LONDON,
July 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – British Muslim
leading figures are stepping up their efforts to contain the explosive
situation after the London terrorist blasts, with a delegation of
senior representatives visiting Leeds Friday, July 15, to discuss the
London bomb attacks with police and residents.
A
delegation of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is touring Leeds,
where three of the four bombers of Thursday's explosions came from, to
meet with shocked locals in order to better understand the chain of
events that led to the terrorist attacks, according to the Associated
Press (AP).
"It
is important at this time that we listen to the thoughts and concerns
of the Muslim community around Britain and in Leeds and Dewsbury in
particular," Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the MCB, told AP.
"We
need to do this in order to better comprehend the chain of events that
led to last Thursday's horrific bombings in London."
Community
sources said the delegation has met with relatives of one of the
suicide bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan, in Dewsbury.
The
four bombers who carried out the attacks Thursday, July 7, which
killed at least 54 people on three underground trains and a
double-decker bus in London were all Britons of Pakistani origin.
Three
of the bombers, Hasib Hussein, 19, Shehzad Tanweer, 20 or 22, and
Mohammad Sadique Khan, 30, were from Leeds, northern England.
The
fourth attacker was identified as Eliaz Fiaz, 30, from Dewsbury, a
town near Leeds.
"Closer
Look"
Sacranie
said the MCB representatives had already spoken to a number of groups
in Leeds, stressing that it was important to listen to the concerns of
Muslims in the area.
"They
are all in a state of shock, as we are," he said.
The
Muslim leader maintained that British Muslims must "take a closer
look at the involvement of nefarious elements who may be operating in
our community in order to help root them out".
"All
of us - Muslim and non-Muslim - must come together and assist the
authorities in their task of bringing all who were involved in
plotting last week's attacks to justice.
"In
addition, it is our special responsibility as British Muslims to take
a closer look at the involvement of nefarious elements who may be
operating in our community in order to help root them out."
The
Muslim delegation was due to visit areas of West Yorkshire and attend
prayers at the Leeds Grand Mosque.
Strong
Statement
Sacranie
said Muslim scholars in Britain will make a strong statement later at
the London Central Mosque on the Thursday's blasts, the BBC News
Online said.
"It
would be "so powerful and strong" it would leave no-one in
any doubt about the Muslim communities' attitudes to such
atrocities," he said.
"That
statement is going to re-define the position about what Islam has to
say about acts of atrocity, acts of murder and criminality."
British
Muslim scholars are drafting a fatwa that will strip the bombers, if
proved Muslims, of the right to call themselves so.
The
Muslim minority in Britain has vehemently condemned the terrorist
attacks.
London
attacks had also drawn condemnation from scholars, officials and
individuals from across the Muslim as running counter to the teachings
of Islam.
