Indonesian Muslim Leaders Condemn ISIS: 'The Public Have to be Critical'

More Muslims are speaking out against the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as ISIS. Two Muslim leaders in Indonesia condemned the group and those who support it, while the Supreme Religious Authority in Iraq asked the world to help the country fight the jihadists.

Men from Indonesia in IS released a recruitment video on July 24, but two prominent Muslim leaders are urging Muslim men not to join the radical jihadists.

“The public have to be critical. This is not about [establishing] a Caliphate [Islamic State]; but [a group] working for its own cause and gains from a sectarian issue,” said Nahdlatul Ulama executive council chair, Slamet Effendy Yusuf.

The Nahdlatul Ulama is one of the largest Islamic organizations in the world and concentrates on traditional Islam. It funds schools and hospitals but is also active in politics. Muhammadiyah, an organization with 29 million members, is more modern, well-known for educational activities, and avoids politics. Secretary Abdul Mu’ti said ISIS does not represent Islam.

“That’s my point, this [movement] is not in the context of religion [Islam],” Abdul said. “We all need to question the group’s goals. Don’t just follow radicals who tried to win their own wars in other countries; we will be the ones to suffer losses.”

The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) will not condemn IS just yet. Deputy Chairman Ma’ruf Amin said if the group gains more support, his organization will release a statement. But he did add if IS “uses violence, we reject it.”

The Islamic State committed plenty of violence since it formed in Syria in March 2013. Breitbart News listed just a few examples of why the United Nations should have added the terrorists to the Syrian war crimes list a year ago before they declared an unrecognized Caliphate in Syria and Iraq. In Iraq, the group expelled all Christians from Mosul and took responsibility for numerous deadly suicide bombs in Baghdad.

“Iraq needs the assistance of the international community to eliminate the danger of the [IS] terrorists who demolished the churches and sacred places amid the international silence,” said Ahmed Al Safi, a representative of the Supreme Religious Authority.

These men are not the first Muslim leaders to denounce the Islamic State. The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) spoke out against IS’s expulsion of Christians in Mosul. The group claimed the rejection served to “violate Islamic laws, Islamic conscience and leave but a negative image of Islam and Muslims.”