ISIS have been condemned for their ‘barbarity’ in their beheading of hostages in the name of a ‘false ideology’ by Manchester’s youngest and first Asian Lord Mayor.
North West MEP Afzal Khan, called for an end to ISIS’s ‘barbarity’ in a Parliamentary Plenary Speech on Wednesday.
Accompanied by a letter signed by British Muslim imams from across the country, which expresses ‘horror and revulsion at the senseless murder of David Haines and the threat to the life of our fellow British citizen, Alan Henning’, Khan’s response renounces the group’s ideology as out of line with Islamic teachings.
The letter, of which Afzal Khan is a signatory, calls on ISIS to ‘to see the error of their ways’ and ‘accept that what they are now doing constitutes the worst condemnable sin’.
“ISIS’s false ideology and narrative must be confronted,” said Mr Khan, who also holds the position of Vice Chair of the European Parliament Security and Defence Committee.
“It’s imperative that a broad coalition including Arab countries be put in place to tackle the menace of ISIS.”
He also appealed for an end to the recent beheading of Western journalists and aid workers and, particularly, for the release of Mr Henning, a resident of Khan’s North West constituency.
“Mr Henning is a good, compassionate man, who went to Syria to help those suffering,” he said. “We cannot allow ISIS to continue with this barbarity.”
The ex-Greater Manchester Police constable, now a senior partner at Mellor & Jackson solicitors in Oldham, has called for an EU study to investigate the different roles that various military and political factions such as ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood play in the Middle East.
“Muslims all over are appalled that these crimes are being carried out in the name of their faith. In fact a letter signed by Muslim Imams and leaders is going out today asking for the release of Mr Henning,” he said.
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