OnIslam & News Agencies
Monday, 23 September 2013 00:00

The Muslim council confirmed its support to the security and government organs during the difficult time that Kenya faces.
NAIROBI – Shocked by images of blood and hostages, a leading Kenya Muslims organization has issued a statement condemning the attack at Westgate mall that started on Saturday and killed more than 69 people.

“We Muslim leaders gathered here today condemn in the strongest terms the attack on peace loving Kenyans and our international guests who have chosen to live and work in Kenya.” the Supreme council of Kenya Muslims said in a statement released on Sunday, September 23.

The Muslim council confirmed its support to the security and government organs during the difficult time that Kenya faces.

“We call upon our Muslim brethren and Kenyans if goodwill.” the statement added.

The attack started on Westgate mall when gunmen entered the Westgate centre at about 12:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on Saturday, throwing grenades and firing automatic weapons.

A children’s day event was being held at the time.

The attack appeared designed to achieve maximum global impact by targeting a place frequented by Westerners as well as Kenyans.

France said two of its citizens were dead, the US State Department said it had reports that American citizens had been injured, and Britain said its nationals had undoubtedly been affected.

On third day of the raid, gunfire and explosions sounded on Monday from the Nairobi mall where militants from Somalia’s al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group threatened to kill hostages.

An al Shabaab spokesman warned that the Islamists would kill hostages if Kenyan security forces, who are being assisted by Western and Israeli experts, tried to storm their position:

“Israelis and Kenyan forces have tried to enter Westgate by force but they could not,” Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said in an audio statement posted online and cited by Reuters.

“The mujahideen will kill the hostages if the enemies use force.

Un-Islamic

Kenyan Muslim citizens have also rushed to condemn the ongoing hostage-taking saga in a Nairobi mall.

“The attack is barbaric and satanic,” Hamiza Saja, a gender activist, told Anadolu Agency.

“It is a challenge to the government and all of us Kenyans,” she asserted.

Saja said that as a Muslim, she was aware that Islam abhors acts of violence, insisting that the attackers should not be associated with the religion.

“The attackers should be punished irrespective of their religion or race,” Saja said.

“My prayers are for the injured and we hope the government will rescue those still trapped in the building.”

Bhasir Mohamed, a Kenyan Muslim, has also dismissed the attack as “heinous and cowardly act by terrorists.”

He insisted that the targeting of women and children runs counter to the Islamic teachings of peace.

“I urge fellow Kenyans to remain tolerant and live together as brothers and sisters and condemn this attempt to cause religious strife.”

Al Shabaab, which is battling Kenyan and other African peacekeepers in Somalia, had repeatedly threatened attacks on Kenyan soil if Nairobi did not pull its troops out of the Horn of Africa country.

Shabaab militant group has been launching deadly attacks against the Somali government over the past four years.

The attacks have killed hundreds of civilians and displaced thousands.

Declaring its affiliation to Al-Qaeda in 2010, Shabaab announced struggle against neighboring countries.

In a fatwa issued earlier this month, Somali religious scholars condemned al-Shabaab’s use of violence, saying the group had no place in Islam.

The assault has been the biggest single attack in Kenya since al Qaeda’s East Africa cell bombed the US Embassy in Nairobi in 1998, killing more than 200 people.

In 2002, the same militant cell attacked an Israeli-owned hotel on the coast and tried to shoot down an Israeli jet in a coordinated attack.

SOURCE: http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/464585-kenya-muslims-condemn-nairobi-attack.html