Islamic groups in Spain distance themselves from “day of wrath” against the Pope

Madrid, Spain, Sep 19, 2006 / 22:00 pm

The president of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities, Felix Herrero, said Tuesday the organization would not participate in the “day of Islamic wrath,” called for the head of the Worldwide Union Muslim Ulemas, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, in response to Pope Benedict XVI’s discourse on Islam and Mohammed.

“We will not take part in any kind of street demonstrations whose meaning could be changed and which could take an uncontrollable turn,” he explained to Europa Press. Herrero, who is also an Imam at the mosque in Malaga, said the Muslim community in Spain “does not want confrontations.”

He also called on Muslims living in Spain “not to fall into provocations or to be carried away by interests of a suspicious nature.”   Herrero said the protest planned for Friday is not “a day of wrath,” as has some in the media have erroneously translated it from the Arabic, but rather “a day of complaining.”