The Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) has called on the United Nations (UN) to put an end to the Islamic State (IS) destructive path and prevent further atrocities in the volatile region. This follows the recent beheading of a second US journalist, Steven Sotloff, as well as Thursday’s kidnapping of dozens of villagers in Northern Iraq.

The statement is not the MJC’s first on the IS issue, having previously condemned the groups expulsion of the Christian community in Mossul, Iraq, and the oppression of the countries Muslim, Shia, and Yazidi population.

With the MJC having been vocal against the U.S’s military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the recent Israeli assault on Gaza, media liaison officer Nabeweya Mallick, said it was equally important for Muslims to condemn any grouping acting in violation of the principles of Islam.

“At the end of the day, we as Muslims stand by certain high standing principles that guide mankind towards peace, the protection of all of humanity, and the preservation of life, “she said.

She further condemned IS’s adoption of the title of the ‘caliphate’, describing it as an abomination when looking at the group’s behavior in recent months. She accused them of providing the “propaganda machines” with further opportunities to link Islam and terrorism.

“It has become almost synonymous, if one looks at the media, that you see the word terrorist or militant being connected to Islam. So IS has really not been doing any favours for the house of Islam, and therefore we came out very strongly stating that this is not what one would expect from Muslims,” she said.

However, Mallick reiterated the MJC’s stance that the volatile situation within Syria and Iraq, was largely down to the U.S’s 2003 military campaign in Iraq. Despite the U.S suggestions that the ‘invasion’ was aimed at establishing a sense of democracy within the country, she said the assault had in fact done the opposite.

Mallick acknowledged there was a need for more Muslim voices within the global community to come out against the group. She suggested the reluctance from many to come out in condemnation, was due to a lack of understanding of who and what the IS were. VOC (Mubeen Banderker)