Posted on 02/12/2003 2:03:16 AM PST by kattracks
The hate-filled screed against America was familiar but still sickening. What kind of damaged mind can hold such thoughts? We speak not of the latest words from the world's most famous Saudi, Osama Bin Laden, but those from the kingdom's supreme religious leader, Grand Mufti Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah Al al-Sheik. The two must have the same speechwriter.In his sermon Monday, the Grand Mufti told the faithful that "the enemy has exposed its fangs and is fighting our religion and is doing its best to drive Muslims away from their religion." The enemy he refers to is the United States, also known as Saudi Arabia's chief protector and chief victim.
This al-Sheik fellow isn't just any cleric. He is the top religious authority in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, where the state and religion are one and the same. His forum this week was Islam's most important holiday, the hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Hundreds of thousands were in attendance. Other Muslims around the world saw a live broadcast.
The closest analogy in the West would be if the Pope used his Christmas or Easter message to deliver a war cry. Except, the Pope, unlike al-Sheik, isn't a government employee.
What has the Grand Mufti so upset is that America and much of the world have been justifiably critical of his country. He complains, "The nation [Saudi Arabia] is being targeted in its religion, morals and economy. It is being targeted in its education curriculum, and they claim that the curriculum calls for terrorism."
Damn right. Any culture that produces as many terrorists as Saudi Arabia (15 of 19 hijackers) deserves to be chastised. But the U.S. - stalwart defender of religious freedom - is certainly not out to destroy the Islamic faith. Unfortunately, those brainwashed by bigotry and lies do not quite grasp that.
The Saudi government says it opposes terrorism. It claims that reforms to address the problem are running apace. Why isn't muzzling this terror-monger among those reforms? The Saudis are aware of al-Sheik's venom. In November, the crown prince told the ranking Saudi clerics, the Grand Mufti included, to tone down the hate talk. "I hope you appreciate your responsibility before God, your people and officials so we do not land in an embarrassing situation," the prince declared.
But warnings are meaningless if not followed by action. The Grand Mufti won't obey. And all the Saudis will do is note they have an embarrassing situation on their hands. Once again, we have an ally that acts more like an enemy. Embarrassing indeed.
Cops uncuffed
The Handschu consent decree - the onerous, 1960s-era relic that has shackled the NYPD in its ability to investigate terrorism - is about to be remade in the image of sanity. A federal judge is giving the cops a green light to conduct surveillance on terror suspects.
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Haight is to be commended for handing down a common-sense decision yesterday that grants Police Commissioner Ray Kelly's sensible request: a modified Handschu agreement allowing police to collect intelligence about political groups without the need for evidence of criminal activity and to share that information with other law enforcement authorities.
The NYPD will use broader FBI guidelines for such police work. And a governing panel will field complaints from those who believe their constitutional rights have been violated. Reasonable and fair for all concerned. What is not reasonable in this age of heightened terror alerts and frayed nerves is the timetable for implementing the new rules.
The revisions have been under consideration by Judge Haight since September. Now he has given the NYPD until Feb. 21 to show how it will adapt the FBI surveillance rules. The plaintiffs will have 10 days after that to respond. More procedural deadlines follow, meaning it may not be until mid-March that the cops are uncuffed from Handschu.
We're not in the clear yet, folks. It's now up to Kelly to move the process quickly. And the plaintiffs must find it in themselves to stand down. With the prospect of war near, and with Osama Bin Laden rearing his ugly head again, there's no time to waste in finding his evil disciples among us.
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The big fear I do have is the fact that whatever power you instill within the current administration will most likely be inherited by the next. What I might trust GW with I might scream 'til I turn blue before I willingly trust the same with the likes of Hillary Clinton.
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