Muslim leaders are condemning the Orlando mass shooting
The shooter, Omar Mateen, pledged allegiance to ISIS Saturday night during a 911 call, and a news organization affiliated with the terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nihad Awad, executive director and founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, called ISIS "an aberration," and said he had "a word for ISIS and their supporters."
"You do not speak for us. You do not represent us. You are an aberration," he said at a press conference in Washington DC.
He continued: "They never belonged to this beautiful faith. They claim to, but 1.7 billion people are united in rejecting their extremism, their interpretation and their acts of senseless violence."
Meanwhile, the Orlando regional coordinator of the council's Florida chapter issued the following statement:
Rizwan Jaka, executive officer of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, said his organization condemns the attack and "rejects any possible motive."
"This attack that happened in Orlando should not be used to vilify or stereotype peaceful, law-abiding Muslims in America. Islam absolutely condemns and forbids terrorism and extremism," he said at the Washington press conference.
Here are some of the statements from American Muslim groups: