Posted on 10/02/2004 5:55:29 PM PDT by FairOpinion
JEDDAH, 3 October 2004 — About 95 percent of Al-Qaeda operatives in the Kingdom are ignorant and most of them do not observe basic Islamic teachings, according to new confessions by Abdul Rahman Al-Rashoud and Khaled Al-Farraj, former members of the terror network.
Speaking to Channel 1 of Saudi Television on Friday, they said the Al-Qaeda cell made use of stolen Saudi IDs to rent cars and houses to carry out terrorist operations.
Al-Rashoud said he was waiting for the right time to withdraw from the cell but each time its leaders threatened him with exposure.
Al-Farraj remembered the moment when they killed his father. “I cannot imagine my father lying in a pool of blood in my house,” he said.
“Before someone enters the group, he thinks that it is pure. From my observations, I have seen that they are committing actions that should not come from a group claiming jihad,” Al-Rashoud said.
“I can tell you that 95 percent of the cell’s members are ignorant,” Al-Farraj said. “They are even more ignorant than the uneducated. They have reached a point where they call all scholars in the country infidels,” he added.
Ahmad Al-Dakheel, who is head of the Shariah committee in the Makkah cell, is guilty of such behavior.
“Dakheel said that all policemen in uniforms are infidels and asked the members to gun them down. If imams at mosques condemn explosions and terrorist activities, then they were also branded as infidels,” Al-Farraj said.
According to Al-Rashoud, Al-Qaeda members spend a lot of money. “Most of the money came from charitable donations,” he added. They convinced donors that they were collecting money for poor Iraqi families.
During armed confrontations with security forces, Al-Rashoud said, they escaped in cars taken from Saudis at gunpoint. “I think this is forbidden according to my knowledge of Islam,” Al-Farraj said.
Al-Farraj also spoke about Al-Qaeda’s plan to raid a housing compound. “They bought a GMC for the operation, and it was the same car that was reported by the police,” he said, adding that Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, former leader of the cell in the Kingdom, helped in filling the vehicle with explosives. Abdul Aziz Al-Mudaihesh carried out the operation.
Al-Rashoud said Al-Qaeda carried out terrorist operations using different names, such as Al-Haramain Brigade and Voice of Jihad. “Actually, they are one and the same,” he pointed out.
Al-Farraj said he was surprised when Al-Muqrin said Al-Qaeda was not responsible for the bombing of the police headquarters in Riyadh.
Al-Farraj also spoke of Aamir Al-Shehri who was injured in the Suwaidi attack. “Al-Shehri was in the car when he was injured. He was taken to a place which they call the clinic where only minor injuries can be treated. Al-Shehri was injured in the stomach and there was a big cut. He was in terrible pain. He stayed there for two months without receiving proper treatment. I remember when I entered the room with Al-Dakheel, he begged Al-Dakheel to find a solution to the problem. Al-Dakheel said he could not do anything for him and left him in that condition until he died,” Al-Farraj explained.
The number of people who came to attend Aamir’s funeral was small. “I was very sorry for him. The least they could do was to give him back to his family or take him to a good hospital. They could have sent me to do it. The leaders of the group did not care about the members as much as they cared about themselves,” Al-Farraj said.
I think there are multi-tiers in AQ, based on what we know: The "top-tier", 75% of whom we killed or captured, the middle tier ( many of whom are educated, such as Atta), then the "muscle", most of whom are ignorant. I think the author is talking about this last group.
Not to underestimate the terrorists and Al Qaeda, but I think that in the past 3 years we did make serious dent in their operations and membership.
No thit? Dumb you say? Geez, and I always thought that they were smart and brave for strapping explosives around themselves and blowing themselves to kingdom come? Hmm, guess I was wrong????????
That is especially true if you keep the pressure on them like Bush has been doing.
95% seems like a high number, but this organization seems to require a lot of cannon fodder. After all, being smart is not an essential qualification for a suicide bomber. The truth is that 19:1 is not a bad follower to leader ratio. Its the other 5% we need to worry about.
LOL!
Your Moma wears combat boots.
And eats Spicy Pork Rinds when you ain't around!
I very much agree that they are ignorant.
Do not agree with the "bottom of the barrel" assumption.
I'm more inclined to think that there is a never ending supply of ignorant people.
LVM
Good post
There is hope for this man
Suicide bombers are a self-correcting problem.
Each time one blows hmself up, the net intelligence of the human race increases.
Darwin at his finest.
Truly a shame that innocents die, though.
Interesting view. Seems that the guy have seen the true side of AQ, However, I have no doubt that this guy approves of the goals of AQ to some extent, even though he might have become disillusioned with their methods. Otherwise, he wouldn't have joined in the first place.
This is the typical life cycle of hate groups. Here in America we spawn many of them as well. Some have visibility, such as DU. Their hatred overwhelms their logical functions.
Also notice, he's only upset over AQ killing fellow Muslims, not a peep over killing infidels
czech this out
bump
We can always set up "suicide bomber practice camps" where they can perfect the art of pushing the button, culminating in their graduation... with live explosives in a controlled environment (aka empty field).
BOOM!
((dead soul thinking))
Hey! That wasn't a practice charge like they told me it was gonna be.......
A decent, well-balanced, rational person would never become a terrorist. And let's not forget, that Al-Qaida operatives are all Muslims that have been exposed to the hateful propaganda of Muslim clerics.
...but are they even more ignorant than those in the al-Kerry brigade blindly embracing the jihad against Bush-Chenney-Haliburton?
If arabs actually read these sorts of Arab News articles, there is some hope left for them.
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