British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — British Ambassador to the Philippines Asif Ahmad expressed support for the US’ order to launch airstrikes against ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) saying that the group does not represent the values of Islam.
“Essentially, what you have is a group of people who’ve brought chaos to the [Middle East] and now they are trying to propagate this around the world,” Ahmad, a Muslim, told reporters Friday after a vaccination drive for children organized by the British Embassy.
“There is nothing in Islam that says women should be kidnapped and ordered to act as prostitutes. There is nothing that says you capture people from other religions and force them to convert to Islam. It is totally forbidden. There is nothing that says innocent people should be kidnapped and held for ransom,” he said referring to the violent acts committed by members of ISIS.
US President Barack Obama on Wednesday (US time) announced a “systematic campaign of airstrikes” against ISIS and increased support for the Iraqi military who are fighting the terrorist groups on the ground.
Previous reports said that some Filipinos have gone to Iraq or Syria to join the terrorist group and the DFA admitted that there is no way to verify such reports.
“I would have to talk with the other members of the interagency [committee] who are monitoring this namely the security agencies as well as the Department of National Defense. I will have to consult with them,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said in a separate interview with reports Thursday.
Ahmad said that the airstrikes will hopefully prevent the further spread of ISIS which has already claimed large swathes of territory in both Iraq and Syria over the past months.
“Every country and the US is a major player including the UK so we will have to do what we can to make sure that ISIS is stopped in its tracks. It needs to be stopped,” Ahmad said.
“ISIS is killing fellow Muslims already in Iraq and Syria and other places. The objective is to ensure this ‘virus’ should be stopped, like what we are doing through vaccination,” he said.
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