[On Official Letterhead]

The twenty-first annual Muharram Procession took place in New York City on Sunday, February 5th, 2006. The procession has been held every year to commemorate the sacrifice of Imam Husain (as), the grandson of Prophet Muhammad (saaw) in the desert of Karbala. Over five thousand Muslims from across the United States gathered to honor the importance of Imam Husain’s actions which protected Islam from the tyrant ruler Yazid (son of Muawiyah) and denounced political denomination and discrimination. This procession also condemns violence carried out by present day so-called Muslims, particularly the Wahabi and al-Qaeda groups throughout the world.

Unfortunately, this year’s procession was disrupted by the actions of a few individuals who took it upon themselves to violently protest the entire event. In addition to screaming hateful remarks and distributing pamphlets against Islam, the Prophet and his family, these terrorists also used violence to disturb the peaceful procession. They physically attacked one scholar and two organizers, at which point the NYPD became involved to restore peace. The actions of this group from the Wahabi faith were irresponsible and demonstrated an extreme level of ignorance about the importance of Imam Husain (as) and the purpose of the Muharram Procession. This type of behavior is nothing short of terrorism against Islam.

We strongly condemn these deplorable actions taken by this small group of individuals. The purpose of the Procession and the message of Imam Husain (as) should not be debased by such occurrences and we call upon all Muslims to join us in this condemnation. We also appeal to all national Muslim organizations to strongly condemn these actions and those involved in this crime of hatred. Despite these unfortunate events, we are also pleased to announce that the procession continued as planned and remained as successful as expected.

[Signed]
Syed Istafa Naqvi
President
Jafria Association of North America

Note:
An official complaint has been lodged with the New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly