TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Jurors Tuesday saw a dramatic video of former professor Sami Al-Arian saying God commands us to jihad, because there is honor in holy war.
The video introduced by prosecutors also shows Al-Arian asking for donations, exhorting the crowd to give money so that we will confront our enemies united.
In the video, filmed at an April 7, 1991 conference in Cleveland, the-then University of South Florida professor is introduced as the president of the Islamic Committee for Palestine (ICP), which is then described as the active arm of the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine.
The video shows Al-Arian saying: God, praise and glory be to Him, commands us to fight and commands us to jihad, because there is honor in it and because there is victory for Islam and victory for right over tyranny.
Despite all difficulties, the Palestinian people have decided to continue: to continue to confront, to continue to resist, to continue to endure, to set an example for all people and Muslims around them, Al-Arian tells the meeting.
Thus is the way of struggle. Thus is the way of giving. Thus is the way of sacrifice. Thus is the way of battle. Thus is the way of jihad. Thus is the way of martyrdom. Thus is the way of blood, because this is the path to heaven.
He warns his listeners against taking as friends Christians or Jews. The jury sat, seemingly spellbound, for 40 minutes as the video played.
Note: the following video clips (with transcript links) are now on the current front page of MEMRITV.ORG:
http://www.memritv.org
REACTION TO THE LONDON BOMBINGS
#750 - Saudi Deputy Minister of Religious Endowment: According to Our Definition, Any Act or Thought that Contradicts the Koran and Sunna Is Terrorism
Iqra TV (Saudi Arabia) - 7/7/2005 - 00:01:50
#749 - Koranic Healing in Saudi Arabia
Al-Arabiya TV (Dubai) - 7/10/2005 - 00:03:50
#748 - Terror in London (7) - Head of London Center for Islamic History Hani Siba'i: In Islam, There Are No Such Things as Civilians; Al-Qaeda "rubbed the noses of the world's eight most powerful countries in the mud"
Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar) - 7/8/2005 - 00:06:41
#747 - Terror in London (6) - Tehran Sermon: The US and Israel are the Father and Mother of Al-Qaeda; The Preacher Condemns London Attacks and the Crowd Cheers "Death to England"
Iran Ch.1 - 7/8/2005 - 00:02:37
Let's add this link here to with your post JellyJam for archival purposes:
http://reports.tbo.com/reports/alarian/
Thanks for the update on the Sami trial. The MSM sure isn't covering it (surprise, surprise).