ZAMBOANGA CITY – The influential Ulama Council of Zamboanga Peninsula has strongly condemned the failed assassination here of 2 influential Saudi clerics.
Authorities are investigating two Filipino men – Junaide Saleh and Mujer Abubakar – who were arrested following the shooting late Tuesday of Islamic scholar, Sheikh Dr. Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni, and Sheikh Turki Assaegh, a religious Attaché of the Saudi Embassy in Manila. The clerics are now recuperating, according to Mayor Beng Climaco.
“They are okay now and I already spoken with Dr. al-Qarni,” Climaco said on Thursday.
The two Saudi scholars were shot after lecturing at a forum at the Western Mindanao State University. The gunman – Rugasan Misuari III – whom police said was the shooter had been killed by security men.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the foiled assassination of a Saudi senior scholar, Dr. A’id Al Qarni and his companion, a Saudi religious attaché, Sheikh Turkey Assaeg which transpired in the evening of March 1, 2016 inside a university campus in Zamboanga City. By all standards, it is without a doubt, a dastardly act perpetrated against a venerable, peace-loving scholar who has helped millions of people around the world developed a positive outlook in life through lectures and works that focus on making people happy and overcoming trials and calamities.”
“In the aftermath of this tragic incident, we call on all the Muslim communities of Zamboanga Peninsula and the neighbouring regions to exercise restraint and patience as we express our indignation against this act of terrorism. We enjoin our people to observe utmost prudence and caution in processing or sharing any information posted on the social media or proliferated elsewhere relative to the identity, motive or affiliation of the culprits. Let us refrain from inciting people to violence and let us be responsible in posting on social media as it is easy to exploit people’s emotions in these trying times,” the Ulama said in a statement.
It also called on Muslims and non-Muslims alike to stay calm as the investigation is going on.
“This is a time for sobriety and solidarity of the Muslims and non-Muslims alike and not a cause of strife and division. In responding to this outrage to our beloved scholars, let us uphold the rule of law and not the rule of the angry mob. Let us not forget that nothing befalls us except that it has been decreed by Allah (azza wa jal); hence, we should all resign gracefully to His Will,” the Ulama Council said.
“In our mission to preach the beautiful message of Islam and in our quest for enduring peace in our land, we will not be cowed by the threat of terrorism, sabotage and assassinations, let alone this isolated incident. On the contrary, this ordeal has even inspired us to hold more events in the future on a grander scale, in shaa Allah, to promote our advocacy of love and peace. We exhort our people not to let the forces of evil triumph by succumbing to their bullying but rather we should all be pro-actively involved in working for peace and prosperity. If there are haters and bigots planning to prevent the light of Islam from shining, let them know that Allah will protect His religion and He is the Best of planners,” it said.
The Ulama Council called on authorities to conduct a full-blown, expeditious, credible and impartial investigation to ferret out the whole truth behind the assassination, from the motive to the identities of all involved in the cowardly act.
“For our part, we intend to pursue our own parallel investigation within the confines of the law if only to complement and fast-track the investigation of the law enforcement agencies. We call for justice for the victims of this horrendous crime,” it said.
The Ulama Council also appealed to the media, bloggers and writers to inhibit from writing malicious reports and articles maligning the integrity of al-Qarni, who was reported by the US-based non-profit research group the Investigative Project on Terrorism that he allegedly called a jihad on US forces in Iraq and Israel for the killing of Hamas leaders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel-Aziz Rantisi.
The report, which can be accessed in this URL: http://www.investigativeproject.org/3864/cair-protests-saudi-radical-exclusion-from-us, also said that al-Qarni was blocked from attending an Islamic forum in the United States in 2012.
International media reports also said that ISIS has put a tab on al-Qarni and has previously called on its members and supporters to kill him because of his preaching that criticized the Salafi jihadist militant group. According to a report by the French news agency, Agence France Presse, al-Qarni’s name was among those of a number of Saudi scholars listed by ISIS in the latest issue of its monthly online magazine, Dabiq.
“Write ups of this kind only worsen the situation as the insinuate justification the failed assassination of the good scholar. We urge you to check meticulously your sources. Not everything found in the websites, especially those purporting to be expert on terrorism, are reliable. There are so many haters and bigots out there, manufacturing false information against innocent scholars. Please, be professional and responsible. Let us not forget, the good scholar is the victim here; we should not make him the culprit,” the Ulama Council said.
Al-Qarni is best known for his self-help book La Tahzan (Don’t Be Sad), which is aimed at Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The book has sold over 2 million copies. (Mindanao Examiner)
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