What do a Shia mosque in Yemen, a church in Pakistan and a museum in Tunisia have in common? Sadly this past couple of weeks, all three have suffered the evil carnage perpetrated by terrorists who have lost their right to be called humans. The Shia Muslim Council of Southern California joins the rest of the World Community in condemning these heinous attacks by extremists who have yet again shown their utter disregard for the value of human life and moral conduct.
In terrorist attacks on two mosques, during Friday prayers in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a, suicide bombers unleashed deadly explosions resulting in bloody devastation in the Badr and al-Hashoosh mosques, located across town from each other. The bomb blasts ripped through worshippers killing 137 people. At least 13 children were among the dead. The bombings, claimed by ISIL affiliated suicide bombers, also wounded 357 people.
Earlier this week, ISIL took the credit for the attack on tourists at the National Bardo Museum in Tunisia killing 21 people. The terrorists opened fire on the tourists – including visitors from Japan, Italy, France, Australia, Poland and Spain – as they got off a bus to visit the museum.
In the previous week suicide bombers attacked two churches in Youhanabad area of Lahore, Pakistan, during morning services, killing at least 14 people and wounding more than 70. This is the latest in a chain of atrocities by the Taliban and other extremists targeting religious minorities, which originated with attacks on the Shia in Pakistan several decades ago. Ever since then, the government of Pakistan has consistently failed to protect its minorities and has yet to fulfill its pledge to bring justice to the victims.
Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. For a life to be taken through violence and terror is an even greater tragedy. The Shia Muslim Council of Southern California joins the families of the victims in mourning the loss of innocent men women and children as a result of the dastardly and monstrous actions of the terror groups associated with ISIS, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Shia Muslim Council of Southern California
The Shia Muslim Council of Southern California is an umbrella organization for Shia Islamic centers in the Southern California area. SMC was established on September 17, 2014, and is composed of 15 Islamic centers. The following individuals are the elected SMC Board of Directors:
President – Imam Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini
Vice-President: Dr. Hasnain Walji
Secretary: Hajj Khalil Dewji
Treasurer: Hajj Mehdi Hirji
Councilor: Dr. Ridha al-Hajjar
Councilor: Sister Fatma Saleh
Councilor: Sayed Asghar Rizvi