Al-Azhar ash-Sharif condemns, in the strongest terms, the terrorist attack carried out by two armed extremists, driven by hate speech and incitement against Islam, who targeted the Islamic Center in the city of San Diego, California, resulting in the deaths of three attendees and the center’s security guard. Al-Azhar affirms that this brutal assault constitutes a heinous crime that demonstrates the grave danger of incitement left unchecked by hate-fueled rhetoric.
Al-Azhar emphasizes that the proven criminal intent of the perpetrators — evidenced through public manifestos and inflammatory writings — along with their deliberate targeting of places of worship and children’s educational facilities, and the shedding of innocent blood, constitute “dark terrorism” that demands a decisive response. Al-Azhar further stresses that the failure to confront the phenomenon of Islamophobia, and leniency toward platforms promoting racism, fuel extremism and violence within societies. Al-Azhar calls for strict and immediate measures to protect places of worship and their congregants, in order to prevent the recurrence of such bloody tragedies.
Al-Azhar ash-Sharif extends its sincere condolences and sympathies to the families of the victims, and mourns with profound grief and deep respect the center’s security guard, who embodied a heroic and valiant stand, giving his life to protect the worshippers and repel the attackers. Al-Azhar prays to Allah Almighty to envelop the victims in His boundless mercy, to grant the injured a swift recovery, to safeguard human life, and to protect the world from the evils of the extremist ideologies and their dire consequences.
