Muslim leaders denounce anti-semitism
 Twenty-two prominent British Muslims have signed an open letter to mosques, media outlets and blogs denouncing anti-semitic attacks and calling for continued vigilance regarding anti-Jewish attacks.
The message being sent today (16/01/09) comes from of the UK's leading Muslim intellectuals, imams, writers, community activists and leaders and is aimed to coincide with Friday prayers, to nearly a thousand British mosques.
It is aimed to counter a noticeable increase in attacks and insults against Jewish people over the last few weeks.
The full letter and signatories is as follows:
In the name of God, most compassionate, most merciful,
Dear Fellow Muslims,
We are deeply saddened to hear about antisemitic assaults on British Jews, and a recent arson attack on a London synagogue. Although the perpetrators are yet unknown, we unreservedly condemn attacks on innocent British citizens and the desecration of all places of worship.
The ongoing killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza by Israeli forces has angered us all.
However, this does not, and cannot, justify attacks on our fellow citizens of Jewish faith and background here in Britain.
Most Muslims are completely against such behaviour. However, we call on all Muslims to continue to remain vigilant against attempts to bring our own faith and community into disrepute. British Jews should not be held responsible for the actions of the Israeli
government.
Yours in Islam and peace,
Shaikh Abdal-Hakim Murad, Cambridge
Shaikh Mawlana Shahid Raza, Leicester and London
Shaikh Sayyid-Mohammed Musawi, London
Shaikh Ali Qadiri, Barking
Shaikh Mufti Barkatulla, London
Shaikh Dr Musharraf Hussain MBE, Nottingham
Shaikh Dr Usama Hasan, London
Shaikh Bilal Abdullah, London
Shaikh Aftab Ahmad Malik, Bristol
Shaikh Irfan Chishti MBE, Rochdale
Dr Tahir Abbas, Birmingham
Navid Akhtar, London
Parvin Ali OBE, Leicester
Kamran Fazil, Birmingham
Rokhsana Fiaz, London
Ed Husain, London
Azeem Ibrahim, Glasgow
Maajid Nawaz, London
Dr Zahoor Qureshi, London
Usman Raja, Berkshire
Yasmin Sheikh MBE, London
Zeshan Zafar, London
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