WASHINGTON -- More than two dozen Muslim American clerics and community leaders on Wednesday condemned Islamic terrorism, denouncing the atrocities committed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and calling on young Muslim Americans to resist the appeal of jihadist ideology.
The leaders, who were joined in Washington by several officials from the Department of Homeland Security, said the great majority of Muslim Americans are loyal and peaceful citizens. They vowed to cooperate with law enforcement officials and to work to dissuade Muslim youths from following violent jihadist paths.
"Young people, please do not listen to this ideology," said Mohammed Magid Dar, director of the All Dulles American Muslim Society in Sterling, Va., the largest mosque in the Washington region. "If someone asks you to join this cult or this group, resist the slogans that promise justice but carry out injustice."
David Gersten, coordinator for countering terrorist extremism at the Department of Homeland Security, said Muslim American communities need to be the "front lines" against the fighters trying to recruit youths to Islamic State's cause, especially through social media.
The group's declarations came hours before President Barack Obama addressed the nation to lay out his strategy for combating the Islamic State.
One speaker asked that the group be referred to as the "Anti-Islamic State" and noted that most of the extremist group's victims are Muslims, something Obama also noted in his speech.
Others expressed condolences for the victims of the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Faizal Khan, imam of the Islamic Society of America mosque in Silver Spring, Md., said the Islamic State and al-Qaida "represent a warped religious ideology. Either we reject this violence in the clearest possible terms, or we allow them to become the face of Islam and the world's perception of us for years to come."
Participants included Muslim immigrant leaders from Indonesia, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Sudan and Trinidad, as well as American converts. There are an estimated half-million Muslims of foreign origin living in the United States.
"We reassure our fellow Americans that we are an integral part of the American fabric," said Mohsin Ali Khan, a Pakistani-American and a leader of a mosque in McLean, Va.
Speakers stressed that, in addition to cooperating with police and other officials, they were working with young people in their communities to make sure they do not fall prey to the lure of radical Islamic ideology. One cleric said it was crucial to identify potential young jihadists and persuade them to abandon a "twisted" version of Islam.
Organizers said many Muslim communities are organizing groups and meetings to talk with young people about the positive message of Islam and the danger of jihadist thought.
A Section on 09/11/2014