YOUNG British Muslims have launched a social media campaign to register their revulsion for terror group Islamic State.
Their campaign, called #notinourname, is designed to counter online extremist propaganda of the kind believed to have inspired Glasgow "bedroom radical" Aqsa Mahmood to go to Syria and marry a jihadi fighter.
The campaign, run from the east end of London by the Active Change Foundation, aims to give voice to those who passionately support Islam but not Islamic State, also known as Isis.
Hanif Qadir, founder of Active Change Foundation, said: "Young British Muslims are sick and tired of the hate-filled propaganda the terrorists Isis and their supporters churn out on social media. They are angry the criminals are using the platforms to radicalise young people and spread their poisonous words of violence in the name of Islam.
"The #notinmyname has been launched by young people for young people to reclaim social media from the terrorists and to speak with one united voice against them. We hope, in the coming days and weeks, that more and more people will join the campaign and register their voices to send a clear message to Isis - not in my name will you kill, not in my name will you rape, not in my name will you enslave others and not in my name will you do all of this in the name of Islam."
A member of Active Change Foundation's youth group said: "We utterly reject Isis because we do not recognise the Islam they claim to be fighting for. Islam teaches us respect, mercy, peace and kindness, a faith we strongly believe in, and one we want to protect from radicals and fanatics whose very existence threatens our religion.
"Social media belongs to young people and we must use it to stand together and speak as one. It is our responsibility as Britons and as Muslims to reject Isis and do all we can to drown out their voices of hate and violence and, most importantly, their degradation of Islam."
Earlier this month, it emerged Ms Mahmood had travelled to Syria from her home in Glasgow.
Her parents, Muzaffar and Khalida, believe the 20-year-old, who was educated at the private Craigholme School, Pollokshields, has been brainwashed into rejecting her comfortable middle-class Scottish lifestyle through watching online videos and talking to people on social media.
They said: "She may believe the jihadists of Isis are her new family but they are not and are simply using her. If our daughter, who had all the chances and freedom in life, could become a bedroom radical, then it is possible for this to happen to any family,"
Ms Mahmood, having herself converted to extremism online, has used social media to spread hate. Using the name Umm Layth, she sent messages on Twitter in support of violent acts, such as the bombing of the Boston Marathon or the beheading of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, east London. The 20-year-old has reemerged on Tumblr, another social networking website, after being silenced by initial press attention.
The Muslim Council Of Britain, meanwhile, called for the release of Alan Henning, a Briton seized by Islamic State after going to Syria in an aid convoy organised by British Muslims to help civilians.
Shuja Shafi, the council's secretary general, said: "Such a man should be celebrated, not incarcerated. Taking such people hostage, and murdering them are against the principles laid out in the Koran and our Prophetic traditions. These actions are against the spirit of the Shariah, which Henning's captors reportedly claim to uphold.
"Mr Henning travelled to Syria to help people, mostly Muslims, who were in distress as their lives ravaged by war. Teachings of our faith surely is to commend his work, treat him with respect and release him without further delay. We urge the captors to release this man back into the arms of his waiting family."
British secret services do not know where Mr Henning is being held.
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