Posted on 06/26/2007 9:10:35 AM PDT by george76
Ending terrorism won’t happen until radical Islam is reformed, a former terrorist-in-training said Monday night ...
Born in Egypt to a secular Muslim family, Tawfik Hamid joined the extremist Islamic group Jemma Islamiya while a student in medical school, and said he remembers being preached to by a doctor named Ayman al-Zawahiri, now second-in-command in al-Qaida.
“They suppressed my critical thinking and transformed me into a beast from an innocent child,” ... “I regret I became a beast that thought of burning churches and mosques. Fortunately, my conscience and upbringing made me realize what they were teaching was violence and hatred.”
Hamid said he became a physician and scholar of Islamic texts. When he began to preach in mosques about peace instead of violence, Hamid, 46, said his life was threatened many times.
“I prefer to be a brave man who stands for his principles instead of a scared man,” he said to strong applause.
He said radical Islam rose to prominence shortly after Saudi Arabia became an oil giant.
“The rest of the Islamic world looked and saw there were no Christians or Jews in Saudi Arabia,” Hamid said. “They said, ‘This is what Saudi Arabia believed and they were rewarded with oil and money.’ ”
America was targeted by jihadists, “because you invited them to the West without any checks, and like a cancer that was dormant for 50 years, it metastasized” into attacks on the U.S. embassy in Kenya in 1998 and New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.
Hamid also said invading Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein was a proper move, since Iraq attracted terrorists from across the world.
(Excerpt) Read more at gjsentinel.com ...
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“If America had responded with force after the embassy attack in 1998, there wouldn’t have been a 9/11.”
First, there should be greater public oversight of Radical Islam. There could be a Civilian Review Board for example, where concerned mothers could have their say and Radical Islam leaders would be forced to answer to the public - not protected by the "thin green line". Second: greater transparency. Where are the checks going? How are the backroom/sweetheart deals being made? All Radical Islam leaders must file the requisite paperwork with an SEC-like government agency that has regulatory power over Radical Islam. Similarly, the Radical Islam procurement process must become more open: no more no-bid contracts sealed via handshake, no more tribal favoritism. Are minority businesses given equal access to these lucrative IED production contracts for example? Fourth, labor unions for Radical Islam members, with REAL negotiating power for better hours, more vacation time, pension benefits, better compensation to the families of suicide bombers....
(you get the idea.. ;)
I have seen him speak. Among the things he said was that the problem of terrorism will only be solved by strong acts, especially from the military and religious. He also said US muslims must be confronted to unambiguously condemn (and post on their websites for all to see) killing the apostates, beating women, calling Jews pigs and monkeys, and stopping violent teaching.
After his speech, he answered questions for about an hour. Many were tough and thought-provoking. When he finished, he received a standing ovation from the mostly Jewish audience.
Thanks for your report.
LOL!
Sounds like an interesting speaker. Too bad he’s dead if his old buddies get a hold of him.
Reformed with what? "radical Islam" reads the same koran and follow the ways of Mohammad acording to the hadith,-all of which cannot be abrogated- as so called "moderate' muslims
I'm suck of hearing this "radical Islam" excuse for muslims who are just following the koran as written.
Any "reform" would involve burning all existing copies of the koran and hadith, and writing new "peaceful" ones.
They have yet to go through their Luther period. At the rate they are going they will never get there since they don’t have anything resembling a world authority like the Pope.
Rubbish.
The so called 'Luther period' did not change the gospel. It published it. what it did was put the gospel in the individuals hands, and therefore bringing church leadership into question.
Putting the koran into Muslim hands will just create more terrorists of those who are illiterate and rely on oral teachings of Islam (about 75-80% of all so called muslims)
You can't compare Islam to Christianity, they are nowhere near the same thing. Islam among other things is a totalitarian system of government. It is law, social order, government all rolled into one. It cannot be questioned, or debated under penalty of death.
It is also mainly a war manual which calls for never ending war until submission of the entire world to Islam or until the last day.
Heaven forbid should Islam have a "luther period", but in a sense it is having one now, which is why terrorism is on a rapid rise.
That makes no sense.
Kudos to a brave guy.
Radical Islam cannot be reformed. It is based on the Koran. To reform it would be to invalidate it. It will never happen.
According to muslims, "the most perfect book ever made."
To reform it would be to invalidate it. It will never happen.
Any attempt to revise the koran would mean an instant death sentence for the editor. Any takers out there?
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