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A serious crime: Imam

BEIJING: Chen Guangyuan, president of the Islamic Association of China (IAC), slammed the riot on July 5 in northwest China’s Xinjiang, saying it has gone “against the basic doctrine of the Islam” and was “a serious crime”.

“As head of the IAC, I would express my severe condemnation and great indignation over it,” said the 77-year-old imam in an interview with Xinhua.

According to the Islamic teaching, the crime of killing one innocent person is equal to that of killing the whole mankind, he said. “From the Islamic point of view, the crimes [of rioters] are very serious and unforgivable,” he said.

Islam, with the word itself meaning peace and stability, is a religion that promotes peace and humanity, he said. “In a period featuring stability and unification, China is engaged in development and improving the people’s livelihood,” he said.

“It’s under these circumstances that these mobs undermined social stability, ethnic unity and the social order.”

The riot was not an isolated issue. It was a violent crime which was instigated and directed by separatist forces abroad, and carried out by outlaws inside the country, he said. — Xinhua

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