PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Muslim leaders in Philadelphia are apologizing for an event last month at which children were captured on video speaking in Arabic about beheadings and the liberation of Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site.
The Muslim American Society's Philadelphia chapter and the Leaders Academy, a gathering space for cyberschooled children, issued a joint statement Wednesday saying "the mistake is ours to own."
A video uploaded to the chapter's Facebook page shows children moving to a revolutionary anthem often used by Islamist groups, and two young girls reading from a prepared text. One says, "We will chop off their heads, and we will liberate the ... Al-Aqsa Mosque."
The statement says a volunteer aide selected the material and "feels terrible that she made a mistake." The groups say that steps have been taken to make sure there isn't a repeat.
