Congressman's remarks for nuking Islamic sites unwise
Regional-USA, Politics, 7/26/2005

Lebanese Grand Mufti Sheikh Mohammad Rashed Kabani yesterday strongly criticized US Congressman Tom Tancredo's comments on taking out the holy site of Kaaba in Mecca.

Speaking about terrorism in a statement on July 22, Congressman Tom Tancredo (R-CO) praised President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf for taking a tough stand against extremism in his country. In a nationally televised speech Musharraf called for a "jihad against extremism" after links were revealed between Pakistan and the July 7 London terrorist attacks. "I applaud President Musharraf for attacking terrorism at its root. The radical madrassas are as much a part of terrorism as the backpack bombs that their students use to kill innocents. By dismantling the ideology that lures impressionable youth into terrorism, President Musharraf is making the world safer for us all," said Tancredo. "President Musharraf understands what I've been trying to say for some time--radical Islam is as much a threat to the moderate majority of Muslims worldwide as it is to the west. I praise him for acting on his convictions with courage." Tancredo concluded, "It's time for Muslim leaders to follow President Musharraf's lead. There is work to be done in every country -- including my own -- to destroy the breeding ground of terrorism."

The Colorado Congressman had told a Maitland Florida radio station, Newsradio 540 WFLA, Pat Campbell Show, that the US should threaten that if Muslim extremist groups attack the US with nuclear weapons, then the US "could take out their holy sites" including Mecca (Islam's holiest site).

Tancredo refused to apologize for his hypothetical remarks Rocky Mountain News reported on July 19. The report quoted him telling reporters "It's a tough issue to deal with... Tough things are said. And we should not shy away from saying things that need to be said." The Rocky Mountain News report quoted him saying: "When we bombed Hiroshima, when we bombed Dresden, we punished a lot of people who were not necessarily (guilty)... Not every German was a member of the Nazi Party. You do things in war that are ugly."

The Congressman's remark comes at a time when some Americans were outraged by reported recent remarks of a Chinese official that threatened to strike the US with nuclear weapons if the US interferes militarily in a China-Taiwan conflict.

Grand Mufti Kabani indicated that such comments by the Congressman are counterproductive saying the comments are "terror provocation."

Kabani, said in a statement that Tancredo's rejection to apologize for his comments puts the US in front of its historical responsibilities, adding that the US is called upon to denounce those who instigate aggression against Islam and Islamic sanctuaries from its institutions.

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