The leader of Griffith’s Muslim community has condemned the terrorist attacks on Paris.
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Dr Mohamed Mofreh, imam of Griffith mosque, said the perpetrators of violence and terror are not true Muslims.
“The people in these groups are not Muslims,” Dr Mofreh said.
“Their acts are very cowardly and shameful.”
Dr Mofreh said the leaders of groups like ISIL were deceiving young men into killing themselves so they could gain power, money and influence.
“The religion Islam is free completely from these actions,” Dr Mofreh said.
“A true Muslim, if he comes to the Koran, there are a lot of verses prohibiting this violence completely.
“They are just using the name of the religion to excite the people and irritate their feelings but it is not a part of Islam at all.”
In the Koran, Dr Mofreh said, there was a very clear passage where the prophet spoke clearly about peace with disbelievers.
“‘I do not worship what you worship and you do not worship what I do,” Dr Mofreh said, paraphrasing Sura 109.
“He told them you have your religion, I have my religion. There was never a verse to say if you have an argument to fight with someone.”
Muslims were instructed to live with people of all cultures and faiths in harmony, he said. The people who carry out terrorist attacks were deceived by promises of paradise.
“If they go to paradise, why don’t the leaders do it themselves?” Dr Mofreh asked.
“We believe if you kill one person, you kill all of humanity and if you help one person, you help all of humanity.”
Dr Mofreh pointed out the significance of the mind being in the top of the body.
“Our brain is in the top of our body,” he said.
“God could have put it in our tummy or our feet, but he put it on the top, which means before you use your hands or your shoulders you should use your mind first.”
The name Islam, he said, came from the word salam which meant peace.
“Our leaders condemn these attacks,” Dr Mofreh said. “I challenge anyone to bring something from Islam, from the Koran and the talk of the prophet, where it says to fight. It is prohibited to even frighten someone.”
On Friday, Dr Mofreh will deliver a message about the Paris attacks at the mosque from 1.15pm. He invited anyone who was interested or wanted to learn about the religion to come and observe.
“We have a place there for people who are not Muslim to sit and be with us,” Dr Mofreh said.
“We need to show people what real Islam is, it is not these actions.
