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Posted on 06/26/2002 12:41:42 PM PDT by I_Publius
Jun 26, 2002
By Hamza Hendawi
Associated Press Writer
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Addressing representatives of Muslim nations, Sudan suggested Wednesday that they, rather than the West, have been the primary targets of terrorism since Sept. 11.
Mahdi Ibrahim, Sudan's information minister, said foreign ministers and senior officials from the 57 nations of the Organization of the Islamic Conference were looking for a "strategic and comprehensive vision" to counter attempts to defame Islam and link it to terrorism.
"The Muslim nation is the real victim of terrorism and is terrorized every single day," he said. "It's bombed from the air sometimes, placed on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism at other times, and has its assets frozen on other occasions."
He was referring to U.S. actions against Sudan. In 1993, the State Department added Sudan to its list of countries sponsoring terrorism and five years later, after the bombings of the U.S. Embassies in East Africa, it destroyed a Sudanese pharmaceutical factory accused of producing precursors for chemical weapons on behalf of Osama bin Laden.
The terror suspect lived in Sudan in the early 1990s.
Based in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, the OIC is a pan-Islamic body which, in theory, represents an estimated 1.2 billion Muslims. The 30-year-old organization has been largely ineffectual however, prompting Sudanese leader Omar el-Bashir to call Tuesday for "thorough" reforms.
Ibrahim, who spoke at a news conference on the sidelines of the meeting, is a former Sudanese ambassador to Washington and a stalwart of Sudan's Islamic movement. He is a member of Africa's only Islamic government, which implemented Islamic law following a 1989 coup that ousted an elected administration.
After nearly a decade of radical policies and anti-Western rhetoric that had earned it international isolation, Sudan has recently moderated its attitudes, improved its human rights record and showed interest in ending a long-running civil war in the south.
The changes brought improvements in relations with the United States and Europe, but Ibrahim said it was up to American to make the make things better.
"We know that there are still America pockets of hostility toward Sudan. But if America pursues a path of moderation, neutrality and dialogue with Sudan, that will be conducive to a big success in relations."
President Bush last week acknowledged cooperation from Sudan in the war on terror, but said that "ending its support for terror outside Sudan was no substitute for efforts to stop war inside Sudan."
The 19-year war against southern rebels who took up arms against the Sudanese government in the predominantly Arab and Muslim north, seeking greater autonomy for the south, where most of the people follow traditional African beliefs and about 5 percent are Christian. The fighting has claimed some 2 million lives, mostly through war-induced famines.
AP-ES-06-26-02 1443EDT
This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAX3Z7KX2D.html
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BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, YADA, YADA, YADA
You're either with us or with the terrorists. Make up your mind and quit yer whinin'.
Islam, religion of peace. Sarcasm uncontrollable!
I got yer "strategic and comprehensive vision" right here -- round up and hand over yer terrorists, PDQ.
KHARTOUM?
Go out and rent and watch this movie:
KHARTOUM, starring Charleton Heston, is a Grand, Historic, Sweeping Epic with a cast of thousands.
Does history repeat itself? I first saw this movie years ago. After the first terrorist bombing of the World Trade Center in the mid-1990's, when Osama Bin Laden first declared a "jihad" against the United States, I was reminded of the movie. Osama Bin Laden is the spitting image of the "Mahdi", played by Lawrence Olivier. The parallels are uncanny. Believing that he was "the predicted one" spoken of by the prophet Muhammad to bring the sword against infidels and convert the world to Islam, the Mahdi sprung up from the deserts of the Sudan in 1883 to organize a Holy War against the British Empire and all Christendom. A century later, Bin Laden also sprung up from the Sudan (he was expelled from Sudan in 1996 and his assets there seized). In fact, recall when then U.S. President Bill Clinton bombed the aspirin factory there in an attempt to annihilate Bin Laden - in Khartoum! To understand what is taking place in the world today, this movie is a must see. I would highly recommend it for high school and college students, as well as adults desiring to make sense of what drives the radical Islamic jihadists. This movie reveals that their radical mindset is nothing new - it was alive and well in 1883 much the same as today. Besides being a true story, Khartoum is a gripping tale of good versus evil, full of action, battles, and edge of your seat suspense and intrigue. If you haven't seen Khartoum, do it now. It's a TOP 10 for sure.
they've now acclimated, received some job training and are out on their own but still.....Islam is a religion of peace {BARF ALERT}
"The Muslim nation is the real victim of terrorism and is terrorized every single day," he said. "It's bombed from the air sometimes [because it sponsors terrorists], placed on the list of countries sponsoring terrorism at other times [because it sponsors terrorists], and has its assets frozen on other occasions [because it sponsors terrorists]."
That's the word I was looking for! Calling the kettle black seems to be the whole point of Islam these days.
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