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Monday 06 Apr 2015 - 13:12 Makkah mean time-17-6-1436  Google image Hong Kong's Muslim Hong Kong, (IINA) - Facing a sharp rise in Islamophobia, leaders of the Muslim community in Hong Kong have issued an open "letter of peace", listing true teachings of Islam and dispelling misconceptions surrounding it, South China Morning Post reported.
"The Muslims in Hong Kong have lived side by side with their fellow non-Muslims for the best part of the last 175 years, and we certainly desire nothing else but to continue this peaceful coexistence," the letter, which was backed by more than 21 Muslim groups and released in English and Chinese, said.
"We request everyone not to judge the religion by the actions of a few, rather judge it by its original scriptures and sources. There are bad apples in every basket."
Adeel Malik, an English teacher and one of the directors of educational group 'Discover Islam Hong Kong', said, there had been several cases of Muslim women wearing religious clothing such as hijabs or niqabs in Hong Kong being targeted with comments about links to extremism, prompting Muslim groups to be more proactive in raising awareness of their religion among non-Muslims in the city.
The letter was issued after recent reports that ISIS group was extending its branches to recruit Indonesian migrant workers, OnIslam reported.
Taking a step-forward, the groups offered the letter to give the wider community a glimpse into Muslims’ beliefs.
Hong Kong's chief imam, Mohammad Arshad, said local Muslims were shocked with the news stories "because it was unexpected and still most of them do not believe that ISIS could reach here".
Estimates put the number of Muslims in Hong Kong between 200,000 and 250,000. About 100,000 are from Indonesia and the rest come from all over the world, including large populations from Pakistan, Bangladesh and West Africa.
Only 20,000 or so are Hong Kong citizens.
SM/IINA
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