Australia's Grand Mufti publicly condemns Paris terror attacks

The leader of Australia's Muslim community, the Grand Mufti, has on Wednesday publicly condemned the Paris terror attacks after being criticized by several federal politicians for his earlier, more moderate comments.

Ibrahim Abu Mohammed released a statement on Sunday saying that the current strategies to deal with the threat of terrorism were not working and that some of the "causative factors" including "racism, Islamophobia and military intervention" that contributed to the attacks needed to be addressed.

"In addition, any discourse which attempts to apportion blame by association or sensationalizes violence to stigmatize a certain segment of society only serves to undermine community harmony and safety," the earlier statement read.

Many politicians and media commentators took umbrage at the Grand Mufti's comments apparently apportioning some blame on the West for the attacks.

On Tuesday, politicians from both the Senate and the House of Representatives called on him to clarify his comments and be clearer in his position on the recent events.

The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) and Grand Mufti released a statement on Wednesday morning publicly condemning the violence and clarifying his earlier comments.

"Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed and the ANIC have consistently and unequivocally condemned all forms of terrorist violence," the statement said.

"We wish to emphasize it is incorrect to imply that the reference to causative factors provides justification for these acts of terrorism. There is no justification for the taking of innocent lives. The sanctity of human life is guaranteed in Islam."

"Sadly, in the Paris attacks, people of various faith backgrounds including Islam were brutally murdered. We extend once again our deepest condolences to their families and friends." Enditem