US Muslim theologian Yasir Qadhi has said that Muslims do not need to apologise for the Orlando gay night club attacks during which gunman Omar Mateen killed 50 people.
In a Facebook post Qadhi asked why he must issue an apology for something perpetrated by a mentally unstable person simply because his name was “Omar?”
Here is the post in full:
“Barely 36 hours after one of the most positive exposures to Islam and Muslims in America, via the funeral of Muhammad Ali, it appears all of that good will be wiped away by a senseless act of violence, perpetrated by a nobody who happens to have a Muslim name.
“Such is the problem of being a minority under pressure: the actions of one become linked to all. Last I checked, Caucasian male mass-shooters (which is the default) do not represent all of white America. Mexican gangsters don’t represent all Latinos. African American criminals are not representative of the entire African American population.
“So why must I issue an apology for something perpetrated by a mentally unstable person simply because his name is ‘Omar’?
“I’m not trying to be callous with regards to the deaths in Orlando – any and all loss of human life in such a manner is a tragedy, and no religion or law or moral code would approve such an act.
Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news and updates from around the Muslim world!
“I merely wish to point out that it seems unfair that the actions of one are extrapolated to represent all ONLY when the perpetrator is Muslim. We never have all churches issue condemnations when a Christian fanatic murders an abortion doctor. So why must we as a community somehow collectively ‘own up’ the crimes caused by a lone, deranged person? (And as of the writing of this paragraph, by all accounts it appears to be an act perpetrated by an individual acting on his own, who has not associated this act with religion nor acted on behalf of a terrorist group).
“If you want a condemnation, I condemn every unjust killing equally, regardless of the religion, race or nationality of the shooter. But I’m afraid I will not be issuing an apology, as I have nothing to apologize for.”
