The Hindu : International : Spanish Muslims condemn terrorist acts

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 12, 2005

International

International

Spanish Muslims condemn terrorist acts

By Vaiju Naravane

MADRID, MARCH 11. This morning, I was awakened by the sound of bells. Church bells that rang with a deep, sorrowing sound gripping the city of Madrid in a grieving embrace. There are 650 churches in this city and their bells tolled in unison at the appointed hour.

It was 7.37 a.m. The exact hour at which the first of 10 bombs exploded on Madrid's suburban trains, exactly a year ago. Nearly 200 people died in those terrorist blasts and 1,900 were injured.

Now, a year on, Spain was remembering its dead. Politicians and city authorities stood in quiet reflection as the church bells rang.

Throughout the day today there were remembrance meetings, church ceremonies and flower-laden trips to the city's cemeteries. Dignitaries, including the U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and the Spanish King Juan Carlos, attended the opening of a park of remembrance in central Madrid and assisted in planting 192 cypress and olive trees in memory of the 191 blast victims and a policeman who died in a raid on a suspect's flat in early April. At 8 p.m. a funeral mass was held at Madrid's Almudena Cathedral.

Television channels broadcast special footage including a docu-fiction re-creating the blasts. Many of those who survived are still struggling with the physical and psychological consequences and are embittered by the politicking that has dominated the months-long investigation into the blasts. Pilar Manjon, head of the victims' association said today that Spain "lacks the political will for the truth to emerge."

Spanish newspapers carried several pages of analysis, comment and reportage on the subject. "Spain will never forget the victims of March 11," was the underlying message. Today was also a day for reconciliation and brotherhood between the estranged Moroccan and Spanish communities. There has been notable tension and heightened suspicion towards the Moroccans, since most of those detained by the Spanish authorities were immigrants from Morocco. Spain's Islamic Commission, however, tried to downplay these tensions, thanking Spaniards for the "exemplary" way in which they have made a distinction between Islam and terrorism after the attacks in Madrid.

Fatwa against Osama

In a surprise move, the commission issued a fatwa against the Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The five-page fatwa declared Osama "outside Islam" and added "Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and all those who try to justify terrorism by basing it on the holy Koran are outside Islam." The fatwa said "the terrorist acts" of Al-Qaeda and its leader "are totally forbidden and the object of strong condemnation by Islam."

The commission called on Spain's imams to firmly condemn terrorism in their mosques and to pray for all the victims of the attacks. "We feel deep and strong solidarity with the victims and their loved ones who have shown an exemplary attitude by never pointing a finger at the country's Muslim population," the commission's secretary-general, Riay Tatary, said.

An international conference on "Democracy, Terrorism and Security" that ended here yesterday, concluded that spreading democracy and boosting international cooperation are priorities in fighting terrorism.

The U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, who unveiled a global strategy for fighting terrorism, called on member states to support a proposed fund to promote democracy around the world. "We are going to need money, and that will have to come from Governments," he said, calling on member states "to give willingly so that we can tackle this scourge."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

A global strategy for fighting terrorism

Shia-Kurd pact, a setback to U.S.

Khan issue generates heat in Pakistan

China objects to U.S. remark on anti-secession law

Africa panel report urges rich nations to double aid

Israel subverting law on outposts, says report

Spanish Muslims condemn terrorist acts

Bush loses support on social security

New Zealand fears pandemic

Accuser describes "molestation" by Jackson

"Aid must not create parallel channels"

Clinton in good spirits

Plane standoff ends

India, U.K. troops begin aid exercise

Tension on Bangladesh border