I am writing in response to the recently published letter from Anthony Kirk-Duncan (“ Rare for imams to criticise followers ”, June 13). In his letter, while commending the chief imam of Hong Kong, Mr Kirk-Duncan myopically states that: “It is very rare for the leading imams in any country to speak up for their errant followers.” I respectfully suggest that he refer to the article by Siddiq Bazarwala published in this paper (“ Why must it fall to Muslims to decry terror ?”, June 10) The article conclusively addresses his misguided concerns. Tireless efforts led by Muslim community leaders and imams are sidelined in the media Muslim leaders have been condemning deviant acts committed by individuals with Muslim names since as far back as this has been an issue, but these are clearly being drowned out by endless futile calls for the same. The tireless efforts led by Muslim community leaders and imams are also repeatedly sidelined in the media, given their low newsworthiness. This is especially so by individuals who fail to see their own hypocrisy when stating “the more they do speak out, the more respect non-Muslims will have for the true believers”, without once demanding the same from people of other faiths and beliefs who commit acts of violence. It is only Muslim leaders who are asked to “tell fellow imams to start to speak up very loud and very clear”, when they are already doing so. The vast majority of Muslims not only condemn terror but bear the brunt of its brutality. There is a sad irony in how the group which has the largest number of victims of terrorism is the one most often taking the blame for it. Mohamed Hajamaideen, Kwai Chung
