Cairo (CNN)The actions of the Islamic State are anything but Islamic, and Muslims must battle extremism to maintain the religion's message of mercy, the grand mufti of Egypt told CNN. Sheikh Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam spoke about the recent execution of a Jordanian pilot at the hands of ISIS. Lt. Moath al-Kasasbeh, 27, was burned alive while confined in a cage. "What happened to the Jordanian pilot is by all means a crime. This barbaric action is far away from humanity, much less religions. Islam is innocent of this act," the grand mufti said on Thursday. Allam leads Dar El-Ifta, or the House of Fatwas, the premier authority in Islamic legal interpretations. The institution was founded in 1895, although the grand muftis of Egypt have been interpreting Islam for 800 years. It releases more than 500,000 edicts a year.
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Grand mufti of Egypt says actions of ISIS are far from Islamic
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Sheikh Shawky Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam leads the premier authority in Islamic legal interpretations
Allam believes in the need for reform, but he also believes the foundation of @placeholder must remain untouched.