Saturday September 22, 2018
Muslim clerics from Garissa on Friday condemned terrorism by al Shabaab, saying Islam does not support murder and holds human life to be precious.
The leaders, who included Supkem national organising secretary Sheikh Abdullahi Salat and Garissa branch treasury Sheikh Hassan Abdi, spoke at Garissa Primary School during International Peace Day.
They were referring to last week’s attack in which al Shabaab militants separated Muslims from non-Muslim bus passengers at Sangailu en route to Garissa from Holugho.
Seven militants flagged down the bus and ordered everybody out. They demanded that everyone produce an ID, which they used to separate the Muslims from non-Muslims. Three passengers were non-Muslims. One of them, a teacher was spared after he recited Suratul Fatiha. The other two were tied to a tree and shot dead.
Sheikh Salat said they will rally the Muslims to reject the ideology of the terror group.
“As clerics who understand what Islam stands for, we feel so pained when misguided individuals misinterpret the Koran to advance their cause,” Salat said.
“We cannot continue keeping quiet as innocent Kenyans are massacred in broad daylight.”
Hassan urged leaders to work with security personnel and religious leaders to foster peace among different faiths. “Muslims are living in areas dominated by Christians and other religions and if we allow this to continue, it might create bad blood between Muslims and other religions,” he said.
On Wednesday, Garissa leaders accused police officers of doing little to fight al Shabaab terrorists.