CAIR Condemns Killing of British Hostage in Iraq

CAIR Condemns Killing of British Hostage in Iraq; Islamic Civil Rights Group Calls for End to Cycle of Violence in Region

10/8/2004 4:56:00 PM

To: National Desk

Contact: Ibrahim Hooper, 202-488-8787 or 202-744-7726, cair [at] cair-net.org, or Rabiah Ahmed, 202-488-8787 or 202-439-1441, rahmed [at] cair-net.org, both of the Council on American-Islamic Relations

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR) today condemned the murder of British hostage Kenneth Bigley in Iraq and called for an end to the cycle of violence in the Middle East.

In its statement, the Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group said:

"We condemn this latest act of mindless cruelty and repeat our call for the immediate release of all hostages currently held in Iraq, whatever their nation of origin or faith."

"We must work together to bring an end to the seemingly endless cycle of violence that has claimed so many innocent lives in the Middle East."

CAIR recently launched an online petition drive, called "Not in the Name of Islam," designed to disassociate Islam from the violent acts of a few Muslims.

SEE: http://www.cair-net.org/asp/article.asp?id=169&page=AA

The "Not in the Name of Islam" petition states:

"We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts. We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him."

CAIR, America's largest Islamic civil liberties group, has 29 regional offices and chapters nationwide and in Canada.

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NOTE: CAIR offers an e-mail list designed to be a journalist's window to the American Muslim community. Subscribers to the list, called ISLAM-INFONET, receive news releases and other materials dealing with American Muslim positions on issues of importance to our society.

To SUBSCRIBE to ISLAM-INFONET, go to: http://cair.biglist.com/islam-infonet/