The founder of Muslims Against Terrorism, Imam Syed Soharwardy, intends to take part in a 42-hour hunger strike to protest the actions of Islamic State extremists and the beheading of an American journalist.
Video showing the beheading of America reporter James Foley surfaced online earlier this week and has sparked international outrage at the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria or ISIS.The killing was in retaliation to US air strikes in Iraq.
Governments around the world appear uncertain how to stop ISIS and Interpol said Thursday that it wants a global push to stop the tide of international fighters who are joining the group.
In Calgary, Imam Soharwardy is condemning the beheading of Foley and says his death and that of thousands of civilians in Syria and Iraq are crimes against humanity.
Soharwardy predicts the violent activities of ISIS will seep into other parts of the world and is concerned about the group actively recruiting youth here.
He is planning a hunger strike to bring attention to what he says are the un-Islamic beliefs and actions of ISIS in the wake of Foley’s death.
The intelligence community is examining the video and working to verify the accent and nationality of Foley’s killer.
(With files from The Canadian Press and ctvnews.ca)
