Almaty Central Mosque. ©Galima Gabdullina
Head Imam (worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community) of Almaty Central Mosque Kulmukhammad Makhanbet addressed the media and media-regulating state authorities requesting not to accentuate religious affiliation of the criminals when speaking of terrorist attacks, Tengrinews.kz reports citing meshet.kz. “Why nobody speaks of “Christian terrorism” when Irish republican army blows something up in the center of London? Why nobody speaks of “Indian terrorism” when a crowd of angry fanatics destroy a mosque in India?” Makhanbet said. Imam noted that such actions may stir religious hostility and intolerance, if not stopped in the very beginning. According to imam, in such cases it is most common to detach terrorism from religion, race or ethnicity, but everyone forgoes this principle when it comes to Islam. He said that accentuation on affiliation with Islam would give good grounds for misuse of Islam and a surge of speculations. “Unfortunately, because of insufficient knowledge and misunderstanding of Islam many young people currently follow the ones who aim to achieve their own political and financial ideas, instead of preaching the real religion,” Almaty mosque’s Imam said. According to him, illiterate people are promised heavens and martyr’s death in exchange for terrorist attacks or suicide bombing. “Suicide bomber cannot be a Shahid (Martyr)! Suicide bombing is a suicide, and suicide is considered a heavy sin. Threatening people by any kind of threats, blasts and unrests are activities discrediting Islam. People doing this have no relation to Allah’s religion,” he said.
Head Imam (worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community) of Almaty Central Mosque Kulmukhammad Makhanbet addressed the media and media-regulating state authorities requesting not to accentuate religious affiliation of the criminals when speaking of terrorist attacks, Tengrinews.kz reports citing meshet.kz.
“Why nobody speaks of “Christian terrorism” when Irish republican army blows something up in the center of London? Why nobody speaks of “Indian terrorism” when a crowd of angry fanatics destroy a mosque in India?” Makhanbet said. Imam noted that such actions may stir religious hostility and intolerance, if not stopped in the very beginning.
According to imam, in such cases it is most common to detach terrorism from religion, race or ethnicity, but everyone forgoes this principle when it comes to Islam. He said that accentuation on affiliation with Islam would give good grounds for misuse of Islam and a surge of speculations.
“Unfortunately, because of insufficient knowledge and misunderstanding of Islam many young people currently follow the ones who aim to achieve their own political and financial ideas, instead of preaching the real religion,” Almaty mosque’s Imam said.
According to him, illiterate people are promised heavens and martyr’s death in exchange for terrorist attacks or suicide bombing. “Suicide bomber cannot be a Shahid (Martyr)! Suicide bombing is a suicide, and suicide is considered a heavy sin. Threatening people by any kind of threats, blasts and unrests are activities discrediting Islam. People doing this have no relation to Allah’s religion,” he said.