Egypt's Al-Azhar urges West to distinguish between Islam, terrorism

Egypt's Al-Azhar institution, the world top body for Sunni Islamic learning, urged on Saturday the West to distinguish between Islam and terrorism, stressing both are poles apart.

"We call on the West not to react to terror attacks at their countries in a way that affects the Muslims in their communities," Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyib said during the meeting of the Muslim Elders' Council in Cairo.

Tayyib's remarks came after some acts of violence and persecution against Muslims have been reported in some Western states in reaction to the recent terrorist attacks in France that killed at least 129 and wounded over 350, for which the regional Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility.

"Terrorism has neither religion nor identity. It is biased to attribute crimes to Islam merely because their perpetrators say 'Allah is the Greatest' while committing them," Al-Azhar chief said, describing terrorists as "death gangs, evil contractors and blood brokers."

Following Paris attacks last week, a Syrian refugee camp caught fire in northern France, hours after the attacks, the United States subjected Syrian refugees to the most intensive security checks, Poland announced rejection of receiving any Syrian refugees, and many European countries immediately announced tighter border controls after Paris attacks.

In Canada's Flemingdon Park, a Muslim woman in hijab was attacked on Monday by two men in the street while she was picking up her child from school, which the police considered as a hate crime.

Al-Azhar and Muslims worldwide have recurrently condemned Paris attacks and others and reiterated terrorism has nothing to do with Islam that is based on peace and tolerance.

Tayyib urged to face terrorist ideology with balanced thought and to work on spreading tolerance and combating hatred and prejudice.

He also announced that Al-Azhar will send 16 peace convoys in areas of discrimination and sectarian conflicts worldwide.

In late October, a Russian plane crashed in Egypt's North Sinai province and killed all 224 on board, mostly Russians. The Russian side has recently said that it was brought down by a bomb attack while an Egypt-led panel is still investigating. Endit