Church in India Condemns Extremist Violence

A little known group of Islamic extremists, the Indian Mujahideen, claimed in an email message shortly before the explosions that it was responsible for the attack.

NEW DELHI, India (Zenit) - The president of the Indian episcopal conference affirmed that human solidarity has prevailed over the terrorist attacks wrought by "fanatics."

Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes of Gandhinagar condemned the 22 explosions on Saturday in Ahmedabad. The attack left 42 dead and 183 wounded. The day before, seven blasts left one person dead in Bangalore.

"The bombs of Ahmedabad and Bangalore are an attack on the social harmony of the whole of India, carried out by fanatics who cause death and devastation," the prelate told L'Osservatore Romano.

A little known group of Islamic extremists, the Indian Mujahideen, claimed in an email message shortly before the explosions that it was responsible for the attack.

Islamic militants have generally been held accountable for bombings in India in recent years. The attacks are generally ascribed to the conflict between India's Hindu majority and Muslim minority.

The Indian Mujahideen said Saturday's attack was revenge for 2002 violence between Muslim and Hindu extremists, which caused thousands of mainly-Muslim deaths.

"The Catholic Church in India energetically condemns this senseless violence, having placed her own means immediately at the disposal of the victims," Archbishop Fernandes told an AsiaNews correspondent.

"[T]hese odious attacks are an attempt to divide the country and create a sense of insecurity and fear among the people," he added. "However, we saw people from all communities run immediately to help the victims [...] with a human solidarity that has prevailed over the attempt to spread panic."