Muslim leader reacts after Sydney church stabbing in Wakeley trends now
Two influential Muslim leaders have criticised stabbing victim Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel over comments he made, which they claim insulted their religion.
The bishop, 53, is in a stable condition in hospital after he was allegedly stabbed by a teen about 7pm Monday while he led a service at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley in what police have called a 'terrorist incident'.
He was captured on the live stream of the church service shouting 'Allahu Akbar' as he stabbed the bishop in the head, neck and torso at least eight times.
Video showed the alleged 16-year-old perpetrator detained by police on the ground inside the church before he spoke in Arabic.
The words are understood to translate to: 'If he didn't swear at my Prophet, I wouldn't be here. If he didn't involve himself in my religion, I wouldn't be here.'
The Australian Muslim social media page, which has more than 2.6million followers, and Mohamed Shaar, who runs the Sydney Ruqyah Centre, have 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 'ran his mouth'.
'What's funny is all those Muslims saying quick recovery, 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 was abusing our prophet and our religion?'
'We condemn the people who do any harm, even to an animal; we don't support any kind of violence in our community, but why haven't you, Mr Politician and Mr Community Leader, said something to him that could have solved the issues?'
'He ran his mouth and said that our Prophet is rotten in a grave. We love our Prophet.
'Leave our religion and Prophet alone.
The alleged 'terrorist attack' on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was streamed on the church's online broadcast
Mohammed Shaar, who has previously courted controversy over his homophobic views , said the bishop had 'ran his mouth' about the prophet Muhammad
The Australian Muslim social media page, which is not to be confused with the Australian Muslim Project, said: 'I'm not justifying the actions of that kid, but the bishop started it'.
'He's been slandering our prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. We Muslims will never ever slander Jesus, peace be upon him.'
The comment sparked mixed responses from followers, and more than 1,000 likes.
'I watched a video of him a couple of days back, he sounded so self consumed and demeaning to other religions. This is very concerning,' one said.
'We need calm, not inflammatory language. We live in a multi cultural society and there will always be people who reject our faith but we should set good examples through our actions,' another said.
'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,' a third said.
A video in the aftermath of Monday night's attack showed the accused teenager pinned on the ground before he said in Arabic he wouldn't be there if the bishop 'didn't insult my prophet ... If he didn't involve himself in my religion.'
The church where Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was attacked as he led a service broke away from the Assyrian Church of the East in 2014 after the bishop was ex-communicated over theological differences.
He himself had gained a significant following on social media where the Christ the Good Shepherd's Facebook and YouTube pages have more than 240,000 followers.
He has delivered some sermons criticising
