Britain's Islamic leaders have joined Christians and Jews in denouncing terrorism as "evil."

Sheik Zaki Badawi, head of the Council of Mosques and Imams, said the July 7 bomb attacks in the capital, which left at least 52 people dead and 700 injured, were "totally contrary to Islam."

He said that terrorism "is an evil that cannot be justified and that we utterly condemn and reject."

Badawi read from a joint statement at a July 10 press conference in London 's Lambeth Palace , headquarters of the Anglican Church. Also in attendance were Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor of Westminster, England; Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury, England; the Rev. David Coffey, a Baptist minister and moderator of the Free Churches group; and Sir Jonathan Sacks, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth.

The religious leaders took turns reading a part of the statement. Badawi said the leaders had come together "to express our shared commitment to resisting and overcoming the evil of terrorism, which the events of recent days here in London have brought home to us afresh and with such devastating clarity."

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said, "We want to signal the common ground on which we stand as faith leaders and to reaffirm the values we uphold at this time of sorrow and pain.

"It is vital, when many will be feeling anger, bewilderment and loss, to strengthen those things we hold in common and to resist all that may drive us apart," he said.

"Central to what we share as people of faith is a belief in God's compassionate love for us," he said. "It is a love that compels us to cherish not to disfigure our common humanity."

Many of Britain 's 1.6 million Muslims were bracing themselves for reprisals after the bombings of three underground trains and a bus by suspected al-Qaida terrorists who are still being hunted by police.

In the three days that followed the blasts, attacks were reported on mosques in at least five English cities.

Muslim leaders also were shaken by claims by Lord Stevens, former commissioner of London 's Metropolitan Police force, that up to 3,000 men with British links have trained in Osama bin Laden's camps.

Lord Stevens, who retired from the force earlier this year, was at the forefront of anti-terrorist activity in the capital since the Sept. 11, 2001 , attacks on the United States.

Lord Stevens, writing in the July 10 News of the World, Britain's best-selling Sunday tabloid, said at least eight attacks on civilian targets in Britain had been averted in the last five years, adding that he thought the bombers were "almost certainly" British.

His remarks drew an instant reaction from Iqbal Sacranie, general-secretary of the Muslim Council of Great Britain.

"I cannot imagine what prompted him to make these comments," Sacranie told reporters July 10. "Until recently he has been working in an organization that is trying hard to improve race relations, then he says something as problematic and unhelpful as this."

In the past, Muslim leaders have been criticized, particularly by former Anglican Archbishop George Carey of Canterbury , for failing to unequivocally condemn terrorism and human rights abuses in Muslim countries.

The present concern of the faith communities to appear united was underlined July 8 when Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham visited the city's central mosque to offer support to the Muslim community.

"Our meeting today is a clear and vivid demonstration of our shared commitment to lead people in faith, justice and peace," he said.

A day later, on the evening of July 9, some 20,000 people were evacuated from Birmingham city center while police carried out controlled explosions of suspected explosive devices left on a bus.

At the end of a July 10 Mass for victims of the London blasts in Bristol's Clifton Cathedral, Farooq Siddique of the Bristol Muslim Cultural Society was invited to read a statement issued July 7 by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland and the Muslim Council of Britain.

"The Scriptures and the traditions of both the Muslim and Christian communities repudiate the use of such violence," the joint statement said.

"We continue to resist all attempts to associate our communities with the hateful acts of any minority (members) who claim falsely to represent us. In the present uncertainties, we look to all community leaders to give an example of wisdom, tolerance and compassion," it said.

(CNS)