US FBI Director Robert Mueller, in response to the deadly grenade attack on a church in the Pakistani capital, warned yesterday against turning the war on terrorism into a religious issue.
Asked whether the al-Qaeda terror network was behind Sunday's attack on a Protestant church in Islamabad, Mueller said US and Pakistani authorities were jointly investigating the incident.
"It is absolutely otrageous and without a question of doubt a terrorist attack when you go into a church and kill women and children," he told a news conference here.
"It is outrageous that a person goes to a church -- I don't care whether it is a church or mosque or another place of worship -- and kill those that worship," he said at the end of a Southeast Asian tour that also took him to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore.
The church assault killed five people, including a US diplomat's wife and daughter and left 46 people wounded.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but analysts said it was likely to be the work of extremists who opposed Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's support for the US-led war in Afghanistan and his crackdown on Islamic militants.
Mueller stressed that Washington's war on terrorism was not a war on religion.
"The war against terrorism is not a war on Islam, it is not directed at the the Muslim community.
"To the contrary, we all understand that we are looking at individuals who commit terrorist acts against women and children," he said.
Most if not all the named suspects of the September 11 terror attacks against the United States were Muslims. The United States has charged that the attacks were spearheaded by the al-Qaeda network of Saudi militant Osama bin Laden.
Mueller said that in the United States, for example, the government was serious in wanting to end harassment against Muslims following September 11.
More than 325 investigations had been initiated against those who harrassed Muslim Americans, the FBI chief said
"We have indicted 11 in federal courts and state local authorities have indicted another 85."
Washington on Monday issued a worldwide caution to its citizens, warning of an increased risk of terrorist attacks against US interests -- particularly at schools, churches, recreational events, and other "softer targets."
Mueller said US authorities would work closely with Pakistani police "to find out who was responsible for this outrageous act and bring them to justice".