Imams denounce Islamic State brutality

CALGARY — A Calgary imam has led 38 imams to sign a formal edict against Canadian recruitment by the Islamic State group.

The fatwa, by Imam Syed Soharwardy, founder of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, targets “the radicalization and the recruitment for IS/ISIL in Canada,” according to a news release.

The release only mentions Islamic State and not other violent groups Canadians have joined abroad, such as al-Qaida affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra. Groups of imams have issued fatwas against Islamic State in the past year in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the U.K.

Soharwardy, who also founded Muslims Against Terrorism, has publicly implored Muslim clerics and families to have tough discussions with wayward young people. He claims that some other Canadian imams fear they’ll face violence if they oppose the group too loudly.

At a Senate committee last December, Soharwardy called on the federal government to launch an inquiry into the recruitment of Muslim radicals.

Soharwardy has issued fatwas in the past, including a 2010 edict against terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists and a 2012 fatwa targeting honour killings.

Though not legally binding, a fatwa carries substantial weight within Islam.