JEDDAH, 20 June 2004 — Shock and revulsion spread around the world yesterday over the beheading of Paul M. Johnson by Al-Qaeda on Friday.
“These evil acts are not only aimed against the United States and the West, but also against Islam and humanity,” Jordan’s King Abdallah told Jordan Radio. “I stand with Johnson’s family in such a difficult situation.”
Condemnations of the killing came from across the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
UAE President Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan Al-Nahayan sent a cable of condolences to President George W. Bush and expressed deep sorrow at Johnson’s death. He stressed the UAE’s firm stance against terrorism.
Sheikh Zayed also sent a cable to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd for the “great accomplishment achieved by the Saudi security forces” against terrorist groups in the Kingdom recently.
Crown Prince Abdullah received a telephone call from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh congratulating him on the achievements of Saudi security forces in tracking down terrorists and eliminating them. Bahrain’s King Hamad ibn Isa Al-Khalifa called Prince Abdullah to denounce the killing of Johnson.
In Syria, Information Ministry official Ahmad Haj Ail called Johnson’s slaying “a horrible crime that is alien to Arabs and Muslims.” To prevent such violence from continuing, he said it was necessary to “search for the circumstances that have led to it and what leads to terrorism.”
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer called Johnson’s murder “a barbaric act that is in no way justified.”
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, at a European Union summit in Brussels on Friday, expressed shock, saying, “This shows the nature of the people we are fighting day in, day out, around the world.”
French President Jacques Chirac said he was “horrified” by the slaying of Johnson, denouncing the act as inhuman and shameful.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said “these kinds of brutal acts do not help anybody.”
“My sympathies go to his family and loved ones, and I hope the perpetrators would eventually be brought to justice because we cannot tolerate this kind of behavior in today’s world,” he said at the UN headquarters in New York.
