World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League (WABIL) strongly condemns the appalling murder of the Catholic priest, Father Jacques Hamel who was giving morning mass today in his church in a suburb of Rouen in northern France when two assailants attacked him. ISIS has claimed the horrific killing as being carried out by its terrorists. WABIL condoles the French Catholic community on its loss.

 
ISIS is an anti-Islamic, unholy, blood-thirsty organisation, funded, armed and equipped by equally terrorist-minded bodies and states. WABIL condemns all groups who are the backbone and invisible support network of ISIS. We are seeing an escalation in ISIS attacks in Europe, where innocent civilians are now being targeted just as they are being on a daily basis in Syria, Iraq, and other Middle Eastern countries. Indeed a similar murder of a Shia scholar was committed in Baghdad two days ago when Scholar Rafed al-Gharebawi was found handcuffed, tortured and murdered. We can no longer consider this a threat far removed from us.

 
While the assailants have been killed in confrontation with the police, we raise concerns that although being on the French police’s radar the attackers were allowed to roam the streets freely. This is all the more concerning as the killer was known for his terrorist activities in Syria.

 
It is clear that ISIS-recruited terrorists from Europe, subscribing to ISIS’s hate-ideology, are being allowed not only to travel to Syria and Iraq, killing innocent civilians there, but are also allowed to return to Europe  and somehow slip the net, posing an immeasurable threat to the public. Today’s tragic case is a sad illustration of this. We urge the government of France and other European countries to consult with their Muslim citizens and community organisations in tackling the threat of extremism within the community and to bring the arm of the law down on all terror suspects, regardless of religion, nationality and ethnicity.

 
We stand united with all victims of terror, particularly the French people today mourning the loss of a man of God.

 
Sayed Mohammad al-Musawi
World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League (WABIL)
London, UK     
 
 

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