New Delhi - Muslim organizations in Mumbai have refused to bury the bodies of nine terrorists who were killed during the attack on India's financial hub, news reports said Tuesday. According to Muslim tradition, unclaimed bodies are buried at the nearest graveyard after three days.
But religious organizations in Mumbai have said they will not open their cemeteries for interring the slain terrorists.
"The killing of innocents is against Islam. They are bringing shame to the 25 crore (1 crore equals 10 million) Muslims in India. These men are not Muslims. There is no place for them in our hearts and our cemeteries," Hamid Abdul Razzak, president of the Dawat-i-Islami organization. was quoted as saying.
A representative of the influential Jama Masjid trust which runs the Badakabrastan graveyard in the heart of Mumbai said it would not bury the gunmen because they were not true followers of Islam.
Ibrahim Tai, president of the Muslim council Trust, a forum of several organizations, agreed with the decisions to refuse the burials.
"As per Islamic tenets, killing of innocent persons is not permitted whatever may be the cause. What these terrorists have done is anti-Islam and shames all followers of Islam," Tai was quoted as saying by IANS news agency.
Tai said he had written to the Mumbai police and Maharashtra state government saying the authorities could dispose of the bodies in any manner, but not to inter them on Indian land or Indian waters.
Ten heavily armed gunmen split into groups and killed 188 people in a series of attacks across south Mumbai beginning late Wednesday. Their targets included two luxury hotels, the city's main train station, a hospital and a Jewish centre.
Over three days, Indian security forces killed nine of the terrorists and captured the other one, who is in custody.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the terrorists belong to a militant Islamic group based in Pakistan.
More than 300 people were injured as the gunmen fired their automatic weapons and lobbed grenades indiscriminately.
The victims included 40 Muslims, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported.
Under interrogation, the captured terrorist reportedly said the group was indoctrinated with images of atrocities committed against Muslims in India.
During the attacks and the siege of two hotels and the Jewish centre, one of the militants allegedly called a local television channel and said they were avenging abuses against Muslims in India-controlled Kashmir.
The bodies of the nine terrorists are being kept in a morgue in Mumbai.
