Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) on Tuesday said the failure of
Muslim leaders to repudiate acts of terrorism done in the name of Islam makes
them "potentially complicit" in these attacks.
"When the
most devastating terrorist attacks on America in the last 20 years come
overwhelmingly from people of a single faith and are performed in the name of
that faith, a special obligation falls on those that are the leaders of that
faith," Pompeo said on the House
floor.
"Instead of
responding, silence has made these Islamic leaders across America potentially
complicit in these acts, and more importantly still, in those that may well
follow."
Pompeo said a religion that claims to be one of peace must "reject violence that is perpetrated in
its name." However, he said that while many Muslims oppose terrorist
attacks against the U.S., many mosques and many Muslim leaders across the
country are not taking a stand on terrorist violence.
"The silence
in the face of extremism coming from the best-funded Islamic advocacy
organizations and many mosques across America is absolutely deafening," he said. "It
casts down upon the commitment to peace by adherents to the Muslim faith."
He said that in cases where extreme Christians or Jews have used their religion to justify violence, leaders of these religions have taken stands against these justifications.
"Just as
these religious leaders have called out those who have killed and acted
brutally in the name of their faith, so too must Muslim religious leaders
refute terrorist theology," he said.
Pompeo said Muslim leaders must state that there is no
justification for terrorism, and must denounce radical Muslim clerics who seek
to justify terrorism. He also called on these leaders to refute the idea that
there is justification for violence that can be found in the Quran.
"Modern Imams
must strive to ensure that no Muslim finds solace for terrorism in the
Quran," he said. "They must cite the Quran as evidence that the murder of innocents
is not permitted by good, believing Muslims, and must immediately refute all
claims to the contrary."
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(Congressman Mike Pompeo calling US Muslims terrorist accomplices.)
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Boston bombers: Muslim terrorist Chechen brothers. |