Imam Talib Shareef, leader of The Nation’s Mosque, Masjid Muhammad, located in Washington, D.C. released the following statement in response to the recent murder of Jim Foley and all inhumane acts of ISIS.

We join President Barack Obama and the world in offering heartfelt prayers and condolences to the family of Jim Foley and commend his life of service and sacrifice for humanity; and we stand with the world in strongly condemning the criminal terrorists group ISIS for the inhumane, barbaric, cowardly, murder of all innocent life and their countless acts of extreme violence against humanity. We are continually outraged and bothered by senseless acts that do not uplift or bring peace to our souls and lives collectively.

This group ISIS has to be isolated and eliminated from human space as their “state” is far from Islamic as their actions are not the actions of Muslims, the followers of Prophet Muhammad (saw) who taught and lived that we are never to the take the life of the innocent, that we are to respect and protect religious freedom and the houses of worship for Christians, Jews, and others, that we are to always seek peace over aggression and never be the aggressor, and that we are not to let the hatred of others cause us to swerve from just behavior. The Holy Qur’an states: O you who believe! Be upright firmly for Allah (G-d), as witnesses to equity and justice, and let not the enmity and hatred of others cause you to result to wrong or criminal behavior and depart from justice. Be just: that is close to G-d consciousness: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-aware of all that you do.

Any person, no matter how desperate their situation, no matter how much their hearts are paining because of wrong that has been done to them, whether real or perceived, there is no justification for them to make innocent people the target of their terror or the target of their violent inhumane acts.

ISIS, are and have joined the worse among us, those who have killed their innocent good healthy human sentiments and have become hard, insensitive, apathetic, void of love and kindness for and toward humanity. They have lost both, their human identity as well as their religious identity, with the worst being to lose our common identity, the human identity and behave as cruel beasts devouring each other, human life and property.

As Muslims, we have a responsibility to exhibit the best of our human and religious identity, and to follow the examples of Prophets Muhammad (saw), Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, etc, peace be upon all of them.
Prophet Muhammad said, “The best of you are those who bring benefit to others, to society”, Jim Foley’s life of service puts him among the best.