Rouhani refutes relations between terrorism and Islam

The president has underlined the necessity of coalesced efforts by the international community to combat terrorist movements, stressing that terrorists have nothing to do with Islam.

"In is a pity that many terrorist groups are operating under the rubric of Islam, but their ideology and conduct bear no affinity to Islam,” the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday, in a meeting with new Kenyan ambassador to Tehran Ruqyah Ahmad Sabu.

The meeting was held for the Kenyan official to submit her credentials to the Iranian president.

The President said the heinous crimes committed at the hands of terrorist groups, including Boko Haram, has drawn global condemnation from people all across the world.

Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is forbidden,” control vast swathes of Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State and a number of areas in neighboring Adamawa and Yobe states.

The notorious terrorists group says its goal is to overthrow the Nigerian government. The terrorist group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of Nigeria since the beginning of its operations in 2009, which have claimed lives of thousands of people.

The Iranian president further described Kenya as an important and influential country in East Africa, calling for the further enhancement of all-out ties between Tehran and Nairobi.

The Kenyan official, for her part, expressed her country’s willingness to expand relations with the Islamic republic in tourism and development sectors.