Scottish Religious Leaders Condemn Glasgow Attack

Religious leaders in Scotland have joined in a united condemnation of the recent attack on Glasgow Airport and foiled bomb plots in London last Friday.

Two men of Asian appearance drove a burning jeep into the main terminal doors of Glasgow Airport last Saturday, one day after two car bombs were foiled in Central London. One of the drivers of the green jeep Cherokee is under arrest in a Scottish hospital but remains in critical condition after sustaining severe burns.

A joint statement was released by leaders from across the faith spectrum, including the Muslim and Jewish communities, and the spiritual heads of the Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic Church in Scotland.

"We ... utterly condemn the recent attack on Glasgow airport and incidents in London, as we do all acts of terrorism and hope that the full force of the law will be brought to bear on those who perpetrate such violence against innocent people," said the leaders in the statement.

Police have described their investigation as "fast-moving". On Tuesday, the questioning continued of eight people suspected of involvement in the attacks, at least three of them doctors. One doctor, an Indian, has been detained by police in Australia, making this a truly international investigation.

Earlier on Tuesday, a controlled explosion was carried out on a car parked outside a mosque in Glasgow as part of the ongoing investigation into Saturday's airport attack.

They confirmed that the car was linked to the investigation on the other attacks on Glasgow Airport and in Central London and has since been removed from outside the mosque for closer forensic examination. The mosque itself, located in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow, has not been linked to the attacks.

In their statement, the religious leaders urged the public not to hit out at members of the Asian community following the attacks.

"We wish to voice our concern that the public reaction to such acts is not mis-directed against others by association of race or religious belief, and in particular against the Asian community," they asserted.

"As religious leaders, we affirm our view that any act of terrorism carried out in the name of religion is a gross perversion of the purpose of faith and is not supported by either the tenets of any of the faiths in Scotland nor by the vast majority of the followers of each faith."

The statement continued: "We hope that all of the people of Scotland will respond to this attack by reaching out and strengthening further the bonds of friendship which tie our communities together into one Scottish community and thus demonstrate the futility of violence.

"We therefore condemn any acts which target or taint members of a faith community and support the security services in protecting the public and enforcing the law."

One suspect arrested over the Glasgow Airport attack, Bilal Abdullah of Iraq, is being held at the Royal Alexandra hospital where he was formerly employed as a locum.

Detectives are still trying to trace the movements of the jeep he and one other drove into the airport's main terminal doors while loaded with gas cylinders.

Church leaders expressed the need for solidarity between Scotland's different faith groups in light of the attacks. The Most Rev Keith Patrick O'Brien, Cardinal and Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh and spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland said: "Like almost all Christians, I have the most friendly relationships with members of the other great world faiths, including those of the Muslim faith.

"Nothing must be allowed to destroy that friendship or the mutual respect we have for each other, even in times of crisis."

The Rt Rev Sheilagh Kesting, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: "It is so important that as leaders of the different faiths we are able to stand together in the face of such atrocities and to condemn utterly any backlash there might be on the Asian community in our country."

Allan Forsyth, Chair of the Baha'i Council for Scotland, added: "We are confident that this terrible attack on Glasgow Airport will not impact, at all, on the close relations between faith communities in Scotland and will only serve to strengthen it.

The joint statement has been endorsed by the following Religious Leaders of Scotland:

Imam Arif, Central Scotland Islamic Centre, Stirling.
Mr. Allan Forsyth, Baha'i Council for Scotland.
The Most Rev. Dr. Idris Jones, Primus, Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway. (Scottish Episcopal Church).
Rt Rev Sheilagh Kesting, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Acharyajee Mishra, Hindu Mandir.
The Most Rev.Keith Patrick O'Brien, Cardinal and Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh (Catholic Church).
Imam Habib ur Rahman, Glasgow Central Mosque.
The Venerable Rewatha, Sri Lankan Buddhist Centre.
Rabbi Moshe Rubin, Giffnock Synagogue.
Imam Mustaqeem Shah, UK Islamic Mission, Glasgow.
Mr. Bakhshish Deerhe Singh, Glasgow Gurdwara Council.
Rev Favian Straughan, Order of Buddhist Contemplatives in Scotland.