Saudi U.N. envoy: ISIS, Al Qaeda taint Islam’s image

[BLACKEAGLE]

Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi spoke at a United Nations Human Rights Council meeting addressing the rights of minorities in the Middle East. (File: AP)

By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Saturday, 28 March 2015

Groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Al-Qaeda and Hezbbollah taint the image of Islam, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Friday.

Speaking at a United Nations Human Rights Council meeting addressing the rights of minorities in the Middle East Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said that Houthi militias and Hezbollah were forcefully imposing their will.

Islam is a religion of tolerance, he said adding that the oppression of religious minorities is a blatant contradiction of Islam and its teachings.

As to minority right abuses, Al-Mouallimi said fighting terrorism and establishing international justice are basic tenets in the fight against violations.

Last Update: Saturday, 28 March 2015 KSA 00:57 - GMT 21:57
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2015/03/28/Saudi-U-N-envoy-ISIS-Al-Qaeda-taint-Islam-s-image.html

 

[pwarbi]

I don't know how many times and by how many people (I've lost count) that have said Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace. Over here in the UK, when we see innocent people being beheaded, terrorist acts across the world in the name of Islam and radical clerics teaching sharia law and trying to teach British Muslims how to stand up and fight against the British people, its certainly not seen as a religion of peace.

 

[Redheart]

ISIS and AL Qaeda are tainting the image of Islam? Me thinks they've already tainted the image of Islam. Thanks to them, Islamophobia is on the rise virtually everywhere in the world. The damage is already done, trying to make people believe that Islam is a religion if peace will take a really long time because the images of ISIS beheadings and other atrocities they've committed will linger for a really long time.

 

[missbishi]

It's true that public opinion has been tainted forever. Unless Muslims can actually work to bring these terror groups down themselves, I don't think this has any hope of changing. ISIS is showing the ultimate disrespect to their religion yet nobody wants to challenge this.

Ambassador Al-Mouallimi needs to tell us something we don't already know.

 

[jeremy2]

Talk of preaching water and drinking wine. Beheadings have become the norm rather than the exception and suicide bombings are becoming a daily occurrence. We need to see action,concrete action being taken by the Islamic authorities before we buy their story.

 

[TinVanMan]

I am not sure that I agree with statement that Islam is a tolerant religion. I find it unconvincing that any evangelical religion is particularly tolerant to other religions. That being said, I think much of the problem here is not the religion. It is the fault of a public who has come to conflate the ideas of terrorism and Islam. In America, we have groups like the Westboro Baptists who hold views publicly that many Christians disagree with. However, rarely do I hear folks talk about how Westboro is being used to represent the majority of American Christians.