Posted by
Darko Trifunovic on Sunday, April 27, 2008 2:42:53 PM
Third public hearing of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
Statement of Steven Emerson to the
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
July 9, 2003
Overview: The Rampant Allure of Jihad in the Muslim World
Chairman
Kean, Vice-Chairman Hamilton, and distinguished Members of the National
Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States: Thank you for
inviting me to testify today about the societal factors in the Muslim
world that support terrorism and justify violence.
It is important that this hearing and this commission
never lose sight of the fact the killers behind the murder of 3,000
Americans on September 11, 2001 were not generic terrorists without
clear political and religious motives. The terrorists were not simply a
band of fanatics who, as so many officials and pundits had repeatedly
stated, after 9/11, had simply "hijacked a religion." Because of a fear
of engendering charges of racism by Muslim leaders, a charge that is
routinely applied to anything critical of militant Islam, there has
been an assiduous effort to avoid labeling the terrorists of 9/11 for
what they were: militant Islamic terrorists. Their behavior was
informed and guided by their misguided interpretation of Islam.
Unfortunately, efforts to sanitize the discussion of Islamic terrorism
has led to explanations of 9/11 that exonerate the masterminds and
ideological perpetrators of any responsibility for their actions: A
special Hollywood broadcast after 9/11 noted that the attack of 9/11
was simply "pure evil" and had nothing to do with religion.
In fact, the 9/11 attack had everything to do with
religion-- it had to with the doctrinal interpretation of Islam by
militants. At the outset, it is critical to point out that militant
Islam does not equal Islam. Islam as a religion, like Christianity and
Judaism, does not endorse violence. Islam is a vibrant religion that
gives spiritual comfort and meaning to its vast number of practitioners
around the world. And there are Islamic writers, intellectuals and
clerics who openly and unambiguously repudiate violent Islamic militant
ideology. For the peaceful majority of Muslims around the world, it is
imperative that these distinctions be made. But in the end, it is not
the West that is avoiding these distinctions. It is the militants who
are trying to erase these distinctions; by claiming there is no such
thing as Islamic extremism, the militants have tried to hide under the
protection of the mainstream majority.
Anti-American radicalism was pervasive in the Muslim
world long before the events of September 11, 2001, and is not limited
to Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. One need only read translations of the
Muslim media in many parts of the world, including the West, to see the
resentment, hatred and anger, even in countries that are our strategic
"allies." The persistent denial that radical Muslims were responsible
for the September 11 attacks, with the belief that Israel or the United
States had secretly launched the attacks, is further evidence of the
rampant radicalism. The extent of radicalism in the Muslim world has
gone unrecognized because of premeditated deception, a cloak of
religiosity, intimidation, and a tendency by many in the West to
dismiss radical statements as nothing more than mere rhetorical
posturing.
Often one cannot draw a clear line between
fundamentalist religious dogma and radical action or between the West
and the Muslim world. Indeed many of these militants have been educated
in the West. Such a belief system, in which anti-Western animus is so
entrenched, cannot be remedied by a public relations program launched
by outsiders. Rather, any hope for change must come from within the
Muslim world itself. As Professors Fouad Ajami and Bernard Lewis have
long argued, the roots of Arab and Islamic belligerency towards the US
are found in the failure of those regimes to adequately meet the needs
of their people. A democratic modernization of the Islamic world,
mounted from within, is the only way to defuse these murderous
emotions.
In the last two years, there has been a genuine,
although belated, recognition in the United States that the problem and
threat posed by Al-Qaeda is not limited to card carrying members of
this terrorist group. Although Al-Qaeda carried out the horrific
terrorist attack of 9/11, the larger problem the US faces is the
militant Islamic culture and mindset that gave birth to Al-Qaeda. In
this regard, Al-Qaeda is shorthand for a much larger religious
phenomena - militant Islamic fundamentalism - that has spawned violence
and terrorism against the United States, the West or western-allied
states that are deemed to be the "enemies of Islam." Within the
framework of militant Islamic fundamentalism, a culture of violent "jihad"
has become a common denominator, sanctioning violence and terrorism
against moderate and secular Muslims, Americans, Westerners,
Christians, Jews, and other "infidels."
To be sure, the Muslim world is not the only religious
umbrella under which religious-sanctioned terrorism takes place. There
have been Christian, Jewish, Sikh and Hindu terrorists for example.
But today no other religious-inspired violence matches
the scope and transnational breadth of militant Islamic fundamentalism.
According to research we have conducted, Islamist terrorist attacks
have now occurred in or been planned and supported from more than 100
countries around the globe in the past 10 years.
One of the basic problems when confronting radicalism in
the Muslim world is the unwillingness by some Western academicians,
editorialists and leaders to recognize the pervasive institutionalized
support for and dissemination of jihadist ideology. In the
West, the concept of Islamic extremism is automatically associated with
relatively small portions of Muslim society.
The undeniable fact is that Islamic militants dominate
or exercise disproportionate influence over the religious, academic,
and media institutions in the Muslim world, with the notable exception
of several countries such as Turkey and Indonesia. Within the Muslim
world, the religious hierarchy has been traditionally controlled by
Islamic fundamentalists; major Islamic media institutions, from
newspapers to television, mirror the Islamic fundamentalist influence
over the message dictated to the masses.
The Appeal of Al Qaeda
In
attacks in Saudi Arabia, Bali, Morocco, and Tunisia, Al-Qaeda cells
have demonstrated an ability to strike western interests despite
intensive multilateral efforts to dismantle the organization since
September 11. Military strikes, law enforcement actions, financial
seizures, and international cooperation have severely curtailed bin
Laden's ability to operate, but the damage done to Al-Qaeda's present
military and financial interests does not address bin Laden's political
capabilities, and leaves intact Al-Qaeda's recruitment infrastructure
and ideological support system.
Al-Qaeda's most serious challenge to international
security lies in its ability to quickly replenish its ranks with
dedicated operatives. Underpinning this challenge is an abstract and
hate-based ideology of "jihad." Based on an absolutist
interpretation of Islamic law, and cloaked in a veneer of extremist
terminology, this ideology harnesses and directs angry and alienated
people in the Muslim world against non-Muslim scapegoats.
Al-Qaeda's culture of "jihad' engenders a
breeding ground for new acts of international terrorism. Al-Qaeda and
other Islamic terrorist movements are entirely dependent on their
potent ideological message to attract fresh recruits. Under the guise
of a social program, Islamic radical movements generate moral and
political support in Muslim communities worldwide. The jihadist
ideology mandates that "true" believers oppose the "enemies" of Islam
and spread Islamic sovereignty, thus breeding violence and terrorism.
The typical path of indoctrination in the Islamic radical worldview starts at the fundamentalist mosque. Radical imams
from Long Beach, California to Long Island, New York use passionate
religious rhetoric to criticize the West and proclaim the "universal
victimhood of Islam." In lectures and study circles, these imams teach
students that since Islam is a total system, offering solutions to
every problem, the current hardships of Muslim societies are a direct
result of Christian or Zionist conspiracies. Islamic bookstores from
Falls Church, Virginia to London, UK provide reading materials to
substantiate these claims. Acquainted with the radical texts, students
form study groups and learn of further options to continue their
indoctrination in Islamic theology. These options usually include
travel to madrassahs in the Arabian Gulf or South Asia and training camps in Afghanistan or other 'lands of jihad.' There young Muslims pass through the first level of recruitment into Al-Qaeda.
Sociology of Muslim Enmity Toward the West
In
Muslim countries, widespread resentment and envy of the West and the
United States create a fertile ground for the growth of terrorist
movements. Political leaders often fan the flames of hatred to divert
popular wrath from grotesque levels of misgovernment. Opposition
figures and dissident groups, particularly those with religious
pretensions, have leaped at the chance to profit from this rancor.
For centuries Muslims had good reason to consider
themselves at the vanguard of civilization. They had conquered much of
the Old World, beaten off the Crusaders and absorbed the Mongols.
But beginning with Napoleon's invasion and conquest of
Egypt in 1798, the Muslim world found the Christians of Europe had
advanced by leaps and bounds. Many humiliations followed on both the
military and technological fronts.
Bernard Lewis, the premier scholar of the Muslim world, has written:
In
the course of the twentieth century it became abundantly clear that
things had gone badly wrong in the Middle East-and, indeed, in all the
lands of Islam. Compared with Christendom, its rival for more than a
millennium, the world of Islam had become poor, weak, and ignorant.
Attempts were made to reform and catch up, but:
The
results achieved were, to say the least, disappointing. The quest for
victory by updated armies brought a series of humiliating defeats. The
quest for prosperity through development brought in some countries
impoverished and corrupt economies in recurring need of external aid,
in others an unhealthy dependence on a single resource - oil.
Worst of all are the political results: the long quest for
freedom has left a string of shabby tyrannies, ranging from traditional
autocracies to dictatorships that are modern only in their apparatus of
repression and indoctrination.
'Who did this to us?' is of course a common human
response when things are going badly, and many in the Middle East, past
and present, have asked this question. They have found several
different answers. It is usually easier and always more satisfying to
blame others for one's misfortunes.
The obvious scapegoat is the West, now led by the United States.
Teaching Hate in Schools
It
should not come as a surprise that educational institutions provide the
most effective mechanism to teach, indoctrinate and perpetuate the
culture of jihad. The Saudi government distributes textbooks
to Islamic schools in Pakistan, the United States, and elsewhere around
the world. These books incite hatred of Jews and Christians and praise Jihad.
For
instance, a single exercise in one eighth-grade Arabic grammar book-a
book which has been distributed by the Saudi Embassy in Washington to
Islamic schools in the United States-- has students repeating the
following sentences:
- I said to my sister: "We have triumphed over our unjust enemy."
- Our two armies wiped out the enemy and won a great victory.
- The Muslims achieved a great victory.
- The female Mujahideen won by the grace of God.
- The two commanders said to the troops: "You are fighting for our dignity, and making your nation last forever."
- Oh, female Mujahideen, you have obtained from us the best praise.
- Oh, sister, say, "Praise be to Allah for this clear-cut victory."
An 11th grade textbook states:
Since friendship with infidels is forbidden in the religion of Allah,
no one will do this unless he has a sickness in his heart. There are
hypocrites who profess Islam, but their hearts are sick and empty of
faith. They are afraid of the infidel and fear them. They take their
side, and appoint them over the Muslims to confirm their victory over
the Muslims.
Since the hypocrites love the infidels and take them as friends, the
believer must do the opposite and love his believing brother, make
friends with him, and show him affection and love. He must show the
infidels rudeness and violence, and wage Jihad in the way of Allah without fear of the Infidels and hypocrites, or terror of their arms and numbers.
Preaching Hate from the Pulpit
Islamic
fundamentalist preachers continue the Saudi government's inculcation of
anti-Western and intolerant attitudes in schools and add to it a layer
of Islamic theory.
Shaykh Abdulaziz Bin Baz
Shaykh
Abdulaziz Bin Baz, the late Grand Mufti of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
is one example of religious leaders preaching hate.
As the chief sanctioned religious voice of the Saudi
Kingdom, Bin Baz's words carried the weight of the Saudi government.
Though Bin Baz was attacked by the most stringent of Salafi Muslim
radicals as a munafiq (traitor) for his cooperation with the Saudis, Bin Baz himself backed militant confrontation with the West.
In his 1999 book, The Ideological Attack, Bin Baz states explicitly that non-Muslim peoples are attacking the Muslim world. Bin Baz writes:
Yes, the Muslims in general…are all subject to a great ideological attack from the various nations of kufr [infidels] from both the east and the west. The severest
and most serious of these attacks are: the attack of the Christian
crusaders; the Zionist attack; the communist and atheistic attack.
He continues:
[t]he
attack of the Christian crusaders is today at its most intense…The
Muslim whose mind has not been corrupted cannot bear to see the
infidels wielding authority…[t]herefore such a Muslim strives [to] his
utmost to expel and distance them-even if he has to sacrifice his own
life, or his most cherished possession for this cause.
Bin
Baz goes on to describe the parallel "Zionist plot" against Islam,
saying, "The Jews scheme and crave after possessing the Muslim lands,
as well as the lands of others. They have fulfilled some of their plans
and continue striving hard to implement the rest of them."
Between 1993 and 1998, Shaykh Bin Baz appeared
repeatedly as a featured guest at the International Islamic Relief
Organization's (IIRO) annual donors conferences in Saudi Arabia. At the
1996 conference, Bin Baz donated 10,000 Saudi Riyals to IIRO and,
speaking before attendees, congratulated the efforts of IIRO officials
and thanked the Saudi royal family for supporting IIRO's activities. In
1998, Bin Baz again donated 10,000 Saudi Riyals to IIRO, urging others
at that event "to donate generously… and earn manifold reward in the
process." The Canadian government has said IIRO "secretly fund[s]
terrorism." According to Canadian officials, Mahmoud Jaballah, a
suspected Egyptian Al-Jihad member jailed in Canada and accused of
having contact with Al-Qaeda agents, spent at least 3 years working for
IIRO in North America. Indian intelligence has reported that IIRO
financed a military training camp in Kunduz, Afghanistan for "holy
warriors" preparing for combat in Bosnia, Chechnya, and Kashmir. When
leaving home, September 11 hijacker Fayez Ahmed Al-Shehri told his
father he was going to work for IIRO and subsequently joined Al-Qaeda.
Grand Mufti Bin Baz himself had contacts with various
prominent members and supporters of Al-Qaeda. Hassan Al-Suraihi (a.k.a.
Abu Abdelrahman) is a former Imam of Shaykh Abdelaziz Bin Baz's mosque
in the Al-Shashah neighborhood of Mecca. Al-Suraihi is a veteran
Arab-Afghan, having fought alongside Usama Bin Laden in Afghanistan and
"witnessed the birth" of Al-Qaeda. Al-Suraihi later served six years in
a Saudi jail for an undisclosed number of "state security violations."
When senior Al-Qaeda recruiter Shaykh Abu Abdel Aziz
Barbaros was interviewed in 1994 about his experiences organizing the
Arab-Afghan jihad in Bosnia, he explained:
I-alhamdulillah-met several prominent Ulema. Among them…Sheikh Abdel Aziz Bin Baz…and others in the Gulf area. Alhamdulillah,
all grace be to Allah, they all support the religious dictum that "the
fighting in Bosnia is a fight to make the word of Allah supreme and
protect the chastity of Muslims."
Yusuf al Qaradawi
Perhaps
the most prominent living Islamist is Yusuf al Qaradawi. Qaradawi fled
his native Egypt in 1962 and has lived in Qatar ever since. He is a
longtime leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qaradawi's popular weekly
television show on al-Jazeera satellite television enables him to
spread Islamist teachings to a vast audience.
Qaradawi has from time to time issued fatwas or
given speeches diverging from traditional hard-line teachings, and
several US journalists have taken to referring to him as a "moderate."
However, even a cursory examination of his statements reveals a
committed Islamist, a supporter of terrorism, and an advocate of
violence.
In December, 2001 the highest religious authority in
Egypt, the Sheikh of Azhar, issued a fatwa condemning attacks on
civilians in response to a wave of suicide bombings which killed 25
Israelis. Qaradawi immediately issued a refutation, describing the
attacks as "acts of martyrdom." Qaradawi appeared on al-Jazeera
asserting the fatwa did not apply to Palestinians because
they were the victims, not the aggressors. He further claimed that
since Palestinians were defenseless in confronting an enemy with a
sophisticated military arsenal, terrorism was "their only weapon."
Qaradawi reasons that the Palestinians "have every right
to defend themselves with any means at their disposal," and that since,
"in Israel, all men and women are soldiers…They are [therefore] all occupying troops."
Thus Qaradawi denies that any Israeli is truly innocent. He concludes
that suicide bombings are "effective because they frighten Israelis."
In an interview with the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, Qaradawi expanded upon his reasons for supporting suicide bombings:
He
who commits suicide kills himself for his own benefit, while he who
commits martyrdom sacrifices himself for the sake of his religion and
his nation…He fights his enemy and the enemy of Allah with this new
weapon [suicide bombing], which destiny has put in the hands of the
weak, so that they would fight against the evil of the strong and
arrogant.
Qaradawi rejects the fundamental tenets of separation of church and state, saying:
Secularism may be accepted in a Christian society but it can never enjoy a general acceptance in an Islamic society.
Islam
is a comprehensive system of worship ('ibadah) and legislation
(Shari'ah), the acceptance of secularism means abandonment of Shari'ah,
a denial of the divine guidance and a rejection of Allah's injunctions;
it is indeed a false claim that Shari'ah is not proper to the
requirements of the present age.
For this reason, the call for secularism among Muslims is atheism and a rejection of Islam…
Qaradawi also rejects democracy as a whole:
Islam
wants this nation to consult with each other, and stand as a united
body, so no enemy can penetrate it. This is not what democracy is for.
Democracy is a system that can't solve all societal problems. Democracy
itself also can make whatever it wants as lawful, or prohibit anything
it does not like...Our society should abide by what have been made
lawful by Allah SW and abide by what also made unlawful by him SW. In
comparison democracy, with a slim majority can cancel all laws and
rules…I want [to] draw the attention to the issue of the spread of
deviance in the democratic societies. We should take the "good", and
abandon the "bad". For instance, many democratic countries have allowed
types of sexual deviance to spread, and even legalized such behavior.
Gays and Lesbians now can marry each other legally.
In
another sermon, Qaradawi charged that any US war against Iraq is in
fact intended to benefit Israel, saying "they want to actually wipe out
Iraq to help Israel." He also demanded that no country in the region
allow their bases to be used for an attack on Iraq.
Finally, Qaradawi issued a fatwa urging Muslim soldiers
in the US military to attempt to avoid if at all possible taking part
in fighting against other Muslims, i.e. in Afghanistan or Iraq.
World Assembly of Muslim Youth
The jihadist
lessons taught by the governments and preachers in the Muslim world are
then incorporated by youth organizations into their itinerary.
The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) is the world's
largest Muslim youth organization. WAMY was founded in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia in 1972. According to a letter signed by WAMY Assistant
Secretary General Dr. Hameed al Shaygi, WAMY has offices in London,
Washington DC, Kuala Lampur, Auckland, Dhaka, Nairobi, Dakar, Moscow,
Cordoba (Argentina), and headquarters in Riyadh. WAMY's US website,
www.wamyusa.org, says "WAMY has 66 regional, local offices and
representatives in the five continents." WAMY's US office was
incorporated in Falls Church, Virginia in 1992 by Osama bin Laden's
brother, Abdullah bin Laden.
WAMY's goal, according to its pamphlet "Islam at a glance" is to "arm the Muslim youth with full confidence in the supremacy of the Islamic system over other systems."
While
claiming to Western audiences that it seeks coexistence with the West,
WAMY has a comprehensive program for supporting the Jihad.
WAMY literature and lectures teach young people that non-Muslims are
abhorrent to God, WAMY pays for promising students to continue their
Islamic education at radical madrassahs in Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia, and the affiliates of WAMY have been used provide cover or
logistical support to Islamic terrorists.
WAMY Books and Publications
WAMY produces books and pamphlets, some in conjunction with the Saudi government, to spread its message.
Islamic Views is an Arabic language book written by WAMY and printed by the Saudi Government's Armed Forces Printing Press.
Under the heading "The Prophet asks for Jihad," Islamic Views says,
"The Prophet Mohammad fought against the infidels and the Jews till he
triumphed over them and conducted himself about twenty invasions and he
sent tens of regiments led by his companions for Jihad…Damn from Allah to the Jews who made graves of their prophets as Masjid."
Later, Islamic Views says Islam "is a religion of Jihad" and that Jihad "was an answer for the Jews, the liars."
[T]each our children to love taking revenge on the Jews and the oppressors, and teach them that our youngsters will liberate Palestine and al-Quds when they go back to Islam and make Jihad for the sake of Allah.
Islamic Views exhorts Muslims to wage "Jihad
against the Satan," and that "You should not back the Jews and the
Christians and the Communists against the Muslims; the Communists, the
Infidels, the Jews, and the Christians, those who do not believe in
Mohammed. You should say they are infidels."
Additionally, WAMY runs camps on six continents to recruit and teach young Muslims, and has produced a handbook entitled, Islamic Camps: Objectives, Program Outlines, Preparatory Steps,
as a guide for other Muslim groups planning camps. The book lists steps
for starting a camp, creating a program, inviting participants,
establishing goals, and other technical advice. The book includes
sample schedules, sports to play, lectures, meals, and free time. In
the index, Islamic Camps suggests chants such as "Hail! Hail! O
Sacrificing Soldiers! / To Us! To Us! So we may defend the flag / on
this Day of Jihad, are you miserly with your blood?!…Come! So we may
revive the times the times of our predecessors!"
Finally, WAMY produced, A Handy Encyclopedia of Contemporary Religions and Sects, a tract of anti-Semitism comparable to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
The
book purports to describe various Jewish sects such as "Al-Sabi'a:
these are the followers of Abdullah ibn Sab'a, entered (sic) Islam to
destroy it from within;" "The Rotaries…a Masonic organization dominated
by the Jews of the world. The real objective of these organizations is
for the Jews to have an opportunity to mingle with others, this would
afford them the chance to gather crucial information needed for their
economical and political success as well as to influence the society;"
The "Lions' Club…looks like it is a benevolent organization but
undoubtedly, it is a member of the Masonic group and the Jewish hands
are in it because their objectives are also to dominate the world. They
teach Zionist ideology to their members;" "The Dogha Jews" are "[a]
group of Jews [who] have joined Islam but actually they remained Jews
at heart; they planned to hurt Islam. They dominate the economy,
education, and the media. They took part in undermining the Ottoman
state and caliphate."
Freemasonry is "Traditionally the name of a secret
Jewish terrorist organization; it is well known and works for the
domination of the Jews in the world. It promotes atheism and
immorality." The "Encyclopedia" goes on to describe the freemasons:
Their ideology includes: Denying God's
existence, plotting to being (sic) down all legitimate governments;
using women and sex to achieve their objectives, creating divisions
among the gentiles in order to better dominate them, working toward
controlling the heads of states or changing them, controlling the major
media and using it to steer the professional leaders, promoting
volunteer vasectomy and pushing for Muslim's birth control, controlling
the international organizations such as the UN and other youth and
educational entities.
The international (Universal) Masonry is the highest of all
entities; the Jewish leaders in it are above the World emperors, kings
and presidents; they all plan ahead through the organization for the
well being of Israel.
Masonry is a hunting weapon on (sic) the hands of the
Jews to exert their influence over the uneducated people. The Masonry
was behind all the woes that plagued the Muslim world. They were behind
the French Revolution, Russian revolution and the British.
The Masonries have a wide international influence
through the world leaders that they have entangled; they became like
puppets in the organization's hands. It dominates the major world
media. It controls most of the international economic resources. It has
many terrorist gangs to carry out the criminal tasks and to eliminate
anyone who stands in its way.
Under "Animosity toward the Jews," WAMY lists reasons for Muslims to hate Jews:
the
seed of the Gulf-war was planted by a Jew; the Jews are enemies of the
faithful, God and the angels; The Jews are humanity's enemies; they
foment immorality in this world; The Jews are deceitful, they say
something but mean the exact opposite; Who was behind the biological
crisis which became like brain washing? A Jew; Who was behind the
disintegration of family life and values? A Jew; The one that
stirred-up hate and turned the individuals against their Muslim
governments in the Arab peninsula - a Jew; Who promoted Atheism and
made the countries thrive on Muslims' blood? The Jews; Every tragedy
that inflicts the Muslims is caused by the Jews.
WAMY's Support for Terror
Spreading its message, WAMY supports jihad in Israel, Kashmir, Bosnia, and the Philippines, among others.
Terrorism Against Israel
WAMY
supports terrorist attacks against Israel financially and
ideologically. WAMY invited Khaled Mishaal, Political Head of HAMAS, to
be the featured guest at the "Muslim Youth and Globalization"
conference on October 29, 2002. According to Agence France Presse, "[Mishaal] was hugged and kissed by hundreds of participants."
The Arab News
of April 12, 2002 reported, "The World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY)
has decided to raise its monthly contribution to Palestinian Intifada
from [$800,000] to [$2.7 million]…" The increase in monthly aid to the
Intifada was "in addition to the over $70 million they had collected
from donations through WAMY offices abroad and on special occasions."
In addition, WAMY, according to intelligence sources, has provided
financial assistance to Hamas.
Terrorism Against India
According
to a Pakistan Government website WAMY is located at PO Box 1055 is
Peshawar. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) lists PO Box
1055, Peshawar, Pakistan as an address of the Specially Designated
Global Terrorist Organization, Benevolence International Foundation
(BIF).
The Associated Press and CBS News report that WAMY's
Peshawar office was raided in November, 2001 in a joint FBI-Pakistan
intelligence operation. A WAMY employee was subsequently questioned for
hand delivering a recorded message from Osama bin Laden to local media.
In that tape, Bin Laden praised various terrorist attacks, including
the Bali nightclub bombing that killed over 200 people, and the Chechen
takeover of a theatre in Moscow that led to over 150 deaths.
Nazir Qureshi is assistant Secretary-General of WAMY. He
has been accused by the Indian government of supplying money to
Kashmiri terrorist groups headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
The Pakistani paper The News reported on March 25, 2001 that the Pakistani youth organization Jamiat Taleba Arabia is the only Pakistan-based member organization of WAMY. The article continued, "WAMY is also involved in religious and Jehadi training for its member organizations." According to The News, Jamiat Taleba Arabia, the WAMY member-organization, was:
involved in Afghanistan from the very beginning. It joined the Jehad in Kashmir as soon as the Kashmiris started their armed struggle in 1990 and was fully involved by 1993. The members of the Jamiat Taleba Arabia fought under the umbrella of Gulbadin Hakmatyar's Hizbe Islami in Afghanistan and, in Occupied Kashmir, under the discipline of the hizbul Mujahideen …Jehad has become the focus of the Jamiat's activities in the last two decades.
According to the Indian magazine Frontline,
Mohammed Ayyub Thukar, President of the World Kashmir Freedom Movement,
was a financier of Hizbul Mujahideen, a Kashmiri terror organization.
During his exile in Saudi Arabia, Thukar was affiliated with Muslim
World League, WAMY, and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Sardar Ija Afzal Khan, Amir of Jamaat-e-Islami
since early June, 2002, "highlighted [the] freedom struggle of the
Kashmiris at the forums of World Assembly of Muslim Youth…"
The Indian government contends that "90 percent of the
funding [for Kashmir militants] is from other countries and Islamic
organizations like the World Association of Muslim Youth…"
Terrorism Elsewhere
Beyond the
Middle East and India, WAMY works to immerse its students in its
hateful ideology. For example, Philippine resident Zam Amputan told the
Christian Science Monitor that WAMY paid for him to attend a madrassah
in Peshawar in 1987. According to the Monitor, "There he was exposed to
the Wahhabi ideology." Amputan told the Monitor he returned to the
Philippines "thinking of ways to create a separate Islamic state in the
Southern Philippines." The Washington Quarterly reports that
"IIRO is not the only charitable organization in the Philippines
suspected of financing terrorism. Manila is investigating five other
Muslim charities active in the Philippines [including] the World
Alliance of Muslim Youth…"
Similarly, according to Professor S.V. Seshagiri Rao, the organization Deendar Anjuman "was involved in militant activity in Bosnia, Kosovo and Chechnya through the World Association of Muslim Youth (WAMY), a Saudi Arabia based fundamentalist outfit." Deendar Anjuman is banned by the Indian government.
Likewise, the Romanian newspaper, Bucharest Ziua,
reported on February 12, 2002 that "the Muslim Brotherhood organization
operates under the screen of the Islamic and Cultural League in Romania
[LICR], the 'al-Taiba' humanitarian foundation, the Crescent
humanitarian society, and the 'As Salam' association. The vast
majority of its funds come from the World Association of Muslim Youth
[WAMY], with its headquarters in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, and from the al-Taiba humanitarian foundation, with its headquarters in the United States."
Ahmed Ajaj's Military Manual
WAMY's
education is not limited to Islamic theology. When Ahmed Ajaj was
arrested in 1992 investigators confiscated his belongings. Among them
was an official WAMY envelope printed with the organizations's return
address in Saudi Arabia. After serving a six month prison term for
attempting to enter the country with a false passport, Ajaj was
released. Ajaj was rearrested and convicted in connection to the 1993
World Trade Center bombing on March 4, 1994. He was sentenced to 240
years in prison on May 24, 1994.
The envelope marked WAMY contained a manual detailing
how to establish and maintain clandestine cells titled "Military
Lessons in the Jihad Against the Tyrants." Another version of
the same manual, with several added sections, was found in the London
apartment of African Embassy bomber Khalid al-Fawwaz in 1998. Fawwaz
has since been indicted, and the United States is seeking his
extradition from England.
The Ajaj manual refers repeatedly to the role and importance of the "youth" in carrying out Jihad
and re-establishing Muslim rule. The manual's "dedication" says, "what
[the apostate regimes] know is the dialogue of bullets, the ideals of
assassination, explosion and destruction, and the politics of the
machine gun." It continues:
An Islamic state has not and will not be formed
through peaceful solutions or through the Assemblies of Polytheism. It
will be formed as it did through the written words and the gun, through
the word and the bullet.
The manual
instructs "the principal mission for the military organization is to
overthrow the atheist regimes and replace them with Islamic ones," and
lists strategies such as kidnapping enemy soldiers, assassinating
personnel and foreign tourists, spreading rumors, and blowing up,
destroying, and sabotaging places of entertainment as secondary duties
of the military organization. The ultimate goal, repeated over and
over, is "get[ting] rid of people who stand in the way of the Islamic
Call," and "establishing an Islamic State."
The manual goes on to provide in-depth instructions for
obtaining and storing false documents, finding housing, obtaining and
storing weapons, conducting reconnaissance, planning attacks, carrying
out attacks, avoiding detection, and using other tactics.
Public Opinion Polls in the Muslim World
The
effect of the constant recitation of these lessons has been profound,
even on Muslims living in the West. Opinion polls conducted since
September 11 illustrate the continuing impact such widespread teachings
have had on Muslim populations throughout the world. Ultimately, the
constant vilification of Jews, Christians and others has led
populations in the Muslim world to believe they are the target of a
vast conspiracy.
For example, between November 2nd and 11th, 2001, ICM
conducted a telephone survey of 500 British Muslims on behalf of the
BBC. ICM reported the following results:
- Q: "From what you have seen or
heard, do you think the USA are justified in blaming Osama bin Laden's
Al Qaeda Group for the attacks in America on September 11th?"
- 67% replied "unjustified"
- Q:
"Taking all things into account, do you think the military action by
the United States and Afghanistan is justified or unjustified?"
- 80% replied "unjustified"
- Q:
"Some people we have spoken to have said they approve of British
Muslims going to fight America and its allies in Afghanistan. Do you
approve or disapprove of Muslims going to Afghanistan to fight America
and its allies?"
- Q: "Do you think military action in Afghanistan should…"
In 2002, Gallup conducted a poll in conjunction with USA Today
in which Gallup interviewed nearly 10,000 people in nine mostly Muslim
countries: Turkey, Kuwait, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia,
Morocco, Jordan, and Lebanon.
- 77% said that "U.S. military action in Afghanistan [is] morally unjustifiable."
- 61% said that Arabs did not carry out the September 11th attacks.
- More specifically: 86% of Pakistanis and 89% of Kuwaitis do not believe that Arabs were responsible for the attacks.
Without
a doubt, the last result is the most troubling (especially viewed in
conjunction with the BBC survey), for many in the Arab world
continually refuse to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence that links
bin Laden and his terror network to the September 11 attacks. As a CBS
News report has documented, much of the Arab world believes instead
that the Mossad carried out the attacks, and that 4000 Israelis who
allegedly worked in World Trade Center stayed home on 9/11.
Indeed, governments in the Arab world have propagated
this view. By refuting Arab involvement in 9/11, proponents of the
Jewish conspiracy theory avoid confronting the deep-rooted problems
that exist in their own societies. Their failure to inspect the
domestic issues that lead to terrorism makes them unable, and in some
cases unwilling, to prevent future 9/11-style attacks.
For example, Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlass, has
voiced his support for the Mossad theory, and the Saudi government has
encouraged speculation that Saudi citizens were not really involved.
Also in 2002, the Pew Research Center for the People and
the Press conducted its Global Attitudes Survey. Surveyors asked this
question: "Some people think that suicide bombing and other forms of
violence against civilian targets are justified in order to defend
Islam from its enemies. Other people believe that, no matter what the
reason, this kind of violence is never justified. Do you personally
feel that this kind of violence is often justified to defend Islam,
sometimes justified, rarely justified, or never justified?" Pew
reported the following results:
- More than 25% of those in Indonesia (88%
Muslim ), Pakistan (97% Muslim ), and Mali (90% Muslim ) felt "this
kind of violence" was "often justified" or "sometimes justified."
- More than 40% of those in Jordan (approximately 92%
Muslim ) and Bangladesh (83% Muslim ) felt "this kind of violence" was
"often justified" or "sometimes justified."
- And an astonishing 73% of those in Lebanon (70%
Muslim ) felt "this kind of violence" was "often justified" or
"sometimes justified."
These results reflect the Muslim
world's failure to draw a sharp contrast between support for
"legitimate resistance" and support for terrorist actions.
The same 2002 Pew Global Attitudes Survey asked
respondents in a number of countries: "And which comes closer to
describing your view? I favor the US-led efforts to fight terrorism, OR
I oppose the US-led efforts to fight terrorism." Pew reported the
following results:
- More than 50% of those in Indonesia,
Turkey (99.8% Muslim ), and Senegal (94% Muslim ) "oppose the US-led
efforts to fight terrorism."
- 79% of those in Egypt (94% Muslim ) and 85% of those in Jordan "oppose the US-led efforts to fight terrorism."
The
latest Pew poll illustrates the growing anti-Western view among Muslims
throughout the world. This year's Pew Global Attitudes Survey involved
16,000 interviewees in 20 countries and the Palestinian territories.
Surveyors asked respondents to rate their "confidence in world figures
to do the right thing regarding world affairs." Pew reported that Osama
bin Laden is one of the three most trusted leaders in Indonesia,
Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, and the Palestinian Authority. Respondents
in the PA trusted bin Laden the most.
When asked about the US war in Iraq, "Overwhelming
majorities in Morocco (93%), Jordan (91%), Lebanon (82%), Turkey (82%),
Indonesia (82%), and the Palestinian Authority (81%) say they are disappointed the Iraqi military put up so little resistance."
The
magnitude of hostility and hatred towards the United States in the
Muslim world has led some editorialists and policymakers to conclude
that the United States is to blame for incurring Muslim wrath-that the
anger is the result of bad US policies or ineffective public relations
marketing programs. In fact, no matter what policies or pr programs the
US adopted, the anger and hatred of the Muslim world would still be
pervasive. It is the very success of the United States as a world power
and the pluralist principles underling our country that menaces Islamic
fundamentalists.
Al-Qaeda's Ties to Western Society
In
the United States and Europe, militant Islamic leaders and groups,
often operating under the false guise of serving as "civil rights"
groups or "religious action" monikers, have fueled the ideology of jihad by promoting support for the various mujahideen
around the world. In other cases, "mainstream" Islamic leaders here
have facilitated the ideology of terrorism by creating a grey area
between legitimate and extremist discourse. While First Amendment
protections guarantee the rights of these leaders to spread their
message, this periphery enables militant Islam to maintain ties with
Western society and recruit sympathizers, financial and logistical
supporters, and ultimately, members.
A review of several prominent Islamic conferences,
bookstores and relief organizations reveals a campaign of deception and
indoctrination which strengthens Al-Qaeda at home and abroad.
Non-Profits and NGOs support Terror
An
analysis of reactions from "moderate" Muslim leaders in the US to
domestic counter-terrorism efforts since 9/11 illustrates an ingrained
distrust for US actions, and a policy of inculcating the Muslim
population in anti-government and anti-integrationist propaganda.
It is tempting to believe that these speakers,
conventions and bookstores are aberrations, that they do not represent
any significant portion of the population. However, while it is more
common for speakers to couch their support for terror in terms of human
rights, freedom of speech, and ultimately self-determination, a large
portion of US Muslim leaders refuse to condemn terrorist groups by
name, or even acknowledge the existence of "Islamic fundamentalism," a
term they claim is an invective and racist concoction against the
Muslim world. When terrorist arrests have been made since 9/11 or the
assets of terrorist groups frozen, these same Islamic leaders-many of
whom have been invited to the White House in recent years or to
Congress-have condemned government actions as "anti-Islam" and even as
part of the on-going "crusades" against Islam. Perpetuating this
victimhood mentality that Islam is under attack is the same ideological
mechanism used by Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezzbollah and every other militant
Islamic group to justify their terrorist attacks
Even regarding the horrors of September 11, US Muslim
and Arab leaders have been reluctant to accept that Muslims were
responsible for the attacks. Some US Muslim leaders and organizations
actually joined with fringe and racist groups in formulating elaborate
conspiracy theories claiming that Israel was behind the attacks,
possibly with US government complicity. After the release of a video in
which bin Laden took credit for the attacks, some leaders claimed the
tape was a U.S. government forgery.
Even when finally accepting Osama bin Laden's
responsibility for the attacks, some of these organizations offer only
partial condemnations of terrorism. For years, groups have justified
terrorist acts against Israel, saying Israel's actions in Lebanon and
against Palestinian terrorists make Israel a deserving target. Since
September 11, various leaders and groups have argued that attacks on US
interests are an extension of the same justifiable conflict, as the US
supports Israel and undemocratic Middle Eastern regimes.
Islamic Assembly of North America
Some
groups, though, do actively and openly support terror. The Islamic
Assembly of North America (IANA) was incorporated on December 8, 1993
in Aurora, Colorado. According to the IANA website, the founders
established the group in order to "reviv[e] the Islamic nation to its
proper state and condition" by "engag[ing] in a complete and
comprehensive form of Islamic work…based on the principles of [Sunni
Islam]…aim[ed] at bringing together the efforts of many dawah
[missionary] activities and coordinating the activities of different
Islamic centers and groups." As stated by IANA, one of the central
efforts in that regard is to "[o]bserve and analyze the current events
in the Muslim world" and to "[a]ssist the oppressed and tyrannized
scholars, Islamic workers, and Muslim masses in any locality."
In order to achieve its goal of promoting the spread of
fundamentalist Islam, IANA and its officers have spent large sums of
money on sponsoring extremist political conferences in the United
States, publishing websites, books, and magazines written by radical
anti-American (predominantly Saudi and Kuwaiti) clerics, and by
obtaining controlling stakes in a number of prominent American mosques.
IANA was the only American Muslim organization promoted on Azzam
Publication's website, which itself was considered the premier
English-language mouthpiece for Al-Qaeda.
In December 1993, senior Al-Qaeda recruiter Shaykh Abu
Abdel Aziz Barbaros was the featured speaker at IANA's third annual
convention. In Barbaros's speech at the Arabic-language session he
said:
Allah is going to help certain people to
control the world and this control will come according to certain
Quranic verses and as we know Allah said be prepared for the enemy by
all means. Also, Allah said he is going to give us Tamkeen [control over the world]… it is a promise from Allah that those that believe in Allah and wage Jihad will go to Paradise. So to wage Jihad
is one of the most important characteristics of the Believer… Whenever
there is a pure Islam, there will be blessing or we will always be
fighting with the enemy. Even the Prophet (SWS) participated in 27
battles and now we say that we are believers. Tell me Brothers, how
many times you participated in Jihad or even thought about it? …this western tool, democracy, is not our way to have the Tamkeen.
We have to follow the path of Allah and listen to his word, 'Make ready
against [the enemies of Allah] with the utmost of your power.'
IANA is also responsible for publishing an online Arabic-language magazine, Al-Asr ("The Era"). In May 2001 - just months before the September 11 terrorist attacks - Al-Asr published three fatwas
(Islamic legal opinions) endorsing so-called "martyrdom attacks." Among
the examples sanctioned by one fatwa was the crashing of an airplane
into an enemy target. The fatwa was issued by extremist spiritual
leader Sheikh Hamid Al-Ali of Kuwait, who as of 1999 was under
investigation by Kuwait's state prosecutor. Sheikh Al-Ali's fatwa
discussed different kinds of justifiable suicide operations such as
"storming enemy lines without hope of survival" or dying "to destroy a
vital enemy command post." Al-Ali's fatwa concluded that, "The modern
version of that is to use bombing methods or to crash one's plane on a
crucial target to cause great casualties."
IANA is the exception, though, and most US-based organizations prefer to support Jihadist causes by maligning US counter-terror efforts and arguing that terrorism is the inevitable result of US support for Israel.
Council on American Islamic Relations
CAIR,
the Council on American Islamic Relations, is the largest American
Muslim civil rights organization. Given its growing prominence, CAIR is
in a position to mold U.S. Muslim opinion.
Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and
Washington, CAIR attempted to shield Osama bin Laden from US attention.
In 1998 a Los Angeles television station put up billboards showing
people in the news, including a picture of bin Laden labeling him "the
sworn enemy." CAIR called the depiction "offensive to Muslims."
Following the 1998 bombing of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania,
CAIR issued a press release, "American Muslims ask journalists to
exercise restraint in reporting on embassy bombings."
Even in the weeks after the 9/11 attacks, CAIR showed
great reluctance to accept bin Laden's involvement. Ibrahim Hooper,
CAIR's Communications Director, refused to condemn Bin Laden outright
for the attacks. He would only say, "if Osama bin Laden was behind it,
we condemn him by name."
More explicitly, Al-Haj Ghazi Khankan, Executive Director of CAIR's New York chapter, told The New York Times
more than a week after the attacks that the United State government had
not proven Usama bin Laden's role in the terrorism. "We need to have
proof. We need to have facts. If there is something wrong, let's get
together through the United Nations, not act as a lynch mob."
On September 15, 2001, Khankan appeared on an ABC News Special "Answering Kids' Questions," saying:
I
am sure that if we have full evidence and proof that Osama bin Laden is
guilty of these atrocious terrorist acts, he will be brought to
justice. America is great because a person is innocent until proven
guilty in a court of law - not by assumptions and speculations.
When we can prove that bin Laden is guilty, then he should
be brought to trial. But to stoop to the lower level of uncivilized
behavior and go bomb other countries, we could be accused of behaving
like those terrorists.
A member of
Khankan's congregation told the reporter in Khankan's presence that Bin
Laden was a Muslim equivalent of David Koresh. The reporter replied
that Koresh had no international network plotting suicide missions
against the U.S. Khankan responded, "What about the world Zionist
network? Why are you in the media not looking at them?"
On October 7 at CAIR's annual fundraising dinner held in Vienna, Virginia, Khankan asked his audience:
Why
is it assumed that Muslims were behind the attack on September 11? We
know at least three people supposed to be hijackers, who are still
alive in the Middle East. The question is, who is impersonating these
Muslim names? Who benefits from assuming that Muslims are behind this
tragedy, and who benefits from this tragedy? I think the media should
seriously go and investigate these 3 and find out if they are really
the 3 hijackers, or someone else is impersonating them. I think it is a
very important thing that we insist that the media not cover up these
facts.
Khankan has also sought to link
9/11 to U.S. foreign policy. On the September ABC Program, he told a
young questioner who asked why terrorists hate the United States, "Look
what our country has done overseas to other countries. These terrorists
do not hate the American people, but they might hate what the
government has done to their people and their families." Specifically
linking the attacks to U.S. support for Israel, Mr. Khankan went on to
say,
We need to reexamine our foreign policy in the
world, especially in the sensitive area of the Palestine question. We
know from statistics, for example, we have given the Israeli
governments, since 1949, $134 billion and helped them take over the
homes of the Palestinian people, and made them refugees.
The U.S.-made F-16s and helicopters that shoot rockets are
being used by the Israelis to kill more Palestinians. And so the
Palestinians think that we are in cahoots with the Israelis against the
Palestinians.
Nihad Awad, CAIR's
founder and Executive Director, has also attempted to relate terrorism
against the U.S. to American foreign policy. After September 11, he
said, "We can suppress terrorism by force, but not eliminate it except
by justice. We have to understand when people abroad are angry with
this country and come up with solutions."
CAIR officials, together with virtually every top
"mainstream" Islamic organization in the United States, with several
notable and courageous exceptions, have attacked the freezing of Hamas
and Al-Qaeda assets in the United States as well as the Justice
Department's indictment of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leader Sami
al-Arian in Tampa Florida. The evidence in the public domain showing
the ties between terrorist groups and the Holy Land Foundation,
Benevolence International and Global Relief-the three non-governmental
groups whose assets were frozen by the US Government-is massive and
overwhelming as is the case against Al Arian.
Muslim Public Affairs Council
The
Muslim Public Affairs Council, MPAC, is another large Muslim American
group that has failed to unequivocally condemn terrorism. Like CAIR,
MPAC refuses to consider Muslim culpability in anti-US terror, and has
implied that US support for Israel caused the 9/11 attacks.
On August 13, 1998, five days after the bombings of the
U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania MPAC
Director Salam al-Marayati wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "Hostility toward Islam is rising in light of speculation (emphasis added) that Muslim groups comprise the main suspect list in the Nairobi and Dar es Salaam bombings."
Speaking
on the Los Angeles radio station KCRW only hours after the September 11
attacks, al-Marayati immediately blamed Israel for the attack. "If
we're going to look at suspects we should look to the groups that
benefit the most from these kinds of incidents, and I think we should
put the state of Israel on the suspect list because I think this
diverts attention from what's happening in the Palestinian territories
so that they can go on with their aggression and occupation and
apartheid policies."
The next day, Al-Marayati said, "It's still early, all
the facts are not in yet. The concern is that there will be
opportunists trying to slam Islam, so we always have our doubts until
all the facts are known." Likewise, in a Live Dialogue on IslamOnline,
October 22, 2001, Mahdi Bray, National Political Director of MPAC,
refused to blame Bin Laden for 9/11, saying only that, "I cannot speak
for Bin Laden, but I can speak to the horrific events of September
11th, which the media and the government have attributed (emphasis added) to Bin Laden."
On
October 9, 2001 in response to a statement from bin Laden supporting
the September 11 attacks, MPAC did issue a condemnation. However, the
statement implicitly rejects US military action against terror, saying,
"it is MPAC's position that the eradication of terrorism must be
predicated on a careful attention to the root causes of it. We
encourage the president to peruse the course of action he has endorsed
to combat terrorism, which includes an analysis and consideration of
root causes of terrorism."
Also in October, 2001 MPAC ran advertisements on a Los
Angeles radio station resorting to blaming the US-Israel relationship
for anti-US terrorism. The ad said "United States intervention in the
Middle East had inflamed anti-America sentiment in the region."
Salam al-Marayati has made statements in defense of
Hezbollah as well, despite the group's official designation as a
terrorist organization. In November, 1999, appearing on the "News Hour
with Jim Lehrer," al-Marayati said:
If the Lebanese people are resisting Israeli
intransigence on Lebanese soil, then that is the right of resistance
and they have the right to target Israeli soldiers in this conflict.
That is not terrorism. That is a legitimate resistance. That could be
called liberation movement, that could be called anything, but it's not
terrorism.
In a June, 1999 "position paper" MPAC justified Hezbollah's suicide bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut:
Hezbollah
organized the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut in October 1983
killing 241 marines, the largest number of American troops killed in a
single operation since the end of the Vietnam War. Yet this attack, for
all the pain it caused, was not in a strict sense, a terrorist
operation. It was a military operation, producing no civilian
casualties -- exactly the kind of attack that Americans might have
lauded had it been directed against Washington's enemies."
Margaret Zaknoen, MPAC's Communications Director and Program Director for American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ), wrote Congress Holds Israel Pep Rally, Calls It 'Hearing'
about the September 25 House International Relations Subcommittee on
the Middle East and Asia hearing on U.S policy toward the Palestinians.
The article finds U.S. foreign policy the cause of anti-American
terrorism:
One after another, these distinguished
lawmakers lambasted those who recommend that the U.S. reexamine its
place in the world in the wake of this national tragedy. These people
would have us believe that there is no connection between America's
behavior abroad and the world's perception of America. While there can
be no justification for terrorism at any level, by anyone, what is
clear to the vast majority of observers is that these atrocities and
the hatred that produced them do not exist in a vacuum.
Members' wholesale dismissal of those who point to
America's extreme pro-Israel bias as a cause of anti-American sentiment
is misguided. It is done not to safeguard American policy, but to
protect Israel from scrutiny.
Islamic Society of North America
Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Board of Directors and current member of the Majlis al-Shura
(conslutative counsel) of the Islamic Society of North America, has
articulated his doubt about Bin Laden's involvement in the September 11
terrorist attacks. He told CNN on September 23, 2001:
If Osama bin Laden and his group are the
criminals, they are the ones that have done this, then they should be
punished, and those who harbor them should be punished. But, it has to
be proved.
In September 2002, a full
year after the 9/11 attacks, speakers at ISNA's annual conference still
refused to acknowledge Bin Laden's role in the terrorist attacks.
According to conference proceedings, Jamal Barzinji, Director of International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT),
said, "It is not only that we don't have any proof (of Bin Laden's
guilt), but the FBI doesn't have any proof. They are still looking."
Muzammil Siddiqi, former President of ISNA, added, "We did not say it
is Muslims who did it. We did not say this and that. But the point is
that whosoever did it, it was wrong."
At the same conference, Suhail al Ganouchi, President of the Muslim American Society (MAS),
commented, "Probably we'll never know who actually did it, or who,
what, or what groups." Zulfiqar Shah, President of ICNA, refused to
comment on Bin Laden's guilt.
Opposition to Counter-Terrorism Measures
Radical
U.S. Muslim organizations have fought nearly every counter-terrorism
measure the United States has undertaken since September 11. In
addition to opposing domestic legislation, they have also spoken out
against military operations abroad.
Soon after the attacks, on September 21, a group of U.S. Muslim organizations issued a statement, American Muslim Response to the September Attacks, articulating a general opposition to counterterrorism efforts:
We
urge the U.S. government not to abandon the due process of law in
determining responsibility for the attacks and punishing the guilty
parties.
We are saddened by the possibility of military action, as
we do not believe that terrorism can be eliminated solely or even
effectively through military force. Rather we call upon our leaders to
recognize that in order to rid the world of the ugliness of terrorism,
our nation must understand its root causes. We hold out the hope that
these root causes can be addressed through non-violent means, in a way
that promotes peace and harmony between the nations of the world.
Sami al-Arian
On
February 20, 2003, the US Department of Justice released a 50-count,
121-page federal indictment describing in extraordinary detail Sami
al-Arian's tenure as head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in
North America. In response, American Muslim organizations decried the
"persecution" of "innocent" Muslims. A statement by the American Muslim
Political Coordination Council (AMPCC), which is comprised of the
American Muslim Council (AMC), Council on American Islamic Relations
(CAIR), American Muslim Alliance (AMA) and the Muslim Public Affairs
Council (MPAC), stated:
The community is gaining the perception that
people are rounded up and targeted because of their political opinions
and because they exercise their right to dissent on current US policy.
Our community is in dire need to understand how these charges are
founded on concrete evidence of criminal activity and not guilt by
association or political association…It was disturbing that Attorney
General John Ashcroft inserted religious expressions, like Jihad
and martyrdom, to a major federal investigation and indictment…Our
security policy should not be driven by the turmoil of the Middle-East
but rather by seeking the interest and protection of the United States
of America.
The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) separately released the same statement.
The
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) released a statement
saying, "The ADC notes that Sami Al-Arian has been under heavy
investigation for many years, and that thus far no evidence has ever
been presented suggesting his involvement with any illegal
activity…Prof. Al-Arian's case has become heavily politicized."
Omar Ahmad, the chairman of CAIR's board commented, "We
are very concerned that the government would bring charges after
investigating an individual for many years without offering any
evidence of criminal activity. This action could leave the impression
that Al-Arian's arrest is based on political considerations, not
legitimate national security concerns."
The day of the indictment, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper appeared on the MSNBC show, Buchanan and Press:
Patrick Buchanan: Is Sami Al-Arian associated with a group which is responsible for killing individuals, civilians, for political motives?
Hooper:
I don't believe he is. Let's see the evidence. Let's see them bring
evidence that shows that he's given material support. But the idea of
material support to terrorism is getting very broad…He's actively
supported Islamic causes and the struggle of the Palestinian people to
be free of Israeli occupation. That gets you into trouble."
…
Bill Press: Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organization. Would you admit to that?
Hooper: Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organization. It's yet to be shown he is any way supportive of it…
Press:
Well, here's one of the pieces of evidence which is not a secret. It's
Mr. Al-Arian himself on a videotape, where he is saying - quote - "Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel. Revolution, revolution until victory, rolling, rolling to Jerusalem.
Hooper: You may not like those views, but it's not criminal speech, not yet, at least.
Press:
…Mr. Hooper, help me out with this. The war on terror started 9/12,
2001, against the al Qaeda terrorist network. Sami Al-Arian is accused
of supporting the Islamic Jihad. What is the equivalence or
are they the same, the al Qaeda terrorists and the Palestinian, let's
call them, terrorist organizations fighting for different causes? Are
they the same?…
Hooper: …I think the problem we're seeing is
that the Israelization of American policy and procedures, the failed
tactics of the Israelis, where, if you just kill a few more people,
destroy a few more homes, seize a few more acres, everything will be
OK. We don't want to take that and translate it into the American
setting. And I think that's what we're seeing happening.
…
Press: So, do you think that the United States, with this arrest, is doing Ariel Sharon's dirty work?
Hooper:
The entire controversy began with the attack dogs of the pro-Israel
lobby going after Sami Al-Arian, the Holy Land Foundation, other groups
in the United States. They wanted to shut them down because they oppose
the occupation in Palestine. After more than a decade, they're finally
getting their wish."
Finally, in March 2003,
Agha Saed, national chairman of the American Muslim Alliance, testified
at Al-Arian's bail hearing, noting that Al-Arian's "…role has been one
of senior statesman in the community.'' (It should also be noted that
one of the top Islamic chaplains in the US military, Yahya Hendi, also
testified as a character witness on al-Arian's behalf)
The Holy Land Foundation
On
Dec. 4, 2001, the Bush administration froze the assets of three groups
accused of financing Hamas, including the Holy Land Foundation for
Relief and Development (HLF). Several major U.S. Muslim organizations
asked President Bush to reconsider his decision to freeze HLF's assets,
including AMA, AMC, CAIR, ISNA, ICNA, MAS, MPAC, and MSA:
American Muslims support President Bush's
effort to cut off funding for terrorism and we call for a peaceful
resolution to the Middle East conflict. These goals will not be
achieved by taking food out of the mouths of Palestinian orphans or by
succumbing to politically-motivated smear campaigns by those who would
perpetuate Israel's brutal occupation.
…
We ask that President Bush reconsider what we believe is an unjust and counterproductive move
that can only damage America's credibility with Muslims in this country
and around the world and could create the impression that there has
been a shift from a war on terrorism to an attack on Islam.
Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR's spokesman added, "This action is really creating outrage in the Muslim community."
On November 22, MPAC issued a press statement:
American
Muslims consider the diversion of the funds of these charities...a
clear violation of our 1st Amendment right for the free exercise of
religion.
Congress, in passing this unconscionable legislation, has enabled the public to confuse zakat
from American Muslims, intended for the most poor and destitute
(Muslims make up the largest percentage of the refugee population in
the world) for terrorist funds. Our zakat money had nothing to do with September 11. Our zakat money does not cause suicide bombings. Our zakat
money is intended for the poor and destitute, and any diversion of that
money to sources other than the needy (high-priced Washington D.C.
attorneys not included) is an outrageous violation of our first
amendment rights that American Muslims will fight tooth and nail. The
war on terrorism has been exploited by special interest groups to
create an industry that funnels charitable donations to more lobbyists
and lawyers.
The US-Israel Relationship
The
dominant theme among apologists for terror against the United States is
that bin Laden only hates the United States because of our support for
Israel. Bin Laden's own words refute this assertion.
In a statement issued on February 23, 1998, bin Laden
explicitly links his war against the United States to the American
military presence in Saudi Arabia. In his fatwa declaring Jihad
against the West, bin Laden says, "…for over seven years the United
States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places,
the Arabian Peninsula…All these crimes are sins committed by the
Americans are a clear declaration of war on Allah, his messenger, and
Muslims." Bin Laden later repeats his opposition to the US military
presence in Muslim lands:
The ruling to kill the Americans and their
allies - civilian and military - is an individual duty for every Muslim
who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it…and in
order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated
and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is accordance with the words of
Almighty Allah, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you
all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or
oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah'
Bin Laden concludes the fatwa by stating that it is God's will that Muslims kill Americans:
We
with Allah's help call on every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes
to be rewarded to comply with Allah's order to kill the Americans…We
also call on Muslim Ulema (scholars), leaders, youths, and
soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's
supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them
so that they may learn a lesson."
It
is telling that in his most influential sermon, bin Laden declared the
presence of kufr (infidels) soldiers on Saudi soil to be the ultimate
source of his wrath. This led to his contention that "there is no more
important duty than pushing the American enemy out of the holy land" as
"the occupying American enemy is the principle and the main cause of
the situation."
In a January, 1999 interview published in TIME
Magazine, bin Laden claims even that, "hostility toward America is a
religious duty, and we hope to be rewarded for it by God." In the same
interview, bin Laden expresses his personal pride in killing Americans,
saying, "the U.S. knows that I have attacked it, by the grace of God,
for more than 10 years now…America has been trying ever since to
tighten its economic blockade against us and to arrest me. It has
failed…We expect to be rewarded by God."
Conclusion:
As accustomed to
creating solutions for every problem Americans face, the reality is
that there are no silver bullets in the challenges posed by Islamic
radicalism. All solutions are going to painstakingly slow but we need
to abide by a set of principles.
- The first requirement for any hope of
change is that we all recognize who and what the enemy is -- it is not
an amorphous group of "terrorists," but rather it is those who work to
advance the cause of global militant Islam through the spread of its
ideology and violence. Unless we can name the enemy without fear, we
cannot construct effective ways to counter its strategy. As described
by Daniel Pipes, "It is not a war on terrorism, nor a war on Islam. It
is a war on a terroristic version of Islam." (Daniel Pipes, "A War
Against What?", New York Post, Oct. 1, 2002)
- Second, we must act consistently in our approach to
fighting the battle. Changing our behavior, our policies, our
democratic belief system to conform to militant Islamists' "wish list"
will not serve our purpose of eradicating the violence. Rather,
accommodating their demands will only empower those who wish to see the
West fall. The religious dogma that is the underpinning of militant
Islam will not change, regardless of our actions.
- Third, we must continue to provide law enforcement
with effective tools to shut down the financing and training of
terrorist networks, working with other countries around the world at
all levels. The actions taken by the FBI, Department of Justice,
Treasury, CIA, Homeland Security and other agencies in shutting down
terrorist conduits must be supported on a long term basis-and not have
powers suddenly withdrawn because of the false perception that the
threat is declining.
- We must empower genuine moderates in the Islamic
world. At the same time, this means not legitimizing militant purveyors
of hatred and violence. In practical terms, this means that the United
States truly has to stop allowing the State Department the continued
license to invite Islamic militants to the United States under the
guise of "outreach"; it means that the United States has to stop
pandering to Saudi Arabia and demand that they truly cease supporting
and financing Islamic militant groups. In the United States, militant
Islamic leaders who only pretend to be moderate should not be afforded
political legitimacy by being embraced by the White House, Congress or
other governmental agencies. This sends a terrible message to the
community of genuinely moderate Muslims.
- The US , should help create the seed money for
endowed chairs at universities around the world that would sponsor
genuine Islamic moderates. Today, much of Middle Eastern academia is
dominated by the ideology of militant Islam or anti-Americanism.
- And finally, we must be learn to be patient and
strong. The resentment of militant Islam has festered for many years
and will not diminish over night. Anti-Americanism in the Muslim world
stems from the anger that many who live in that world cannot freely
express toward their ruling governments. The cancerous spread of the
ideology and violence from the Middle East to Muslim societies of
Africa, Asia and the Pacific is further evidence of the growing extent
of the problem. We must stay the course for as long as it will take.
Steven Emerson
Executive Director, The Investigatvie Project
5505 Conn. Ave, NW #341
Washington DC 20015