The people of Afghanistan have suffered decades of multiple wars, invasion, terrorism and violence. We all want to stop and defeat terrorists in Afghanistan, and must remain morally powerful by avoiding excessive force that may harm innocent civilians. We understand the Afghan Government and Defense Forces had coordinated with the coalition on the use of the MOAB to eliminate deep terrorist tunnels with no reports of innocent civilians injured or killed, but remain concerned by potential civilian casualties that major escalations and use of large weapons such as the MOAB could cause in the future. Some people have expressed concerns that Afghanistan and its people should not be a testing ground for massive weaponry. Our moral responsibility reminds us we should act very carefully.
While we support efforts to save civilians from these depraved terrorists, we must never forget that innocent civilian casualties violate American, Islamic and all faith principles. The Afghan people want peace and an end to this violence, and should be partners in rebuilding their own country. Any killing of civilians will only further isolate the very people who can truly help fight terrorists because they suffer most from it. And disregard of civilian casualties will inevitably become a recruitment tool for terrorists. Defeating terror cannot be at the expense of protecting civilians. We must ensure a just peace to fully resolve this bitter conflict, and avoid the Vietnam War paradox of “having to destroy a village in order to save it.”
American Muslims Against ISIS – https://www.adamscenter.org/?p=264
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/not-in-my-name-muslim-community-rallies-against-extremism-isis-paris-attacks/
2015/2016 Interfaith statement on protecting civilians by 150 diverse faith leaders from National Council of Churches, The United Methodist Church, Alliance of Baptists, Pax Christi USA, Catholic Social Justice, Beyt Tikkun Synagogue, Unitarian Universalist Association International Office, and many more: https://www.peacecoalition.org/campaigns/67-interfaith-conference-on-drone-warfare/562-interfaith-conference-on- drone-warfare.html
SAMPLE MESSAGE for your calls:
“We want to see Peace and an end to conflict in Afghanistan, and we want to Defeat terrorists in Afghanistan. HOWEVER, please use careful action and please do NOT use large weapons or excessive force that could cause civilian casualties. We call for redoubling of efforts to protect all innocent civilians.”