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CNN Asks: ‘Should Muslims Always Denounce Terrorism?’ [VIDEO]

Alex Griswold Media Reporter
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The day after a self-proclaimed sheikh and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria sympathizer killed two hostages in Sydney, Australia, “CNN Newsroom” asked whether or not Muslims really needed to denounce acts of terrorism. (VIDEO: MSNBC: ‘Too Early To Tell’ If Man Asking For ISIS Flag Was Motivated By Islam)

Host Carol Costello opened the segment by noting that Australian Islamic leaders had condemned the attack, saying such condemnations have “become almost automatic these situations.” For the entire segment, the chyron read, “Should Muslims Always Denounce Terrorism?”

For guest Arsalan Iftikhar, the editor of The Islamic Monthly, the answer to that question was no. “The problem is that whenever a brown Muslim man commits a criminal act, the world public expects Muslim leaders and public intellectuals to come out and condemn these acts of terrorism, which we do. The same sort of double standard, of course, is not applied to other minority demographic groups.” (VIDEO: Donald Trump On Sydney Hostage Crisis: ‘It Will Happen In This Country’)

Iftikhar denied that the attack was even Islamic terror. “The Sydney hostage crisis was a criminal act, not an Islamic one, and it’s something Muslim public intellectuals, leaders and religious scholars all around the world will continue to speak out against.”

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