The Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani condemned the 10 February murder of three young innocent Muslims in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Deah Shaddy Barakat (23 years old), his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha (21 years old), and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha (19 years old). The Secretary General stated that this brutal crime had shocked Muslims around the world and raised concerns over rising anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobic acts in the United States of America. Madani commended the statement of President Barack Obama saying that no one in the country should ever be targeted because of who they are, what they look like, or how they worship; the Secretary General urged the US Government to take steps towards ensuring protection against stereotyping, discrimination and profiling, which are inconsistent with core values of American society and for which it is admired. Madani welcomed the FBI enquiry into the case as a positive step, so that three promising young people, whose lives were tragically cut short, did not die in vain. Madani reiterated that hate and intolerance should have no place in a multicultural world; hence he underlined the importance of interfaith and intercultural dialogue at the community level. He praised the overwhelming unity of the American Muslim community and the gestures of solidarity of the American people with the families of the victims rejecting the murder which bear the symptoms of a hate crime. Madani called for cooperation at the international level to counter violent extremism, religious intolerance, incitement to hatred and hate crimes. The OIC Secretary General expressed his deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. He also expressed his wishes that Allah the Almighty shower the soul of the deceased with mercy, forgiveness, and eternal peace. -- SPA 23:14 LOCAL TIME 20:14 GMT تغريد
