March 22, 2003
Muslim fury erupts over war By GENEIVE ABDO WASHINGTON - Pious Muslims around the Middle East stormed out of prayers Friday and vented their rage over the war on Iraq, which they called an attack on Islam. A second day of protests erupted from Yemen to Cairo, Amman, and the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Crowds marched on U.S. embassies, clashed with police, and chanted "Death to America." In the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, an 11-year-old boy and two others were shot dead in a clash between police and antiwar protesters, security officials said. At least 10 people were hurt in the shootout after police blocked 3,000 protesters from marching on the U.S. Embassy. Witnesses said demonstrators set tires and garbage cans alight while chanting, "Oh youth of Islam, say no to war and yes to peace" and "No to U.S. hegemony and hypocrisy." The largest protest occurred in Cairo, where about 10,000 Egyptians took part in the biggest spontaneous march there since the 1970s. Muslim clerics energized worshippers in several countries, denouncing the war as an attack on Islam. "Let God be with us against the infidels," one sheik said in Cairo's downtown Gama'ia el-Shara'ia mosque, asking God to punish the Americans. Muslim opinion plays a key role in Washington's long-term goals for the region. Even if the Iraqi military is defeated swiftly, the next front will be inside the mosques and Islamic community centers where Islamic youths increasingly are joining extremist groups determined to undermine Washington, analysts say. The Bush administration has said it hopes a quick victory in Iraq and the installation of a pro-Western government in Baghdad would spark a domino effect of greater democracy throughout the Muslim world. But public opinion throughout the region has scoffed at the idea as Western interference in their affairs. "This is being viewed as a war against Arabs and Muslims," said Abdel Moneim al-Sayyid, a political analyst in Cairo. "Arabs feel that there is no moral case for this war. If the reason is that Saddam (Hussein) is a dictator, there are many dictators around the world." The protests in Cairo began after Friday's prayers, outside Al-Azhar mosque, the 1,000-year-old seat of learning for the Sunni Muslims. "With our heart and soul, we sacrifice ourselves for Iraq," demonstrators chanted. Protesters set fire to a truck as others called for jihad, or holy war, against the American and British "infidels." A few dozen people were injured, according to government estimates, and some 1,000 Egyptians had been arrested by the end of the day. The clashes erupted when police tried to prevent worshipers from storming out of Azhar onto a busy street in front of the mosque. Worshipers began throwing their shoes and broken furniture at police, who responded by shooting a water cannon into the mosque. In central Cairo, along the Nile River, demonstrators turned their anger on President Hosni Mubarak, who they ridicule for his close ties to the United States. They tore down a poster of Mr. Mubarak, which stood outside his ruling-party headquarters, and burned an American flag. The crowd then tried to march on the U.S. Embassy a few blocks away, but was blocked by police. In Jordan, scores of young people were injured and several arrested as police used tear gas to disperse worshipers in Amman's al-Wihdat area, a Palestinian refugee neighborhood. Thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip demonstrated Friday for the second consecutive day, chanting slogans against the United States. Some urged Iraq to attack Tel Aviv with Scud missiles, as occurred in the 1991 Gulf War. At that time, Israel did not respond, but current Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has vowed to retaliate if attacked. In Gaza, the militant Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad encouraged Iraqis to carry out suicide bombings against U.S. and British forces in Iraq. At al-Omari mosque in Gaza, Imam Mohammad Nijen said: "Arab leaders should open the borders so that fighters and volunteers can reach Iraq and defend Iraqi soil. Today jihad and the fight are a religious duty." |
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