Leaders of the Ahmadiyya mosque in Glasgow have vowed not to "let hate prevail" following the sentencing of Tanveer Ahmed, who murdered popular Shawlands shopkeeper Asad Shah.
However they warned of possible "copycats" taking inspiration from the killer and carrying out further extremist attacks.
Taxi driver Tanveer Ahmed, 32, travelled from Yorkshire to Glasgow to murder shopkeeper Asad Shah for claiming he was a prophet.
At a press conference this morning, Ahmed Owusu-Konadu, a senior member of the Ahmaddiya community in Scotland, joined the mosque's Imam Daud Ahmad Qureshi in welcoming the 27 year sentence served on Ahmed.
Mr Owusu-Konadu said the Ahmadiyya community "pray that [Mr Shah's] sacrifice marks a new era in the history of Glasgow when we declare that we will never let hate divide and destroy us."
He added: "Mr Shah's only crime was to spread compassion and love. The whole of this city has paid tribute to the love and kindness that he showed.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr Shah and his family who have suffered immensely as a result of this brutal killing. No one should suffer or be murdered, least of all for their faith."
The mosque leaders heard of Tanveer Ahmed allegedly shouting 'There is only 1 prophet' as he left the court. It is understood a number of supporters of Ahmed responded with the same message inside.
Mr Owusu- Konadu said: "This is their own self-made ideologies. It has nothing to do with Islam.
"It is quite sad that people would travel such a distance to hail him. "This is where we expect the British system to rise up and uphold the law.
"It has nothing to do with Islam. If the prophet, peace be upon him, was here he would say 'This is nothing to do with me.' Islam is so clear - killing a single person is like killing the whole of mankind.
"People should not be condoned, they shouldn't be shown any kind of remorse."
Imam Qureshi said: "Difference of opinion and faith is a different thing. Nobody has the right to take someone's live over a difference of opinion and faith."
When asked whether the Glaswegian Ahmadis were concerned a similar incident could happen here again, the mosque leaders warned: "This is not just against the Ahmadis. The extremists have no religion, they are against the whole of humanity. Today it is an Ahmadi Muslim, tomorrow it will be someone else."
He added that he was concerned Other copycat killers may emerge due to the number of apparent supporters in court, and urged the police to be vigilant.
He said: "We may start seeing situations like what we see in Pakistan and other countries where it becomes a copycat. One person starts, they hail him and it becomes something that others would want to do. We are hoping this sentencing will act as a deterrent and that the justice system and intelligence system will be alert and have a grip on such people."
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel