SPECIAL MEDIA REPORT - INDIA'S MUSLIMS STAND UP AGAINST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 003065 SIPDIS STATE FOR NP, AC, PM STATE FOR INR/MR STATE FOR SCA/INS, PM/CBM, PM/PRO STATE FOR SCA/PPD, PA/RRU STATE FOR AID/APRE-A USDOC FOR 4530/IEP/ANESA/OSA FOR BILL MURPHY E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL IN SUBJECT: SPECIAL MEDIA REPORT - INDIA'S MUSLIMS STAND UP AGAINST TERRORISM ¶1. SUMMARY: In an unprecedented show of solidarity against terrorism, Muslims from Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and several other leading cities across India, have condemned the Mumbai terror attack and are gearing up to oppose all those who spread terror in the name of Islam. Unequivocally condemning the Mumbai carnage, Muslim clerics are saying that the bodies of the terrorists who carried out the Mumbai attacks should be "thrown into the sea" rather than buried in their cemeteries. End summary. -- MUSLIM BODIES TO ORGANIZE PROTEST RALLY ON DEC 8 ¶2. THE TIMES OF INDIA reported today that as a first step, some Muslim organizations from Mumbai will jointly organize a silent rally-from the Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus [Mumbai rail station] to the Oberoi-Trident Hotel on December 8. The theme of the rally: "Killers of innocents are enemies of Islam." ¶3. "There will be no slogans, no speeches. No organizations will claim credit for it. It will be a spontaneous act by Mumbai's Muslims," said Javed Anand, co-editor, Communalism Combat. Anand said the rally would feature two huge banners, saying, "Hamare watan ke dushman, hamare dushman (Our motherland's enemies are our enemies) and begunahon ke qatil, Islam ke dushman (Killers of innocents are enemies of Islam)." ¶4. Perhaps for the first time, Muslim protesters will identify some individuals and organizations that have been publicly declared as enemies of secular-democratic India. Under the banner of an initiative called Muslims Against Terror, the protest will identify al-Qaida, Osama bin Laden, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hafiz Saeed of Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Masood Azhar of Jaish-e-Mohammed, Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI),Indian Mujahideen and the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) as "enemies of India", the report said. ¶5. Meanwhile, the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board member Kamal Farooqui, who is organizing a simultaneous rally in Delhi, said community members needed to come out against all Muslim terror outfits as it would send a positive message. Apart from Mumbai and Delhi, similar protests are being organized in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow and Faizabad. Many more cities are expected to join the protest. ¶6. Many Muslims feel that the fatwas against terrorism, issued by several reputed Islamic seminaries, including Darul Uloom Deoband, have been ineffective, so the time has come to confront the hate brigade openly. -- EXPRESSIONS OF CONDEMNATION FROM MUSLIM LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS: ¶7. The Imams, under the banner of All-India Organization of Imams of Mosques, New Delhi asked Muslims to celebrate a "simple" Eid-ul-Adha and wear black ribbons to express their grief and solidarity. They described the Mumbai carnage as an attack on the nation, and appealed to all the mosques, muftis and madrassas to reiterate in this week's Friday prayers that Islam forbids the killing of innocent people and is against any form of terrorism. "We are deeply aggrieved by the loss of human lives and especially by the brutal killing of Jews," they said in a statement. "We have to think above caste, class, region and religion. It's an attack on India and all true Indians should come forward and salute the martyrs who NEW DELHI 00003065 002 OF 003 sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country," it said. ¶8. Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi, chief of All-India Muslim Personal Law Board and rector of Nadwatul Ulema, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh condemned those linking terrorism with Islam, saying that "the two are completely incompatible." ¶9. Maulana Salim Qasmi, vice president of All-Indian Muslim Personal Law Board and rector of the Darul Uloom Waqf [a prominent Islamic seminary], said that if Pakistan's involvement is firmly proved, the government should take stern action against it. ¶10. Maulana Arshad Madani, president of a faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind [a leading socio-religious Muslim organization] called for a thorough and impartial probe into the Mumbai terror attack, and urged the government to take up the issue firmly with Pakistan if it has concrete evidence. Madani suspected that certain international forces could be behind the attack. ¶11. Maulana Khalid Rashid Firanga Mahali, member of All-India Muslim Personal Law Board and the Naib Imam [deputy priest] of Aishbagh Idgah, Lucknow, observed that politicians should deal with terrorism with an iron hand, as going soft on terror is not something that the Muslim community wants. Politicians must realize that terrorists don't discriminate on religious lines, he said. Condemning the federal government's proposal to invite the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief to help in the Mumbai blast probe, he said "it is like asking the burglar to be the sheriff." ¶12. Maulana Mufti Abul Irfan Firangi Mahali, head of the Idara Sharia [a leading religious Muslim organization] and Shahar Mufti [city Islamic judge], Lucknow said, those terrorists who targeted innocent people, deserved to be killed, per the tenets of Islam. "Don't call these terrorists or mercenaries of death Muslims, because Islam preaches peace and universal brotherhood," he said, adding that terrorism is an act of cowardice and is anti-Islamic. ¶13. Syed Ahmad Bukhari, Imam, Jama Masjid [main mosque], Delhi termed the terrorist attack on Mumbai as unfortunate and blasted the government for its failure in maintaining law and order and security of the country and the people. ¶14. Maulana Mufti Mukarram, Imam, Fatehpuri Masjid, Delhi condemned the attack and expressed his sympathies with those killed in the terror attack. He said, on the one hand India is achieving success in its moon mission, but on the other hand we are losing the grip over the security of our motherland. ¶15. Intezar Naim, general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, New Delhi condemned the terrorist activities in Mumbai. He demanded an investigation into the killing of the Anti-Terror Squad chief in Mumbai. ¶16. Syed Moinuddin Ashraf, president of Jamia Qadriya Ashrafiya madrassa, Mumbai, said: "These people (Mumbai terrorists) should be buried where they came from. There is no space for them on our holy land." ¶17. Several Muslim clerics such as Syed Hyder Raza, hailing from Bijnour in Uttar Pradesh, Gulam Rassol Noor from Jammu and Kashmir and others said the dead bodies of the terrorists, who carried out the deadly attacks in Mumbai, should be thrown into the sea to be NEW DELHI 00003065 003 OF 003 eaten by the sharks. ¶18. A.R. Kidwai, Governor of the Indian state of Haryana, underlined the need for cementing ties between India and Pakistan. Condemning the Mumbai mayhem, he heaped praise on Muslim organizations which did not provide land to bury bodies of the terrorists. ¶19. Mohammed Mansoor Ali Qadami, general secretary of the All India Sunni Jamiat-ul-Ulema said, the entire Muslim community condemned the attacks. No religion preaches the killing of innocent people. He also called for strict punishment for anyone who had a role in the attacks. "They should be given the severest punishment so that no one ever dares repeat such a thing." ¶20. Maulana Naimur Rehman, president of the Ulema Council of India, demanded firm action against terrorists in order to restore faith of people in effective governance. ¶21. Students of the Jamia Millia Islamia [a prominent majority-Muslim university in Delhi] condemned the acts of violence. They said the new breed of urban terrorists had managed to spread a web of fear in the country. ¶22. Almost all important Muslim religious leaders from India's eastern region, including those from the cities of Kolkata, Ranchi and Patna, condemned the Mumbai attacks. They said "We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on Mumbai, and we want the government to take stringent steps against the terrorists, and we want fair investigation into it. Terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, and Muslims can't be terrorists." ¶23. COMMENT: By denouncing the Mumbai incident in the harshest possible terms, India's Muslim community has, by and large, once again demonstrated their anti-terror credentials. As one of India's leading Hindi-language newspapers NAVBHARAT TIMES commented, "India's Muslims are not going to play into the hands of terrorists, they are the strength of the Indian nation." MULFORD