A council of Canadian imams is issuing a declaration Friday that it says represents the world's first nationwide condemnation of radical Islam by the faith's religious leaders.
"People have done many, many condemnations of terrorism but it has never been done well enough or complete enough to get people to pay attention and to say this is a point of sea change," said David Liepert, a spokesman for the Canadian Council of Imams, which is issuing the statement.
"This is us reclaiming Islam from radicals who want to promote conflict and promote violence," he told CNN.
The Council, which comprises 50 influential imams, says its statement - called the Canadian Council of Imams Declaration– will be read in more than 200 mosques across Canada during Friday's afternoon prayers.
"Islam does not permit the killing of innocent people, regardless of their creed, ethnicity, race or nationality," the statement says.
Question: Is this council the Muslim version of the United Church?
Just wondering out loud.
I just hope that this condemnation of terrorism extends to Hamas and suicide bombers in Israel.
