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Kenya's
Main Muslim Group Condemns Mombasa Bombing
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| The Israeli-owned Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, Kenya |
NAIROBI,
November 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Kenya's main Muslim
group on Friday, November 29, condemned the bombing of Israeli targets
in Mombasa and said the perpetrators "were enemies of Islam and
Muslims of Kenya."
"Whoever
planned and executed the bombing is definitely the number one enemy of
Islam and Muslims of Kenya," the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims
(SUPKEM) said in a statement released here after Friday prayers,
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The
SUPKEM is the umbrella organization of the country's Muslim community.
"It
is very unfortunate and disturbing that it is the Kenyan Muslims who
suffer the aftermath of such acts," said the statement.
SUPKEM
chairman Abdulghafur el-Busaidy said "we would like to assure our
enemies that the Muslims of Kenya will continue to co-exist with
Kenyans of other faiths as they have always done."
"The
perpetrators of the attacks have no regard for human life and were
enemies of Muslims of Kenya," Busaidy added.
Busaidy
recalled that the Muslims were unfortunately put under tight security
surveillance in 1998 after the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi,
which killed 213 people, including 12 Americans, and injured some
5,000 more.
A
nearly simultaneous attack at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam killed
11 Tanzanians and injured 70 others.
"Muslim
organizations in Kenya were closed down, Muslims were harassed,
intimidated and called names for no fault of theirs," Busaidy
said, referring to the closure of six Muslim non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) on September 8, 1998, for alleged involvement in
terrorist activities.
The
government lifted the ban three months later from pressure by Muslim
leaders and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
SUPKEM
says Muslims make up 35 percent of Kenya's 30-million-strong
population.
The
last population census in 1989 put the figure at 23 percent.
Kenyan
officials expressed fears Friday that anti-Israeli attacks in the
Indian Ocean resort of Mombasa could undermine the tourism industry
and halt its recovery from the effects of last year's terror attacks
in the United States.
"The
industry has been recovering very well up to now and the attack could
have a detrimental impact on the delicate business," said Betty
Buyu, the managing director of the state-run Kenya Tourism Board.
"The
attack could reverse the significant gains achieved by the industry in
the recent past," she told AFP in a telephone interview.
Sixteen
people, including three attackers, died in a bomb attack on the
Israeli-run Paradise Mombasa hotel on Thursday, November 28.
At
the same time an Israeli passenger jet leaving Mombasa airport was
almost shot down by two missiles.
"Kenya
is safe. We welcome all tourists that want to come to Kenya including
Israelis and those who have already booked (hotel rooms for holidays),
please do come," Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi told
journalists.
"We
should be alert from now henceforth and protect ourselves," said
Moi.
Kenya
earned 302.9 million dollars from tourism in 2001 compared to 249.4
million dollars the previous year.
Tourism
worldwide slowed following the September 11 strikes in the United
States.
The
chairman of the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Raymond Matiba said his
organization would try to counter the negative publicity generated by
the anti-Israeli attacks in Mombasa.
"The
consequences of the attack will obviously (result in) tourists shying
away from visiting Kenya, but we are trying to minimize the
impact," he told AFP by telephone.
"We
are giving them (tourists) positive information and it's up to them to
make a decision," Matiba added.
Many
hotels in Mombasa, however, reported a normal flow of tourists despite
Thursday's events.
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