Muslims should say sorry for 9/11 & 7/7
Oct 24, 2006
Outrage over comments by cardinal
(Daily Record, 3 October 2006) CARDINAL Keith O'Brien has said that Muslims should apologise for the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks.
Heclaimed that people in this country should not have to "live in fear of attack" from Muslims.
The leading Catholic said: "There have been no apologies for the shooting of a nun in Somalia, let alone for 9/11 or the London bombings.
"I would like to see some reciprocal moves from the Islamic side. We shouldn't have to live in fear of attacks from Muslims."
But his remarks have sparked outrage.
Ashraf Anjum, president of the Glasgow Mosque, said the cardinal was wrong to blame the entire Muslim faith for acts by extremists.
He said: "These remarks have caused a great deal of concern among Muslims here in Scotland.
"When the 9/11 and 7/7 attacks happened every Muslim in the world condemned them, except for a few odd people here and there.
"If somebody has committed a crime you punish him according to the law.
"But you don't say that the whole nation or the whole religious group is liable for this.
"We accept that if someone has behaved irresponsibly they must face the consequences of their action.
"The people responsible should be punished.
"But why should the rest of the law-abiding citizens in this country apologise for something that they have not done?"
And he added: "When there were bombings in Ireland and Catholics and Protestants were killing each other, did any cardinal or Pope say sorry for that?"
Osama Saeed, of the Muslim Association of Britain, said the cardinal's claims showed "twisted logic".
He said: "The Pope had to apologise for his own comments. I'm not sure who would apologise for the bombers to the cardinal.
"The Pope, though, still hasn't actually apologised for his belief in that speech that Islam is a religion that converts by force.
"I maintained then that the impact on local interfaith relations would depend on how the Catholic Church reacted locally. They had to distance themselves from that idea.
"Muslims want to have good relations with Catholics. We have common causes and as minority communities, shared experiences."
Muslims should say sorry for 9/11 & 7/7