MOSCOW, September 18 (RIA Novosti) – Muslim leaders from all over the United Kingdom have condemned the kidnapping of humanitarian aid worker Alan Henning by Islamic State (IS) terrorists and urge the jihadist group to free him, a joint letter published in The Independent states.
"In Islam, concern for fellow humans and the duty to help everyone is a religious obligation. Anyone undertaking a humanitarian act is paving his or her way to receive help from heaven. In contrast, the senseless kidnapping and despicable threats to Mr Henning cannot be justified," the Wednesday letter informed.
The statement, signed by more than a hundred UK Muslim leaders and passed to the family of Alan Henning, categorically condemned not only his kidnapping, but the execution of the three previous hostages, US citizens James Foley and Steven Sotloff and UK citizen David Haines.
Alan Henning had been helping provide humanitarian relief when he was captured during IS's occupation of the Syrian city of Al-Dana in December 2013.
"British Muslims are joining hands with fellow Britons in categorically denouncing the fanaticism of the great evil that is the un-Islamic State. This letter shows that British Muslim leaders are not prepared to let these lunatics hijack our faith," director of Faith Forums for London Mustafa Field stated.
The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, it launched an offensive in Iraq and seized vast areas in both countries, proclaiming an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control.
