Islam is for saving human life. Allah says in the Quran, "He who killed any person, unless it be a person guilty of murder or spreading chaos in the land, should be looked upon as though he had slain all mankind."

And he who saved one life should be regarded as though he had saved the lives of all mankind.

Islam came to bring security in peoples lives. It is a basic human right for every human being to live in security. Allah says,

And We will surely give them in exchange safe security after their insecurity.

And He has also said in the Quran that He has made us safe from fear.

When Prophet Ibrahim, peace be upon him, left his family in Makkah, he prayed to Allah to offer them security before anything: My Lord, make this city a place of security.

Islam is against any compulsion in religion. Allah says very clearly in the Quran There is no compulsion in religion.2:256

Allah also tells us to say, To you, your religion, and to me, my religion.

Therefore, no Muslim should think to impose their way of life on others. It is very unfair to say that Muslims want to impose their way of life on other people. These kinds of inappropriate statements only create more religious hatred, intolerance, discrimination and racism against Muslims. We need to continue to work hard to keep religious harmony and diversity in our community, celebrating the multicultural nature of this beautiful city of London.

The evil people who planned and carried out these indiscriminate acts of terror in London are criminals. No religion can accept what they have done. Their actions are crime and terror, which all should condemn. They should be brought to justice and they should be punished without asking what is their race or religion.

In the immediate aftermath of such horrific events, we should be careful not to spread false rumours based on little or no reliable information. Allah says:

And when there comes to them something about security or fear, they spread it around.

But if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them,

then the ones who can draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.

The Prophet (SAW), warned us, 'It is enough of a sin that a person should repeat whatever he hears.

When Umar heard people saying the Prophet (SAW) had divorced his wife, he went straight to the Prophet, who informed him it was not true. This means that we should not say things that we have not be able to verify as the truth. The media has a crucial role to play here in ensuring the accuracy of the news they convey.

At this difficult time some people in our community may feel insecure, purely because they are Muslims. But these terrible events have nothing to do with us, the Muslims of London are victims as much as their fellow citizens. We should be confident in our identity, for our religion of Islam gives us moral strength and binds us together, helping us to support truth and justice and to stand against injustice and oppression.

The Muslim community is not new; we have firmly established our roots in London and across the UK. We are part of the rich diversity of British life, and we strive with people of other faiths for the betterment of our society. Allah has blessed us with good relationships with the rest of the British community which, despite the world events of recent years, continue to improve. By working hard together, consulting one another and extending the hand of friendship, Britain is becoming a great example of a multicultural society for the rest of the world.

Our thoughts today are with the innocent victims of the atrocities, and with their families and friends. The people of London have shown great strength in the face of all that has happened, and we pray to Allah that He should help us all in our time of need.

O Allah, show us the Truth as truth and guide us to follow it, and show us the Falsehood as falsehood and help us to avoid it.

Sermon By Shaykh Abdul-Qayyum - Imam Of East London Mosque

(As featured on www.mcb.org.uk)