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Hatred and abuse of Jewish people are against the tenets of Islam, the president of Germany’s Central Council of Muslims, Aiman Mazyek (pictured above), said, adding that the Muslim community had work to do in tackling the problem.
“Anti-Semitism, racism and hatred are great sins in Islam, therefore we will also never tolerate that,” Mazyek told the Tuesday edition of the regional newspaper Rheinische Post.
The Muslim leader made his comments in response to remarks by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to an Israeli broadcaster at the weekend. Merkel told Channel 10 News that “refugees and other people of Arab origin are bringing a different form of anti-Semitism into the country.”
Mazyek said he accepted that Merkel’s comments had been sufficiently “nuanced,” recognizing that anti-Semitism had not arrived with refugees. However, he admitted there was a problem.