‘Not in my name’: French Muslims rally to denounce ISIS beheadings
Hundreds of Muslims have gathered near the Grand Mosque in Paris to condemn the execution of the French tourist, Herve Gourdel, by Islamic State-linked jihadists and the rise of Islamophobia caused by it.
The demonstrators were holding up placards, reading “"Tribute to
Herve Gourdel” and "God is merciful" as well as signs with
NotInMyName hastag.
The crowd chanted “Islam for peace,” with French
officials and representatives from the Parisian Arab community
present at the event.
"We French Muslims say stop to barbarism, stop to
terrorism," Dalil Boubakeur, head of the French Council of
the Muslim Faith, said during the rally.
He called Friday’s demonstration a "vibrant expression of our
desire for national unity and of our unwavering will to live
together".
"Islam is a religion of peace… orders respect for life ",
Boubakeur is cited as saying by Channel NewsAsia website.
Muslim protesters spoke of the suffering that has been inflicted
on families by the Islamic State, but also about their fear of
leaving their homes due to a rise in Islamophobia.
“I've lost my whole my family. It's obscurantism. My two
brothers, my father, my mother, whenever I hear that someone has
been murdered I lose my voice. I'm sick! I can't anymore. I have
seen how he has been slain. I was sick,” a woman in the
crowd told RT’s Ruptly video agency.
Gourdel was beheaded by an Algerian group, Jund al-Khalifa
(Soldiers of the Caliphate), on Wednesday.
The 55-year-old mountaineering guide was abducted in the Kabylie
region of northeast Algeria while hiking with two friends Sunday.
The Frenchman’s kidnapping occurred after Islamic State called on
its supporters to attack citizens from Western countries joining
the US-led coalition against the jihadist movement.
Gourdel became fourth Westerner to be executed by IS and its
followers as they previously beheaded two American journalists
and a British aid worker.
The #NotInMyName campaign on social media was initially launched
by UK charity Active Change Foundation (ACF), following the
murder of British aid worker David Haines.
It’s aimed at denouncing the Islamic State and reminding people
worldwide that the terrorist organization doesn’t represent Islam
as a whole.
