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AMP Report - March 6, 2007
American Muslim groups condemns
attacks on Shi'a pilgrims in Iraq
American Muslim organizations today condemned a pair of suicide attacks in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq, which killed at least 149 Shi'a pilgrims and left another 200 wounded.
According to agency reports, the attacks took place near a rest tent set up in the town of Hilla to provide food for pilgrims, who were walking by foot to Karbala to commemorate the end of a 40-day mourning period following the anniversary of the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussain.
The attacks are just the latest in a long string of deliberate violence against Shi'a pilgrims and their holy sites, including the destruction of the "Golden Dome" in Samarra in February 2006.
The American Muslim Voice (AMV) denounced the cowardly attacks and expressed profound condolences to the grieved families. The AMV Executive Director Samina Faheem Sundas called for urgent talks in US for unity in the Muslim community.
In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said: "We condemn these cowardly attacks on innocent pilgrims and demand that the perpetrators be apprehended and brought to justice. There can be no justification or excuse for these obvious attempts to divide the Iraqi people along sectarian lines.
"The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: 'A Muslim is the brother of (every other) Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down on him. . .All things of a (fellow) Muslim are inviolable for his brother in faith; his blood, his wealth and his honor.' We call on our brothers and sisters in Iraq to reach out to one another in a spirit of unity and mutual respect and to begin a process of national reconciliation."
In a statement Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) Executive Director Salam Al-Marayati said: "We grieve with the families of those who have been senselessly killed and pray for much-needed security and protection for the Iraqi people. We will not allow this unbridled violence to invade our shores, since it is in our hands to create a different reality than the one that we see on our TV screens."
The MPAC called on American Muslim leaders of all backgrounds to condemn both attacks in order to make clear that they reject such sectarian violence and division.
Last week, MPAC held a meeting in Los Angeles with prominent Muslim American leaders of various backgrounds to formulate a unified stand against sectarian divisions in their mosques. During that meeting, the leaders committed to the creation of a "Code of Honor" among all American Muslims which would disallow the practice of "takfir" (judging other Muslims as "nonbelievers"), and call on leaders to refrain from insulting historical figures held dear by other Muslims (namely the family and companions of the Prophet). Later this month, a group of prominent American Muslim leaders will gather to formally launch the "Code of Honor".
The MPAC said that as the occupying force, the U.S. is responsible for security of civilian populations. “With the four-year mark of the Iraq war looming, MPAC calls on the Bush administration to engage immediately with regional powers -- including Iran, Syria and Jordon -- to address the security threats which are behind the brutal civil war gaining intensity in Iraq each day” the MPAC statement concluded.
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