Montreal, Quebec, September 14th, 2012- The Muslim Council of Montreal (MCM) condemned the recent violence following protests in the Middle East over the release of an online film that negatively depicts Islam and Muslims and extends its condolences to the families of the deceased.
“The filmmaker desires to create hatred and division and to react with violence is to fall into their trap,” stated Salam Elmenyawi, president of MCM. “Such violence will only lead to more violence and will not advance the religious, political or social interests of any group. Although we are disgusted by the message of the film, our response must be balanced and such acts of violence are in no way justified. To take the life of an innocent person is like taking the life of all of humanity and these senseless acts go against the very teachings and values of our Prophet.”
“As such occurrences become more common, we must address the root of the issue and we call on all countries around the world to combat defamation of religion and protect religions from such hate speech. Such laws must also restrict those who only seek to offend religious sentiments, sow discord and create hatred against people of other faiths. We also ask all Muslims to avoid acting with emotion in such instances and to instead work intelligently to deconstruct the false stereotypes about our religion, and to increase their efforts to show our true teachings and values. Though we are all upset to see such hateful attacks against our religion, we must persevere in the face of such intimidation and not let our actions be determined by such racist attacks against us.”
MCM encourages all Canadian Muslims to open their homes and mosques to their neighbours; to help spread a true understanding of Islam and to counter the efforts of those seeking to spread negative messages about Muslims.