Posted on 09/09/2002 5:36:54 PM PDT by scratchgolfer
Booklet predicting end of US is PA best seller By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
A booklet that anticipates the destruction of the US by 2004 has become a best seller in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. The author of the 32-page publication is Salah Eddin Abu Arafeh, a young Muslim preacher from Jerusalem.
The booklet and a similar videotape prepared by the author have embarrassed the Palestinian Authority, which has ordered its security forces to prevent any form of celebration marking September 11.
Palestinians in Ramallah said yesterday there is a huge demand for the booklet and tape.
Palestinian journalists said they have been warned against reporting on such any expressions of joy. Some of them were told they would be arrested and put on trial if they defied the instructions. Last year, PA security forces confiscated tapes from cameramen who covered the celebrations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip immediately after the September 11 attacks.
Abu Arafeh says his study was conducted following the attacks in Washington and New York. The booklet, which sells for only NIS 2, is entitled The Koran Anticipates the Destruction of the US and the Sinking of the American Army. Bin Laden is compared to Moses.
"Moses represents the right in the confrontation with the evil," the author states. "And in my view, it is Sheikh Osama bin Laden who is facing injustice today."
Abu Arafeh explains that he found many "striking similarities between the US administration and the corrupt Pharaoh who oppressed the believers and enslaved them."
He cites several verses from the Koran, which he claims back his theory. One of these is taken from the al-Qasas (The Narration) chapter, where God tells his believers:
"These are verses of the book that makes things clear. We rehearse to thee some of the story of Moses and the Pharaoh in truth for people who believe. Truly Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and divided its people into sections, depressing a group among them; their sons he slew, but he kept alive their females: For he was indeed an evil-doer or corrupter. And we wished to be gracious to those who were weakened in the land, to make them leaders and inheritors, to establish a firm place for them in the land and to show Pharaoh and his hosts what they were dreading from them."
Abu Arafeh says that by examining Pharaoh's description in these verses, one is shocked at the similarities between him and the US, especially after what the Americans did in Afghanistan. According to the booklet, which is being bought by worshipers at mosques in many Palestinian cities and villages, one of the definitions of Pharaoh is "big house." A further investigation by the author showed that Pharaoh's residence was built with white stone.
"We are now facing Pharaoh II," Abu Arafeh concludes. "We are facing Bush II, who is just like Ramses II."
He claims he was also astonished to discover that the picture of the pyramids is printed on US dollar bills. Moreover, the symbol of Egypt's pharaoh was the eagle, "which is the same symbol of the pharaoh of America and the White House. And anyone who visited Washington knows that the White House keeps a pharaoh obelisk in one of its gardens."
He cites another sura, or verse, which in his opinion provides further evidence that the US is about to be exterminated: "And we leveled to the ground the great work and fine buildings which Pharaoh and his people erected [such pride]."
Abu Arafeh says he reached this conclusion based on the thorough analysis of the Koran and that he will publish the details later.
One of the chapters in the booklet is dedicated to the alleged physical similarities between bin Laden and Moses. Both are described as being tall, dark, and having an aquiline nose. Like Moses, bin Laden is said to use a stick to lean on while walking, and to belong to the same tribe from the Arabian peninsula.
By anyone in particular, or are they just counting on someone to step up to the plate at that time?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.