Sacramento Muslim Leaders Hold Conference
Sacramento's largest Islamic center and mosque, Masjid An-Nur on 65th Street, hosted its annual two-day theological conference, one of the themes of which was the threat of radicalization within the Muslim community.
Friday night, Imam Yousef Hussein hosted a panel discussion titled, "ISIL: A False Caliphate,” for which leaders condemned the actions of radical groups like ISIL, and explained the differences in what local Islamic leaders called a "warped ideology."
As a young Muslim-American man, Imran Abedrabbo's fear of violence committed in the name of Islam is two-fold. He says he doesn’t want to see innocent people hurt, and he doesn’t want his faith to be misunderstood.
"Sometimes I feel like it's my fault. That I didn't do enough, getting to know my neighbors, showing what a real Muslim is,” Abedrabbo said.
Abedrabbo was one of hundreds of local Muslims to come to the conference.
"Anytime we…find ourselves going to an extreme view or an extreme ideology, we've gone away from the true message of Islam,” said one of the panel leaders.
"We always make sure we come out, we say 'no this is not Islam.' We condemn these acts. Today, we're taking it a step further and we're addressing it head on,” said Tawfiq Marrar, one of the board members of the Annur Islamic Center.
Marrar says this year, especially, members felt compelled to be out front, condemning groups like ISIL.
"We are forced to speak out, to criticize them. Condemn them and their actions,” Hussein said.
"I was born and raised here. I'm an American. My kids are going to grow up here, I want the best for this country, I want the best for all the people here,” said Abedrabbo.
"Ignoring it and not addressing it is going to give the average American, or the outside observer, the idea that they're speaking in their name. We take the step and say 'no they're not speaking in our name.' We're going to speak in our own name,” said Marrar.
This, Marrar says, is the best way to demonstrate the vast majority of Muslims, like the vast majority of Americans, oppose violence in the name of God.
The conference concluded on Saturday.
Source: fox40.com
