The leaders of an Islamic women’s initiative lambasted President Donald Trump Wednesday for retweeting a video of an Islamic extremist destroying a statue of Mary.
Daisy Khan, executive director of the Women’s Islamic Initiative for Spirituality & Equality (WISE), said that Trump’s retweet of the video called “Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!” was “defamation against all that Muslims hold sacred” since Mary is revered in the Quran, according to a press release sent to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
The video was one of three that Trump retweeted from the British anti-Islamist group Britain First. The videos depict Islamic extremists harming or killing civilians and destroying a Christian icon.
VIDEO: Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary! pic.twitter.com/qhkrfQrtjV
— Jayda Fransen (@JaydaBF) November 29, 2017
“President Donald Trump’s choice to retweet a far-right organization’s video that defames Muslim religious beliefs is reprehensible,” Khan’s statement read. “The Virgin Mary is someone that Muslims around the world hold as sacred and as a symbol of all that Muslims stand for.”
Khan’s organization also issued a report called WISE Up: Knowledge Ends Extremism and advertised it as a response to Trump’s retweeted video. The report is based on a more moderate interpretation of Islam that ignores Quranic verses about killing infidels and beating women, among other problematic teachings.
The organization comprised a list of refutations of concerns about American Muslims, Islamic terrorism in the west, and of ISIS’ interpretation of Islam. Khan’s organization denies Islam’s condoning of honor killings, terrorism, capital and corporal punishment, forced conversions, and also denies any conflicts between Sharia and the U.S. Constitution. (RELATED: Muslims Form Fundamentalist Biker Gang In Germany)
Muslims believe Mary was the virgin mother of Jesus, who they believe was a prophet and not the Son of God. “Verses in the Qur’an emphasize her piety, righteousness, and status as an exemplar for all people, male and female,” according to the report.
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