World Muslim Congress Statement on Terrorist Attacks
September 2001

According to the Quran, those who kill innocent people are doomed to eternal punishment (25:68-69). "Whosoever slays an innocent person ... it is as if he had slain humankind altogether." (5:32)

Our president, H.E. Dr. Abdullah bin Omar Nasseef, Secretary-General Raja Zafarul Haq, Dr. Malik Sardar Khan, permanent U.N. representative and Executive Councillor, and our entire Executive Council and worldwide organization, the World Muslim Congress, join in to give the following statement to condemn the tragedy that happened on American soil. We wish this never happened. The world is becoming smaller and smaller in the technological age, and the human family on earth must learn to live in peace and harmony with one another. We share the pain and sorrow of the suffering of all communities of the United States of America.

Communities are going through a rough time. Unfortunately the United States of America has undergone a catastrophe. We should refrain from putting Islam under siege. Any person who has committed a crime of such magnitude cannot have religion or fear of God. One has to be a faithless, ruthless individual to kill innocent people. The government of the United States is trying its best to protect its citizens from any abuse. Please join us in our prayer: May Almighty Allah protect all of us and give patience to everybody and let the courses of action take their place, and may the real culprits who have done this job be found. Islam doesn't believe in terrorism or stand by terrorism. All the prophets of mankind forbid terrorism in any form. Today all religions condemn this act. Peace among communities is established through dialogue, not through violence.

The people who have lost their lives in these buildings and in the planes were innocent. In the World Trade Center, those who lost their lives included Muslims from different ethnic backgrounds around the globe. It is very unfortunate for us to go through this pain. We hope that the world learns patience for people to live and let live and for people to build bridges of understanding among themselves, because this world belongs to the Almighty, and all humans have the right to survive on it. Nobody is inferior or superior. They are all the creatures of Allah. They should learn to respect each other. People should control their anger, and no one should take drastic actions. If one mistake occurred, no one should make a second mistake without verifying and finding the truth. Every human in the United States is going through a very tense moment of his life. This tragedy is costing every person from every faith. We all must get together and work together globally and set aside our differences and work for a common goal for establishing a long-lasting peace. We seek Divine guidance as Allah (God) is alone the Provider, Sustainer, Giver and Taker. We should seek His Divine guidance and settle our differences peacefully and live in peace and harmony. We can make this earth a Paradise for humans to live. If we go to the route of mass destruction, then we all will be doomed. We should learn from past history and have patience and build the close-knit family relationship for all the humans, no matter what religious, cultural, ethnic, or national origin or background they come from. We should provide equal opportunity to all human beings to seek peace without any distinction of race, religion, or national origin.

While we condemn in the strongest words the despicable attacks on buildings in New York and Washington, we are also alarmed at the impending strikes on the innocent men, women and children in Afghanistan who have already suffered much during the past twenty-two years despite the fact that they have no say in the policy-making of their war-ravaged country. We appeal for everyone to come to a dialogue and prove facts to each other.

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