Posted on 10/07/2001 2:45:55 PM PDT by OWK
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Moderate Arab countries were slow to comment on the U.S. and British strikes on Afghanistan, but in the streets across the Muslim world, many denounced it as a war against Arabs and Muslims.
Moustafa Abdel Salam, a 28-year-old Cairo accountant, said "America is now fighting terrorism, when it is the one that has created terrorism from the beginning."
He said he was worried the United States would use the attacks to falsely accuse Arab and Islamic countries of terrorism.
In Pakistan, several influential clerics swiftly denounced the military strikes, calling them an attack against Islam.
The influential Afghan Defense Council, which is sympathetic to the Taliban and based in the Pakistani city of Lahore, issued a call for holy war.
"It is the duty of every Muslim to support their brothers in this critical hour," said Riaz Durana, the council's central leader. "We will support the Taliban physically and morally against the aggression of America."
Munawar Hassan, deputy chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's most powerful religious political party, called the strikes on the Afghan capital, Kabul, "an attack against Islam."
In downtown Peshawar, a Pakistani city near the Afghan border, knots of angry men gathered, shouting "Osama! Osama!" and "America is a terrorist." Some held crackling radios to their ears and called out news updates.
"It is terrorism against terrorism, and that will solve nothing," said Amin Shinwari.
Pakistan's government, which has thrown its support behind the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism, said it regretted that diplomatic efforts did not succeed and called for the U.S. action to remain "clearly targeted."
Many moderate Arab countries have expressed limited support for an anti-terrorism campaign, but have offered no troops.
In the hours after the U.S. assault, many remained silent, but anger over the U.S. move was widespread among ordinary citizens.
Kamal Ahmed, a Cairo cabdriver, said Arab countries should support Afghanistan because it's an Islamic country. "They should back it financially and military," he said.
Since the terrorist attacks on Washington and New York, many Arabs and Muslims have rejected U.S. allegations that bin Laden was behind the carnage.
"America should show us proof against bin Laden before hitting Afghanistan," said Rola al-Bosh, a 39-year-old Syrian who watched the strikes on Arab TV along with other patrons at the Havana Cafe in Damascus. "And even if bin Laden is guilty, it's not fair that a whole people are being punished for the mistake of one man."
Iraqi TV denounced the U.S.-British missile assault on Afghanistan as "treacherous aggression." Iraqi TV had earlier taken the unusual step of linking up with the popular Arabic satellite station Al-Jazeera to show live coverage of the strikes on the Afghan capital. The link-up was abruptly ended when video of President Bush appeared on the station.
In Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Assefi called the attacks "unacceptable," saying they were launched "regardless of the world public opinion, especially the Muslim nations and will damage the innocent and oppressed Afghans." Assefi, quoted by the Iranian news agency, IRNA, cautioned the United States to avoid Iranian air space.
"It's a shame that superpowers like Britain and the United States ally together against a small country" like Afghanistan, said Maamoun el-Hodeibi, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest and banned Islamic opposition group.
Hany Ishak, who works at a Cairo juice shop, said the U.S. strikes would increase already high tensions in the region. Ishak noted that his business has already been affected by the decrease in tourists after the Sept. 11 attacks. "Now no one will travel anywhere or even leave their houses," he said.
Medina Suras
The Chapter of Women
[Chapters from the Koran]
The Harvard Classics 1909–14But if there befalls you grace from God, he would say—as though there were no friendship between you and him—‘O would that I had been with thee to attain this mighty happiness!’ Let those then fight in God’s way who sell this life of the world for the next; and whoso fights in God’s way, then, be he killed or be he victorious, we will give him a mighty hire.
What ails you that ye do not fight in God’s way, and for the weak men and women and children, who say, ‘Lord, bring us out of this town 19 of oppressive folk, and make for us from Thee a patron, and make for us from Thee a help?’
Those who believe fight in the way of God; and those who disbelieve fight in the way of Tâghût; fight ye then against the friends of Satan, verily, Satan’s tricks are weak.
Do ye not see those to whom it is said, ‘Restrain your hands, and be steadfast in prayer and give alms;’ and when it is prescribed for them to fight then a band of them fear men, as though it were the fear of God or a still stronger fear, and they say, ‘O our Lord! why hast thou prescribed for us to fight, couldst thou not let us abide till our near appointed time?’ Say, ‘The enjoyment of this world is but slight, and the next is better for him who fears;’—but they shall not be wronged a straw.
... Why are ye two parties about the hypocrites, when God hath overturned them for what they earned? Do ye wish to guide those whom God hath led astray? Whoso God hath led astray ye shall not surely find for him a path. They would fain that ye misbelieve as they misbelieve, that ye might be alike; take ye not patrons from among them until they too flee in God’s way; but if they turn their backs, then seize them and kill them wheresoever ye find them, and take from them neither patron nor help,—save those who reach a people betwixt whom and you is an alliance—or who come to you while their bosoms prevent them from fighting you or fighting their own people. But had God pleased He would have given you dominion over them, and they would surely have fought you. But if they retire from you and do not fight you, and offer you peace,—then God hath given you no way against them.
Ye will find others who seek for quarter from you, and quarter from their own people; whenever they return to sedition they shall be overturned therein: but if they retire not from you, nor offer you peace, nor restrain their hands, then seize them and kill them wheresoever ye find them;—over these we have made for you manifest power.
Where there's a will there's a way.
We cannot go and work at the WTC in peace no more.
Give me liberty or give me death.
These freaks issue a call for a holy war every time their bathrobe comes back wrinkled from the dry cleaners. The phrase is meaningless these days.
"It is the duty of every Muslim to support their brothers in this critical hour," said Riaz Durana, the council's central leader. "We will support the Taliban physically and morally against the aggression of America."
Big talk. You wanna trade places with some camel pilot huddling in a trench while the bombs walk closer with each passing minute? Have at it, Abdul. Your bones will make good fertilizer, and Trashcanistan can use some more arable ground.
As a christian, I am afraid of this as well. We may bear false witness to nations. If we do bear false witness to nations, we should say sorry to them and repent to God.
to me this becomes a no brainer. Who would expect protection and welfare from psychos? There is no discussion with those people, I do not care about their own little sex problems with Israel as an insult to their impotence as men. Bottom line.
As far as I know we are no longer free to go work at the WTC anymore.. I don't care what Israel point of view there is out there, those Arabic jerks have crossed the line, they have done it with the USS Cole a long time ago.
Give me Liberty or Give me death.
Israel has been shelled from Lebanon recently, or hadn't you heard, documentary Lady??
Of course, we did have those elements during Vietnam bombing, thanks to our subversive, pro-Communist 60s press.
But this is even stranger. America must now send band-aids with our bombs or be bitched at by the world for not being sensitive to civilians.
Revised slogan...War is heck.
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