The statement made by British Prime Minister David Cameron over the murder of a British soldier in Woolwich is quite commendable. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, also tried to defuse the tension, denying the right-wing extremists an opportunity to attack the Muslim community living the United Kingdom.
Despite the efforts of both Cameron and Johnson, sympathizers of English Defense League (EDL) allegedly vandalized a number of mosques in the city. The right-wing group also organized a violent rally against Islam near the murder scene of slain British young soldier, Drummer Lee Rigby, a father of two-year-old son. The headlines in all the main British newspapers Thursday morning were interesting and in fact even those which occasionally pander to right-wing fanatics did not mention the suspects’ alleged religion in their main headlines.
We can clearly read in almost all the statements of various politicians and in the condemnation put out by all mainstream British Muslim organizations that this was just as much a crime against Islam as it was against Britain. Like any minority group, British Muslims have their own problems but they are by far the best-integrated Muslim community in the Western world. We are certain that most Britons will see the Woolwich attack as an action of some lunatic individuals and will not blame an entire 3-million Muslim community in Britain for the crime. Our thoughts are with the family of slain young soldier, especially with his little two-year-old son. — S.H. Moulana, Riyadh
Woolwich slaying, an act against Islam
