Special to WorldTribune.com
Islam has a PR problem and two days after Christmas, two major leaders on opposite side of the yawning Sunni-Shia schism addressed it openly.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani in a Dec. 27 address at an Islamic conference in Teheran said “it is our greatest duty today to correct the image of Islam in world public opinion.”
In Saudi Arabia, the Grand Mufti said the rise of ISIL is “harming” Islam and Muslims.
But Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh went on to advance a remarkable conspiracy theory.
The Mufti told the Saudi Gazette on Dec. 28 that ISIL jihadists are actually “Israeli soldiers.”
Asheikh responded to ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s recent threat against Israel in which the terror leader said, “Palestine will not be your land or your home, but it will be a graveyard for you.”
“This threat against Israel is simply a lie. Actually, Daesh (ISIL) is part of the Israeli soldiers,” claimed Asheikh.
Referencing Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), Rouhani said: “Did we ever think that, instead of enemies, an albeit small group from within the Islamic world using the language of Islam, would present it as the religion of killing, violence, whips, extortion, and injustice?”
Rouhani also criticized Muslim countries for “being silent in the face of all the killing and bloodshed” in Syria, Iraq, and Yemen.
The remark was scoffed at by critics who say Iran plays a large role in the “bloodshed” with its backing of the brutal Bashar Assad regime in Syria, the terrorist organization Hizbullah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Rouhani accused Saudi Arabia of promoting terrorism for launching a campaign to drive the Houthis from Yemen and restore the internationally recognized government and supporting opposition groups fighting against Syrian forces loyal to Assad.
“Does the weakening of Syria benefit its Muslim neighbors — does the destruction of Syria lead to the strengthening of Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, or other countries?” Rouhani asked. “Who is pleased by Syria’s destruction other than Israel?”
Rouhani also took Saudi Arabia to task for buying “bombs and missiles” from the United States instead of distributing the money “among poor Muslims.”
Major Islamic figures break silence on Muslims’ image problem: Would you believe ISIL jihdists are Israeli soldiers? added by World Tribune on
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