A prominent Calgary imam says that the Islamic extremists in Iraq are ‘not Muslim’ and he is undertaking a hunger strike to raise awareness about ISIS.
Syed Soharwardy, the founder of Muslims Against Terrorism, will begin a 48 hour hunger strike on Friday, which will run through to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Soharwardy says he felt compelled to take a stand following the brutal killing of American journalist James Foley.
He wants to raise awareness about the existence of the militant group responsible for Foley’s death, an organization he says is actively recruiting Canadians and other westerners.
He says that more needs to be done to fight homegrown extremism. “Our Muslim youth from Canada are getting recruited by these people and I want to create awareness that they are absolutely not Muslim. Whatever they are, I do not know, but they are doing everything that goes against our beliefs and our tradition.”
Michael Zekulin, a terrorism expert with the University of Calgary, says he isn’t surprised at seeing Canadians and westerners working for ISIS. “If ISIS is serious and ISIS actually has the reach, not just the appeal, they have international appeal, but if they actually have the reach to get people back to target the west then, this is going to be a very interesting couple of weeks and months.”
Soharwardy will also be taking the issue to the 1,500 members of the Muslim community he leads in Calgary.
