Edmonton rally decries terrorism, urges diplomacy

Article content

A grassroots group of Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims and Christians stood in solidarity on the steps of the Legislature to decry violence at the hands of terrorists and reiterate that Islam is a religion of peace.

"ISIS, and all terrorists, are the true enemy of Islam and Muslims all over the world," said Satar Hussin, a member of the United Coalition of Iraqi Canadian Associates and part of the grassroots local interfaith group that organized the protest on Sunday.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as the ISIL or ISIS, has been responsible for the death, kidnapping, torture and disappearance of thousands, including civilians and prisoners of war, using religious extremism as an excuse for ethnic cleansing and unimaginable violence in Syria, Iraq and beyond.

Dozens of protesters condemned western involvement, saying dealing with violence throughout the Middle East by inciting more violence is no path to peace and Middle Eastern countries should lead the resistance effort to retain autonomy.

"We think that diplomacy and dialogue is a better and more peaceful way forward with less collateral damage," said Safana Makhdoom, another member of the organizing group. "We don't believe that any collateral damage is acceptable."

Meanwhile, activist Julio Garcia feared the federal anti-terrorism act Bill C-51,  that made changes to the criminal code to allow for better information sharing between government agencies regarding acts that undermine Canadian security and gave more power to prevent those leaving the country to join terrorist groups from doing so,  undermined the privacy rights of Canadians and "will strip Canadians of their basic Charter rights."

Garcia then went on to criticize the government of Canada for selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia, a kingdom accused of providing support to terrorist groups,  saying "these Canadian weapons will eventually end up in the hands of ISIS."

The group suggested grassroots efforts within communities are far more effective in dealing with radicalization, and said models already established for dealing with gang affiliation in vulnerable youth could be easily applied to youth being lured by terrorist groups.

"If you actually look at the numbers, the people that are Muslim in the Muslim world who do support violence or radical jihadism is very low, the majority of Muslims are just like everybody else," Makhdoom said, adding misunderstandings are fuelling Islamophobia.

Protesters handed out roses with a message of peace wrapped around the stem, and asked those to give that rose to a stranger to help spread the message that not all Muslims share the violent and twisted ideology clung to by these terrorist organizations.

"Violence has never, ever solved a problem, it almost always creates more," said Donna Entz, a member of the First Mennonite Church.



Article content

Latest National Stories


Story continues below

This Week in Flyers