Houston Muslims React to New Orleans Attack: 'No Justification'

Muslims in Houston have united to condemn the actions of the extremist responsible and to voice concerns about increasing anti-Islamic sentiment following the terrorist attack in New Orleans.

Why It Matters

The attack, which took the lives of 15 people and left dozens more injured, has given rise to a new wave of anti-Islamic sentiment in the U.S.

The perpetrator, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42, had pledged allegiance to Islamic State and rammed a truck into a crowd of revelers as they celebrated the New Year in the early hours of January 1. He was Texas-born and had been living in a mobile home in northwest Houston prior to the attack.

What To Know

A report by Houston Public Media details how one group of Muslims has been coping in the aftermath of the tragedy.

According to the outlet, Houston is home to Texas's largest Muslim community—around 200,000 people.

One attendee, Umme Kulsum, told Houston Public Media after hearing about the attack: "The first fear in my mind was I hope it's not someone from our community—that was the first fear. Then it's like, 'Now what will happen? What next? What will be the Islamophobic reactions we might face in our community?'"

History can tell us that in the wake of acts committed by Islamic extremist groups, negative sentiment toward U.S. Muslims grows—even if the general populace does not share the views of the attackers.

The events of September 11, 2001, triggered a nationwide increase in violence and hate crimes directed at people with Middle Eastern, South Asian, and Arab heritage, along with others who were mistakenly identified as Muslim. Anti Islamic sentiment also grew following the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by militant group Hamas.

IT worker Mohamed Salama told the outlet: "I lived through September 11 and I have, to this day, have very vivid memory of both how sad it was and then afterwards, how difficult it was to be a Muslim in the U.S. and how concerned I was about practicing, simply just going to mosque."

Islamic worship groups in Houston have also denounced the attack. The Islamic Society of Greater Houston has said Jabbar, who was shot dead by police at the scene, was not a formal member at any of its mosques in Houston, and said the attack was an "atrocity."

"The clergy I've spoken to aren't very concerned about retaliation or secondary attacks," Shariq Ghani, the executive director of The Minaret Foundation, a multi-faith group in Houston, said.

"What they're most concerned about is how this impacts us, our neighborliness, our social cohesion. Will it lead to Islamophobia or othering communities here in our city?"

What People Are Saying

Basem Hamid, imam at Houston's Medical Center Islamic Society, speaking to Houston Public Media: "As Muslims, we condemn this incident, this horrific act with the most severe and clearest statement. This act has no place in Islam and has no place among Muslims and it's not accepted by any standard. There is no excuse and there is no justification for it."

Islamic Society of Greater Houston: "ISGH has a longstanding, absolute zero-tolerance policy against extremism and suspicious activities. The attack on civilians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity or religion, is an atrocity that no ideology or cause can justify."

Corey Saylor, research and advocacy director at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), told Newsweek: "Cruel, merciless, bottom-feeding extremist groups want us all to turn on one another and be afraid. The best response is to stand together and rally around New Orleans, showing all such extremists that their vision of the world is garbage."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on President Joe Biden's reaction to the attack: "As he [Biden] made clear, there is no justification for violence of any kind, and we will not tolerate any attack on any of our nation's communities."

What's Next

According to a joint bulletin from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Counterterrorism Center, the three U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies have expressed concern about the possibility of "copycat or retaliatory attacks" in the wake of the New Year's terror attack in New Orleans, as reported by Reuters.