Muslim leader reacts after Sydney church stabbing in Wakeley

Two influential Muslim leaders have criticized stabbing victim Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel for comments he made that they said insulted their religion.

Bishop, 53, is in a stable condition in hospital after he was allegedly stabbed by a teenager while leading a service at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley at around 7pm on Monday in what police have called a ‘terrorist incident’ .

He was captured on the livestream of the church service shouting “Allahu Akbar” as he stabbed the bishop at least eight times in the head, neck and torso.

Video showed the alleged 16-year-old perpetrator being held on the floor of the church by police before speaking in Arabic.

The words are translated as: ‘If he had not sworn against my Prophet, I would not be here. If he didn’t interfere with my religion, I wouldn’t be here.’

The Australian Islamic social media page, which has more than 2.6 million followers, and Mohamed Shaar, who runs the Sydney Ruqyah Centre, both condemned the violent act but said some of the bishop’s teachings were hate speech.

Shaar, who has previously courted controversy over his homophobic views, said the bishop had “opened his mouth.”

‘The funny thing is that all these Muslims say he will recover quickly, and I hope he gets better, and so on. Especially those liars in the Cumberland council who have Islamic names.

“Where were you when he abused our prophet and our religion?”

‘We condemn those who cause harm, even to an animal; we do not support any form of violence in our community, but why didn’t you, Mr. politician and Mr. community leader, say something to him that could have solved the problems?’

‘He ran his mouth and said that our Prophet lies rotten in a grave. We love our Prophet.

‘Leave our religion and Prophet alone.

The Australian Muslims social media page, which should not be confused with the Australian Muslim Project, said: “I don’t justify that child’s actions, but the bishop started it.”

“He has slandered our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. We Muslims will never slander Jesus, peace be upon him.’

The comment sparked mixed reactions from followers and more than 1,000 likes.

‘I saw a video of him a few days ago, he sounded so self-righteous and demeaning towards other religions. This is very concerning,” one person said.

“We need calm, not inflammatory language. We live in a multicultural society and there will always be those who reject our beliefs, but we must lead by example through our actions,” said another.

“We will never grow, mature and be properly respected by those outside our faith until we learn to counter ignorance and propaganda with education rather than violence,” said a third.

A video in the aftermath of Monday night’s attack showed the accused teen pinned to the ground before saying in Arabic that he wouldn’t be there if the bishop “didn’t insult my prophet…religion.”

The church where Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked while leading a service broke away from the Assyrian Church of the East in 2014 after the bishop was excommunicated over theological differences.

He himself had developed a significant following on social media, where Christ the Good Shepherd’s Facebook and YouTube pages have more than 240,000 followers.

He has delivered a number of sermons criticizing non-Christian religions, including Judaism and Islam, and has also recently delivered sermons calling for peace in Gaza.

He appeared in a video made last December for the PBD Podcast, hosted by US broadcaster Patrick Bet-David.

On the podcast, Bishop Emmanuel questioned Islamic beliefs surrounding Jesus, whom he calls Isa, saying “the truth hurts.”

‘Your book (the Qur’an) says that Isa, the son of Mary, has gone to heaven alive and that he will come again to judge the dead and the living.

‘If I ask a Muslim, ‘Who judges?’, they will say: God.

‘Well, you’re telling me that this prophet (Muhammad) will judge, so which one is which? Did the prophet take on the role of God? Has God gone on vacation and taken his position?”

The bishop said: ‘Isa is the living messiah, even says (the Quran)’.

‘Now let me ask you, my dear Muslim, if you claim that Isa is a prophet, how come all those other prophets that you believe in – you believe in Moses, you believe in Isa, you believe in all the prophets of the world? the old Testament.

“Why is it that none of the Old Testament prophets were called ‘The Word of God’ except Isa? Why?’

Bishop Emmanuel then spoke about Jesus’ birth to Mary and how he is the son of God.

“How is it that all the prophets and every human being on this planet were born of an earthly father and an earthly mother, while Jesus, son of Mary, was born a virgin,” he said.

‘He has an earthly mother, but no earthly father. For his father (is) he who is in heaven.”

The outspoken bishop added: “The reason Mohammed failed is because he is dead. Their book states that…

‘I know the truth hurts. I don’t offend people, I speak the truth. And if it offends you, I’m truly sorry. Not. I don’t regret that.’

He later told his fellow panelists on the podcast, “If you go to heaven, I can assure you… Mohammed will not greet you, Buddha will not greet you, (Hindu deity) Krishna will not greet you, because they won’t do that. .

‘There will only be one, who is the way, the truth and the life. It will be Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who died for you and me.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns has met with leaders of various faiths in the city, all of whom issued statements condemning the attack and calling for peace and unity.

Mr Minns said the city is in a combustible and abnormal situation and there is no point in doing anything else after the stabbing sparked violent riots in Wakeley.

“I can understand people’s concern and anxiety in what has been an incredibly difficult week in Sydney,” Mr Minns said.

“It’s a combustible situation, there’s no point in pretending everything is normal.”

Mr Minns said police now have better patrols.

“Particularly in western Sydney, particularly around religious institutions, throughout the remainder of the week and into the weekend,” he said.

The public is urged to come together and act reasonably.

“Note the civil and religious leaders of this state who are calling for calm and an absolute rejection of all forms of violence,” Mr. Minns said.

Several police officers who responded to the stabbing were injured during the ensuing riot, while paramedics had to take refuge in the church as a large crowd gathered after the attack was captured on a social media livestream.

It was declared an act of terror on Tuesday, with a clear religious motivation behind the attack, which was said to have been carried out by a 16-year-old with a history of knife-related crimes.

Mr Minns said he had spoken to the five officers who were hospitalized after the riot.

“Some of them were back on shifts the next day,” he said, praising their dedication.

The attack was streamed on social media, where the federal Environment Minister and Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek warned that lies are being used to divide a shaky city.

“We know there are people who are deliberately trying to sow division on social media… turn that off if you can,” she said.