Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) issued an open letter to Muslims leaders in the United States, challenging them to condemn recent attacks across the country.
“In the past three weeks, our nation faced a series of violent attacks by Muslims citing religious justifications for their bloodshed,” the letter says, going on to describe attacks in Austin, New York City, and West Bloomfield.
Ogles emphasized that “zero American mosques have publicly condemned this pattern of Islamic bloodshed and disavowed the attackers. This silence legitimizes the concerns of millions of Americans that Islam requires such violence.” He went on to challenge the Islamic leaders to “publicly and unequivocally condemn these specific attacks, disavow the perpetrators, reject any religious justification for terrorism, and state clearly that murdering innocents or targeting houses of worship has no place in Islam of America.”
While noting that he is ready for “dialogue with leaders” concerning the issue, Ogles emphasized that he will “not cease to further legislate and advocate that violent Islamists have no place in American culture, life, and civil government.”
Following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, an Islamic entity in Dearborn, Michigan, held a memorial service. During the service, Dearborn Islamic scholar Usama Abdulghani declared that he offers his “congratulations on this ultimate honor that he received after 86 years of Jihad in the way of Allah.” He thanked those who brought their children, noting that their presence at the event allows them to “grow up with this culture, where we remember our martyrs, and we are not ashamed of them.”
