Muslim American organizations join a world-wide stance against the U.S. war on Iraq

By Tarik Hamdi, IOL Washington Correspodent

WASHINGTON, March 20 (IslamOnline.net) – In a fast-moving reaction to the U.S. missile attack against Iraq Thursday, March 20, a number of Muslim American organizations slammed the war as unjustified and acting against the interests of their country.  

The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) asked the Bush administration and Congress to do what they can to end this violence and minimize human suffering.

"We received with profound sadness the news of the impending war on Iraq.  We reiterate our position, and that of the great majority of religious leaders and the international community that this war is not justified and is not in the interest of the United States, world peace and security, and the rule of law,” said the Society in a statement.

The statement carried its grave concern about "the expected fallout of this war, especially the loss of human life on all sides, the destruction of the infrastructure of Iraq, and chaos and instability that may follow.”

It called on Americans opposed to the war to express their views "vigorously but lawfully and peacefully.”

"Legally Wrong"

In another recent response to Washington's war against Iraq, the Muslim American Society (MAS) said it considers a military aggression against Iraq as morally and legally unjustifiable, a product of seriously misplaced national security priorities with potentially serious repercussions.

"This proposed war is morally and legally wrong. The people of Iraq are in the grip of a ruthless, murderous dictator, but he has not threatened the United States," the MAS said in a statement.

"A war against that country would therefore be an unprovoked attack on another nation-a violation of the United Nations Charter. Nor would it be a "just war" that could be condoned by any religion".

The Society said that war does not reflect America's foreign and domestic priorities.

"The war would have grave, far-reaching unintended repercussions, both overseas and domestically. An attack on Iraq has the grave potential of generating substantial increase in terrorist recruits, and the possibility of increasing terrorist attacks against America. A war would create death, havoc, and instability in the world's most volatile region".

The drive to war, the statement reads, has isolated the U.S. from the world, damaging crucial alliances like NATO and harming the credibility of the United Nations.

"It has inflamed world opinion against the United States, causing people of the world to question our nation's intentions and our moral leadership and complicating long-term foreign policy goals".

MAS is a national grassroots Islamic organization active in the fields of religious education and pubic affairs.