Posted on 10/17/2003 11:58:54 PM PDT by PsyOp
Not too long ago I was listening to the radio, Bill O'Reilly on KFMB, as I recall. During his show, Bill was talking about some passages from the Koran that had appeared in print that seemed to contradict much of the CAIR and other Islamic apologist propaganda.
During the program a man, a Muslim, called in to the show to accuse O'Reilly of being unfair and taking things out of context, etc. He then said that you need to have an Imam explain these passages to you so you can understand their meaning. This of course means one of several things.
The first possible meaning is that the average person is too stupid understand the Koran without help. Another is that Mohammed chose not to speak plainly and clearly when relating Allah's word for one reason or another. Or, possibly, that the Imam's tell their followers this so that they may remain in control of the religion, and interpret it as they please without fear of contradiction.
Having read the Koran, cover to cover, and in its various parts, I contend that it's the latter--with the added twist that Mohammed had been out in the hot sun too long and was not thinking all that clearly during most of his sermons. One of the reason's I believe this are the frequent admonishments to the faithful not to listen to others speak about their religions. Fear of contradiction of the Koran as a whole as well of its constituent parts is a consistent theme.
That is not to say that there is no confusion in the Koran that needs clarification. In fact, the Koran goes from being quite clear to downright confusing and back again, repeatedly. Mostly it consists of rambling parables, admonitions repeated ad nauseum, and bad retellings of Old Testament stories (often repeated in fragments). The Koran is also difficult to read because as it lacks any kind of narrative thread and is constantly repeating itself. In fact, my copy, which spans over 400 softcover pages, could easily be condensed to about 50 pages and still thoroughly cover every it has to say. Not true with The Bible.
Other than that, anyone with a high school education and the will power to wade through it can easily understand it (most of it anyway), without help from anything other than a strong cup of coffee--which probably accounts for the Islamic ban on alcoholic beverages. It's guaranteed to bore you into a deep sleep if you try reading it under the influence. And Mohammed probably got upset when people fell asleep during his sermons.
We've heard all the rhetoric about the Koran being a book of peace and enlightenment, but little about the parts of the Koran that give rise and fuel to fanatical hatred and terrorism. The few that have been quoted in the press are pounced on by CAIR and other groups and isolated phrases taken out of context. The follow those charges up by pointing out bad things Christians have done in previous decades and centuries. The difference is that when Christians have persecuted and killed people they were acting against the principles of their faith. When Muslims do it they are acting in accordance with the Koran.
Another point that needs to be made is that all of the things that people point to in the Bible, to make the Koran look less bloody by comparison, are in the Old Testament. And almost all are refuted or moderated by the New Testament. The Koran is all "Old Testament" and makes the fire and brimstone of the first half of the Bible seem mild by comparison.
The following passages are just a sampling of what what I would call the "Dark Side" of the Koran. Or, at the very least, those that are interpreted by certain Imam's to mean that it is O.K. to blow up babies and drive airplanes into skyscrapers. They are presented in the order they appear in the Koran and I have taken care not to quote things out of context (something we infidels are always accused of doing). I will also add my layman's commentary and translations (in bold), as we proceed.
One of the ways to determine whether something is just an "isolated passage" or part of a larger, mainstream theme, it to take a look at how many times the same or similar wording appears. It must be assumed if something is repeated, it must be something that was intended to be remembered. Frequency says a lot. Therefore, in this posting, you will find what appear to be redundant quotes. There are included to show that a particular theme is not "isolated."
BTW, just by writing this little piece I am subject to being the object of a Fatwah. So, if I see any middle-eastern, or Nation of Islam looking types cruising slowly by my house, I will shoot first and ask questions later.... (yes, I profile).
The Quran, Translation: M.H. Shakir. In the citations I have added the Names of the various books (Surah's). They have very little to do with the subject of their particular Surah, so don't read anything into them..
One more thing: Depending on who you talk to, the term Jihad can mean anything from struggling with your zipper to all-out nuclear Holy-war, and several stops in between. You will not find the word in most available English translations, where it has been substituted with the words "fight" and "struggle". Where you see those words in the following passages they may or may not refer to Jihad.
And there are some people who say: We believe in Allah and the last day; and they are not at all believers. They desire to deceive Allah and those who believe, and they deceive only themselves and they do not perceive. There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah added to their disease and they shall have a painful chastisement because they lied. - Koran, Surah II: 8-10, "The Cow."
According to Mohammed, Allah hates hypocrites worse than infidels (or at least as much). This is a common and often repeated theme, but it only applies with regard to hypocrisy concerning belief in Allah, which probably explains Islam's constant use of Hypocrisy in all other instances.
Who break the Covenant of Allah after its confirmation and cut asunder what Allah has ordered to be joined, and make mischief in the land; these it is that are the losers.
How do you deny Allah and you were dead and He gave you life? Again He will cause you die and again bring you to life; then you shall be brought back to Him. - Koran, Surah II: 27 & 28, "The Cow."
There are several passages like this. I believe that this passage and others like it support Islamic laws against converting from Islam, and the subsequent penalties that go along with it--like death. It's an effective way to keep from losing your flock to competing religion. Kill any who convert and the rest will get the message.
And (as to) those who disbelieve in and reject My communications, they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide. - Koran, Surah II: 39, "The Cow."
All infidels go to Hell, even Christians and Jews. This is one of the most repeated themes in the Koran.
And do not mix up the truth with the falsehood, nor hide the truth while you know (it). - Koran, Surah II: 42, "The Cow."
I threw this one in so you can quote it back at those jerks from CAIR the next time they start spinning.
And there are... Illiterates who know not the Book but only lies, and they do but conjecture. Woe, then, to those who write the book with their hands and then say: This is from Allah, so that they may take for it a small price; therefore woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn. - Koran, Surah II: 78 & 79, "The Cow."
Depending on how you choose to read this and other passages like it, this includes people like me, and that Rushde guy who wrote Satanic Verses, and so upset the Mullahs that they issued a death sentence against him. It also seem to provide for the punishment they decreed.
Those who disbelieve from among the followers of the Book do not like, nor do the polytheists, that the good should be sent to you from your Lord....
Many of the followers of the Book wish that they could turn you back into unbelievers after your faith, out of envy from themselves, (even) after the truth has become manifest to them.... - Koran, Surah II: 105 & 109, "The Cow."
My guess is that this provides for Islamic laws that make it illegal to bring religious texts other than the Koran into some Islamic countries, and make it illegal to even speak to a Muslim about Christianity or Judaism under penalty of death.
And the Jews will not be pleased with you, nor the Christians until you follow their religion. Say: surely Allah's guidance, that is the (true) guidance. And if you follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have no guardian from Allah, nor any helper. - Koran, Surah II: 120, "The Cow."
And don't you dare convert to their religion, or else.
And whoever disbelieves, I will grant him enjoyment for a short while, then I will drive him to the chastisement of the fire; and it is an evil destination. - Koran, Surah II: 126, "The Cow."
You better enjoy yourself while you have the chance.
The East and the West belong only to Allah; He guides whom he likes to the right path. - Koran, Surah II: 142, "The Cow."
Two things here. First, the whole world belongs to Allah. Second, he only guides the people he likes to the right path. This not only negates free-will, but leads to the obvious conclusion that if you do not follow the right path it is because Allah does not like you. A little on the petulant side for a loving God and the antithesis of the Old and New Testaments.
And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead; nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive. - Koran, Surah II: 152, "The Cow."
Die fighting for Allah and you go to heaven.
Surely those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers, these it is on whom is the curse of Allah and the angels and men all.... - Koran, Surah II: 161, "The Cow."
Ah, such tolerance....
And there is life for you in (the law of) retaliation, O men of understanding, that you may guard yourselves. Bequest is prescribed for you when death approaches one of you, if he leaves behind wealth for parents and near relatives.... - Koran, Surah II: 179-180, "The Cow."
The Palis probably know this one by heart. It even talks about those cash rewards to the families of those who blow themselves up.
And kill them wherever you find them [we infidels], and drive them out from whence they drove you out, and persecution is severer than slaughter, and do not fight with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it, but if they do fight you, then slay them; such is the recompense of the unbelievers. - Koran, Surah II:191, "The Cow."
Pretty self-explanatory...
And fight with them until there is no persecution, and religion should be only for Allah. - Koran, Surah II:193, "The Cow."
Keep fighting until everyone is either dead or Muslim.
Ask the Israelites how many a clear sign have We given them; and whoever changes the favor of Allah after it has come to him, then surely Allah is severe in requiting (evil). - Koran, Surah II: 211, "The Cow."
In other words, the true word was revealed to them, they rejected it, and now they're going to get theirs from Allah, or Yassir, or Hamas.
Allah does not call you to account for what is vain in your oaths, but He will call you to account for what your hearts have earned, and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing. - Koran, Surah II: 225, "The Cow."
Being a vainglorious blowhard is O.K. as long as you are a believer at heart. So much for humility. This passage probably explains all those grandiose boasts by Saddam and Bin Laden.
And fight in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is Hearing, Knowing. - Koran, Surah II: 244, "The Cow."
It might mean Jihad... it might not. Lets ask CAIR.
Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light; and (as to) those who disbelieve, their guardians are Shaitans who take them out of the light into the darkness; they are the inmates of the fire, in it they shall abide. - Koran, Surah II: 257, "The Cow."
Ever hear of night-vision? Allah may be your guardian in the light, but we own the night. Sorry. Couldn't resist.
Say to those who disbelieve: You shall be vanquished, and driven together to hell; and evil is in the resting place. - Koran, Surah III: 12, "The Family of Imran."
Sounds like war to me...
O you who believe! Do not take for intimate friends among others than your own people; they [unbelievers] do not fall short of inflicting loss upon you; they love what distresses you; vehement hatred has already appeared from out of their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater still.... - Koran, Surah III: 118, "The Family of Imran."
This one is quoted in the Hamas Charter. Basically, were not good enough to be their friends and we cannot be trusted. BTW you'll see this one again.
Yea! If you remain patient and are on your guard, and they come upon you in a headlong, your Lord will assist you with five thousand of the havoc-making angles. - Koran, Surah III: 125, "The Family of Imran."
I wonder, is this is what Saddam was counting on? Just make sure they aren't those crappy Soviet-made havoc angels....
And certainly you desired death before you met it; so indeed you have seen it and you look (at it). - Koran, Surah III: 143, "The Family of Imran."
Come all-ye suicide-bombers....
And a soul will not die but with the permission of Allah; the term is fixed; and whoever desires the reward of this world, I shall give him of it, and whoever desires the reward of the hereafter I shall give him of it; and I will reward the grateful. - Koran, Surah III: 145, "The Family of Imran."
You might as well blow yourself up because you have no free-will and you'll die when Allah wants you to, and if you die blowing yourself up, it must be because Allah wants you to, so why feel guilty about it?
Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great. - Koran, Surah IV: 34, "The Women."
Someone call the gals from N.O.W.
O you who believe! Take your precaution, then go forth in detachments or go forth in a body. - Koran, Surah IV: 71, "The Women."
Jihad anyone?
Therefore let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world's life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward. - Koran, Surah IV:74, "The Women."
I would imagine that this passage is used to bolster the proposition that suicide bombers really are allowed by the Koran.
They desire that you should disbelieve as they have disbelieved, so that you might be (all) alike; therefore take not from among them friends until they fly (their homes) in Allah's way; but if they turn back, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them, and take not from among them a friend or a helper. - Koran, Surah IV:89, "The Women."
We're coming to a town near you and you will convert to Islam or die.
You will find others who desire that they should be safe from you and secure from their own people; as often as they are sent back to the mischief they get thrown into it headlong; therefore if they do not withdraw from you, and (do not) offer you peace and restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wherever you find them; and against these We have given you a clear authority. - Koran, Surah IV:91, "The Women."
Somewhat unclear as to the exact nature of the provocation, but quite clear that you can pursue and kill whoever does whatever this passage refers to (it does not really help the clarity to add the passages immediately preceding or following). The Mullahs probably make great use of this passage.
And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his punishment is hell; he shall abide in it, and Allah will send His wrath on him and curse him and prepare for him a painful chastisement. - Koran, Surah IV:93, "The Women."
Definitely falls under the preceding set of punishments. Kill a Muslim, whatever your reason and you better be Muslim yourself.
The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His apostle and strive to make mischief in the land is only this, that they should be murdered or crucified or their hands and their feet should be cut off on opposite sides or they should imprisoned; this shall be as a disgrace for them in this world, and in the hereafter they shall have a grievous chastisement. - Koran, Surah V: 33, "The Food."
Of course, waging "war against Allah and His apostle" can be interpreted in many ways.... everything from speaking out against Islam to dropping a JDAM on Bin Laden. Whatever suits the propaganda needs of the clerics.
And (as for) the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands as a punishment for what they have earned, and exemplary punishment from Allah; and Allah is Mighty, Wise. - Koran, Surah V: 38, "The Food."
I have to admit, I kinda like this one.
O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes for them a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people. - Koran, Surah V: 51, "The Food."
So much for tolerance and that middle-east peace plan. Remember this one when the hypocrites at CAIR talk about Jews and Christians being "people of the book" who should not worry about devout Muslims. I challenge them to find an equivalent statement anywhere in the Bible.
O you who believe! take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will inform you of what you did. - Koran, Surah V: 105, "The Food."
This one is kind of interesting. If the enemy wins it is because you were not faithful enough.
Do they not consider how many a generation We have destroyed before them, whom We had established in the earth as we have not established you, and We sent clouds pouring rain on them in abundance, and We made rivers to flow beneath them, then We destroyed them on account of their faults and raised up after them another generation. - Koran, Surah VI: 6, "The Cattle."
Sometimes variations on this passage are in reference to the story of Noah, Lot, Exodus and others. This one is not used in particular reference to any Old Testament destruction. It's just letting the unbelievers know that Allah has wiped them out wholesale in the past and will probably do it again.
And who is more unjust than he who forges a lie against Allah or (he who) gives the lie to His communications; surely the unjust will not be successful. - Koran, Surah VI: 21, "The Cattle."
Anyone who says anything bad about Allah/Mohammed is unjust. I guess that would be a reference to me or anyone else who points out the Koran's little inconsistencies.
And this world's life is naught but a play and an idle sport; and certainly the abode of the hereafter is better for those who guard (against evil); do you not then understand? - Koran, Surah VI: 32, "The Cattle."
I wonder if blowing up women and children, or gassing whole populations, is considered "idle sport."
And certainly We sent (apostles) to nations before you, then We seized them with distress and affliction in order that they might humble themselves. - Koran, Surah VI: 42, "The Cattle."
Sounds like the Wahabbi infiltration plan to convert the world to radical Islam.
And when you see those who enter into false discourses about Our communications, withdraw from them until they enter into some other discourse,.... - Koran, Surah VI: 68, "The Cattle."
Muslims are so secure in their faith that they are instructed to stick their fingers in their ears and run away when others start talking about their religions. If that doesn't work and they convert to another religion, kill them. Mohammed must have known how weak his arguments were.
They are lost indeed who kill their children foolishly without knowledge, and forbid what Allah has given to them, forging a lie against Allah; they have indeed gone astray, and they are not the followers of the right course. - Koran, Surah VI: 140, "The Cattle."
Mama's... don;t let your babies grow up to be suicide-bombers. (sung to the tune of "Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys".) A passage conveniently forgotten by the PLO, Hamas, etc. Then again, it's all in the interpretation.
Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it, and whoever brings an evil deed, he shall be recompensed only with the like of it, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly. - Koran, Surah VI: 160, "The Cattle."
Too many Muslims seem to be overly selective in their application of this rule.
And for every nation there is a doom, so when their doom is come they shall not remain behind the least while, nor shall they go before. - Koran, Surah VII: 34, "The Elevated Places."
Sooner or later Allah is going to get us. Then we'll be sorry. (This is another frequently repeated theme).
Evil is the likeness of the people who reject Our communications and are unjust to their own souls. - Koran, Surah VII: 177, "The Elevated Places."
If you don't accept Islam you are unjust--period. Can't you feel the love? ...the tolerance?
And (as to) those who reject our communication, We draw them near (to destruction) by degrees from whence they know not. - Koran, Surah VII: 182, "The Elevated Places."
Join us or else...
I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them. - Koran, Surah VIII: 12, "The Spoils of War."
More peace, love and tolerance form the book that brought us 9-11.
Surely the vilest of animals, in Allah's sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who do not understand. And if Allah had known any good in them He would have made them hear.... - Koran, Surah VIII: 22, "The Spoils of War."
Various versions of this passage appear throughout the Koran. Some are metaphors regarding those who refuse to listen, some are literal, like this one. The deaf are the way they are because Allah made them that way, and he made them that way because he knew they were bad and would never accept Islam. Pretty twisted logic working here. I wonder what Muslims think about hearing aids....
And fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah. - Koran, Surah VIII: 39, "The Spoils of War."
Jihad until all the world is Muslim.
And if you fear treachery on the part of a people, then throw back to them on terms of equality; surely Allah does not love the treacherous. - Koran, Surah VIII: 58, "The Spoils of War."
So, if you think the other guy (non-believer) might betray you, it's o.k. to betray him first. That's the same logic an old girlfriend of mine once used. Where's Dr. Phil when you need him?
"So, Mohammed, how's that working out for you in the relationship department? Have you heard about my fried pork rind diet?"
O prophet! Urge the believers to war; if there are twenty patient ones of you they shall overcome two hundred, and if there are a hundred of you they shall overcome a thousand of those who disbelieve, because they are a people who do not understand. - Koran, Surah VIII: 58, "The Spoils of War."
Oh, don't worry, we get it.... We're a little slow sometimes, but we definitely get it.
Announce painful punishment to those who disbelieve. - Koran, Surah IX: 3, "Repentance."
Definitely not feeling the love.
So when the sacred months have passed away; then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. - Koran, Surah IX: 5, "Repentance."
Kind of explains that whole "Crusades" flap.
What! Will you not fight a people who broke their oaths and aimed at the expulsion of the Apostle...? - Koran, Surah IX: 13, "Repentance."
Lots of places to go with this one.
Fight them, Allah will punish them [idolaters] by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them and heal the hearts of a believing people. - Koran, Surah IX: 14, "Repentance."
This passage is significant. It clearly states that Allah intends to have unbelievers killed by the hands of the faithful. Vengeance is not reserved for Judgment Day or for Allah alone. In fact, the only real admonition against killing refers to one Muslim killing another on purpose. Compare this to the Bible.
Fight those who do not believe in Allah. - Koran, Surah IX: 29, "Repentance."
You can't be more clear than that.
And the Jews say: Uzair is the son of Allah; and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah; these are the words of their mouths; they imitate the saying of those who disbelieved before; may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away! - Koran, Surah IX:30, "Repentance."
Wait a minute! I thought we peoples of the book were supposed to be tolerated?
He it is Who sent His Apostle with guidance and the religion of truth, that He might cause it to prevail over all religions.... - Koran, Surah IX:33, "Repentance."
One world, one religion. When the Wahabbi's infiltrate countries by building mosques and acting nice, this is what they are aiming for.
Allah has promised the hypocritical men and the Hypocritical women and the unbelievers the fire of hell to abide therein; it is enough for them; and Allah has cursed them and they shall have lasting punishment. - Koran, Surah IX: 68, "Repentance."
Hell's gonna be real crowded.
O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness. - Koran, Surah IX: 123, "Repentance."
What was that CAIR said about a few isolated and mis-characterized passages from the Koran?
And (as for) those who have earned evil, the punishment of an evil is the like of it, and abasement shall come upon them--they shall have none to protect them from Allah--as if their faces had been covered with slices of the dense darkness of night; these are the inmates of the fire; in it they shall abide. - Koran, Surah X: 27, "Yunus."
Eye for an eye, but not limited in scale to individuals.
For his sake there are angels following one another, before him and behind him, who guard him by Allah's commandment; surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition; and when Allah intends evil to a people, their is no averting it, and besides Him they have no protector. - Koran, Surah XIII: 41, "The Thunder."
I call this one the catch-22 passage. I suppose Mohammed meant to say that God helps those who helps themselves, but remembered it wrong. Instead you have a recipe for fatalism.
Do they not see that We are bringing destruction upon the land by curtailing it of its sides? And Allah pronounces a doom--there is no repeller of His decree, and He is swift to take account. - Koran, Surah XIII: 41, "The Thunder."
We've got you surrounded!
And those before them did indeed make plans, but all planning is Allah's; He knows what every soul earns.... - Koran, Surah XIII: 42, "The Thunder."
More fatalism. In the end, it's all up to Allah.
Hell is before him and he shall be given to drink of festering water:
He will drink it little by little and will not be able to swallow it agreeably, and death will come to him from every quarter, but he shall not die; and there shall be vehement chastisement before him.
The parable of those who disbelieve in their Lord: their actions are like ashes on which the wind blows hard on a stormy day; they shall not have power over any thing out of what they have earned; this is the great error. - Koran, Surah XIV: 4,5, "Ibrahim [Abraham]."
More fire and brimstone for the unbelievers whose actions, whatever they may be, will always be for naught. The Koran has lots of descriptions of heaven and hell.
Allah causes the unjust [unbelievers] to go astray, and Allah does what He pleases. - Koran, Surah XIV: 4,5, "Ibrahim [Abraham]."
More catch-22 from Allah. No free-will to choose to believe or not believe because Allah decides who will or will not, and then punishes you for what is essentially his decision.
And never did we destroy a town but it had a term made known. No people can hasten their doom nor can they postpone (it). - Koran, Surah XV: 4,5, "The Rock."
Repent by Noon or else....
Only they forge the lie who do not believe in Allah's communications, and these are liars. - Koran, Surah XVI: 105, "The Bee."
No specific lie here other than to believe in Allah or not. This might also be interpreted as all unbelievers are liars.
He who disbelieves in Allah after his having believed, not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith, but he who opens his breast to disbelief--on these is the wrath of Allah, and they shall have a grievous chastisement. - Koran, Surah XVI: 106, "The Bee."
He who converts from Islam to another religion will suffer the wrath of Allah. In this case death, by the hand of a believer.
And We had made known to the children of Israel in the Book: Most certainly you will make mischief in the land twice, and most certainly you will behave insolently with great insolence. - Koran, Surah XVII: 4, "The Israelites."
And thou art redundantly redundant.
Read your book; your own self is sufficient as a reckoner against you this day. - Koran, Surah XVII: 14, "The Israelites."
And this one is for the nitwit that called into O'Reilly and said that you need an Imam to tell you what the Koran means. Seems to me if your smart enough to figure it out for yourself on Judgment Day, you can probably handle the task when the sky isn't falling.
And when We wish to destroy a town, We send Our commandments to the people of it who lead easy lives, but they transgress therein; thus the word proves true against it, so We destroy it with utter destruction. And how many of the generations did We destroy after Nuh [Noah]! - Koran, Surah XVII: 16-17, "The Israelites."
Here's one of those passages that randomly makes reference to the Old Testament story of Noah. In the Old Testament their are numerous stories of destruction by God's wrath, but each of them is specific to a time and place with the stories of Noah and Lott being the most significant. In the Koran, passages like that above are numerous and do not always reference anything specific.
The overall impression is that Allah goes around destroying towns and cities after giving them a chance to convert first. Historically, this is what happened during the spread of Islam. When one looks at the expansion of Islam as it spread through the middle-east, Africa and into Europe during it's salad days, it is easy to see where they got the idea. Islam was spread primarily by the sword. For those who like to point out the Christian Crusades, they should be reminded that those were in response the Muslim Crusade that nearly succeeded in subjugating Europe by the end of the 7th century A.D.
And do not kill any one whom Allah has forbidden, except for a just cause, and whoever is slain unjustly, We have indeed given to his heir authority, so let him not exceed the just limits in slaying; surely he is aided. - Koran, Surah XVII: 33, "The Israelites."
So far the only ones that cannot be slain are Muslims by other Muslims on purpose. Everyone else is fair game for one reason or another.
And we will drive the guilty [unbelievers] to hell thirsty. - Koran, Surah XIX: 86, "Marium."
Surely you and what you worship besides Allah are the firewood of hell; to it you shall come. - Koran, Surah XXI: 98, "The Prophets."
We're all just human Presto-Logs. Anyone have a match?
These are two adversaries who dispute about their Lord; then (as to) those who disbelieve, for them are cut out garments of fire; boiling water shall be poured on their heads. With it shall be melted what is in their bellies and (their) skins as well. And for them are whips of iron. Whenever they will desire to go forth from it, and taste the chastisement of burning.
Surely Allah will make those who believe and do good deeds enter the garden beneath which rivers flow; they shall be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and (with) pearls, and their garments therein shall be of silk. - Koran, Surah XXII: 19-23, "The Pilgrimage."
Mohammed really had a thing about describing all the punishments of Hell and the pleasures of Heaven. Not much to do with spiritual growth--just avoid the pain and get to the pleasure.
Surely Allah will defend those who believe; surely Allah does not love any who is unfaithful, ungrateful. - Koran, Surah XXII: 19-23, "The Pilgrimage."
So, if an American Army full of unbelievers beats a Muslim Army, what does that mean? I'd like to hear an Imam explain this one. Good thing they don't allow tap shoes in mosques.
Permission (to fight) is given to those whom war is made because they are oppressed, and most surely Allah is well able to assist them.... - Koran, Surah XXII: 39-40, "The Pilgrimage."
"Oppressed" can be defined rather broadly to provide justification.
And (as for) those who strive to oppose Our communications, they shall be the inmates of the flaming fire. - Koran, Surah XXII: 51, "The Pilgrimage."
We're not neccesarily talking about "Judgment Day" or Hell. It could be that guy wearing the bulky over-coat in August.
That (shall be so); and he who retaliates with the like of that which he has been afflicted and he has been oppressed, Allah will most certainly aid him; most surely Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. - Koran, Surah XXII: 60, "The Pilgrimage."
So much for "Vengeance is mine".
Repel evil by what is best; We know best what they describe. - Koran, Surah XXIII: 96, "The Believers."
A simple statement open to much interpretation.
The fire shall scorch their faces, and they therein [Hell] shall be in severe affliction. - Koran, Surah XXIII: 104, "The Believers."
Getting tired of these descriptions yet. Nearly every Surah in the Koran has one or more like it. I'd call that a pattern, not just a few out-of-context quotes.
Allah has promised to those of you who believe and do good that He will most certainly make them rulers in the earth as He made rulers before them, and he will most certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them.... - Koran, Surah XXIV: 55, "The Light."
Hard to miss the meaning of this one.
Call not this [judgment] day for one destruction, but call for destructions many. - Koran, Surah XXV: 14, "The Criterion."
Does anyone remember 9-11?
The parable of those who take guardians besides Allah is as the parable of the spider that makes for itself a house; and most surely the frailest of houses is the spiders house--did they but know. - Koran, Surah XXIX: 41, "The Spider."
I threw this one in because, except for "The Women", "The Spider" is the only Surah in which the title matches anything in the subject matter.
...none deny Our communications except the unjust. - Koran, Surah XXIX: 49, "The Spider."
Since we're all unjust, I guess that means it's all right to blow us up, hijack airplanes, and be generally unpleasant.
And who is more unjust than one who forges a lie against Allah, or gives the lie to the truth when it has come to him? Will not in hell be the abode of the unbelievers? - Koran, Surah XXIX: 68, "The Spider."
Anyone detecting a pattern here?
Nay! Those who are unjust follow their low desires without any knowledge; so who can guide him whom Allah makes err? - Koran, Surah XXX: 29, "The Romans."
There's that catch-22 again. Allah makes us err, and then sends us to hell because we did. That's I'd call unjust.
Surely they used to behave proudly when it was said to them: there is no god but Allah; And to say: What! Shall we indeed give up our gods for the sake of the mad poet? - Koran, Surah XXXVII: 35, 36, "The Rangers."
They had this guys number even way back then.
This is a reminder; and most surely there is an excellent resort for those who guard (against evil), The gardens of perpetuity, the doors are opened for them. Reclining therein, calling therein for many fruits and drink. And with them shall be those restraining their eyes, equals in age. - Koran, Surah XXXVIII: 49-52, "The Suad."
Now I have searched for specific references to those 72 virgins we keep hearing so much about, and this is the closest I can come to it. I have found one or two other passages that make reference to "those restraining their eyes" awaiting the faithful, but no references to either their number or their chastity. It is possible, however, that I missed it during the many times my eyes glazed over during the search.... One should not drink adult beverages while reading the Koran. Conversely, one should not try to operate heavy machinery or a motor vehicle while reading it. The end result is the same.
Surely Allah does not guide him all right who is a liar, ungrateful. - Koran, Surah XXXIX: 3, "The Companies."
If that's the case, that bunch at CAIR are doomed.
He is Allah, the One, the subduer (of all). - Koran, Surah XXXIX: 4, "The Companies."
My God can beat up your God?
Those who dispute concerning the communications of Allah without any authority that He has given them; greatly hated is it by Allah and those who believe. Thus does Allah set a seal over the heart of every proud, haughty one. - Koran, Surah XL: 41, "The Believer."
Allah did not give me permission to write this, therefore he hates me.
And whoever defends himself after his being oppressed, these it is against whom there is no way (to blame). - Koran, Surah XLII: 41, "The Counsel."
Absolution for the Palestinians. We all know how oppressed they are. All except for Yassir, that is.
So when you meet in battle those who disbelieve, then smite the necks until when you overcome them, then make (them) prisoners,... and as for those who are slain in the way of Allah, He will by no means allow their deeds to perish. - Koran, Surah XLVII: 4, "Muhammad."
No translation needed here; but they might want to read Clausewitz or Sun Tzu before they take us on again.
And (as for) those who disbelieve, for them is destruction, and He has made their deed ineffective. - Koran, Surah XLVII: 8, "Muhammad."
See above....
A parable of the garden which those guarding (against evil) are promised: Therein are rivers of water that does not alter, and rivers of milk the taste thereof does not change, and rivers of drink delicious to those who drink, and rivers of honey clarified; and for them therein are all fruits and protection from their Lord. - Koran, Surah XLVII: 15, "Muhammad."
Get to heaven and you are safe from your own God. Makes life sound like a shooting gallery where Allah takes pot shots at you till you make it to home base.
And be not slack so as to cry for peace and you have the upper hand, and Allah is with you, and He will not bring your deeds to naught. - Koran, Surah XLVII: 35, "Muhammad."
In other words, when you have them on the run, keep them on the run--no mercy.
The life of this world is only idle sport and play, and if you believe and guard (against evil) He will give you your rewards, and will not ask of you your possessions. - Koran, Surah XLVII: 36, "Muhammad."
Hmmm... don't take life seriously, and, if you're faithful, Allah let's you take it with you? Deep. Very Deep.
Say to those of the dwellers of the desert who were left behind: You shall soon be invited (to fight) against a people possessing mighty prowess; you will fight against them until they submit; then if you obey, Allah will grant you a good reward; and if you turn back as you turned back before, He will punish you with a painful punishment. - Koran, Surah XLVIII: 16, "The Victory."
What do you want to bet that Bin Laden reads this one a lot? And how do you think it will be interpreted by the Muslim world if we turn tail in Iraq and Afghanistan before finishing our business over their?
He it is Who sent His Apostle with the guidance and the true religion that He may make it prevail over all the religions, and Allah is enough for a witness. - Koran, Surah XLVIII: 16, "The Victory."
Can you say "Wahabbi Fifth-Columnist?" Is it really a good idea to let them recruit in our prisons or to commission them as Army Chaplains?
O you who believe! do not take My enemy and your enemy for friends: would you offer them love while they deny what has come to you of the truth.... If you go forth struggling hard in My path and seeking My pleasure, would you manifest love to them? And I know what you conceal and what you manifest; and whoever of you does this, he indeed has gone astray from the straight path.
If they find you, they will be your enemies, and will stretch forth towards you their hands and their tongues with evil, and ardently desire that you may disbelieve. - Koran, Surah LX: 1&2, "The Examined One."
That's number three. So I guess it's not such an isolated, out-of-context passage after all. And this one takes it a step further than the others. Remember--frequency and pattern...
O you who believe! why do you say that which you do not do? It is most hateful to Allah that you should say that which you do not do. - Koran, Surah LXI: 2&3, "The Ranks."
Translate as you please.
Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way in ranks as if they were a firm and compact wall. - Koran, Surah LXI: 4, "The Ranks."
And that's what depleted-uranium anti-tank rounds are for.
"We are terrorists, and terror is an obligation in the book of Allah. Let the west and east know that we are terrorists and we strike fear: 'Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power. Including steeds of war to strike terror into (the hearts of) the enemies of Allah and your enemies...' (8:60), So Terror is an obligation in the creed of Allah SWT" - Sheikh Abdullah Azzam.
"Our new world rests on order. The danger is disorder. And in today's world, it can now spread like contagion. The terrorists and the states that support them don't have large armies or precision weapons; they don't need them. Their weapon is chaos." - Prime Minister Tony Blair, speech to the U.S. Congress Accepting the Congressional Gold Medal, July 17, 2003.
"I know [the war on terrorism is] hard on America, and in some small corner of this vast country, out in Nevada or Idaho or these places I've never been to, but always wanted to go. I know out there there's a guy getting on with his life, perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, the political leaders of this country, 'Why me? And why us? And why America?'
And the only answer is, 'Because destiny put you in this place in history, in this moment in time, and the task is yours to do" - Prime Minister Tony Blair, speech to the U.S. Congress Accepting the Congressional Gold Medal, July 17, 2003.
"We expect nations to speak the truth about terror. They shouldn't encourage malicious lies and outrageous conspiracy theories concerning the attacks of September the 11th. No government should promote the propaganda of terrorists." - President George W. Bush, Radio Address to the Nation, from The Oval Office, November 10, 2001.
"The only alternative to victory is a future of terror. So we will fight for victory." - President George W. Bush, Radio Address to the Nation, from The Oval Office, November 10, 2001.
"Some have said we must not act until the threat is imminent. Since when have terrorists and tyrants announced their intentions, politely putting us on notice before they strike? If this threat is permitted to fully and suddenly emerge, all actions, all words, and all recriminations would come too late. Trusting in the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not a strategy, and it is not an option." - President George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Tuesday, January 28, 2003.
"One hundred percent of the successful terrorist attacks on commercial airlines for 20 years have been committed by Arabs. When there is a 100 percent chance, it ceases to be a profile. It's called a 'description of the suspect...." - Ann Coulter.
"No matter how long this war takes, this issue is the issue of an entire nation which has refused a life of humiliation under American arrogance and Israeli violence. Secondly, the organization of al-Qaida announces that Bush the father, and Bush the son, and in between them, Clinton, Blair and Sharon are at the head of the criminals, the Zionists and the crusaders, who have committed the worst practices and greatest atrocities against the Muslim nation, before and now." - Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, Osama bin Laden spokesman, statement on al-Jazeera satellite channel, October 14, 2001.
"[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement" - Hamas Charter, Article 13.
"The Muslim women have a no lesser role than that of men in the war of liberation; they manufacture men.... raising the children upon the moral concepts and values which derive from Islam; and of educating their sons to observe the religious injunctions in preparation for the duty of Jihad awaiting them." - Hamas Charter, Articles 17&18.
"This, for the purpose of calling upon the Arab and Islamic peoples as well as their governments, popular and official associations, to fear Allah in their attitude towards and dealings with Hamas, and to be, in accordance with Allah's will, its supporters and partisans who extend assistance to it and provide it with reinforcement after reinforcement, until the Decree of Allah is fulfilled, the ranks are over-swollen, Jihad fighters join other Jihad fighters, and all this accumulation sets out from everywhere in the Islamic world, obeying the call of duty, and intoning "Come on, join Jihad!" Hamas will only be of help to all associations and organizations which act against the Zionist enemy and those who revolve in its orbit." - Hamas Charter, Article 33.
"Safety and security can only prevail under the shadow of Islam.... The members of other religions must desist from struggling against Islam." - Hamas Charter, Article 31.
"Jihad becomes a duty binding on all Muslims.... We must spread the spirit of Jihad among the [Islamic] Umma, clash with the enemies and join the ranks of the Jihad fighters.... I indeed wish to go to war for the sake of Allah! I will assault and kill, assault and kill, assault and kill." - Hamas Charter, Article 15.
"Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Qur'an its Constitution, Jihad its path and death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief." - Hamas Charter, official slogan, Article 8.
"Make no mistake: Unless we give this Millennial Generation a clear, cause-and-effect understanding of what freedom is, how it works and what it takes to protect it, then that uniquely American birthright could be lost to history forever.
"Whatever you do, don't shrug it off. The world has been relatively free now for several decades of the tyranny and terror that faced the great "G.I. Generation" of World War II. But sleeping giants inevitably awaken, and the cycle of history never strays far from its orbit. Make sure the next generation is prepared. Its children and grandchildren will thank God you did." - Charton Heston, "Next Generation Is Our Hope but Must Understand Freedom", June, 2001.
"I wonder is the possibility of being killed through ignorance of a threat somehow secondary to surviving at the expense of offending someone's ethnicity? Have we all gone nuts? (Somebody better turn up the burner on America's melting pot there are still a few lumps in the broth.)
"The media, and most politicians, are reluctant to identify a terrorist as a terrorist, preferring the term 'militant' all the while assuring America that 'most of Islam is moderate and not all militants are terrorists.' Even a quick reading of my book, The Everlasting Hatred, the Roots of Jihad, would dispel that fantasy." - Hal Lindsey, "Survival Speak", January 2, 2003.
"An international fraternity of terrorists, with the Soviet Union as the chairman of the rush committee, has enabled the Russians to engage, as Senator Henry Jackson has put it, in "warfare by remote control" all over the world. Other members of the international club include North Korea, Cuba, South Yemen, East Germany, Libya, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Malcontents from all over the world are trained by them in the arts of kidnapping, assassination, sabotage, bomb making, and insurrection, and then sent off to ply their trade. Their tutors are careful to keep them well supplied with weapons and to provide sanctuary when they need it." - Richard Nixon, The Real War, 1980.
"We must force America to fight on a hundred fronts all over the Earth. We must force it to fight in Lebanon, to fight in Chad, to fight in Sudan, and to fight in El Salvador." - Colonel Qadhafi, Dictator of Libya, 1985.
"We must take a stand against terrorism in the world and combat it with firmness, for it is a most cowardly and savage violation of peace. We must remember our heritage, who we are and what we are, and how this nation, this island of freedom, came into being." - Ronald Reagan, campaign speech in Chicago, August 1980.
"The American people are not--I repeat--not going to tolerate intimidation, terror, and outright acts of war against this nation and its people. And we're especially not going to tolerate these attacks from outlaw states run by the strangest collection of misfits, loony tunes, and squalid criminals since the advent of the Third Reich." - President Ronald Reagan, Remarks at the Annual Convention of the American Bar Association, July 8, 1985.
"When a boy becomes a martyr, thousands of people attend his funeral. Poor families become celebrities. 'Everyone treats them with more respect after they lose a son,' a martyr's father said. 'And when there is a martyr in the village, it encourages more children to join the Jihad. It raises the spirit of the entire village,' he continued." - Jessica Stern, Foreign Relations.
"You are not an enemy combatant, you are a terrorist. We hunt terrorists down and bring them to justice." Federal District Court Judge William G. Young, statement upon sentencing al-Queda "shoe-bomb" terrorist Richard Reid, January 31, 2003.
Bio-Chemical Weapons & Saddam: A History.
How Militant Islamic Terrorists Entered and Remained in the United States.
Imam, two others held for attacking a Muslim-American Navy engineer on charges of blasphemy!
Islamic Nations Call for U.S. Out of Iraq.
Muslim Disinformation Campaign: Throwing dust in the eyes of the infidels.
Muslims Must Reform... Or Be Left Behind.
New Al-Qa'ida... Calls for Killing of Americans and Non-Muslims.
On John Muhammad (The D.C. Sniper): A Fifth-Column Foot soldier in War Against Infidel U.S.?
Tales of Saddam's Brutality (con't).
Terrorism, War, and Evil: Reflections on September 11.
Top Terrorist Hunter's Divisive Views.
TRAITORS! (Letter from US Marine in Iraq).
Translated Arabic Articles Based Upon Anti-Semitic Themes.
You're the second person to tell me that so I guess I'll have to. Any translations you reccomend or websites?
Posted on 10/20/2003 5:25 PM EDT by pabianice
Campus Watch has stopped an incident of extremism being forwarded by a North American university. At the behest of CW, the University of Michigan's federally subsidized Center of Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS) in September removed its embedded web links to a Wahhabist site.
The site is vitriolic and extremist. Answering the question, whether Muslim Americans may serve in the U.S. armed forces in Iraq, it replies:
"This is one of the most evil of evil things. It is not permissible to give them anything that may give them [U.S. forces] the slightest help against the Muslims."[1]
Because CMENAS receives federal funding via the Higher Education Act's Title VI program, the American taxpayer was until recently funding the promotion of a militant Islamic website via a research center. In exchange for federal Title VI grants, these centers are expected to provide educational "Outreach" materials and K-12 teaching aids about their area of expertise to the public.
Here are some more of the eye-opening sentiments the University of Michigan promoted to the high school teachers or students for whom the CMENAS website is mainly intended:
· Waging jihad (sacred war) is incumbent on Muslims "to make the people worship Allah alone and to bring them forth from servitude to people to servitude to the Lord of people."[2]
· Not engaging in jihad "leads to doom in this world and in the Hereafter."[3]
· "Muslims are commanded" to kill non-Muslims when they "are at war with the Muslims and do not have a peace treaty with the Muslims or are not living under Muslim rule."[4] Thus, not only are Muslim U.S. soldiers forbidden to fight for their country against Islamic terrorists, Muslims in the U.S. are commanded to kill non-Muslim Americans.
· Destruction of Israel is the only solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. "A solution cannot be reached in this matter unless it is regarded as an Islamic issue and the Muslims cooperate to find a solution, and wage an Islamic jihad against the Jews...."[5]
In addition, rank anti-Semitism pervades the site. One page indicates that Palestinians face an "unending Zionist arrogance and aggression, which pays no heed to human dignity or any covenant or treaty, or any law." All of this derives from the notion that "their evil rabbis and warlords encourage them."[6]
Despite sponsoring this website, CMENAS has recently been awarded nearly $1 millon dollars in federal aid for the coming three years.
The past director of CMENAS, Michael Bonner, recently stated that the center is "carrying out programs according to the precise requirements" of the Department of Education.[7] Stephen Schwartz, an expert on Wahhabism, takes issue with Bonner's claim. He calls the website, as it was, "a scandal" and rhetorically asks whether the University of Michigan "would guide those studying Christianity to sites run by the Aryan Nation, polygamist Mormon cults, and similar primitive sects?"[8]
When first informed of the site on Sept.9, Bonner disclaimed any knowledge of its connection to Wahhabist propaganda. On futher investigation, however, CMENAS ceded that Campus Watch's concerns were validated and removed all connections to the Wahhabi site on Sept.11.
CMENAS program associate Micheal Fahy informed us that the embedded link was a clerical error resulting from "insufficient oversight" by the center. Fahy conceded that CW's objections to the link "are well founded" and explained that the problem was compounded by the site's design, which "could give the impression that CMENAS endorsed the interpretation of Islam offered in that website." Fahy added, "We most certainly do not endorse those views."[9]
Campus Watch appreciates the frank and rapid response by CMENAS to its inquiry; it also believes that citing a clerical error cannot close the issue. Rather, we have asked the president of the University of Michigan, Mary Sue Coleman, to investigate what happened and what else might be awry in the CMENAS outreach program. After all, the objectionable website is only one of many efforts by CMENAS in their outreach program. What takes place in classrooms, conferences, brown-bag lunches and other activities?
Further, we have asked the Department of Education to examine more closely where federal Title VI money is going, and how these tax dollars are spent. NOTES: [1] Question #33691: Ruling on helping a kaafir army against the Muslims. http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=33691&dgn=3&dgn=2
[2] Question #34647: The reason why jihaad is prescribed. http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=34647&dgn=3&dgn=2
[3] Question #46807: Punishments for neglecting jihad for the sake of Allaah, http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=46807&dgn=3
[4] Question #11406: Killing non-Muslims. http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=11406&dgn=3
[5] Question #21977: Solution to the Palestinian issue. http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=21977&dgn=3
[6] Question #31888: The situation of the Muslims in Palestine http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&CR=429&dgn=3
[7] CMENAS Newsletter 2002-2003. http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/cmenas/winter2003.pdf
[8] Email from Stephen Schwartz, August 12, 2003.
[9] Email from Michael A. Fahy, September 12, 2003.
A Muslim businessman has been offered a golden opportunity to sell equipment and food or to sign a contract to do maintenance on vehicles and equipment for an army that is waging war against the Muslims. What is the ruling on doing such business?.
Praise be to Allaah.The scholars of Islam have stated that it is not permitted to support the kaafirs against the Muslims, and that that is kufr (disbelief) and riddah (apostasy), because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Awliyaa’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Awliyaa’ of each other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa’), then surely, he is one of them”
[al-Maa'idah 5:51]
The fuqaha’ of Islam, the imams of the Hanafi, Maaliki, Shaafa’i and Hanbali madhhabs, and other fuqaha’, have stated in their books that it is haraam to sell them anything that may help them against the Muslims, such as weapons, equipment, riding beasts, etc. So it is not permissible to give them food or to sell them food, drink, water, tents, trucks, vehicles, or to make contracts with them to provide maintenance, transaportation, etc. All of that is haraam and the one who consumes profits on such transactions is consuming haraam things, and the Fire is more fitting for him.
It is not permissible to sell them even a date or to give them anything that they can use against their enemies. Whoever does that deserves Hell, and the Fire is more fitting for all evil earnings. Indeed this is one of the most evil of evil things.
It is not permissible to give them anything that may give them the slightest help against the Muslims.
Al-Nawawi said in al-Majmoo’:
With regard to selling weapons to ahl al-harb (those who wage war against the Muslims), it is haraam according to scholarly consensus.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in I’laam al-Muwaqqi’een:
Imam Ahmad said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade selling weapons at times of fitnah (tribulation)… It is obvious that selling them is helping others in sin and transgression. This also applies to every sale, rental or exchange that helps people to disobey Allaah, such as selling weapons to kaafirs, aggressors and bandits… or renting one’s house to someone who will set up a place for sin in it, or selling candles to someone who will use them to disobey Allaah, and other actions which help people to do that which Allaah hates and is angry with.
End quote.
In al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah (25/153) it says:
It is haraam to sell weapons to ahl al-harb (those who are waging war against Islam) or to those who are known as bandits who attack Muslims or who stir up fitnah among them. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: It is not permissible for a Muslim to take weapons or horses to the enemies of the Muslims which will strengthen them against the Muslims, or anything that will help them to acquire weapons and horses, because selling weapons to ahl al-harb strengthens them to fight the Muslims and motivates them to declare war and continue fighting.
This issue is not the matter of ordinary or minor sins, rather it is a matter that has to do with the basis of ‘aqeedah (belief) and Tawheed (belief in the Oneness of Allaah), and the Muslim’s support and loyalty towards the Religion of Allaah and his disavowal of the enemies of Allaah. This is what was stated by the imams in their books.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in his Fataawa (1/274):
The scholars of Islam are unanimously agreed that whoever supports the kaafirs against the Muslims and helps them in any way is a kaafir like them as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians as Awliyaa’ (friends, protectors, helpers), they are but Awliyaa’ of each other. And if any amongst you takes them (as Awliyaa’), then surely, he is one of them. Verily, Allaah guides not those people who are the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers and unjust)”
[al-Maa'idah 5:51].
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Why do Muslims wage jihad?.
Praise be to Allaah.Allaah has enjoined jihad for His sake upon the Muslims, for the great benefits that result from that and because of the harm caused by abandoning jihad, some of which are mentioned in Question no. 34830.
Some of the reasons why jihad for the sake of Allaah is prescribed in Islam are as follows:
1 – The main goal of jihad is to make the people worship Allaah alone and to bring them forth from servitude to people to servitude to the Lord of people. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allaah) and (all and every kind of) worship is for Allaah (Alone). But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az‑Zaalimoon (the polytheists, and wrong-doers)”
[al-Baqarah 2:193]
“And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and polytheism, i.e. worshipping others besides Allaah), and the religion (worship) will all be for Allaah Alone [in the whole of the world]. But if they cease (worshipping others besides Allaah), then certainly, Allaah is All-Seer of what they do”
[al-Anfaal 8:39]
Ibn Jareer said:
So fight them until there is no more shirk, and none is worshipped except Allaah alone with no partner or associate, and trials and calamities, which are disbelief and polytheism, are lifted from the slaves of Allaah on earth, and religion is all for Allaah alone, and so that obedience and worship will be devoted to Him alone and none else.
Ibn Katheer said: Allaah commands us to fight the kuffaar so that there will be no fitnah, i.e., shirk, and the religion will all be for Allaah alone, i.e., the religion of Allaah will prevail over all other religions.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “"I have been commanded (by Allaah) to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allaah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allaah, and they establish regular prayer and pay zakaah, then if they do that, then they save their lives and property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning will be with Allaah." Narrated by al-Bukhaari (24), Muslim (33).
And he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have been sent just before the Hour with the sword, so that Allaah will be worshipped alone with no partner or associate.”
Narrated by Ahmad, 4869; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2831.
This purpose of jihad was present in the minds of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) during their battles with the enemies of Allaah. Al-Bukhaari (2925) narrated that Jubayr ibn Hayyah said: ‘Umar sent people to all the regions to fight the mushrikeen… so ‘Umar recruited us and appointed al-Nu’maan ibn Muqarrin to lead us. When we were in the land of the enemy, the representative of Chosroes came out to us with forty thousand troops. An interpreter stood up and said: “Let one of you speak to me.” Al-Mugheerah said: “Ask whatever you want.” He asked, “Who are you?” He (al-Mugheerah) said: “We are some people from among the Arabs. We used to lead a harsh and miserable life, sucking on animal skins and date stones because of hunger, wearing clothes made of camel and goat hair, worshipping trees and rocks. While we were in this state, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, exalted be His name and glorified be His greatness, sent to us a Prophet from amongst ourselves, whose father and mother we know. Our Prophet, the Messenger of our Lord, (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), commanded us to fight you until you worship Allaah alone or pay the jizyah. Our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us the message from our Lord, that whoever among us is killed will go to Paradise to enjoy delights such as no one has ever seen, and whoever among us is left will become your master.”
This is the truth that the Sahaabah and leaders of the Muslims proclaimed in their military campaigns.
Rab’i ibn ‘Aamir said, when Rustam the commander of the Persian armies asked him, “Why have you come?”: “Allaah has sent us to bring forth whomsoever He wills from the worship of man to the worship of Allaah.
When ‘Uqbah ibn Naafi’ reached Tangiers, he rode his horse into the water until the water was up to its chest, then he said: “O Allaah, bear witness that I have done my utmost, and were it not for this sea I would have travelled throughout the land fighting those who disbelieve in You, until none is worshipped except You.”
2 – Repelling the aggression of those who attack the Muslims.
The scholars are unanimously agreed that repelling the aggression of those who attack the Muslims is fard ‘ayn (an individual obligation) upon those who are able to do that.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And fight in the way of Allaah those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allaah likes not the transgressors”
[al-Baqarah 2:190]
“Will you not fight a people who have violated their oaths (pagans of Makkah) and intended to expel the Messenger while they did attack you first? Do you fear them? Allaah has more right that you should fear Him if you are believers”
[al-Tawbah 9:13]
3 – Removing fitnah (tribulation)
Fitnah is of different types:
(i) That which is caused by the kuffaar who persecute the Muslims or apply pressure to them to make them give up their religion. Allaah has commanded the Muslims to fight in jihad in order to save those who are weak and oppressed. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of Allaah, and for those weak, ill‑treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect, and raise for us from You one who will help”
[al-Nisa’ 4:75]
(ii) The fitnah of the kuffaar themselves and their preventing others from hearing and accepting the truth. That is because the kaafir systems corrupt the innate nature and reason of people, and make them get used to worshipping and submitting to things other than Allaah, getting addicted to alcohol, wallowing in the mire of sexual licence, and losing all characteristics of virtue. Whoever is like that can rarely tell truth from falsehood, good from evil, right from wrong. So jihad is prescribed in order to remove those obstacles that prevent people from hearing and accepting the truth and getting to know it.
4 – Protecting the Islamic state from the evil of the kuffaar.
Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ordered that the leaders of the kuffaar be killed, those who incited the enemies against the Muslims, such as the Jews Ka’b ibn al-Ashraf and Ibn Abi’l-Haqeeq.
Another aspect of jihad is to protect the borders against the kuffaar. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) encouraged that as he said: “Guarding the border for one day for the sake of Allaah is better than this world and everything in it.” Al-Bukhaari, 2678.
5 – Frightening the kuffaar, humiliating them and putting them to shame.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Fight against them so that Allaah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of a believing people,
And remove the anger of their (believers’) hearts. Allaah accepts the repentance of whom He wills. Allaah is All-Knowing, All-Wise”
[al-Tawbah 9:14-15]
“And make ready against them all you can of power, including steeds of war (tanks, planes, missiles, artillery) to threaten the enemy of Allaah and your enemy”
[al-Anfaal 8:60]Hence it is prescribed to fight in a manner that will strike terror into the heart of the enemy.
Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah – may Allaah have mercy on him] was asked whether it is permissible for a soldier to wear silk or gold or silver when fighting or when the envoys of the enemy come to the Muslims.
He replied:
Praise be to Allaah. With regard to wearing silk in order to frighten the enemy, there are two scholarly views, the more correct of which is that it is allowed. The soldiers of Syria wrote to ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab saying: “When we met the enemy we saw that they had covered their weapons with silk and we found that this struck terror in our hearts.” ‘Umar wrote back to them saying: “You should cover your weapons as they do.” And wearing silk is a kind of showing off, and Allaah likes showing off at the time of fighting, as it is narrated in al-Sunan that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is a kind of showing off that Allaah likes, and a kind of showing off that Allaah hates. The showing off that Allaah likes is when a man shows off at the time of war. The kind of showing off that Allaah hates is showing off for the purpose of pride and boasting.” On the day of Uhud, Abu Dujaanah al-Ansaari showed off among the ranks, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “This is a kind of walking that Allaah hates except in this situation.” Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 28/17
6 – Exposing the hypocrites
Allaah says (Interpretation of the meaning):
“But when a decisive Soorah (explaining and ordering things) is sent down, and fighting (Jihaad — holy fighting in Allaah’s Cause) is mentioned (i.e. ordained) therein, you will see those in whose hearts is a disease (of hypocrisy) looking at you with a look of one fainting to death”
[Muhammad 47:20]
At times of ease and plenty, the Muslims may be joined by those who seek to make worldly gains, and they do not want to make the word of Allaah prevail over the word of kufr. These people may conceal their real nature from many of the Muslims, and the most effective means of exposing them is jihad, because jihad means sacrificing oneself but these hypocrites are only indulging in hypocrisy in order to save themselves.
Exposing the hypocrites was one of the major purposes that Allaah wanted the believers to achieve on the day of Uhud.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Allaah will not leave the believers in the state in which you are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:179]
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
This means: Allaah will not leave you in the state in which you are, where the believers are indistinguishable from the hypocrites, until the believers are made distinct from the hypocrites, as they were distinguished by the test on the day of Uhud, and Allaah will not disclose to you the unseen matters by which the one group is distinguished from the other, for they are distinguished from one another in the knowledge of the unseen that He has, but He wants to distinguish them from one another in a clear and visible manner, so that His unseen knowledge will become known and visible.
7 – Purifying the believers of their sins and ridding them thereof
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And so are the days (good and not so good), that We give to men by turns, that Allaah may test those who believe, and that He may take martyrs from among you. And Allaah likes not the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).
And that Allaah may test (or purify) the believers (from sins) and destroy the disbelievers.
Do you think that you will enter Paradise before Allaah tests those of you who fought (in His Cause) and (also) tests those who are As‑Saabiroon (the patient)?”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:140-142]8 – Acquiring booty
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I have been sent ahead of the Hour with the sword so that Allaah will be worshipped alone, and my provision has been placed in the shade of my spear, and humiliation has been decreed for those who go against my command, and whoever imitates a people is one of them.” Narrated by Ahmad, 4869; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2831.
Al-Haafiz said:
This hadeeth indicates that war booty is permissible for this ummah, and that the provision of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has been placed in war booty and not in other kinds of earnings. Hence some of the scholars said that it is the best kind of earnings.
Al-Qurtubi said:
Allaah sent provision to His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by means of his striving and He made it by means of the best kind of striving which is earning it by means of force and strength.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out for the battle of Badr to meet the caravan of Abu Sufyaan.
Al-Qurtubi said: The fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went out to meet the caravan indicates that it is permissible to take booty because it is a halaal source of income. This refutes Maalik’s view that this is makrooh, when he said that this was fighting for worldly gains.
Al-Shawkaani said: Ibn Abi Jamrah said: The scholars of hadeeth are of the view that if the primary motive is to make the word of Allaah supreme, it does not matter what else is also achieved.
9 – Taking martyrs.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If a wound (and killing) has touched you, be sure a similar wound (and killing) has touched the others. And so are the days (good and not so good), that We give to men by turns, that Allaah may test those who believe, and that He may take martyrs from among you. And Allaah likes not the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers).
And that Allaah may test (or purify) the believers (from sins) and destroy the disbelievers”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:140-141]
Martyrdom is one of the highest statuses before Allaah, and the martyrs are the closest of His slaves to Him. There is no status higher than that of siddeeq apart from martyrdom. Allaah loves to take martyrs from among His slaves, who shed their blood for His love and to earn His pleasure, preferring His pleasure and His love above themselves. There is no way to attain this status except by circumstances that may lead to it such as enemies coming against the Muslims.
This was said by Ibn al-Qayyim in Zaad al-Ma’aad.
This is the great wisdom and those who try to put the Muslims off jihad and make them fear it, and say that jihad is no more than death, and making women widows and children orphans, pale into insignificance.
10 – Ridding the world of corruption.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“For had it not been that Allaah checks one set of people by means of another, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, wherein the Name of Allaah is mentioned much would surely, have been pulled down. Verily, Allaah will help those who help His (Cause). Truly, Allaah is All‑Strong, All‑Mighty”
[al-Hajj 22:40]
“And if Allaah did not check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief. But Allaah is full of bounty to the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)”
[al-Baqarah 2:251]
Muqaatil said:
Were it not that Allaah checked the mushriks by means of the Muslims, the mushriks would have overrun the earth and killed the Muslims and destroyed the mosques.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in al-Jawaab al-Saheeh, 2/216:
So the kuffar are repelled by means of the Muslims and the worse of the two parties is repelled by the better, just as the Magians (Persians) were repelled by the Christian Byzantines, then the Christians were repelled by the believers of the ummah of Muhammad.
Al-Sa’di said: The world would be corrupted if the kuffaar and evildoers were to prevail.
These are some of the reasons why jihad is prescribed.
We ask Allaah to bring the Muslims back to their religion. May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=34647&dgn=3&dgn=2
| Question #46807: Punishments for neglecting jihad for the sake of Allaah |
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Question : Is there a specific punishment that is deserved by those who neglect jihad for the sake of Allaah?. Answer : Praise be to Allaah. |
| Question #11406: Killing non Muslims |
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Question : I've read that in Islam it is a greater sin to kill a Muslim than a non-Muslim. However, on death a Muslim will be in Paradise whereas the non-Muslim will be in Hell.To kill a non-Muslim is to deny them forever the chance of becoming a Muslim, and condemns them to Hell. Is this not then a greater sin? Answer :
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| Question #21977: Solution to the Palestinian issue |
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Question : What is the way of solving the Palestinian issue which becomes more complicated each day? Answer : Praise be to Allaah. Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, part 1, p. 1259 (www.islam-qa.com) |
| Question #31888: The situation of the Muslims in Palestine |
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Question : I was wondering wha you believe the fight taking place in the Holy Land is all about and what the end result might be. Answer : Praise be to Allaah. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com) |
| Question #21509: Role of the khaleefah of the Muslims? |
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Question : What is the role of the khaleefah of the Muslims?. Answer : Praise be to Allaah. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com) |
| Question #14235: Ruling on Muslims taking on European nationality |
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Question : What is the ruling on taking European nationality for a Muslim who has come to a European country fleeing from oppression in his homeland, where he has lost his identity papers and has lost all hope of going back to his country? May Allaah reward you with good? Answer : Praise be to Allaah. Shaykh Khaalid al-Maajid, Faculty Member, College of Sharee’ah, Imaam Muhammad ibn Sa’ood Islamic University. (www.islam-qa.com) http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=14235&dgn=4 |
Posted on 10/20/2003 3:56 PM EDT by jonalvy44
According to Daniel Pipes: Jonathan V. Last notes in today's Wall Street Journal that the war on terror is not the subject of a single U.S. feature film already produced or in the works. When asked why should be, head of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, replies with questions of his own: "Who would you have as the enemy if you made a picture about terrorism? You'd probably have Muslims, would you not? If you did, I think there would be backlash from the decent, hard-working, law-abiding Muslim community in this country."
www.Chiesa ^ | 10/21/03 | Sandro Magister
Posted on 10/21/2003 8:46 PM PDT by Land of the Irish
The Church and Islam. “La Civiltà Cattolica” Breaks the Ceasefire
Through the prestigious magazine, the Vatican denounces with unusual harshness the oppression of Christians in Muslim countries. A testimony from Egypt
by Sandro Magister
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Taliban Kill Eight Policemen in Afghan Attack
Sun October 12, 2003 09:37 AM ET
KABUL (Reuters) - Up to 100 Afghan Taliban guerrillas attacked a district office in the volatile southern province of Zabul early Sunday, killing eight policemen and wounding two others, a local official said.
The latest attack by a resurgent guerrilla movement occurred in Zabul's Arghandab district shortly before 2 a.m., district officer Haji Qudratullah told Reuters.
He said up to 100 Taliban fighters were involved, who burned down the district office and destroyed four vehicles.
Qudratullah said he had no figure for Taliban casualties, though he had heard that some of the attackers had been killed.
"People said they took dead bodies with them," he said. Government forces had reoccupied the area after dawn.
The attack was just the latest in a series by the Taliban movement, ousted from government by U.S.-led forces in late 2001 for sheltering the al Qaeda network blamed for Sept. 11 attacks on the United States that year.
The period since the start of August has been the bloodiest in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, with more than 300 people killed, many of them in guerrilla attacks.
The dead have included Afghan aid workers, government soldiers, policemen and U.S. troops from the 11,500-strong U.S.-led force still searching for Taliban remnants and al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. U.S. SOLDIER SLIGHTLY WOUNDED
Sunday's attack follows an audacious escape by 41 Taliban prisoners from the main jail in Kandahar province, Zabul's neighbor.
Among the escapees was Mawlavi Abdullah, brother of former Taliban defense minister Obaidullah, and a commander named Aziz Agham who officials say mounted a number of guerrilla attacks in the months before his capture earlier this year.
Afghan and U.S. forces pursuing Islamic militants accuse neighboring Pakistan, the main backer of the Taliban until the September 11 attacks, of providing sanctuary for the guerrillas and allowing them to slip across the border to mount attacks.
But Pakistan says recent operations it has launched against militants in its tribal borderlands are proof of its commitment to the "war on terror."
In another incident involving suspected militants, a soldier from the U.S.-led force was slightly hurt in a gunbattle on the outskirts of Kabul Saturday night.
National Review Online ^ | October 21, 2003 | Deroy
Murdock - NRO Contributing Editor
Posted on 10/22/2003 12:20 AM EDT by Matchett-PI
As President Bush more robustly promotes his Iraq policy, he should confront directly those who dismiss Saddam Hussein's ties to terrorism and, thus, belittle a key rationale for Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Bush's critics employ a flimsy argument that nonetheless enjoys growing appeal among a largely hostile press corps. Since Hussein did not order the September 11 attacks — the fuzzy logic goes — he has no ties to terrorists, especially al Qaeda. Therefore, the Iraq war was bogus, and Bush should be defeated.
"Iraq was not a breeding ground for terrorism. Our invasion has made it one," said Senator Ted Kennedy (D., Mass.) on October 16. "We were told Iraq was attracting terrorists from al Qaeda. It was not...We should never have gone to war in Iraq when we did, in the way we did, for the false reasons we were given."
West Virginia's Jay Rockefeller, the Senate Intelligence Committee's ranking Democrat, told the Los Angeles Times that Iraq's alleged al Qaeda ties were "tenuous at best and not compelling."
In a September 16 editorial, the Times slammed Vice President Dick Cheney for making "sweeping, unproven claims about Saddam Hussein's connections to terrorism." On August 7, former vice president Al Gore stated reassuringly: "The evidence now shows clearly that Saddam did not want to work with Osama bin Laden at all."
Bush and his national-security team should repeatedly devote entire speeches and publications — complete with documents, names, and visuals, including photographs of terrorists and their innocent victims — to remind Americans and the world that Baathist Iraq was a general store for terrorists, complete with cash, training, lodging, and even medical attention.
The evidence for Hussein's cooperation with and support for global terrorists is abundant and increasing. Recall, for instance:
Hussein paid bonuses of up to $25,000 to the families of Palestinian homicide bombers. "President Saddam Hussein has recently told the head of the Palestinian political office, Faroq al-Kaddoumi, his decision to raise the sum granted to each family of the martyrs of the Palestinian uprising to $25,000 instead of $10,000," Iraq's former deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, declared at a Baghdad meeting of Arab politicians and businessmen on March 11, 2002, Reuters reported two days later.
Mahmoud Besharat, who the White House says dispensed these funds across the West Bank, gratefully said: "You would have to ask President Saddam why he is being so generous. But he is a revolutionary and he wants this distinguished struggle, the intifada, to continue."
Between Aziz's announcement and the March 20 launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom, 28 homicide bombers injured 1,209 people and killed 223 more, including at least eight Americans.
According to the State Department's May 21, 2002 "Patterns of Global Terrorism," the Abu Nidal Organization, the Arab Liberation Front, Hamas, the Kurdistan Worker's party, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization and the Palestinian Liberation Front all operated offices or bases in Hussein's Iraq.
Hussein's hospitality towards these mass murderers placed him in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687, which prohibited him from giving safe harbor to or otherwise supporting terrorists.
Coalition forces have found alive and well key terrorists who enjoyed Hussein's hospitality.
Among them was Abu Abbas, mastermind of the October 1985 Achille Lauro hijacking and murder of Leon Klinghoffer, a 69-year-old Manhattan retiree who Abbas's men rolled, wheelchair and all, into the Mediterranean.
Khala Khadr al-Salahat, accused of designing the bomb that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988 (259 killed on board, 11 dead on the ground), also lived in Baathist Iraq.
Before fatally shooting himself four times in the head on August 16, 2002, as Baghdad claimed, Palestinian terrorist Abu Nidal had resided in Iraq since 1999.
As the AP's Sameer N. Yacoub reported on August 21, 2002, the Beirut office of the Abu Nidal Organization said he entered Iraq "with the full knowledge and preparations of the Iraqi authorities." Nidal's attacks in 20 countries killed at least 275 people and wounded some 625 others.
Among other atrocities, ANO henchmen bombed a TWA airliner over the Aegean Sea in 1974, killing all 88 people on board.
Coalition troops destroyed at least three terrorist training camps including a base near Baghdad called Salman Pak.
It featured a passenger-jet fuselage where numerous Iraqi defectors reported that foreign terrorists were instructed how to hijack airliners with utensils.
(The Bush administration should bus a few dozen foreign correspondents and their camera crews from the bar of Baghdad's Palestine Hotel to Salman Pak for a guided tour. Network news footage of that ought to open a few eyes.)
As for Hussein's supposedly imaginary ties to al Qaeda, consider these disturbing facts:
The Philippine government expelled Hisham al Hussein, the second secretary at Iraq's Manila embassy, on February 13, 2003. Cell-phone records indicate that the diplomat had spoken with Abu Madja and Hamsiraji Sali, leaders of Abu Sayyaf, just before and just after this al Qaeda-allied Islamic militant group conducted an attack in Zamboanga City.
Abu Sayyaf's nail-filled bomb exploded on October 2, 2002, injuring 23 individuals and killing two Filipinos and U.S. Special Forces Sergeant First Class Mark Wayne Jackson, age 40. As Dan Murphy wrote in the Christian Science Monitor last February 26, those phone records bolster Sali's claim in a November 2002 TV interview that the Iraqi diplomat had offered these Muslim extremists Baghdad's help with joint missions.
Journalist Stephen F. Hayes reported in July that the official Babylon Daily Political Newspaper published by Hussein's eldest son, Uday, ran what it called a "List of Honor."
The paper's November 14, 2002, edition gave the names and titles of 600 leading Iraqis, including this passage: "Abid Al-Karim Muhamed Aswod, intelligence officer responsible for the coordination of activities with the Osama bin Laden group at the Iraqi embassy in Pakistan."
That name, Hayes wrote, matches that of Iraq's then-ambassador to Islamabad.
Carter-appointed federal appeals judge Gilbert S. Merritt discovered this document in Baghdad while helping Iraq rebuild its legal system.
He wrote in the June 25 Tennessean that two of his Iraqi colleagues remember secret police agents removing that embarrassing edition from newsstands and confiscating copies of it from private homes. The paper was not published for the next ten days.
Judge Merritt theorized that the "impulsive and somewhat unbalanced" Uday may have showcased these dedicated Baathists to "make them more loyal and supportive of the regime" as war loomed.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, formerly the director of an al Qaeda training base in Afghanistan, fled to Iraq after being injured as the Taliban fell. He received medical care and convalesced for two months in Baghdad.
He then opened a terrorist training camp in northern Iraq and arranged the October 2002 assassination of U.S. diplomat Lawrence Foley in Amman, Jordan.
While Iraqi Ramzi Yousef, ringleader of the February 26, 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot, fled the U.S. on a Pakistani passport, he arrived here on an Iraqi passport.
Author Richard Miniter reported September 25 on TechCentralStation: "U.S. forces recently discovered a cache of documents in Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, that show Iraq gave Mr. Yasin both a house and a monthly salary."
Indiana-born, Iraqi-reared al Qaeda member Abdul Rahman Yasin was indicted for mixing the chemicals in the bomb that exploded beneath the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring some 1,000 New Yorkers.
Along Iraq's border with Syria, U.S. troops captured Farouk Hijazi, Hussein's former ambassador to Turkey and suspected liaison to al Qaeda.
Under interrogation, Hijazi "admitted meeting with senior al Qaeda leaders at Saddam's behest in 1994."
While sifting through the Mukhabarat's bombed ruins last April 26, the Toronto Star's Mitch Potter, the London Daily Telegraph's Inigo Gilmore and their translator discovered a memo in the intelligence service's accounting department.
Dated February 19, 1998 and marked "Top Secret and Urgent," it said the agency would pay "all the travel and hotel expenses inside Iraq to gain the knowledge of the message from bin Laden and to convey to his envoy an oral message from us to bin Laden, the Saudi opposition leader, about the future of our relationship with him, and to achieve a direct meeting with him." The memo's three references to bin Laden were obscured crudely with correction fluid.
Despite the White House's inexplicable insistence to the contrary, tantalizing clues suggest Saddam Hussein might not have shared the world's shock when fireballs erupted from the Twin Towers.
Recall that his Salman Pak terror camp taught terrorists air piracy on an actual jet fuselage.
On January 5, 2000, Ahmad Hikmat Shakir — an Iraqi airport greeter reportedly dispatched from Baghdad's embassy in Malaysia — welcomed Khalid al Midhar and Nawaz al Hamzi to Kuala Lampur and escorted them to a local hotel where these September 11 hijackers met with 9/11 conspirators Ramzi bin al Shibh and Tawfiz al Atash.
Five days later, according to Stephen Hayes, Shakir disappeared. He was arrested in Qatar on September 17, 2001, six days after al Midhar and al Hamzi slammed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon, killing 216 people.
On his person and in his apartment, authorities discovered papers tying him to the 1993 WTC plot and "Operation Bojinka," al Qaeda's 1995 plan to blow up 12 jets over the Pacific at once.
The Czech Republic stands by its claim that 9/11 leader Mohamed Atta met in Prague in April 2001 with Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim an-Ani, an Iraqi diplomat/intelligence agent. He was expelled two weeks after the suspected meeting with Atta for apparently hostile surveillance of Radio Free Europe's Prague headquarters, from which American broadcasts to Iraq emanate.
Clinton-appointed Manhattan federal judge Harold Baer ordered Hussein and his ousted regime to pay $104 million in damages to the families of George Eric Smith and Timothy Soulas, both killed in the Twin Towers along with 2,790 others. "I conclude that plaintiffs have shown, albeit barely, 'by evidence satisfactory to the court' that Iraq provided material support to bin Laden and al Qaeda," Baer ruled.
An airtight case? No, but sufficient evidence tied Hussein to 9/11 and secured a May 7 federal judgment against him.
If one has the time or professional duty to connect these dots, a portrait emerges of Saddam Hussein as sugar daddy to global terrorists, including al Qaeda and perhaps the 9/11 conspirators.
Why won't Team Bush paint this picture? One administration communications specialist told me the government is bashful on this front because these links are difficult to prove.
Yes, but prosecuting the informational battle in the war on terror is not like prosecuting a Mafia don, with wiretaps, hidden cameras and deep-cover "stool pigeons." Evidence of terrorist ties can be even more shadowy than a Costa Nostra whack job.
While this makes metaphysical proof elusive, the White House and relevant agencies owe it to America's national security to highlight what they know about Saddam Hussein and terrorism, even if some of the evidence against him is only circumstantial.
Assuming he wishes to sway domestic and global opinion, President Bush and his administration should guide Americans and the world through the sometimes-murky data and identify the patterns and conclusions that arise.
While Saddam Hussein never may endure a courtroom cross-examination, plenty already exists in the public record (and surely more should be declassified) to confirm that his ouster, the liberation of Iraq and its current rehabilitation were and are necessary phases of the war on terror.
The president and his top advisers should present the case, not haphazardly, but systematically and in as comprehensive, well-documented, and well-illustrated a fashion as their vast resources will allow.
ZOA ^ | October 21, 2003
Posted on 10/22/2003 12:18 AM EDT by yonif
NEW YORK- President Bush's National Security Adviser, Condoleeza Rice, is mistaken in her claim that the Malaysian prime minister's anti-Semitic speech was "not emblematic of the Muslim world."
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told the Organization of the Islamic Conference on October 16, 2003, that "The Jews rule the world by proxy: they get others to fight and die for them." His speech "received a standing ovation from Muslim leaders" at the conference. (New York Times, Oct. 21, 2003)
Four days later, Dr. Rice condemned the remarks, but added: "I don't think they are emblematic of the Muslim world." (New York Times, Oct. 21, 2003)
Morton A. Klein, National President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), said: "Hatred of Jews is widespread throughout the Muslim world. It is taught in the schools and preached in the mosques. Cartoons in Muslim newspapers routinely portray Jews in blatantly anti-Semitic terms. In Muslim countries, the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the 19th-century forgery claiming to reveal the Jewish plan to conquer the world, is widely distributed, quoted, and believed. I myself have seen huge stacks of copies of the Protocols for sale in Egyptian and Jordanian book stores. It's time for the Bush administration to acknowledge this reality and take active steps to combat it, such as using U.S. leverage to bring about change in Muslim educational systems."
Egypt: In November and December 2002, official Egyptian Government Television broadcast a 40-part series claiming that for the past century, Jews have been trying to take over the world in accordance with the plan described in The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Palestinian Authority: The official PA daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida asserted on November 18, 2001: "The purpose of the [Israeli] military policy is to impose this situation on the residents and force them to leave their homes, and this is done in the framework of The Protocols of Zion."
Jordan: Former Jordanian Queen Noor, in her new autobiography Leap of Faith, writes that "Jews...achieved influence and power at the highest levels ... [They] are the CEOs of large American corporations and representatives of the top levels of media and entertainment businesses, financial institutions, legal and medical professions and, increasingly, the highest reaches of government." Former senior Clinton adviser Dick Morris notes: "It's good old-fashioned anti-Semitism, dressed up to sound better. Instead of 'Shylock,' she speaks of the dominance of Jews over 'financial institutions.' Instead of the Elders of Zion, she speaks of Jews' power over the 'highest reaches of government.' Instead of going after Jews in Hollywood, it's the 'top levels of media and entertainment businesses. Bigotry and prejudice leaps out from each page of the book." (New York Post, May 5, 2003)
Saudi Arabia: A February 2003 study of Saudi Arabian school textbooks, by the American Jewish Committee and the Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace, found numerous references to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and other alleged Jewish conspiracies to rule the world, including in such major standard textbooks as Hadith and Islamic Culture and Biography of the Prophet and History of the Muslim State. (For the report, see http://www.edume.org/reports/report1.htm )
The guardian (UK) ^ | 10-22-2003 | Michael Howard
Posted on 10/21/2003 10:22 PM EDT by blam
Plan to arrest maverick Iraqi cleric for murder
Michael Howard in Baghdad
Wednesday October 22, 2003
The Guardian (UK)
Coalition and Iraqi officials are preparing an arrest warrant for the firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr over his alleged involvement with the brutal murder of a rival cleric last spring, sources close to the Iraqi governing council told the Guardian yesterday. The warrant, which has yet to be finalised, cites Mr Sadr for instigating a deadly attack on Abdel Majid al-Khoei, who was stabbed to death by a mob in the Shia holy city of Najaf on April 10.
It is said to be signed by Tahir Jalil Habboush - a senior mukhabarat officer under the former regime who now works with the coalition authorities - and is based on the confessions of 23 men who were involved in the killing.
"The belief of the coalition is that al-Sadr is not containable," the council source said. "They believe there is enough evidence that Muqtada was involved in the Khoei assassination and want to act to clip his wings before he can cause any more damage."
Since his swift rise to prominence in the days following regime change in Iraq, Mr Sadr, 30, has been a constant thorn in the side of the US-led administration in Iraq. He has been the most vocal opponent of occupation, while his well-organised followers have been involved in armed confrontations with US soldiers. Last week he declared a rival government to the US-appointed authority and urged his supporters on to the streets.
But with tension running high between US forces and Mr Sadr's supporters, Iraqi police fear an explosion of anger in the disaffected areas of Baghdad and Najaf and Karbala if Mr Sadr is seized.
"If they go down to Najaf to arrest him, his house will be surrounded by a human shield, and there would be a massacre before they get him," said Murtadha Nouri, a journalist with the newspaper Al-Adala. He warned that the planned showdown could backfire: "Given the antipathy towards the US, that could well play into his hands."
Mr Sadr's popularity is based in part on the ability of his supporters to provide basic services and security to parts of Sadr city immediately after the US-led bombing.
With unemployment at between 60% and 70% in Iraq, his radical rhetoric also resonates with those struggling beneath the poverty line. But observers say Mr Sadr has lost some of his early momentum. He has been criticised for strongly challenging the Shia religious establishment, represented by Grand Ayatollah Ali Hussein al-Sistani, who has condoned cooperation with Iraq's new government.
"Muqtada's fight is essentially over controlling the donation of the money to the shrines, and people begin to suspect those motives," said a member of the rival Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which has a seat on the governing council.
Abbas al Robai, a spokesman for Mr Sadr, said yesterday: "Any talk of involvement in violence is just by politically motivated rivals. Al-Khoei happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and was the victim of local score settling. Muqtada al-Sadr had nothing to do with it."
The killing of the moderate Mr Khoei, who had recently returned from exile in Europe, heralded a series of attacks on prominent Shia figures in Iraq, culminating in the car bomb in Najaf on August 29 that killed more than 90 Iraqis, including Ayatollah Bakir al-Hakim The violence has -intensified feelings of confusion and insecurity among Iraq's majority Shia population.
The bulk of the evidence against Mr Sadr is understood to be based on confessions from 23 men arrested after the attack. Three are reported to have confessed to the stabbing while another 20 said they prevented Mr Khoei from seeking help while bleeding to death. Under questioning, they admitted receiving direct instructions from the young cleric, the source said.
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