Global Muslim Organizations, Scholars Condemn Charlie Hebdo Attackers

By OnIslam & News Agencies

Cairo, Egypt – The attack on the satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo which left 12 people killed has sparked angry reactions from world Muslims who rejected use of violence to fight ideas.

“The UOIF condemns, in the strongest possible terms, this criminal attack and these horrible murders and offers its condolences to the families as well as the employees of Charlie Hebdo,” the Union des Organizations Islamiques de France (UOIF), which represents more than 250 Muslim organizations across France, said in a statement to condemn the attack.

According to French police, the attack occurred when two masked gunmen armed with AK47s and pump action shotguns attacked the building.

France’s Agence France Presse (AFP) said the men were armed with at least one rocket launcher.

Officials said two police officers were among those killed, and that the other 10 were journalists.

The editor-in-chief of Charlie Hebdo, Stephane Charbonnier, known as Charb, has reportedly been killed in the attack, judicial sources told AFP.

Hassen Chalghoumi, imam of the Drancy mosque in Paris’s Seine-Saint-Denis northern suburb, has vehemently condemned the attack. “I am extremely angry. These are criminals, barbarians. They have sold their soul to hell,” he told Reuters on Wednesday, January 7. “This is not freedom. This is not Islam and I hope the French will come out united at the end of this.”

The Arab League and Al Azhar, Sunni Islam’s most prestigious center of learning, both condemned a deadly attack Wednesday on a Paris satirical newspaper. “Arab League chief Nabil Al Arabi strongly condemns the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris,” the League statement was quoted by The Gulf Today. Al Azhar condemned the “criminal attack,” saying that “Islam denounces any violence,” in remarks carried by Egypt’s state news agency Mena.

In a separate statement to AFP, Al Azhar senior official Abbas Shoman said the institution “does not approve of using violence even if it was in response to an offence committed against sacred Muslim sentiments.”

Scholars Too

Along with Muslim organizations, scholars from around the world have expressed sorrow, sharing prayers to the families of the victims.

“In fact, Muslim communities all over the world share the pains and sadness with the victims’ families and friends. Our hearts bleed for their loss and pains,” Dr. Wael Shihab, who has a PhD in Islamic Studies from Al-Azhar University, told OnIslam.net.

“The deadly attack on the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which led to the killing and injuring of tens of innocents, is a horrible and barbaric crime that its perpetrators should be held accountable for it.

“Such crimes against humanity are not justified in Islam or world faiths. Those criminals cannot be true believers of any faith,” he added.

The Muslim scholar added that killing is a heinous crime that is totally rejected in Islam.

“Charlie Hebdo attacks are totally divorced from the teachings of Islam, its general spirit, and its sublime objectives.  Islam protects people’s lives, properties, and honor,” Dr. Shehab said.

“Attacking even a single human is regarded by Islam as grave and heinous as killing all innocent people of the world. The Qur’an reads, {Whosoever kills a human being for other than manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all mankind, and whoso saves the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of all mankind.} (Al-Ma’idah 5: 32)”

Dr. Tariq Ramadan, a world-renowned Muslim thinker, has posted an angry tweet against the attack.

“Contrary to what was apparently said by the killers in the bombing of Charlie Hebdo’s headquarters, it is not the Prophet who was avenged, it is our religion, our values and Islamic principles that have been betrayed and tainted,” (s) he tweeted.

“My condemnation is absolute and my anger is profound (healthy and one thousand times justified) against this horror!!!

“Allow me to express my deep sympathy and sincere condolences to the families of the victims.”

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on OnIslam.net and is reprinted here with permission.

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