Muslims on ISIS Attacks

Muslim clerics, governments, and political parties strongly condemned the wave of violence during Ramadan, which ended on July 6. ISIS – also known as ISIL, Daesh, or the Islamic State – had called on supporters to carry out attacks throughout the Muslim holy month. In late June and early July, ISIS was responsible for deadly attacks in Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh.

Muslims around the world were particularly vocal in denouncing the attacks in Saudi Arabia, one of which targeted the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, one of the holiest sites in Islam. Saudi Arabia’s senior council of clerics said the attacks “violated everything that is sacred.” The following are statements from Muslim clerics, governments, and political parties on the recent wave of attacks.

Muslim Organizations, Clerics, and Scholars

Saudi Arabia’s Senior Council of Clerics
 

The attacks in Saudi Arabia "violated everything that is sacred.”

The attackers "have no respect for any sanctity and they have no religion or conscience.”
– July 5, 2016, in a statement

Egypt’s Al Azhar University
 

Al Azhar condemns "efforts by terrorists and extremists to involve mosques in their conflicts” and "stands by Saudi Arabia in the fight against terrorism."
– July 5, 2016, in a statement

The US Council of Muslim Organizations
 

The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), the largest coalition of leading national and local Muslim organizations, condemns the cowardly attack at the Ataturk international airport in Istanbul, Turkey which claimed at least 41 innocent lives and scores of injured people. "This terrorist act is strongly condemned and those behind it should be brought to justice" said Oussama Jammal, secretary general of USCMO.

The US Council of Muslim Organizations sends its heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and to the people of Turkey and stands in solidarity with them against such dreadful acts of terrorism.  
– June 28, 2016, in a statement

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation
 

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed its condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist attacks that targeted Jeddah, a mosque in Qatif, and a security checkpoint near Prophet Mohammad’s Mosque in Medina, claiming the lives and injuring security men.

The OIC Secretary General, Iyad Ameen Madani, said that those who carried out, planned or supported these attacks were simply carrying out desperate acts to undermine the security and stability of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the mainstay of the security and stability of the region and the Islamic world.

Madani stated that any person who takes out his or her life, kill and terrorize innocent people; and commit such crimes in the holy month of Ramadan and in Al-Madinah Al Munawwarah and close to the sacred mosque of the Prophet, negates being a Muslim and refutes every Islamic value. It defies the very essence of being human. Such terrorists have become void tools empty of conscious and rationale, used by the promoters of radicalism, violence and terrorism, he added...

He also reiterated the OIC's principled and categorical position which denounces terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
– July 4, 2016, in a statement

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) strongly condemned the terrorist explosion at Karrada neighborhood in the center of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, which resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of innocent victims. The OIC Secretary General, Iyad Ameen Madani expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wished quick recovery to the injured. Madani stressed that this terrorist act targeting innocent civilians during the last days of the Holy Month of Ramadan while the Islamic Ummah is getting ready for Eid El-Fitr, cannot be committed by Muslims. These terrorist groups that committed this abhorrent act do not care for human life or any values, morals or religion, and deliberately further defame Islam and Muslims, he added. 
– July 3, 2016, in a statement

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was profoundly shocked to learn the unprecedented terrorist attack in Bangladeshi Capital Dhaka on 1st July 2016 evening. The OIC Secretary General, Iyad Ameen Madani condemned, in the strongest term, such an assault by terrorists that targeted innocent people in a restaurant in the diplomatic zone of the city and killed some 20 people, mostly foreigners, and injured many more...

Madani reiterated OIC’s firm position against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He called again for concerted collective international efforts to defeat this menace against humanity and stressing on the need to understand and address extremism, violence and terrorism in a comprehensive approach taking into account the political, economic, and social contexts.
– July 2, 2016, in a statement

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks on Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey on Tuesday evening, 28 June 2016, killing and maiming many innocent people. Madani expressed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the Government and people of Turkey and wished the injured quick recovery...

The Secretary General stressed his absolute rejection of this despicable terrorist act - executed in The Holy Month of Ramadan - that has no grounds in religion or morality. He reiterated the principled and constant position of the OIC rejecting all forms and manifestations of terrorism. He called on OIC Member States to work together and strengthen their coordination to combat the scourge of terrorism, which has become a veritable threat to their security and stability. He also called for solidarity and cooperation among the international community to save the world from the evil of terrorism by addressing its causes and various contexts and by focusing on preventive dimensions through exchange of information and expertise among counter terrorism agencies. He reassured of the OIC’s commitments to international counter terrorism efforts and of its readiness to continue coordination and joint action in this regard.
– June 29, 2016, in a statement

Muslim Countries and Islamist Parties

Saudi Arabia
 

King Salman

We will strike with an iron hand those who target the minds and thoughts...of our dear youth."
– July 5, 2016, according to the press

Tunisia
 

Ennahda Party

Yesterday, Monday, July 4, 2016, Saudi Arabia underwent a series of terror attacks targeting the exterior of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah and the area of Qatif. The blasts have led to the death of members of the Saudi security forces and the injury of others. The Ennahda movement, as it witnessed the horror perpetrated by terrorist elements in the bombings in Saudi Arabia and the holy places, would like to:

• Strongly condemn the heinous crimes carried out by suicide bombers, especially the attack on the Prophet's Mosque and its visitors.
• Send its condolences to the families of martyrs who were directly impacted by the events, and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded.
• Express its absolute solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its efforts to combat terrorism and to ensure the safety of its land, citizens and visitors.
• Affirm that targeting the Prophet’s Mosque is evidence that terrorist crimes do not exclude anyone or any place, and that the fight against terrorism requires a comprehensive strategy in means, including the efforts of all those affected .

Ennahda President
Sheikh Rashid Ghannouchi

– July 5, 2016, in a statement

Translation: Deepest condolences to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s government and people after the terrorist attacks that targeted it today, and especially the attack on the city of the Prophet (PBUH)

أحر التعازي إلى المملكةالسعودية حكومةوشعبا عقب الهجومات الإرهابية التي استهدفتها اليوم، وخاصة الهجوم على مدينة رسول الله عليه الصلاة والسلام

— Rached Ghannouchi (@R_Ghannouchi) July 4, 2016

On Tuesday evening, 28 June 2016, a terrorist attack targeted Istanbul International Airport, causing dozens of innocent victims, both Turks and foreigners.

Ennahdha Party expresses its sympathy and solidarity with Turkey and with the victims and their families. Moreover, it:

• Strongly condemns the heinous crime that targeted Istanbul Airport, the latest such attack seeking to undermine Turkey's stability and prosperity.
• Prays for the souls of the victims of the horrific terrorist crime and offers its condolences to their families, and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.
• Stresses that taking the lives of innocent people is a crime against the values and teachings of Islam and further proof that terrorist groups are criminal gangs with no relation to our faith.
• Calls for an international partnership to combat terrorism and for strengthening cooperation in order to counter it by addressing its roots and causes.

Ennahdha Party President
Sheikh Rached Ghannouchi

– June 30, 2016, via Facebook

We strongly condemn the terrible #Istanbul attack. Our condolences to the victims' families. Standing united with #Turkey against terrorism

— Ennahdha Party (@EnnahdhaParty) June 29, 2016

Iran
 

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

Terror rears its ugly head yet again in our friend & neighbor’s airport. Extremist violence is a global threat; we must confront it together

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 28, 2016

Latest terror attack in #Dhaka, less headline-making in the West, nonetheless shows we must be united in ridding our world of this evil.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 2, 2016

We should not and will not rest until those behind terror in #Istanbul, #Dhaka, and now #Baghdad, and their ideology, are defeated.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 3, 2016

There are no more red lines left for terrorists to cross. Sunnis, Shiites will both remain victims unless we stand united as one. #Medina

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) July 5, 2016

Turkey
 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

We expect that a resolute stance against terrorist organizations should be adopted by the world and especially Western countries with their parliament, media and non-governmental organizations.”

“All the bad terrorist scenarios, acts, even we fear to bring them into our minds, will come true one by one if all countries do not carry out a joint fight against terrorist organizations.”
– June 29, 2016, in a statement

Lebanon
 

Hezbollah

Sayyed Ali Fadlallah condemns the suicide bombings, terrorism and criminality in Iraq, al Qatif and al Medina, which is deleterious to the people, values and religion. Those who share these extremist values fuel sectarian and communal tensions. They benefit from the desperate situation of the Muslims through playing on the emotional and the psychological, claiming they they are the way for salvation. It has become clear that this logic will not be a solution, but a problem to all.

According to Fadlallah: "To combat terrorism and to treat it, all parties should come together and unite for the same cause. There are those who invest in strengthening these terrorists as long as they serve their best interest, yet they (supporters) declare war on them. Noting that from previous experiences, those who have supported such terrorist groups - due to ideological clashes - suffered the most by them.”  
– July 5, 2016, according to the press

Hezbollah denounced the terrorist crime which targeted the airport in the Turkish city of Istanbul and victimized scores of innocent civilians.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Hezbollah considered that this crime indicates that terrorism targets everyone everywhere, without discrimination, because it is based on hatred and on deforming the humanitarian value which must reign the world.

These condemned terrorist acts must be a real and serious cause of solidarity among the regional countries to fight and eradicate terrorism instead of employing it in order to attain narrow political interests, the statement added.
– June 29, 2016, according to the press

The attacks in Saudi Arabia are "a new sign of the terrorists' contempt for all that Muslims consider sacred.”
– July 6, 2016, according to the press

Egypt
 

Nour Party

Secretary General of the Nour Party, Jalal Morat Amin, condemns the attacks that took place near the Prophet's Mosque.

He explained that this dastardly bombing carries a deadly malice to Muslims and Islam, stressing that these terrorist events in Saudi Arabia will only increase the leadership of the country and its people’s strength.

He also expressed his sincere condolences to the Saudi Arabian government, its people, and the Islamic nations, and asked God Almighty to grant the victims His forgiveness and healing and patience for their families.
– July 4, 2016, according to the press

Yemen
 

Government statement

These criminal acts that target Islamic sites during Ramadan to confirm the extent of their terrorism, hatred and debauchery, need to be fought and eliminated by Islamic and international efforts.”

"We condemn these terrorist acts to remind ourselves that the policy of terror practiced by terrorists against the Saudi Kingdom and its leader, Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud, will not succeed in undermining the regional and global position of the Kingdom in the fight against terrorism, sectarianism and destruction."
– July 5, 2016, according to the press

Islah Party

The Islah party strongly condemns the terrorist bombings that targeted the Holy Mosque in Medina, a mosque province in al Qatif, and the car park in Jedda, Saudi Arabia on Monday, which killed a number of people and wounded others. The Islah party considers the attacks targeting Medina a large encroachment on an important site in the hearts of Muslims, which makes the incident an attack on all Muslims in all parts of the globe. The Islah party condemns this incident, and stresses the need to create a consensus to address violence in thought and practice and prevent extremism from affecting generations of Muslims.

The Islah party confirms its full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the face of terrorism that targets its security and stability…

The Islah party calls all Arab people to combat ISIS through means of knowledge since its wounds have been deeper than to solely take arms. The Islah party expresses its deepest condolences to Saudi Arabia's king, government and the victims of terrorist attacks. It wishes a speedy recovery for the wounded, and prays for the protection of the Kingdom, its leadership and its people from all evil. 
– July 4, 2016, via Facebook

Malaysia
 

Prime Minister Najib Razak

Terrorists have struck fear in the hearts of people in yet another city, this time in Dhaka, early this morning.

— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) July 2, 2016

Let it be known that terrorism has no religion, terrorism has no race. Terrorists are not Muslims and they have no place in the Muslim world

— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) July 2, 2016

This morning, I am again shocked to receive alerts on bombings rocking three cities across Saudi Arabia.

— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) July 5, 2016

We condemn such vile acts happened especially within the Prophet's Mosque's vicinity in the holy city of Medina & this is not Islam.

— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) July 5, 2016

Malaysia condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly attack in Istanbul. My deepest condolences to the people of Turkey.

— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) June 29, 2016

Qatar
 

Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Jassim al Thani

Bloodshed in the name of religion is unacceptable. #Qatar strongly condemns blasts targeting #SaudiArabia, and reaffirms solidarity.

— محمد بن عبدالرحمن (@MBA_AlThani_) July 4, 2016

Bahrain

Menbar Party

Translation: Nobody carries out bombings of the city of the Prophet (PBUH) unless they are enemies of the nation and religion.

1/9
تفجيرات مدينة رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا يرتكبها سوى أعداء الأمة والدين#تفجير_المدينة_المنورة

— المنبر الإسلامي (@almenber) July 4, 2016

Translation: This heinous act of terrorism is an attack on all Muslim nations and not Saudi Arabia alone.

8/9

العمل الإرهابي الشنيع موجه إلى الأمة بأسرها وليس للمملكة العربية السعودية بمفردها#تفجير_المدينة_المنورة

— المنبر الإسلامي (@almenber) July 4, 2016

Translation: It is necessary to support moderate Islamic thought because it is capable of uniting people and defeating terrorism.

9/9

يجب العمل على دعم الفكر الإسلامي الوسطي لأنه القادر وبالتكاتف مع المخلصين من أبناء الأمة على التصدي للإرهاب#تفجير_المدينة_المنورة

— المنبر الإسلامي (@almenber) July 4, 2016

Cameron Glenn, a senior program assistant at the U.S. Institute of Peace, and Hanan Yazid, a research assistant at the Woodrow Wilson Center, contributed to the translations in this roundup.