100 UK Imams urge Britons not to go to Syria

Some 100 Imams from both Shia and Sunni communities across the United Kingdom have signed a petition calling on British Muslims to refrain from traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight in those countries.

The Muslim clerics made the appeal in an open letter, adding that they share a unified stance in the face of crises plaguing the two Middle Eastern countries.

The clerics advised members of the British Muslim community against falling prey to sectarian divisions and urged them to support the people affected by conflicts in Syria and Iraq in a responsible way.

The appeals come amid concerns by British as well as European officials over the growing national security threat posed by the European militants returning from Syria. Fears are growing that the European militants coming with experience from Syria may carry out terrorist attacks in their home countries.

An estimated 500 Britons have traveled to Syria to fight along the extremist militants there.

Syria has been gripped by deadly violence for more than three years. Over 160,000 people have reportedly been killed and millions of others displaced due to the turmoil fueled by the foreign-backed militants. The West and its regional allies, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey are giving financial and military support to the militants.

In addition, some British militants are also believed to have crossed into Iraq, where violence escalated last month after militants from the terrorist group, the Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), took control of large swathes of the Arab country.