The Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat community in Malta has strongly condemned the attack on a Baghdad church by extremists on Sunday.

The attack resulted in the death of 58 Christian worshipers, including three priests.

The Ahmadiyya Community said it believed in the Quranic teaching of freedom of faith and worship that: “There should be no compulsion in religion”.

It believed in human dignity and condemned killing for any reason whatsoever - there is no place in Islam for violence, it said adding that Islam strongly establishes freedom of belief and worship and urged protection of places of worship of all faiths.

The community said Muslims were commanded to honour human dignity, and in the early times of Islam when Muslims were given permission for defensive wars, it was forbidden to kill religious leaders – priests or rabbis – in their respective places of worship, and to attack and demolish places of worship.

Muslims were made to promise that they would also help defend the followers of other faiths from unjust and cruel attacks.

“As members of the Ahmadiyya Community, we call on all Muslims to follow the example of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and work to live in harmony with our non-Muslim brothers and sisters.

“We, the members of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat express our condolences to the victims' families in this difficult time and hope for swift action against the perpetrators of this heinous, inhuman and barbaric act.

“And we pray to God the Almighty that He makes this world a haven of peace, tolerance, harmony, liberty and universal brotherhood,” they said.