| Iraq | Saddam Hussein's Iraq said the United States deserved Tuesday's attacks in New York and Washington as the fruits "of its crimes against humanity." Under the headline "America burns," the official newspaper Al-Iraq said that "what happened in the United States yesterday is a lesson for all tyrants, oppressors and criminals." Overnight an official Iraqi statement said: "The American cowboys are reaping the fruit of their crimes against humanity." |
|---|---|
| Libya | Gadhafi called the attacks "horrifying" and urged international Muslim aid groups to join other international aid agencies in offering assistance to the United States "regardless of political considerations or differences between America and the peoples of the world." |
| Jordan | King Abdullah of Jordan, who spoke to CNN from the Royal Palace in Amman, agreed that the celebrations in the West Bank were isolated events and said "we were just as shocked as you are."
"It's a small group of people; it's no way a reflection of the Palestinian people or other peoples of the Middle East," said Abdullah, who added that Jordan shares the sorrow and grief suffered by Americans. |
| Palestine | As Palestinians celebrated in one West Bank town and in Lebanese refugee camps on Tuesday, their leader Yasser Arafat offered his sympathy to Americans and said the Palestinian authority was "completely shocked" by the string of attacks.
Arafat said: "We are completely shocked. It's unbelievable. We completely condemn this very dangerous attack, and I convey my condolences to the American people, to the American president and to the American administration, not only in my name but on behalf of the Palestinian people." |
| Israel | Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said: "The fight against terrorism is an international struggle of the free world against the forces of darkness."
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak told CNN that "it's time for action and not just tough talk" to fight terror. He said that whoever supported or hosted terrorist groups should be "automatically isolated from the family of nations.'' |
| Iran | Mohammad Khatami, the Iranian president, said he felt "deep regret and sympathy with the victims." |
| Hamas | Sheikh Yassin, leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas, said "no doubt this is a result of injustice the U.S practices against the weak in the world." |
| Islamic Jihad | From Gaza, Islamic Jihad official Nafez Azzam said "what happened in the United States today is a consequence of American policies in this region." |
| Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine | In the West Bank, Qais abu Leila, leader of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, denied any connection to the incident and said it has always opposed "terror attacks on civilian targets, especially outside the occupied territories." |
| Pakistan / Taliban | In Islamabad, Pakistan, Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, said: "We want to tell the American children that Afghanistan feels your pain and we hope that the courts find justice." |
| Afghanistan / Taliban | In Kabul, Afghanistan, Wakeel Ahmed Mutawakel, the foreign minister of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban government, told the Arab television network Al Jazeera, "We denounce this terrorist attack, whoever is behind it." |
| Egypt / Tagammu | "Egyptians' feelings about the incident are deeply contradictory," said Mosbah Qutb, senior member of the leftist Tagammu Party, reflecting on popular sentiments about the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington as Shaden Shehab and Fatemah Farag report. "On the one hand we are a civilised people -- a people who truly believe in peace and have great respect for human life, and to see such loss fills us with pain. On the other hand is our acute awareness that this is the United States whose policies are directly responsible for so many deaths and so much misery throughout the world, particularly, of course, in the Middle East." |
| Egypt / Wafd | "We [the Wafd Party] like all Egyptians, strongly condemn terrorism. We condemn terrorist activities against the United States; equally, we condemn terrorism by Israelis against Palestinian civilians." Abaza took the opportunity to add that he hoped that the "horrific attack on the United States would make the world feel the pain of the Palestinian civilians who are crushed every day." |
| Egypt / Nasserist | "What happened to America is a great tragedy that we condemn categorically. At the same time," Dawoud said, "it is a pity that civilians had to pay the price of the American administration's miscalculations." He added, "American policies have made a lot of enemies, not only in the Middle East but throughout the world -- actions like dropping the [atomic] bomb on Hiroshima or even their position in Durban. I hope they learn their lesson." |
| Egypt / Muslim Brotherhood | For their part, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood said that they were "horrified" by the attack on the US and they expressed their "condolences and sadness." In a statement received by the Weekly, the Brotherhood said that they "strongly condemn such activities that are against all humanist and Islamic morals." The statement added that they "condemn and oppose all aggression on human life, freedom and dignity anywhere in the world." |
| Saudi Arabia | Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Senior Ulema [Religious Scholars] Shaikh Abdulaziz Al-Ashaikh issued a statement today condemning the terrorist acts that have taken place in the United States, saying categorically: "Such acts run counter to the teachings of Islam.'' He went on to state: "God Almighty has decreed that people adhere to the principle of justice because heaven and earth are based on justice, and He sent his messengers to advocate for justice, and the Holy Qur'an underscores the importance of following the path of justice in this world. And it is clear that to hold someone responsible for a crime committed by another, is not just." He added: "Enmity and hatred do not justify aggression or injustice." |
Muslim Scholars:
The undersigned, leaders of Islamic movements, are horrified (ra`ahum) by the events of Tuesday 11 Sept 2001 in the United States which resulted in massive killing (qatl), destruction (tadmeer) and attack (i`tida) on innocent lives.
We express our deepest sympathies and sorrow. We condemn, in the strongest terms, the incidents (hawadith; word shared with Hebrew in 'hadasah') which are against all human and Islamic norms. This is grounded in the Noble Laws of Islam which forbid all forms of attacks on innocents. God Almighty says in the Holy Qur'an: "No bearer of burdens can bear the burden [wizr] of another" (Surah al-Isra 17:15).
source:
Attacks draw mixed response in Mideast - September 12, 2001
Muslim scholars and intellectuals condemn attacks in New York and Washington - 12 Sept 2001
Islamic Statements Against Terrorism
Condemning aggression - Al-Ahram Weekly
Saudi Grand Mufti condemns terrorist acts in U.S. - September 15, 2001
