Māori Muslim, Te Rata Hikairo, has condemned the attacks in Paris which killed 132 people, saying, “None of the Islamic Leaders are saying support ISIS”.
ISIS claimed the attacks in the French capital last Friday were a response to bombings in Syria.
Hikairo, who has followed the religion of Islam for several years, says, “We don’t believe in ISIS, we don’t believe in terrorism, we don’t believe in terrorist groups like them.”
French authorities are still piecing together evidence which led to the attacks, but The Guardian Newspaper in the UK is reporting that Police Nationale have just issued an arrest warrant for Abdeslam Salah, one of the suspects in the attacks. Salah is believed to be one of three brothers suspected of involvement in the attacks.
Hikairo posted the video to Youtube last night following the weekend's tragic events in Paris. In the video he goes on to say, “We believe in peace, we are a religion of peace, we are a people of peace.”
Our reporter Ripeka Timutimu will speak to Te Rata tonight on Te Kāea at 5:30pm.