It's wrong to prejudge whether the action of the Somali man was his own or acting on behalf of a group
Posted by Jamal on January 02 2010 12:34:28
The reaction over the incident of the Somali man, who apparently attempted to attack the Danish cartoonist, shows that there’s still lack of understanding over Muslims.
Extended News
The reaction over the incident of the Somali man, who apparently attempted to attack the Danish cartoonist, shows that there’s still lack of understanding over Muslims.
Kurt Westergaard’s cartoon, which depicted the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) with a bomb in his turban, caused outrage amongst Muslims worldwide. Jyllands-Posten Newspaper published the cartoon in 2005 and other European media reprinted later.
The Somali man, who was shot by police outside Westergaard's home in the city of Aarhus, has been charged with trying to kill the Danish artist.
Within hours, the Danish authorities and the media were linking the Somali man to al-Shabab, an Islamist group fighting to topple the Somalia interim government.
But before coming to conclusion, people should understand that individuals, like the alleged attacker, don’t have to be a member of a particular group to commit such act. It’s more of sharing the same ideology than anything else. There could be characters who may have similar ideology as Al-shabab but they are not necessarily acting on behalf of the group.
The response from Al-shabab says it all. "We appreciate the incident in which a Muslim Somali boy attacked the devil who abused our prophet Mohammed and we call upon all Muslims around the world to target the people like (him)," Sheikh Ali Rage, Al-shabab spokesman, told AFP.
Rage added: "There could be some people who might say that boy was related to Al-shabab or other Islamic organisations, but I tell you that this incident is not something that could be related only to Al-shabab or other Islamic organisations. It is a general obligation for all Muslims to defend their religion and the prophet. He really did what was to be done by any other Muslim."