Without any equivocation or hesitation the leadership of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) condemns the despicable terror attack inflicted upon innocent civilians in the Southern French city of Nice. There can never be any justification for the wanton slaughter of civilians in any context whatsoever, mass murder is only ever mass murder and we wholeheartedly repudiate this horrific atrocity perpetrated by a soulless, monster. That so many of his victims, were the most innocent of innocents, young children, makes this act of barbarism all the more repugnant.
With the expectation that the terrorist in question was acting on behalf of the nihilist , Salafi extremist terror group DAESH, causing so much misery and horrific suffering in not only Syria, Iraq, Sub-Saharan Africa and now once again in the heart of Europe, as adherents of the Sufi tradition, the most liberal, tolerant and ecumenical strand in the whole of Islam, we further denounce the odious violence inflicted upon the good people of Nice, as a profoundly unholy and un-Islamic deed that has no place in the universal code of civilized conduct and is moreover an, aberrant, disfigured, travesty of the true meaning of love, respect and peaceful coexistence upheld in the authentic core values of Islam. The attacker shouted “God is great” before his act of butchery but he did not serve God, he served the dark forces of evil.
As our own tragedy continues in the ongoing genocide inflicted upon the innocent people of Darfur by the Islamist dictatorship in Khartoum, not only because of our common humanity but also because as Sufis we too endure persecution and murder at the hands of radical zealot adherents of Wahhabi extremism, we embrace the people of Nice, all of the victims, all the survivors, all those now mourning their terrible loss, with a heartfelt solidarity, because your enemy, your oppressor, is the same as ours.
We commend the swift response by the French Police and Security Forces in having stopped the assailant in Nice and preventing further bloodshed and the loss of more innocent lives. We are far from you geographically but in our hearts we are close to you, standing beside you, as you face the challenge of protecting and upholding the values of a democratic and pluralistic free society from the scourge of murderous fanaticism, blind hatred and a pathological extremist ideology. In this too we regard ourselves as brothers and sisters to all the men and women of France, as we continue our struggle to create a democratic and free Sudan, to grant our own citizens the civilized and open society, you have long enjoyed and defended, as a beacon of democracy to so many other nations on earth. Your tears are our tears. Your defiance in the face of terror, is our defiance. Your pledge to uphold and protect democracy is our pledge. Your commitment to not surrender to fear and division and protect the values of an egalitarian society where any citizen may walk in freedom, is our commitment.
We shall offer our prayers for your fallen. We stand shoulder to shoulder with you against barbarism, extremism, intolerance and terror and offer our deepest condolences as you will bury your dead and your entire nation mourns this dark and infamous day.
Vive La France!
Abdul Wahid al Nur
Chairman Sudan Liberation Movement
15th July 2016