Prague, Jan 4 (CTK) – Terrorism is an evil that must be jointly fought by all regardless their faith, Vladimir Sanka, former head of the Prague Muslim Community, said at a congress with the motto Together Against Terrorism yesterday, and warned against collective guilt for terrorist attacks being blamed on all Muslims.
“Terrorism jeopardises all of us, including dozens of millions of Muslims living in Europe,” Sanka said.
He condemned the terrorist group Islamic State.
By no means does IS benefit Muslims, he said, adding that Muslims prevail among the victims of IS, which has also destroyed Muslim monuments in Syria and Iraq.
The people who commit terrorist attacks in the name of Islam are analphabets as regards the faith, Sanka said.
He warned against the restoration of the collective guilt principle that resulted in the extermination of large groups of population in the 20th century.
Orientalist Petr Pelikan pointed out that the basic sources Islam is leaning on are Quran and Sunna, which mention a number of deeds that are now viewed as violent and terrorist.
“The question is whether we may apply the present criteria to events that occurred almost 1,500 years ago, in quite a different social situation and a region remote from ours. On the other hand, however, the question is whether Muslims really have to permanently return to these two sources only,” Pelikan said.
He said motivation of terror perpetrators must also be considered. In some cases, the attack may be meant as the perpetrator’s revenge for the death of their relatives killed as civilian victims of a drone bombing of terrorist targets, he said.
However, those who attack the Western society because they disapprove of its values, should leave this society and move to other regions with a social setup they like, Pelikan said.
