Sunday, Sep 01, 2002
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By Hasan Suroor
The conference, being attended by nearly 3,000 Muslims from around the world, was under close scrutiny at the weekend prompting an angry reaction from its organisers who were infuriated by attempts to link the sect with terrorism despite the Salafi leaders' public condemnation of the September 11 outrage and other acts of terrorism. Police however said that not only Osama bin Laden but many of the other main suspects behind the September 11 incidents had claimed to belong to the Salafi sect, which describes its followers as "pious pioneers'' of Islam. Mohammed Atta, who allegedly masterminded the September 11 attacks, was said to be carrying Salafi material in his baggage, and cassettes of Osama's speeches were reported to be selling at Salafi centres. A website, run by the Salafi Bookshop which is hosting the conference, was found to contain inflammatory messages, it was claimed. Security at the conference was stepped up as organisers feared that it could become a target for an anti-Muslim backlash. A Salafi spokesman, Abu Khadeejah, condemned terrorism in any form and denied that the organisers were aware of the hijack suspect, Kerim Chatty. ``We abhor terrorism and those who practise it are not good Muslims...they are sinners and will have to answer to Allah for their actions. Any person who knowingly boards a plane with a weapon with the deliberate and wilful intent to cause harm to innocent civilians, then the position of Islam is well known,'' he said adding that the sect had publicly disowned and condemned Osama. He said the conference was in fact scheduled to discuss "how to break free of those Muslims who have erred, for example Osama bin Laden''. He described the Salafi doctrine as being "anti-terrorist and anti-fundamentalist'' and alleged that there were elements who wanted to `harm' the conference. Muslim leaders voiced fears of a new `wave' of anti-Muslim sentiment, and criticised the Swedish police for detaining all passengers wearing "Muslim clothes''. "We're concerned that a whole of bunch of Muslims were held,'' said Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain. Dr. Ghayasuddin Siddiqui of the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain condemned attempts to tar all Muslims with the same brush. ``It's horrifying because it again reinforces the image of Islam and Muslims being irresponsible,'' he said. Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, warned that the suspected hijack attempt showed that the threat from terrorism still remained. "The fact that he appeared to be about to hijack the plane shows that the threat of international terrorism remains, and highlights the need for us to take concerted international action against the threat,'' he said.
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