Arab world unites to express its revulsion

Arab reactionMedia commentators across the Arab world echoed official spokesmen by expressing severe condemnation and revulsion at Thursday's bombings in London. Beirut's Daily Star argued that the bombings were "not the work of 'Islamic' terrorists" because "no religion - including Islam - condones the killing of innocent people".

It pointed out that Muslim clerics and leaders had rejected such actions since there was nothing in the Koran or the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad which would justify them.

Writing the pan-Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat, Tariq Hamid also took up this theme. He said "those fighting in the name of Islam have sullied its name", and called upon Arabs and Muslims to deal with the perpetrators of such actions. "For the sake of our freedom, we must stop all those who violate our freedom."

Khalid Harub said in the pan-Arab al-Hayat: "The foolish mentality that planned these attacks [ was] devoid of any bravery, honour or morality and undoubtedly far from Islamic traditions and beliefs."

Saudi Arabia's al-Watan asserted: "The shocking and co-ordinated explosions . . . give Islam a bad name." Several papers took the view that such attacks are inevitable, given Britain's involvement in conflicts in the Middle East.

Egypt's al-Jumhuriya said: "The explosions come as no surprise to anyone who has been expecting a violent response to Britain's participation alongside the US in the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan."

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of al-Quds al-Arabi, stated: "Terrorist acts, including those in London, which target the innocent, are condemned in the strongest terms possible. But we must always remember that the US war on Iraq has so far left more than 100,000 people dead and four times this number injured, most of whom are innocent people."

Unexpectedly joining the chorus of condemnation were Islamic movements designated as "terrorist organisations" by the US, including the Lebanese Hizbullah, Palestinian Hamas, and from the wider Muslim world, the Afghan Taliban.