July 08, 2005
Middle East Condemns The London Terror Attacks
I have nothing personal I can add to the terror attacks in London that would be significant. Suffice to say that for many people this matches the level of abhorrence reached during The World Trade Center attacks and Spain’s bombing. England has now had it’s own 9/11. It would be pointless to go into descriptions of haw many died and/or were injured. I cannot speculate as to the precise individuals responsible either. At this point all I can do is present the Middle East countries that have denounced this act.
Saudi Arabia states that all Arab countries need to step up against terror:
Riyadh "reiterates that ... the international community must step up efforts to combat the terrorism scourge, which now threatens our security and the security of all our peoples," the source said.
Yemen expresses full solidarity with England:
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Baker al-Kurbi stressed that the "Yemeni government and people denounce such acts which target innocent civilians.""The Yemeni people express full solidarity with the British people and the government approves any measures to be taken by our British friends in squashing terrorism," he added.
United Arab Emirates makes a condemnation:
In the United Arab Emirates, Deputy Prime Minister Sheik Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahyan said, "the UAE condemns strongly such ugly crimes and declares its full solidarity with the British government."
Syria and Lebanon made statements against the attacks:
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called the attacks as "despicable" while Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said his country "shares Britain's pain."
The Lebanese president went on to say:
"Terrorism is an evil that opposes human values and principles. Lebanon, which was the victim of violence for many years, shares the sufferings of the British people," Lahoud said in a statement.
Israel has offered trauma assistance:
The Israel Psychotrauma Center of Jerusalem's Herzog Hospital immediately offered the British assistance in helping trauma victims of the terror attacks.A team headed by psychologist Dr. Danny Brom went to New York after the Twin Tower terror attacks, Turkey after their earthquakes, Beslan in the former Soviet Union after the terror attack on a school and Southeast Asia in the wake of the deadly tsunami.
Palestine's many factions condemned the bombings:
joined an unbroken chorus of condemnation, as did the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslim Hizbollah guerrillas.
Hamas condemned this??
Iran believes violence is not the answer:
In Tehran, a spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, Hamidreza Asefi, expressed his condolences for the victims and their relatives and said terrorism was inappropriate for achieving any aims.
Kuwait claims these terror attacks are against all human norms:
Kuwait denounced the "terrorist" attacks in a letter to Blair from Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who is currently in the United States."These terrorist attacks which target innocent lives are against all human norms and values," the Kuwaiti premier said in the letter.
Turkey pledged their cooperation:
Turkey, another Middle East victims of terror attacks, denounced the attacks and pledged cooperation in the fight against terrorism, said Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul.
Afghanistan calls it a despicable attack:
The Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, said he was shocked by the news, which he said was a "despicable attack".
Pakistan condemns the attacks:
"It is with a sense of profound grief that, I have learnt of the shocking news of the explosions in Central London, bringing injury, death and devastation to innocent people," President Musharraf said. "We strongly condemn this act terrorism."
Iraq gives a warning:
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the explosions that hit London proved that terrorism was an global plague that could strike anywhere. "What is happening in Iraq can happen in any country," Talabani, whose country is the scene of daily insurgent bombings, said."I'm telling my Arab brothers that terrorism today in Iraq will tomorrow affect other Arab countries, as has already happened in Yemen and Saudi Arabia."
As an additional note, China has condemned these attacks as well:
"Anyone who launches terrorist attacks and causes casualties of civilians should be resolutely condemned, regardless of his or her purpose," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.
It appears that all of the governments have shown their heartfelt sympathies. It could be that the news is so saturated with this story that the voices of imams everywhere are not being heard over the leaders of countries, but I was unable to locate any quotes by any religious leaders save for the pope. I'm fairly confident this is simply a reporting oversight.
Great reporting, I doubt that we will be hearing from the Imams, just as I doubt the sincerety of the comments from most of the middle-eastern countries and totally disbelieve the statement from Hamas.
Posted by: GM Roper at July 8, 2005 05:05 AMI'm not sure I would doubt the sincerety of all of the commentators - If only out of self-preservation. I mean, Iran must be thinking to itself: "Holy Crap, if this continues we are going to get invaded."
Posted by: Michael Marden at July 8, 2005 05:58 AMGreat reporting...I agree. Its good vs. evil pure and simple.
Posted by: Jay at July 8, 2005 06:55 AMNuke Mecca.
Posted by: Ogre at July 8, 2005 07:06 AMExcellent post Jeremy, and I agree with Jay. It's about good vs evil.
I too wonder about the sincerity of some.
God help us put an end to every form of terrorism, and God save America!
I think that denouncing the terrorist attacks in London was the diplomatic thing to do, but I do not doubt for a moment that there are two sides of the coin: that which is said, and that which is done. The Saudis for one ought to condemn it, and they damn well ought to apologize, too. They started this whole mess in 1979 when they caved in to Wahhabists. Alas, I wish it were not so, but I do suspect the motives of these people who are now speaking out against a condition they helped to perpetuate.
Posted by: Mustang at July 8, 2005 06:22 PMTalk is cheap. Furthermore, though I cannot cite chapter and verse, the Koran allows for such posturing as a diversionary tactic, a tactic to lull Westerners so that militant Islam can continue its conquest of the world.
Posted by: Always On Watch at July 9, 2005 03:34 PMI won't hold my breath while you 'find' that verse Always On Watch...
But if you're interested in religious leaders that condemned the bombings, try the Grand Shaykh of al-Azhar (as well as Yusuf al-Qaradawi) reported here, not to mention the joint statement put out by the CofE and Muslim leaders, as well as the Muslim Council of Britain, reported here. Leading Lebanese Shiite Muslim scholar Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah expressed outrage, reported here. I could go on and on, but I wouldn't want to post a telephone directory sized comment.
Posted by: Maryam at July 10, 2005 09:16 PMI hate to be a party pooper, but my most obvious observation is that among all these "condemnations" only one has outwardly offered assistance. I want to see one of these Middle Easterners raking through the rubble for the deceased and overtly cooperating by doing more than just arresting someone they intend to release when the heat blows over. This doesn't go for all the Middle East countries nor all its people, but definately the majority of them.
After all, these are the same people who condemned the World Trade Center/Pentagon attacks too. Just observe their behavior after the fact and you have your answer.
Posted by: at July 11, 2005 08:08 AMSorry - that last post was me.
Posted by: Oyster at July 11, 2005 08:09 AMWho is going to do the arresting? I thought the word on the street that it was home-grown terrorists that were responsible?
Of course, other local Muslims have different priorities than whoever bombed London. Raifan Alfazi: "When the incident happened, people from the mosque went to the hospital and offered help. They offered the use of the mosque if the hospital did not have enough space..." (Link).
Or, in the words of a "Muslim surgeon at one of London's top hospitals involved in the post-attack emergency operations summed up the situation. ... 'Our worst nightmare has come true,' he told the BBC. 'I truly hope nobody has the gall to say that this was done in the name of Islam.'
Given that Muslims were killed too, I'm sure that more than one 'Middle Eastener' is desperately searching for their loved ones.
Of course, there’s been a history of saying one thing in English and another in Arabic. This has been common in the past. Perhaps if we continue to see such denunciations on memri.org we might give them greater weight. We see some (http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SR3605) and that’s gratifying. But as of now, they seem to be fearful of a change in attitude in the British public and Tony Blair, who has in the past defended Arafat and similar characters, than a broad condemnation that includes attacks against Americans, Israelis, Russians and others.
Posted by: Jason Pappas at July 11, 2005 03:23 PM