A Muslim American congressman says the Islamic State group, which threatened to kill him, is "a collection of liars, murderers, torturers and rapists."
Representative Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, lashed out at the terrorists in a statement Wednesday, saying no Muslim he knew recognized what they preach as Islam.
“The fact that I am on Daesh’s bad side means I am fighting for things like justice, tolerance and a more inclusive world,” Ellison said.
He referred to Islamic State as Daesh — an insulting Arabic acronym for the group.
Islamic State issued death threats this week against a number of people it called “politically active apostates” in the United States, Australia, Britain and Canada.
They included Huma Abedin, an aide to Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Islamic State posted the hit list online along with a picture of a bloodstained knife, and remarks from leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. He said those on the list "will receive amnesty if they “surrender themselves to the Islamic State.”
The president of the Islamic Society of North America, Azhar Aziz, told VOA's Deewa service that he thought the threats were meaningless because anyone who would carry them out was not on U.S. soil.
But Aziz did not entirely dismiss the danger.
"These are a bunch of murderers and criminals who are making these remarks against respected elected officials, leaders like Congressman Keith Ellison and Huma Abedin. I am pretty sure that the law will take its own course. They will be well-protected."
VOA'S Deewa service contributed to this report.
