Syrian Grand Mufti Condemns Terrorism, Calls for EU Help in Mideast

January 15, 2008

Author: Staff Writer

Source: EarthTimes/DPA

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/173797,syrian-grand-mufti-condemns-terrorism-calls-for-eu-help-in.html

Syrian Grand Mufti Ahmad Bader Hassoun condemned Tuesday the use of violence in the name of religion and called on the European Union to play a bigger role in the Middle East. "Do not use religion for killing; religion is for peace," he said in his address to a formal sitting of the European Parliament (EP) in Strasbourg.

Syria's top Sunni Muslim religious authority, described as a moderate after his election in 2005, said anyone who killed an Iraqi or Israeli child would be held responsible before God, adding: "There can be no such thing as a holy war. Only peace can be holy."

Bader Hassoun was the first of a list of eminent figures invited to address the EP during the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.