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US is the biggest terrorist state: Bukhari
M R Narayan Swamy and Kavita Bajeli-Datt in New Delhi
Muslims in India will take to the streets if the United States targets Afghanistan in retaliation for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, imam of the 17th century Jama Masjid in Delhi, the country's largest mosque, has warned.
Imam Bukhari hastened to add that Muslims in India had no sympathy for terrorism and did not condone the horrendous September 11 attacks in New York and Arlington.
He told the Indo-Asian News Service in an hour-long interview at the mammoth red-stone mosque that while Washington railed against terrorism, it had no compunction in promoting terrorists if and when it suited its interests.
The 48-year-old head priest, whose family has managed the Jama Masjid since it was built by Mughal emperor Shahjehan, insisted that the US had no proof that Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, whom Washington considers the prime terrorist suspect, was involved in the September 11 attacks.
He said there was mounting anger against US plans to attack Afghanistan for refusing to hand Laden over.
"If the American attack takes place, Indian Muslims will not remain silent. We shall launch peaceful protests against the US all over the country.
"We need not be afraid. The US is the biggest terrorist state today. We cannot tolerate an attack on Afghanistan at any cost."
He said that if the US deployed its troops in Pakistan, it would not, as in Saudi Arabia, easily pull out. This, he said, would ultimately pose problems for India as well.
"Should the people of this country like to see war clouds hovering over us? Nobody will like it."
He went on to ask: "Has the US ever supported India in its fight against terrorism? The US is not interested in that. It only wants to weaken India.
"Also, who provided arms to the Taleban? Who gave them strength? They created the Taleban to finish off the Soviets. Today, because the same Taleban has decided to stand up to the US, they want to finish off the Taleban. What is the logic of all this?"
Bukhari said the US actions in the Middle East, Iraq, Sudan and now Afghanistan all made it clear that it was opposed to Islam and Muslims in general.
"The US, it seems, is determined to finish off Islam and Muslims. The trouble is nobody is willing to stand up to the US.
"What all did the US not do in Vietnam? They committed horrible atrocities there. Israel commits terrorism in Palestinian territories. Why does not the US oppose that? Have not US bombs killed thousands of innocents in Iraq?
"The fact is the US is the only country that supports terrorists as well as countries affected by the terrorism at the same time.
"If the Americans who died in New York and Pentagon are innocent, so were the Vietnamese. So are the Palestinian and Iraqi Muslims. So were the Iranians whose civilian airliner was shot down by the US Navy."
Bukhari denied reports quoting him as saying that a US attack on Afghanistan could spark Hindu-Muslim tension in India.
"I never said that," asserted the cleric. "I was completely misquoted by a newspaper. Why should there be any tension between Hindus and Muslims? Why?"
Hindus form the overwhelming majority in India's one billion population. Muslims form the largest minority and number some 140 million. |
