An Islamic speaker who came to Olds for the ninth annual World Religion Conference in November supports going ahead with the plan to bring 25,000 refugees into Canada by the end of this year, provided those refugees are screened properly.
Imam Shahrukh Abid, who will represent Islam at the conference, says according to the Islamic sect he represents, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'At, “it's our human duty to take these refugees in.”
However, he adds, “it's also our duty to screen them because it's possible there are a lot of people from among them that might be disguised as refugees but they're not refugees.”
During an interview, Abid was asked if that means he considers the plan to bring 25,000 refugees into Canada to be realistic.
“I think it's realistic, as long as they do proper screening of each person who comes in,” he said.
Abid was also asked what he thought about Trudeau's pledge to pull out Canadian fighter jets -- which have been bombing ISIS targets in the Middle East -- and replace them with more advisors to help make troops on the ground more effective.
“If he thinks that's appropriate, then we would have to support it to see what he thinks about it. Obviously if there is a problem, there has to be some sort of reaction to it,” Abid said.
Abid stressed that ISIS and its supporters who conducted attacks like those in Paris on Nov. 13 don't reflect the true teachings of Islam, especially of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'At sect.
“We're a peace-loving community that goes around spreading the true message of Islam, which is peace, harmony, brotherhood, tolerance. And what you see on TV (when innocent people are killed) is a misconception,” Abid said. “Our motto is love for all, hatred for none.”
“Through WRCs (World Religion Conferences) we try to find the commonalities among religions, rather than the differences, because we believe that mankind should be brought together, rather than let race, creed, colour or religion divide us,” he added.
The ninth annual World Religion Conference, entitled “Does God Exist?” was held Nov. 25 at the Alumni Centre in Olds. Speakers representing Christianity, Judaism and Islam were part of the conference.
SHAHRUKH ABIDIMAM AND CONFERENCE SPEAKER
"I think it's realistic, as long as they do proper screening of each person who comes in."
