The problem is that Islamic terrorists keep coloring outside the lines. The problem with these flat assertions — and there are so very many of them from Muslim spokesmen — is that they never address the Islamic texts and teachings that Islamic terrorists use to justify their actions and make recruits. And so those Islamic jihadists continue their work. “It is a misguided mentality… linking Islam and these bomb attacks or any other kind of terror activity,” says Alhad Musa Salum. But it is the Islamic jihadists themselves who are responsible for that link.
“Terror, Islam Not Linked – Cleric,” by Christopher Majaliwa, Daily News (Tanzania), July 30, 2014:
ISLAM should not be linked to the terror attacks that have been gaining momentum in Tanzania and in other areas in the world, the Dar es Salaam Region Chief Sheikh, Alhad Musa Salum, said in the city on Tuesday.
He pointed out that a Muslim found to have participated in any terror operation should be judged individually instead of connecting the act with his faith.
Speaking at the Idd el-Fitr prayers held on Tuesday at national level at the Mnazi Mmoja Grounds in Dar es Salaam, Sheikh Salum noted that Islam is a religion of peace, and preaching peace has been a top item on its agenda.
He observed that recent bomb attacks that rocked several parts of the country must be condemned in the strongest terms possible.
“There is a thick line between Islam and terrorism; they are not the same. Being a Muslim does not mean you are a terrorist, this is a thing that we must all understand,” he stressed.
Mr Salum observed that the religion has been preaching love, unity and respects to all people regardless of their religious affiliations.
“It is a misguided mentality… linking Islam and these bomb attacks or any other kind of terror activity. Doing so is not correct. We hate terrorism and we are in the forefront in opposing it, we will always do this,” he vowed.
Recently, Tanzania has witnessed a number of bomb attacks carried out in Zanzibar, Arusha and Mwanza regions, leaving a number of casualties, others even losing life later.
Some people have been linking the incidents with Islam as some attacks targeted churches while at times those who were injured were Christian clerics. Sheikh Salum noted that Islam in itself was a religion that highly advocates peace and unity while denouncing all forms of atrocities, including terrorism.
He urged Muslims in the country to live peacefully with members of other faiths, saying that unity was the only way that would make Tanzanians live in a peaceful atmosphere. He also condemned the ongoing Gaza Crisis, which has involved human rights violation committed against Palestinians.
He appealed to the international community to immediately help end all raids, incursions, blockades and collective punishment of the Palestinian population as well as to condemn Israeli settler terrorism and provide international protection to the people.
The cleric was, however, saddened by the silence of powerful countries and other human activists as they failed to condemn the incident. “Palestinians are being massacred and yet no one denouncing or even taking immediate action.
It is high time the incident is strongly condemned and eventually stopped to save the lives of innocent people,” he noted. He called on all Tanzanians to pray for the war-troubled zone so that peace is reinstated regardless of their belief.