Barcelona tragedy

We strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Spain which once again revealed the brutal face of terrorism, a threat to not only Spain but the all humanity. This is the height of the tourist season in Spain and at one of the country’s most popular tourist attractions — the historic Las Ramblas district of Barcelona — terror struck. The weapon of choice — which has become a common choice of weapons for the murderous extremists — a simple white van.

The vile outfit Isis claimed responsibility for the attack through Amaq, its affiliated news agency. Isis claimed that it was committed by “one of the soldiers of the Islamic State”, adding that he acted in “response to calls to target sponsors of the coalition that fights the Islamic State”. Last summer it was Nice on Bastille Day, when thousands of families had gathered for a parade and 82 people lost their lives in an attack carried out with a tractor-trailer. In December a hijacked truck was used to mow down 12 people at a Christmas market in Berlin. Then in March on London’s Westminster Bridge a terrorist used an SUV to plow into pedestrians, killing four and then emerging long enough to stab a policeman to death.

The attack in Barcelona left 14 dead and hundreds injured, most of them critically, with at least 34 nationalities among them, according to Spain's civil protection agency, from places such Pakistan, Britain, Venezuela, Mauritania and China. It has become a well established pattern. These tourist attractions are called “soft” targets for nothing. The notorious Islamic State has been using its networks to spread the word about how dreadfully easy it is to kill and maim for “the cause” using an easily available weapon and aiming for maximum damage.

The latest incident has yet again heightened Europe's inability to tackle terror, and we join voices with world leaders in the condemnation of such cowardly attacks that targeted ordinary citizens. What have attacks like this achieved? IS and like-minded terror outfits have done more harm to Muslims and Islam by resorting to violence that is specifically banned in Islam.

We are glad that the renowned Islamic scholars have always voiced their condemnation of these heinous acts. The Cairo-based Al-Azhar University, which is a leading seat of learning in Islam, have often come out publicly in condemnation of these heinous crimes that violate the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.

While security will undoubtedly be tightened across Europe to combat terrorism wherever it may exist, we hope that Muslim communities will not be subject to witch hunts. That will do more harm than good, and we hope that religious leaders of all faiths will come forward in greater numbers to preach peace and tolerance.

 

Barcelona tragedy

We strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Spain which once again revealed the brutal face of terrorism, a threat to not only Spain but the all humanity. This is the height of the tourist season in Spain and at one of the countrys most popular tourist attractions the historic Las Ramblas district of Barcelona terror struck. The weapon of choice which has become a common choice of weapons for the murderous extremists a simple white van. The vile outfit Isis claimed responsibility for the attack through Amaq, its affiliated news agency. Isis claimed that it was committed by one of the soldiers of the Islamic State, adding that he acted in response to calls to target sponsors of the coalition that fights the Islamic State. Last summer it was Nice on Bastille Day, when thousands of families had gathered for a parade and 82 people lost their lives in an attack carried out with a tractor-trailer. In December a hijacked truck was used to mow down 12 people at a Christmas market in Berlin. Then in March on Londons Westminster Bridge a terrorist used an SUV to plow into pedestrians, killing four and then emerging long enough to stab a policeman to death. The attack in Barcelona left 14 dead and hundreds injured, most of them critically, with at least 34 nationalities among them, according to Spains civil protection agency, from places such Pakistan, Britain, Venezuela, Mauritania and China. It has become a well established pattern. These tourist attractions are called soft targets for nothing. The notorious Islamic State has been using its networks to spread the word about how dreadfully easy it is to kill and maim for the cause using an easily available weapon and aiming for maximum damage. The latest incident has yet again heightened Europes inability to tackle terror, and we join voices with world leaders in the condemnation of such cowardly attacks that targeted ordinary citizens. What have attacks like this achieved? IS and like-minded terror outfits have done more harm to Muslims and Islam by resorting to violence that is specifically banned in Islam. We are glad that the renowned Islamic scholars have always voiced their condemnation of these heinous acts. The Cairo-based Al-Azhar University, which is a leading seat of learning in Islam, have often come out publicly in condemnation of these heinous crimes that violate the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah. While security will undoubtedly be tightened across Europe to combat terrorism wherever it may exist, we hope that Muslim communities will not be subject to witch hunts. That will do more harm than good, and we hope that religious leaders of all faiths will come forward in greater numbers to preach peace and tolerance.