The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has condemned the armed assault waged on Monday (8th June, 2009) against Muslim worshippers at Al-Furqan Mosque in Narathiwat province in southern Thailand. In a press statement released here last night, he expressed his heartfelt regret over the killing of the mosque's Imam [prayer leader] along with ten worshippers and the severe wounding of ten other people. This tragic incident falls within a string of aggressions conducted by armed and organized elements that have targeted worshippers and worship venues in southern Thailand in a bid to terrorize Muslims and restrain them from demanding their legitimate rights. These armed groups enjoy the support of influential parties, he added. While Ihsanoglu emphasizes his firm denunciation of terrorist acts affecting innocent civilians, he called upon the Thai government to undertake a probe into this tragic incident, apprehend its perpetrators in order to refer them to justice, and deploy the necessary efforts to protect the lives and property of Muslims in southern Thailand.
