MMCC Imam’s Council Condemn the Paris shootings
The Imams Council of the Michigan Muslim Community Council deplores the actions of the misguided Muslims who in the name of our faith took the lives of 12 people.
The terrorists stormed the Charlie Hedbo magazine offices yesterday killing journalists, including its founder, Charlie Hebdo, and its current editor-in-chief. Another victim was Ahmed Merabet, a French police officer. Neither God, nor Muhammad, whom they thought are defending, nor the overwhelming majority of Muslims would sanction such a heinous crime. The perpetrators must be brought to justice and face the consequences of their crime against humanity.
Cartoons that depict a Prophet to 1.5 billion Muslims as “terrorist” or an enemy is indeed offensive to all Muslims. However, Muslims need to be cognizant of the teachings of the Qur’an and Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. The Qur’an teaches, “Good and evil cannot be equal. Repel evil with what is better and your enemy will become as close as an old and valued friend” (41:34). Upon returning to his birth place, Mecca, granting general amnesty the Prophet addressed the people, “You have been my very unreasonable countrymen. You refuted my prophethood and turned me out of my house. And when I took refuge in a far-off place, you rose to fight against me. However, in spite of all these crimes of yours, I forgive all of you and make you free and declare that you may go after the pursuits of your life.”
On behalf of the Imams and the Michigan Muslim community we offer our condolences and deepest sympathy to the family of the victims as we pray for peace and a world free of hate and bigotry.
See Detroit News article about the impact of the Paris shootings locally.
Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.
Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).
Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.
Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.
His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.
Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.
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