UNIPATH STAFF
Although Da’ish terrorists bombed a mosque in Kuwait to foment hatred, Kuwaitis and their friends around the world undermined that message of divisiveness by vowing to end such sectarian violence.
The June 2015 attack on the Imam Al-Sadiq Mosque in Kuwait City left several dozen dead and hundreds injured.
His Highness Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah called the terrorists responsible for the attack cowards and promised they would be captured and brought to justice. He reassured his countrymen that the attack would not undermine national unity.
“We will cut the evil hand that interferes with our homeland’s security,” said Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Khaled Al Sabah, according to the Kuwait News Agency.
In the aftermath of the attacks, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi called for cooperation against Da’ish and the creation of an intelligence/security situation room to share information. He said the terrorist attack against Kuwait underlines the importance of regional cooperation. “Terrorist gangs are a threat to all, and countries in the region and the world must seriously contribute to fighting them,” he said.
The terror attack has placed immense focus on the importance of fighting sectarian violence. Da’ish uses tactics such as attacks on mosques to enflame sectarian divides in Iraq and elsewhere. Da’ish claimed responsibility for attacks at Yemeni mosques in March 2015 and Saudi Arabian mosques in May 2015. Some experts suspect Da’ish sometimes claims credit for attacks by other groups for propaganda purposes.
“We want to deliver a message to Da’ish that we are united brothers, Sunnis and Shia, and they cannot divide us,” said Abdulfatah Al-Mutawwia, a Kuwaiti living in Iraq whose brother was killed in the attack.
Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs condemned the bombing, describing it as a horrendous terror act and a transgression of the sanctity of the holy month of Ramadan. The council was one of many that extended condolences to all Kuwaitis.
“The council affirmed that wisdom and unity of the Kuwaiti people are capable of thwarting all attempts to drive wedges among them,” according to a statement released by Bahrain’s News Agency. “It also condemned all heinous terror acts targeting the societies’ security, including the cowardly attack on a hotel in Tunisia. The council asserted that those cowardly criminal acts are in breach with all divine religions and values, urging unity to foil plots to sow sedition among Muslims.”
Saudi Arabia’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz condemned the “cowardly and criminal” terror attacks in Kuwait, as well as attacks that happened the same day in Tunisia and France — also claimed by Da’ish. He called for stronger international cooperation to fight terrorists.
United Arab Emirates’ Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the world needs long-term close collaboration to eliminate the sources of terrorism.
“These crimes, which bring in new widows and orphans, destabilize peace, security and safety, are being perpetrated in the name of our tolerant religion, which remains innocent since Islam is a religion of peace and affection which urges peoples and nations to promote interaction, cooperation and solidarity with each other. No extremist or deviant takfiri ideology can represent Islam,” Gargash said. “Confronting the appalling, murderous and evil terrorism rests with rallying the international community’s efforts to deter the extremist and takfiri ideology that lays the fertile ground for terrorism and justifies its crimes.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry stressed that the bombing was a criminal act, contrary to all moral and human values, that also contradicts all religions and teachings of Islam and its principles of tolerance.
Sources: Agence France-Presse, http://elaph.com, Asharq Al-Awsat, Kuwait News Agency, Kuwait Times, Bahrain News Agency, Emirates News Agency-WAM, Qatar News Agency, Reuters