WASHINGTON, 15 July 2005 — Muslims must not let extremists hijack their faith, a prominent American Islamic group warned yesterday in a television public service announcement issued in the wake of the London bombings.

Stung by criticisms that Islamic leaders have not done enough to condemn the blasts blamed by police on British Muslims, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sent the spot to television stations across the United States.

“We will not allow our faith to be hijacked by criminals,” says one of the speakers on the advertisement, which features shots of Muslims speaking directly to the camera.

“Islam is not about hatred and violence; it is about peace and justice,” says another of the featured speakers, a young woman.

CAIR leaders said the new TV spot was needed because persistent efforts by US Muslim leaders to condemn terror in the name of Islam had failed to penetrate public perceptions.

“We don’t know why we are not breaking through that. Maybe the rising level of anti-Muslim rhetoric is drowning out our condemnation,” said Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s national communications director.

The group quickly condemned the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, and published a full-page advertisement in The Washington Post offering condolences to victims’ families.

“Defeating terrorism is in everyone’s interest. That is why we are launching one more effort to make the Muslim community’s condemnation of terrorism crystal clear.”

Elsewhere, a survey released yesterday by Pew Research Center says Support for Osama bin Laden and suicide bombings have fallen sharply in much of the Muslim world.

The survey examined public opinion in six predominantly Muslim nations: Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Jordan and Lebanon. It also examined views in nine North American and European countries as well as in India and China. In all, more than 17,000 people were questioned either by telephone of face-to-face.

“There’s declining support for terrorism in the Muslim countries and support for Osama bin Laden is declining. There’s also less support for suicide bombings,” said Pew Center director Andrew Kohut.

“This is good news, but still there are substantial numbers who support bin Laden in some of these countries,” he told a news conference.

When asked what caused Muslim extremism, 40 percent in Lebanon and 38 percent in Jordan blamed US policies and influence; in Morocco, Pakistan and Turkey, respondents were more likely to blame poverty, unemployment or poor education.

Meanwhile, the US government yesterday froze the assets of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia, a United Kingdom-based Saudi opposition group the United States says backs Al-Qaeda.

MIRA is run by Saad Al-Fagih, an exiled Saudi dissident whose name is on the UN list of people associated with Al-Qaeda and the Taleban, the Treasury Department said. Fagih uses MIRA to provide Al-Qaeda with recruits and public relations help, said Stuart Levey, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.