The Muslims world over stood saddened by the terrorist attacks on Mumbai which started in the night of November 25 and continued for over 60 hours. They have strongly condemned this beastly act and demanded fair, unbiased probe into it.
A joint statement of Indian Muslim leaders issued on November 27 said, “We unconditionally and with all force at our command condemn this beastly act and consider it a crime of most serious nature. We demand that the perpetrators and planners must be caught and brought to justice at the earliest.
“We observe that such a massive attack which requires a lot of preparation as well as massive material and logistic support, cannot take place without the involvement of some high placed power or backer.
“We take this opportunity to specially send our condolences to the families of the brave policemen including the Maharashtra ATS chief who laid down their lives serving the country. They deserve our highest appreciation and must be duly rewarded for the same by a grateful nation.
“We urge all at this fateful hour to rise above politics, unitedly face this threat and refrain from using it for petty political ends.
“We request the authorities not to rush to any conclusion as became a routine in the past and to take their time to patiently probe this matter taking into account the various local and foreign powers, including foreign intelligence agencies, which may benefit from chaos and insecurity in our beloved country.”
The joint statement was signed by Syed Jalaluddin Ansar Umari, Amir, Jamaat-Islami Hind, Saiyid Hamid, Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard, Mahmood Madni, MP and Leader, Jamiat Ulama-e Hind, Syed Shahabuddin, ex-MP, Shahid Siddiqui, General Secretary, Bahujan Samaj Party, Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan, President, All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, Navaid Hamid, General Secretary, Movement for the Empowerment of Muslim Indians, and Dr SQR Ilyas, Member, All India Muslim Personal Law Board.
Mr Nusrat Ali, Secretary General, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind condemned in severest terms the terror attacks in Mumbai. He demanded a high-level enquiry into these attacks so that the culprits might be brought to book soon.
Condoling the demise of those who were killed in this terrorist and subversive act, and extending his sympathy with their near and dear ones as well as those rendered injured, the Secretary-General said, “We are deeply grieved with these killings and share their feelings at this critical hour.”
In a statement released on November 27, the JIH Secretary-General further said that the organised manner of attacks, in which some high police officials including ATS chief Hemant Karkare were done to death, points to some deep and well-planned conspiracy.
“As the disclosures Maharashtra ATS had made in the recent days and the manner in which their investigation was going on were of paramount significance, the killing of ATS chief and his colleagues at this point of time is enough to lead to the ambitions of the terrorists,” he added.
The Secretary-General expressed his concern that the terror incidents taking place in big cities and different other places in the country have landed the common people in a state of fear and terror as well as put a question mark on the law and order situation in the country. He has demanded from the Governments at the Centre and in the States to pay attention toward further tightening the law and order system.
The Jamaat leader called upon the political parties to keep from levelling charges on one another at this hour of trial, and to strive together to get the country rid of the situation it has been confronted with.
He appealed to the media to show responsible behaviour in airing such crucial incidents, because without investigation blaming some organisations would create wrong signals among the people and it would also influence the whole process of investigation.
He also appealed to the people of Mumbai, especially Muslims, to come forward at this hour of trial and perform their religious and moral duties, in extending every sort of relief to the injured.
Bishruddin Sharqy, President Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), condemned the terror strikes in Mumbai in the strongest possible terms and conveyed the most sincere condolences to the families of innocent civilians and police officers killed and injured in the attacks.
In a press statement he strongly demanded the Government must ensure that police enquiry into the incident must not be limited to the direction of emails and SMS claiming terror operations. The government should ensure that the culprits don’t escape and they are brought soon to justice. Though there are more reasons to believe that politics of polarising two major communities of India might have played behind the curtains, there has been a biased enquiry in many of the recent bombings. He reiterated that if the real culprits are not being hunted soon, it would only result in destabilising our country. He also raised apprehensions that at a time when “new caste and religion” of terrorism is being exposed and old rhetoric being demolished, there are chances of the Mumbai terror incidences being an act of a group of people who wants to divert the latest enquiries. He strongly demanded the authorities that the culprits behind the heinous crime must be demonstrated unmasked before the public.
“It is a crisis situation in our country and we all need to stand bravely united, said Maulana Badruddin Ajmal in a press statement on November 27. Maulana Ajmal, president of Assam United Democratic Front (AUDF) and Markazul Ma’arif (NGO) expressed his anguish over the terror attacks and cautioned all political parties to restrain from blame-game politics at least till all the facts about the attacks are on the table.
He said. “It is still not clear who the actual perpetrators were and what could have been their motives. Thus media and investigating agencies must not hurry to the conclusion. The terrorists whosoever they may be, are simply our enemy and the nation demands severe punishment for their crimes, he said.
Indian Muslim Council-USA (IMC-USA), an advocacy group dedicated towards safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, denounced in strongest possible terms the terror attacks in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. IMC-USA empathized with the families of victims, and police officers killed in the attacks.
Rasheed Ahmed, President of IMC-USA said: “The perpetrators of these crimes against humanity should be captured and punished to the maximum extent of the law.”
IMC-USA has called on the Indian government to find ways to increase the safety and security of ordinary citizens as well as provide immediate and adequate compensation to all the victims of this carnage. Recent years have witnessed an alarming growth in the number of groups committing mindless acts of violence against innocent civilians. In the past few months alone there has been a string of bomb blasts in many cities, ethnic cleansing and targeting of minorities, police harassment and scapegoating of innocent civilians and fake encounter killings. “The Home Minister is responsible for this widespread deterioration of law and order and security situation and should be held accountable,” stated Rasheed Ahmed.
The current attack also highlights the lapse in the intelligence gathering of the different law enforcement agencies. “More than two dozen terrorists seem to have let loose a string of blasts and shootings in different locations; a coordinated attack on this scale with the number of people involved points to a major failure on the part of the intelligence agencies”, he further added.
IMC-USA also called on the Indian government to set up a high level commission to investigate the increasing scourge of violence and terrorism in the country and ways to engage the civil society in effectively curbing this menace.
Other prominent Indian-American leaders also unequivocally condemned the coordinated terrorist attacks in Mumbai as “crimes against humanity.”
“We appeal to all Indians to stay united and foil the evil designs of the terrorists whose main objective is to fan the flames of discord and hatred. We urge the political parties not to exploit these terrorist acts for political purposes.
“We are alarmed over the sophistication and military level planning seen in these coordinated attacks and on the failure of the intelligence agencies in preventing such a huge and widespread attack. We demand that the federal and state governments bring the perpetrators of these actions to justice swiftly,” they said.