Barcelona attack a senseless act against civilians — GMMF

KUALA LUMPUR: The Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF) has strongly condemned the senseless and cynical van attack against civilians in Barcelona, resulting in at least 13 dead and 100 injured thus far.

“We categorically abhor these unscrupulous attacks, and people must refrain from associating terrorism with the true meaning of ‘jihad’, which essentially calls for the pursuit and struggle for peace, and against one’s innermost temptations as well as desires,” GMMF executive chairman and chief executive officer, Datuk Dr Nasharudin Mat Isa, said in a statement.

He said the GMMF extended its thoughts and prayers to the victims of the Barcelona attack and their family members, and it stood in solidarity with the people of Spain.

Some 26 French nationals were wounded, at least eleven of them in serious condition, in the attack, Thursday in the Spanish city of Barcelona, French Foreign Minister Jeans-Yves Le Drian announced Friday morning in a statement.

A van plowed into crowds of tourists in one of Barcelona’s busiest thoroughfares , leaving at least 13 people dead and over 100 others injured. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Nasharudin pointed out that ‘jihad’ could never be equated to acts of injustice, violence and terrorism. “Terrorism, bombings in public places and mass shootings are strategies that rarely achieve the objectives of terrorist groups,” he said.

According to him, terrorism only backfires in building community’s resilience, for the peace-loving moderates band together and countries form coalitions - in an uncompromising battle with the forces of terror and its invalidated ideologies.