This is not Islam.

Yesterday the country was in shock when a picture of a Sydney boy, holding the head of a decapitated soldier, went viral.

The picture was posted by the boy’s father and captioned with the words “that’s my boy.”

The boy was the eldest son of Sharrouf, a suspected war criminal and terrorist, who is wanted by Australian Federal Police over his crimes in Syria and Iraq. The father and son fled Australia and are believed to have travelled into Syria last year.

Sharrouf belongs to the jihadist group ISIS (also known as ISIL and formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria), the organisation responsible for trapping tens of thousands of members of a religious minority on a mountain in Iraq’s north last week.

Bloodshed and brutality have become synonymous with ISIS.

A Muslim community leader appeared on Today yesterday condemning the group and their actions.

What Keysar Trad wants the word to understand is that ISIS are not representative of Islam.

“They have nothing to do with Islam,” he said. “No matter what they proclaim.”

Trad unequivocally said, “There is nothing holy about that war… Muslim leaders from all around the world have condemned that group as being a brutal bunch of thugs and murderers.”

Islam is an incredibly misunderstood religion – especially when extremists such as those in ISIS commit atrocities in the name of their faith. To hear a Muslim leader speaking out so strongly, should do much to dispel the concerns that some people have about the religion.

Trad continued, saying that Muslim leaders worldwide had “clearly and openly declared that working with this group is an act of murder, it’s an act of brutality.”

He further advised that, “We should not give them labels they enjoy, we should just label them as brutal thugs and murderers – and this is what they are.”

“This group is not representative of Islam, they have nothing to do with Islam, they are just after their own political agenda,” Trad continued. “They are now using children which is very shocking and appalling… and deserves every condemnation.”

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Western women are being recruited to join militant groups in Syria and Iraq.