IUMS Chief Cites Verse from Quran, Condemns Texas Mass Shooting
In a statement a copy of which was sent to IQNA, Ali al-Qaradaghi referred to verse 32 of the Holy Quran’s Surah Al-Ma’idah “That was why We wrote for the Children of Israel that who ever killed a soul, except for a soul slain, or for sedition in the earth, it should be considered as though he had killed all mankind; and that who ever saved it should be regarded as though he had saved all mankind,” and underscored the rejection of any violence.
He said whatever the motive behind them, such crimes are never approved by the teachings of divine faiths.
Qaradaghi also warned about the growing threat of hate and racism and decline of ethical and moral values, saying such a trend is a threat to all humanity.
He called on governments and civil society institutions all over the world to work to strengthen values such as faith, love for people and morality and confront hate and racism and adopt laws to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
A teenage gunman murdered 19 children and two teachers after storming into a Texas elementary school on Tuesday, the latest bout of gun-fueled mass killings in the United States and the country’s worst school shooting in nearly a decade.
The carnage began with the 18-year-old suspect, identified as Salvador Ramos, shooting his own grandmother, who survived, the authorities said.
He fled that scene and crashed his car near Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, a town about 130km west of San Antonio. There he launched a bloody rampage that ended when he was killed by police.
