October 6, 2002	Sunday	Rajab 28, 1423

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NEW YORK, Oct 5: The American Muslim groups on Friday expressed outrage over the recent attacks by Christian fundamentalist Baptist Minister Rev Jerry Falwell on Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in a recent television interview.

Falwell, in an interview with CBS news programme 60 minutes said: “I think Muhammad was a terrorist”

The Baptist minister said that he has concluded from reading Muslim and non-Muslim writers that Islam’s prophet “was a — a violent man, a man of war.”

“Jesus set the example for love, as did Moses,” Falwell said. “I think Muhammad set an opposite example.”

In response to Falwell’s remarks, Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relation in Washington, said: “Anybody is free to be a bigot if they want to. What really concerns us is the lack of reaction by mainstream religious and political leaders, who say nothing when these bigots voice these attacks.”

Hooper noted that Falwell and Robertson will speak at next week’s Christian Coalition convention in Washington alongside House Majority Whip Tom DeLay and other politicians.

“How can these elected representatives legitimize this kind of hate speech by appearing on the same platform with Muslim-bashers?” Hooper asked.

In an interview to Washington Post, AMC Communications Director, Faiz Rehman, called Jerry Falwell’s anti-Muslim remarks “verbal terrorism” and against the teachings of Jesus.

In another statement, the American Muslim Council (AMC) has called upon President Bush, and other national leaders from both parties to condemn the bigotry and hatred against Muslims so disgustingly demonstrated by some evangelical Christian leaders. AMC also calls upon leaders of other faiths to condemn the recently started campaign of attacking Islam.

These attacks on Islam and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) not only reveal utter ignorance of history, but also reflect on the paranoia of these evangelical leaders who just cannot see Islam as a major American religion with over 7 million followers in the US.

These shortsighted and narrow-minded leaders cannot see that their attacks on Islam are creating an all-time high interest in Islam, and books on Islam have become major best-sellers giving rise to an increase in conversion to Islam. American people are not naive. Though some will be misguided by the ignorant remarks of Falwell and his ilk, most will go to the firsthand sources to understand and know Islam.

Meanwhile, police used force on Saturday to break up protests by several hundred Muslims in Indian Kashmir over the outrageous remarks, witnesses said.

Police said there were demonstrations at around ten different places over the alleged remarks.

Police used batons and fired tear-gas shells near Kashmir’s main mosque in Srinagar when several hundred youths took to the streets shouting anti-American slogans, witnesses said.

In the south districts of Anantnag and Pulwama people took to the streets shouting “death to enemies of Islam.”

Angry Muslims also enforced a protest strike in Sopore town, 50kms north of Srinagar and shops were closed, witnesses said. —AFP