No Kuwaitis among Paris attacks’ victims: Envoy
PARIS: Kuwait’s Ambassador to France Sami Al-Sulaiman has confirmed that no Kuwaiti citizens were among victims of Friday’s attacks in Paris, which left 129 people killed and 352 others injured. “The French authorities have confirmed no Kuwaiti citizens among the victims of the Paris attacks,” Sulaiman said in a statement to KUNA Saturday night.
He said the “Embassy and the French health authorities were verifying if there are Kuwaiti citizens among the injured because of the large number of the wounded who were admitted in many hospitals.” Sulaiman commended the cooperation shown by the French authorities with the embassy.
Meanwhile, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday condemned in the strongest terms the multiple shooting and bomb attacks that hit Paris last night and left hundreds of casualties. In a statement, OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani conveyed his sincere condolences to the families of the victims as well as to the Government and people of France and wished for speedy recovery of the wounded. He also reaffirmed the OIC’s unwavering solidarity and support to France at these critical and painful circumstances.
The Secretary General expressed his firm rejection of any terrorist act that violates the right to life and try to undermine universal human values including the values of freedom and equality that France has consistently promoted. He reiterated the OIC’s principled and consistent position in condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
Joint action
In the meantime, Madani called upon all governments across the world, international organizations and civil society institutions in all countries to close ranks and engage in a concerted joint action to combat the scourge of terrorism which has become the arch enemy of humanity at large.
In Rabat, the supreme scientific council of Morocco said the Paris attacks were acts of terrorism and aggression against innocent life which constitute definitely taboos in Islam. The synchronized attacks can by no means be justified as any kind of ‘jihad’ (Islamic holy war), the council said in a ‘fatwa’ (religious opinion), explaining the correct forms of jihad specified by Muslim scholars and jurisprudents. The council, the highest religious advice giving body in the kingdom of Morocco, issued this fatwa in response to controversy over the attacks and the attempts of some people to link the attacks to jihad.
In Paris, the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) denounced as “outrageous and heinous” the attacks reportedly carried out by the Islamic State (IS). The council called on the whole nation to stand united and demonstrate solidarity in the face of the current challenge, and asked the French Muslims to pray for the country to overcome the current catastrophe.
Inhuman
Meanwhile, the Dutch Muslim organizations condemned the terror attacks in Paris as “barbaric, cowardly and inhuman,” Dutch media reported. A statement issued by the umbrella group CMO (Contact Body for Muslims) said The Dutch Muslim community is grief-stricken and feels deeply for all the victims and the people of France.
The Dutch Moroccan Mosque Association said it was deeply shocked by the attacks. “Islam teaches us that those who kill a man, have killed all mankind, “it said in a statement. “We will continue to work with all Europeans who support democracy and the rule of law to combat violence and hatred, no matter who the messenger is,” it added. An estimated one million Muslims, mainly from Morocco and Turkey, live in the Netherlands which has a population of 17 million. —KUNA