Indian Muslims in U.S. Condemn Delhi Blasts

An advocacy group that represents Indian Muslims in the United States has condemned the terrorist attack in New Delhi which had killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more.
The Indian-American Muslim Council (IAMC) described the attacks as “an act of terror meant to advance divisive and sectarian agendas.”

While it remains uncertain who was really behind the attacks in Delhi, Indian police are investigating a number of Muslim militant groups – including Indian Mujahideen and Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami -- which have claimed responsibility.

In a statement, IAMC said it has “called upon people of all faiths to come together in this difficult hour, and defeat the intent of the killers by reaffirming their commitment to a pluralist, secular India.”

IAMC, which describes itself as being “dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos,” also said the timing of the Delhi attack was suspicious give that India and Pakistan are in the midst of resuming peace talks.

“Repeated terror attacks on innocent civilians are clearly an indication of poor security arrangements on the part of the government”, said Shaheen Khateeb, President of IAMC.

“This barbaric act is also an attack on the secular foundations of Indian society and is representative of the dangerous sectarian visions espoused by the extreme elements in our society.”

Nonetheless, IAMC also cautioned Indian police from making hasty conclusions about the terror attack.

“Investigations of such terror attacks in the past, have found them to be the handiwork of either local extremist organizations or cross border terrorists,” IAMC stated.

“However, knee-jerk reactions from law enforcement agencies consistently targeted poor, innocent individuals that did not have the wherewithal for proper legal representation. [We] therefore called upon the media and people of all faiths to exercise restraint and withhold judgment until a full scale investigation is allowed to run its course.”