The Islamic World Reacted Harshly over French Hostages

Members of the global Islamic community began exerting efforts in order to secure the release of French journalists George Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot. French Muslims and clerics from various Muslim countries were joined by groups such as Hamas, the Pakistan Islamic Parish Party, and the Jordan Islamic Movement Frontier in denouncing the kidnapping as "un-Islamic".

The Islamic community is particularly harsh in condemning the kidnapping in this instance because France opposes both the war in Iraq and the American policies in the Middle East.

"It is a wrong and clueless dealing undertaken in the name of Islam," said Turkish Foreign Minster Abdullah Gul in condemnation of the hostage situation. He went on to say that the events in Iraq tarnish the image of Islam around the world.

In France, the government refused to give into the captors’ demands that it revoke the headscarf ban. The French government points out that Muslims all over France condemn the kidnappings.

Meanwhile, The US press commented, "The kidnapping of French journalists shows that even France’s opposition to the war does not make it immune to radical threats."

The Iraqi Mullah commission, one of the most prominent religious organizations, reminded that France tried to prevent the invasion of Iraq and therefore called upon the captors to release the French journalists. The organization indicated that France made a big mistake by prohibiting the headscarf, but acknowledged that kidnapping should not be used as a means to force change.

Aides of Shiite cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr expressed that the murder of journalists does not overlap with Islam. They hinted that other forms of pressure, such as boycotting French goods or suspending diplomatic relationship, could be a more effective way of inducing France to repeal the headscarf ban.

The grand imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque, Mohammad Sayed Tantawi, said that the kidnapping runs contrary to Islam, which is the religion of tolerance. He demanded that the captors respect human life.

The British Islamic Council also issued a statement to the effect that kidnapping and murdering hostages runs afoul of the rules of Islam.

Palestinian Hamas joined in the calls for the release of the French hostages. The organization said that France has been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and had opposed the Iraq War. Hamas said that the French journalists should be set free so that the US will be forced to stand alone.

The Islamic Movement Frontier, with 17 members in the Jordanian Parliament, claimed that the release of the journalists would be a great service for the both the Muslims in France and Iraq as a whole.

Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also condemned the kidnapping.