Russian Muslims condemn and denounce the terrorist attacks in Mumbai

Muslims of Russia strongly condemn and denounce the terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The leader of regional Islamic organization from the city of Nizhniy Novgorod Gayaz Zakirov expressed the mourning and condolence to the families of the victims of the massacre in the business capital of India.  

Gayaz Zakirov: "We've just passed the two-month mark since the world was shocked by the explosion of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, when the innocent people died. And now we are witnessing the new bloody crime in India. There are hundreds of victims again, including the women and children. Someone sacrificed their lives for the sake of his political ambitions. Who is behind this crime? Right now the authorities are trying to find it out. Whatever will be the result of the investigation I can say for sure that the people who performed this satanic act are not the Muslims whoever they claim to be. They are not the human but the animal beings, which use the religion as a mask to hide their origin and to fool people. They wish to destroy the relations between Muslims and Hindus, Pakistan and India. They wish to destroy the peace in the region. Those murderers can't call themselves Muslims, because the killing of the innocent person is considered the biggest crime in Islam".

I am sure that the organizers and the executors of this brutal multi-day killing spree that left more than 200 dead and close to 400 severely wounded will be found and punished by law and order. The Muslims of Russia extend their sympathies to the Indian nation and join them in this hour of sadness and anxiety".

Chairman of Council of Ulems of Religious Directorate of Muslims for Nizhniy Novgorod region Umar Idris reacted to the terrorist act in Mumbai in a letter to the ambassador of India in Russian Federation Mr. Prabhat Prakash Shukla:

“Dear Mr. Ambassador!

I am writing this letter to express deep concern about recent terrorist act in Mumbai. We in Russia are shocked by this terrorist attack and I send condolences to the people of India, to the government of the country and to relatives of innocent victims who have to face such dreadful loss.

It’s obvious that this was a military act aimed at throwing a scare onto the people of India and on the friends of your country, especially on those who maintain mutually profitable activity with Indians. Apparently the authors of this terrorist act meant to ruin diplomatic relations with Pakistan that your country was so meticulously establishing throughout recent years.

So-called Islamist group, previously unknown, was immediately presumed to be responsible. Furthermore the media stressed that along with attacks and slaughter in hotels, railway station, cinema, city hospital and residential district they vandalized Jewish center.

The losses could be more tremendous. At a press-conference held soon after the attack Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R. R. Patil said that the investigation showed that terrorist planned to carry out the murder of 5,000 people. The SkyNews informed that when giving the evidence the terrorist taken under arrest, whose name is Mohammad Ajmal Qasam claimed that the group he represented was after “the Indian 9/11”.

As a representative of Russian Muslims I feel my mission is to declare our vision of these events:

- Islam and terrorism are not compatible. Those groups that carry out bombings and slaughter in several places on earth and do it “under the green flags of Islam” are marginal people of our Ummah. They are often used by secret services in Western countries, and in the US in the first place. Muslims all over the world condemn terrorist acts and perceive any action of violence as a source of Islamophobia. And today they ask to find both those who blindly carried the attack in Mumbai out and those who stand behind it.

- Pakistan as a state longing to maintain peaceful relations with India immediately reacted to the events in Mumbai. It means that the terrorists might be of Pakistani origin and might have come from Pakistan indeed, but in no way do they represent the interests of Pakistan and its people. Mumbai-2008 is an obviously provocative act aimed at fueling the tension between the two neighboring states to further develop a site of global conflict in the region. But let us not forget that bad peace is always better than a good war. Peaceful living is precious in all religions whether it be Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Judaism or other faiths.

- Attack of a Jewish center was obviously undertaken as a demonstration act as well. Its goal apparently was to set the global Jewish community against Indians and to provoke a wave of Anti-Semitism. To follow this dreadful logic of events came the murder of European citizens. We want to believe that common theological ground that unites the followers of monotheistic faiths would turn out to be stronger than these disturbances. We must apply every effort to prevent the image of India being distorted into an image of a place equally dangerous for Jews, Europeans, Hinduists, Muslims, tourists and investors.

- Mass media play a major part in forming the public opinion. And what we see today is an attempt to create the “Indian 9/11”. Many people were left dead, but the number of victims could be larger. However there are still more victims of the mass media! Cynically, acts of terror use scenes of violence in order to provoke global concern and wide discussion literally in every home and by everyone. And so we ask all mass media to develop a positive approach to covering such actions and to work as a media-screen against terror. It is our duty to clear the methods of modern media-terrorism and to give a worthy and professional alternative to it.

- It is quite evident that the gist of these events concerns the India’s recent success: it now is one of the four countries, including Brasil, Russia and China (BRIC), which are believed to be the ones most resistant to the global financial crisis originating from the USA. A stroke on India should be treated as a rearguard action of that retiring system of a unipolar world that is based on injustice and supremacy of a hyped-up economy system. It was also a stroke on other BRIC countries, including Russia. Relations between India and Russia are intensively developing in all spheres of cooperation and both of our countries need this business exchange. We are inspired by the very first monument of Russian-Indian relations, travel notes by Afanasy Nikitin «The 1466-1472 Voyage over The Three Seas» and also by initiative of Russian Foreign Ministry to establish Council of religion at the UN which could give promt and acute responses to the challenges of our time.

- The visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to India scheduled for early December has every reason to be the most important event for our two countries and the region upon the whole. These two years – 2008 and 2009 – are of special importance for bilateral dialogue since they are announced as the Year of Russia in India and the Year of India in Russia.

Upon finishing this letter I should say that as Russian citizens and Muslims we should make everything we can to support our Indian brothers now. We pray for you and will continue developing our relations and no acts of terrorism should restrain us from that. Amen.

Sincerely,

Chairman of Council of Ulems of Religious Directorate of Muslims for Nizhniy Novgorod region

Umar Idris”