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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