Urging international cooperation to defeat extremism, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has asserted the world Muslims have been the first victims of terrorists, who used their faith as a cover.
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"No one fights under the name of religion," Fabius told journalists in Kuwait, the first Muslim country he has visited since Charlie Hebdo attacks earlier this month, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported on Tuesday, January 27. When Kuwait and France fight "against terrorism, we fight those who are not only liars, but also killers," he said. "Muslims have been the first victims of those terrorists," Fabius added. The French Minister called for international cooperation against extremism, adding that "this is a battle we should win." Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah said Kuwait and France had "identical views on terrorism," and reiterated Kuwait's strong condemnation of the "brutal attacks in France," a reference to Charlie Hebdo. Sabah also warned that "terrorism is a threat for all of us," and called for greater efforts to drain funding of radical groups and recruitment of fighters. Fabius said France looks to Islam as a moderate religion and stressed that French authorities will apply the law firmly against any acts against Islam or Muslims. Muslims in Europe have been facing an increasing resentment after Paris attacks that left 17 killed, including two Muslims. The National Observatory Against Islamophobia said over one hundred incidents have been reported to the police since Charlie Hebdo attacks of January 7-9. The rise in attacks over the last two weeks represents an increase of 110 percent over the whole of January 2014, the organization said on Monday. Moreover, a Muslim father was stabbed to death in his own home in southern France this week by a neighbor who claimed to be avenging Charlie Hebdo. Another Eritrean immigrant has been murdered in Germany’s Dresden. Mosques in Sweden and Germany were also attacked following the attacks. Seeing the Charlie Hebdo attack as a betrayal of Islamic faith, leaders from Muslim countries and organizations have joined worldwide condemnation of the attack, saying the attackers should not be associated with Islam. Check OnIslam.net special coverage with the reactions from prominent Muslims worldwide. Check also reactions from eminent Muslim scholars on this barbaric incident.
