The APNU+AFC Coalition says while it participated in cordial meetings with members of the Muslim community including the Anna Catherina Islamic Complex (ACIC) the groups did not endorse the coalition.
In a press release, the coalition said during its meeting with the ACIC and its affiliates the groups voiced concerns about a number of issues affecting them and expressed hope that these would be addressed should the APNU+AFC be elected to office. The coalition said it regretted that its press statement suggested that it had received an endorsement from the ACIC, when it should have simply reflected the warm nature of their interaction.
APNU+AFC also regrets “any adverse implications of our interpretation of sentiments expressed at out meeting constituted an ‘endorsement’” and any adverse effect it may have had on the ACIC’s relationship with the wider Muslim community, its donors and partners.
The coalition is grateful to the ACIC for its outstanding attempts to discuss its concerns and those affecting the wider Muslim community and rejects any suggestion that it concocted the notion of endorsement for political purposes. “APNU+AFC is acutely aware that any ‘endorsement’ of our coalition has to be free and voluntary in the democratic environment within which we operate,” the statement said.
