German Muslims Protest against ISIL

Two-thousand mosques across Germany were called upon by top Muslim clerics to use their Friday rituals to rally against the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and speak out against the terrorist group's atrocities in Syria and Iraq.

On Friday, the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Aiman Mazyek, told the country’s Muslim population that they shouldn’t stay quiet about the misuse of the Islamic faith, describing ISIL as “in truth terrorists and murderers" who have dragged Islam “through the mud.”

Mazyek pointed out that “Islam is a peaceful religion,” adding that the Council wants “to make it clear that the majority of Muslims here in this country and worldwide think and act differently.”

The so-called 'Day of Action' involved nine large rallies in cities across Germany, including Berlin, Stuttgart, Hanover, and Mölln.

It comes after Germany banned all support towards ISIL rebels in Syria and Iraq and decided to send weapons to Kurdish fighters who are battling against ISIL forces.

German Federal Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere spoke at a mosque near Hanover on Friday, calling to “exchange information on the travel movements of jihadists” and to cooperate in order to “detect the danger of young people becoming radicalized.”

The minister also urged for closer contact between Germany and Turkey on the matter of young people becoming radicals.

"Muslims have demonstrated that hatred and violence can never be legitimized in the name of Islam," he stressed.

Authorities estimate that some 400 Germans have joined ISIL in Iraq and Syria, and the federal prosecutor is also conducting a probe into over 30 young people suspected of joining IS militants.

Source: RT