Azhar denounces Islamic militants

Attendees at Al-Azhar's two-day conference on the rise of Islamist insurgents issued a statement Thursday denouncing acts of terrorism, and declaring that these militant groups were violating the teachings of Islam.

Grand Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb presided over the conference, which began on Wednesday. Pope Tawadros II was in attendance, as well as interfaith representatives hailing from 120 countries.

In the statement, Al-Azhar asserted that all the armed groups and “sectarian militias” that have committed terrorist acts under the banner of Islam — including murder and the violation of sacred religious symbols — are sinners with no relationship to the religion.

Such acts are crimes against humanity, which Islam strongly condemns, the statement continued.

The conference comes as the self-proclaimed Islamic State continues to extend its reach across the region, forcing non-Muslim residents to relocate, executing Western journalists and taking aid workers hostage.

The Islamic State initially emerged in Syria and Iraq and recently began announcing its spread to other locations, including Sinai.

Last month, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced he accepted a pledge of allegiance from the Sinai-based militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdes, thus declaring the embattled peninsula as one of the state’s provinces.

Youth involved in these militant movements have been brainwashed into misunderstanding several Islamic concepts, the statement asserted. It went on to emphasize that jihad is only legitimate as a form of defense, and can only be declared by a legitimate ruler — not by individuals or groups.

The statement also contended that the Islamic State was misusing the term “caliphate” as a way to impose Islamic law by force, when in fact the Prophet’s conception of an Islamic caliphate was based on justice for all, with no discrimination.

Furthermore, western officials and intellectuals have been abusing the situation to present an inaccurate stereotypical image of Islam, the statement alleged.

Al-Azhar called on Islamic preachers and scholars to take up their responsibility for “extinguishing sectarian fires” in the region, particularly in Bahrain, Iraq, Yemen and Syria.