The Australian National Imams Council, as the highest Islamic and religious authority in Australia, together with its member Imams and religious leaders, unequivocally condemns ISIS as an evil, dangerous terrorist organisation whose actions and ideology stand in complete opposition to the teachings of Islam and the values upheld by Muslims worldwide. This position has been clear and consistent by ANIC since the very emergence of ISIS and has been maintained without hesitation ever since.
The Muslim world has suffered firsthand at the hands of ISIS, with the overwhelming majority of its victims being Muslims. Communities across the Middle East, Africa, and beyond have endured mass killings, displacement, and the destruction of places of worship, including mosques.
ISIS does not represent Islam or the Muslim world in any way. Its ideology is evil and rooted in violence and terror. It bears no relationship to Islamic teachings, ethics, or scholarship, which emphasise the sanctity of life, justice, and mercy.
ANIC and its member Imams have been clear, consistent, and vocal in opposing ISIS and its followers. In 2017, ISIS publicly listed ANIC’s senior members as targets to be killed. This was part of ISIS’s campaign of intimidation at the height of its activity and acts of terror.
ANIC, together with Muslim leaders and scholars globally, firmly rejects the use of the term “Islamic State”. We call on all authorities, political leaders, and media agencies to refrain from using this label and to refer to the group only as ISIS or Daesh. This terrorist organisation does not deserve any association with Islam in name or description.
We also reject any attempt to connect ISIS or its members to Islam or to frame its evil and dangerous ideology as a distorted version of the Islamic faith.
All reputable and prominent Islamic institutions, scholars, and Muftis across the Muslim world have openly, repeatedly, and unequivocally condemned and denounced ISIS and its ideology. This includes leading global Islamic authorities such as Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Muslim World League, the International Union of Muslim Scholars, Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah (Egypt), Majelis Ulama Indonesia, the Council of Senior Scholars in Saudi Arabia, and the European Council for Fatwa and Research, among many others. There is no legitimacy, credibility, or scholarly support for ISIS within mainstream Islam.
Anyone connected to, supporting, or promoting ISIS ideology must be denounced and held accountable. There can be no tolerance for the justification, glorification, or revival of an ideology built on violence and terror.