Head of Georgian Church: Terrorism ‘has Nothing to Do with Religion’

In his Sunday sermon, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, paid tribute to the victims of the Paris terror attacks, and also said that terrorism “has nothing to do” with Islam .

“There is a struggle between good and evil,” he said. “This [struggle] has always been ongoing, but it has been intensified recently… You know that a plane was blown up and we also extend our sympathy to the French people – there were lots of casualties [in Paris terror attacks]. We pray for them. There are people who relate these [terrorist acts] to religion, Islam, but in fact religion has nothing to do with it; a person expresses evil will.”

“Let the victims rest in peace and may god give health to those who were wounded, we extend our condolences to the families of the victims,” the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church said in his sermon in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.

In a statement on November 14, the Georgian Muslims’ Directorate condemned terrorist acts. “This is a crime directed not only against the French people, but also against the humanity, which has nothing to with any of the religion and which has no justification whatsoever,” it said.

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