality, civility and openness to dialogue" in the eyes of Western society. "That a tiny minority is gaining publicity through horrific acts is deeply alarming to us all -- the victims include Muslims as well as Christians," Sajid said.

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