British imams refuse Islamic funerals for trio of attackers
Coalition repudiates ‘dastardly cowardice’
More than 130 imams and other religious leaders across Britain have refused to perform traditional Islamic funerals for the three men who killed seven people and wounded dozens in a weekend terrorist attack in London.
The move came as London police on Tuesday named the third attacker: Youssef Zaghba, 22, an Italian national of Moroccan descent who was reportedly working in a London restaurant. Zaghaba was shot dead by police Saturday night, along with accomplices Khuram Butt and Ra- chid Redouane, who were identified Monday.
“Their acts and willful dismissal of our religious principles alienates them from any association with our community for whom the inviolability of every human life is the founding principle,” the group said in a statement released by the Muslim Council of Britain. “Consequently, and in light of other such ethical principles which are quintessential to Islam, we will not perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer for the perpetrators.”
The group urged fellow imams and religious authorities to follow suit, saying the “vile murderers” seek to divide Britain and instill fear.
“We implore everyone to unite: we are one community,” the statement said. “In the face of such dastardly cowardice, unlike the terrorists, we must uphold love and compassion.” Saturday’s attack began when a van plowed into pedestrians on London Bridge, then drove to the nearby Borough Market, where the attackers went on a stabbing rampage. Armed officers confronted three suspects, who police said were wearing “hoax” suicide vests.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the third terrorist strike in Britain in less than three months.
Zaghba was detained by Italian authorities at the airport in Bologna on March 15, 2016, as he was about to catch a flight to Istanbul. He raised suspicion because he had a small backpack, a passport and a one-way ticket, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
There was not enough evidence to arrest or charge him, Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said Tuesday. Zaghba had told authorities after being stopped at the airport that he “wanted to be a terrorist,” but then quickly corrected himself, Amato said.
Amato told Italy’s Radio 24 that Zaghba was flagged to British authorities as a “possible suspect,” according to the Associated Press. Whenever Zaghba was in Italy, Italian intelligence officers tracked him, Amato said.
“We did everything we could have done,” he said. “But there weren’t elements of proof that he was a terrorist. He was someone who was suspicious because of his way of behaving.”