Posted on 07/08/2005 12:59:23 PM PDT by phoenix_004
Thousands of Muslims crowded London mosques for Friday prayers, condemning the bombings, but also wary they could be made scapegoats and fearful of reprisals against their growing and vibrant community. At the East London Mosque, near the site of one of Thursday's attacks, an imam told the 8,000 worshippers to be "confident in our identity" as part of London's multicultural fabric.
The mosque said it had received hate e-mails and a telephone threat to disrupt Friday prayers. A few police officers stood outside during the prayers, which ended peacefully.
Outside, some Muslims said the attacks had made them more cautious on the streets, but others said they were secure in their identity as Londoners - confident of the city's tolerant traditions.
"It will have some impact on people. But this is London, a cosmopolitan city," said student Ali Ayubi. "Maybe after one or two months it will go back to normal."
At the huge brick mosque in an East End neighborhood that's home to many with roots in Pakistan and Bangladesh, imam Sheikh Abdul Qayyum told worshippers that Muslims were "part of the rich diversity of British life."
"At this difficult time, some people in our community may feel insecure purely because they are Muslims, but these terrible events have nothing to do with us. The Muslims of London are victims as much as their fellow citizens," he said.
All of Britain's major Muslim groups condemned the bombings, which killed dozens and wounded more than 700. But some feared they would be blamed for the bombings, which police said bore the hallmarks of al-Qaida.
"This morning I was driving to work and a woman on the radio said she'd had her headscarf pulled. I was shocked, to be honest," said Ahmed Shafi, 31, a grocery store manager. "In this day and age you don't expect that."
Almost 1 million of London's 8 million people are Muslims. They're inseparable from the fabric of the city's society and its history. From the opulent glitz of Harrods department store - owned by Egyptian-born Mohammed al Fayed - to the kebab shops that dot the city's streets, Muslims have long been part of London's glamour and its grit.
Prime Minister Tony Blair stressed that Islam was not the culprit in the bombings.
"We know that these people act in the name of Islam, but we also know that the vast and overwhelming majority of Muslims, here and abroad, are decent and law-abiding people who abhor this act of terrorism every bit as much as we do," he said Thursday.
That message was underscored by Muslims on the streets.
"Many Muslims are British. They have lived here for years. What happens to London happens to them," said Suraiya Zammath, a Bangladeshi woman visiting relatives in London. "This should not be singled out as 'Islamic terrorists.' That destabilizes the community."
Abdul Mukith, a 37-year-old supermarket worker in Brick Lane, the heart of London's Bangladeshi community, agreed.
"What's religion got to do with it?" he asked. "I'm bloody Muslim, and I'm afraid to go into the city" just like anyone else in the aftermath of the attacks.
Still, some feared a backlash. The Muslim Council of Britain said it had been deluged with hate e-mails, which caused its server to crash late Thursday. Though it was up and running Friday, the council said it was still getting a steady stream of vitriolic missives.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said Friday that police were aware of one or two "very minor incidents" involving backlash against Muslims, but he didn't elaborate.
He said that so far, "Britain with its liberal and welcoming approach to people is taking this in its stride. I'm very proud of that."
Representatives of several religious faiths held a silent prayer vigil Friday in a street near Aldgate subway station, where seven people died.
"There is a worry, but I think we can overcome this because we have been working with all the communities together," said Muhammad Abdul Bari, chairman of the East London Mosque.
"As Muslims, as British citizens, as Londoners, we are confident nothing will happen to us. We have to face it with resilience and with confidence."
But Shafi feared he and other Muslims would endure animosity in the coming days and weeks.
"I'm a practicing Muslim, I've got a beard. After 9/11 people called me bin Laden," he said. "But I was born and brought up here, and I don't consider myself anything but British."
It is your opinion, that the IRA were Christian. It is not mine.
Again, if can you provide a URL to a story that describes anyone at any time for any purpose "gunning down a clinic".
"Well Mohammad had a great incentive program, 77 virgins. I would consider joining if he offered some sort of dental or health plan. Some of them really need it."
LOL. What happens though after they are de-flowered :^)
Doesnt seem like a good deal to me...
"It's not an attack against Christianity. They are attacking all people who do not adhere to their fundamentalist beliefs and that includes other muslims. Don't lose sight of the big picture."
I understand that. It's easy to see from the attacks on Riyadh that Christians are not exclusive...
That's the first time I've heard this... where does this come from?
the latest (for now rumor))
U.K.: French Man Missing After Blasts
July 08, 2005 2214 GMT
A French resident of North African origin has been identified as recently missing after going to London three weeks ago, French security sources told Stratfor on July 8. They added the man -- Slimane Ihab, 24, from Lyon, France -- was said to have boarded the underground on the morning of July 7 but has not been heard of since, while his cell phone was confirmed to be out of order. The sources said they are not sure whether he had anything to do with the July 7 blasts in London but that his disappearance is under investigation.
The target is undoubtedly the Salafi, and with them, a group with sufficient employment to pay for the junk they use to kill people.
First off, we've got to make sure no one hires Salafi, nor gives them a bank account. Secondly, they must be clearly identified as being inherently prone to unbidden violence ~ which means we no longer have to treat them as "unlawful combatants", or even criminals, but rather as escaped criminally insane mental patients.
I think they get sent to the wood chipper.
Go figure.
I guess these guys have a tough choice to make, then.
Be hated vs. not telling
Life is full of choices.
If that were true they would cease to be Muslims. Islam has been a scourge on the planet since its inception.
What would it matter if 99% of Muslims were not sympathetic to terrorists? It would simply mean that 99% of them see no evil and are content to let the 1% terrorize the planet. Islam, after all, means "submission".
Wait a second. When you go quoting the Bible please put it in the right context. The Bible does not state to go whack anyone that doesn't believe in our one God, their Koran does and they justify their behavior with the passage of destruction of the infidel.
If I suspected that you knew, or could reasonably have known something about the last IRA bombing, I would ask you about it. And indeed, many Irish Catholics did place the safety and security of the greater populace above their own misguided beliefs and helped to both solve and prevent further acts of terrorism. Not so with the vast majority of the islamofasicists - no outpouring of help, few words (very few) against these acts, no national or international condemnation of these acts by either Muslim governments or clerics. Instead, we are seemingly surrounded by Islamic clerics who still call for jihad to this day...
Islam is the religion of PEACE..........blahhhhhhhhhh! Profile, profile, profile. When will the wacko's on the nutty left get it? Never I would guess!
If one substituted 'Jihadists' for 'IRA' and 'Muslims' for 'Christians' then couldn't Muslims say the same thing?
No, because the Koran doesn't have the equivalent to "Turn the other cheek", love thy neighbor, and forgiveness. However, there does come a point where we have to defend our families, friends, nation and yes, our faiths from the assault by islamisists and leftists.
They don't have to be vigilantes, but *could* at least drop a dime on people they might know to be mass murders. If they really care, then they should do *something*.
Okay, let's examine it in context then. Exodus 22 is a continuation of the oration delivered by Moses to the Israelites after God revealed his commandments to him.
Exodus 20 laid out the 'big ten', and then Exodus 21 and 22 elaborated on the detailed finer points, including the permissiveness of owning Hebrew slaves, by the way.
The specific passage I cited, 'He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed' is but one of many crime and punishment commandments listed. The two prior are 'Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' and 'Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death'.
Please tell me how I am misinterpreting the context of this commandment.
Yeah.
Muhammad wrote a book.
His followers believe him.
I study history.
Look at the founders of the religions.
Jesus could have called down legions of angels to destroy the world when they went to crucify him. But he did not.
Muhammad commanded legions of his followers to destroy the world (well, at least those inhabitants thereof who refused to convert to Islam).
His followers continue to obey his commands.
Unfortunately, I don't think you are correct in this statement.
Unfortunately, it will take at least a dozen 9-11's to make the people in this country WAKE UP and smell the coffee and realize who the enemy really IS!
Oh, Muslims may try to say the same thing, but it doesn't work. Their religion and culture has condoned and encouraged the rise of their brethren terrorists. If it hadn't they would have taken care of the problem a long time ago.
Maybe if a bunch of IRA-types ever fly into one of our buildings and murder 3,000 people, the US will have reason to go after them too. But for now, the Brits should take care of their own turf.
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