CIOGC condemns killing of photojournalist James Foley

(CHICAGO, IL – 8/21/14) – The Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC), representing more than 400,000 Muslims across greater Chicagoland, strongly condemns the barbaric killing of photojournalist James Foley by a group that calls itself the Islamic State (otherwise known as ISIS or ISIL).

“Islam teaches that the killing of an innocent person is like killing of all of humanity [Quran 5:32]. The group that carried out this heinous act maligns Islam when it calls itself Islamic,” said Dr. Mohammed Kaiseruddin, CIOGC Chairman.

Mr. Foley was a caring and brave individual. He was in Syria not just to advance his career as a journalist, but because he was driven to share the stories of the Syrian people’s suffering with the world. He was quoted as saying to an audience at Medill School of Journalism in 2011, “And if reporters don’t try to get really close to what these guys are experiencing, we don’t understand the world."

Mr. Foley also provided help to Syrians not just with his words and pictures. “He raised $10,000 and donated it to SAMS to purchase an ambulance for one of Aleppo’s hospitals,” said Dr. Zaher Sahloul, past Chairman of CIOGC and the current President of Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS).

CIOGC expresses its deep condolences to Mr. Foley’s family. His parents have genuine reasons to be proud of their son.

Dr. Kaiseruddin added, “As we are genuinely outraged by the brutal killing of Mr. Foley, we need to ask ourselves, should we not also be outraged by the brutal killings of other innocent people around the world?”

CONTACT:

Aymen Abdel Halim, CIOGC Communications Director, aymen@ciogc.org, 312-506-0070