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MEMRI: Saudi Cleric Salman Al-Odeh Slams Brother Osama bin Laden, Warns Him Hell Be Responsible for Deaths of Millions, Reminds Him He Must Face Allah

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism.

MEMRI: Saudi Cleric Salman Al-Odeh Slams Brother Osama bin Laden, Warns Him Hell Be Responsible for Deaths of Millions, Reminds Him He Must Face Allah

The following are excerpts from a religious show featuring Saudi cleric Salman Al-Odeh, which aired on MBC TV on September 14, 2007.

“How Much Blood Has Been Shed, And How Many… Have Been Killed… In The Name Of Al-Qaeda?”

Salman Al-Odeh: “I say to my brother Osama [bin Laden]: How much blood has been shed, and how many innocent people, children, elderly, and women have been killed, displaced, or banished in the name of Al-Qaeda? Would you be pleased to meet Allah while you bear responsibility for hundreds or even millions of people?”

[…]

“The Prophet Muhammad said that anyone who killed even a bird unjustly would meet Allah on Judgment Day, and the bird would say to Allah: Ask so-and-do why he killed me unjustly. This religion protects the sanctity of the blood of even birds and animals. The Prophet Muhammad said about a prophet who burned an anthill: Just because one ant bit you, you burned an entire colony of ants that were praising Allah? This is all the more true when it comes to human beings.”

[…]

“My brother Osama bin Laden, the image of Islam is not at its best today. People all over the world say that Islam kills anyone who is not of this religion, and that Salafism kills any Muslim who does not believe in it – whereas the Prophet Muhammad refrained from killing even the hypocrites, about whom Allah said they would dwell in the lowest level of hell. The Prophet Muhammad said that the reason was so that people would not say that Muhammad kills his friends.”

“Is The Difference Not Clear Between One Who Kills And One Who Gives Life?”

“My brother Osama, what happened on 9/11 was the killing of several thousands, maybe less than 3,000, who died aboard the planes and in those towers, whereas there are unknown preachers, through whom Allah has guided hundreds of thousands of people, who have been enlightened by the light of Islam, and whose hearts have been filled with the love of Allah. Is the difference not clear between one who kills and one who gives life?”

[…]

“My brother Osama, the annihilation of an entire people, like what is happening in Afghanistan, through destruction and through hunger… This people has lost its entire infrastructure… Or the destruction of another people, like what is happening in Iraq… There are more than three million refugees in Jordan and Syria alone, apart from those who went to other countries in the East or West. The specter of civil war, which hovers over Afghanistan and Iraq, is not something about which Muslims are happy. The Prophet Muhammad heard about a man called Harb “war” and changed his name, because he loathed war. Our God said: Fighting is ordained for you, even though you hate it. This is a hateful thing to which people resort only when it is necessary, and when there is no other choice.

“Are [You] Determined to Come to Power, Even If it is Over the Bodies of Thousands and Hundreds of Thousands[?]”

“Who benefits from the attempts to change countries like Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, or any other country into countries governed by fear, where people feel unsafe? Should coming to power be the goal? Is it the solution? Are [you] determined to come to power, even if it is over the bodies of thousands and hundreds of thousands of policemen, soldiers, ordinary Muslims, or innocent people who are sometimes killed – and then you say that they will be resurrected according to their intentions. Indeed they will, but the question is how we shall be resurrected, and how we shall appear when we meet our God, when so much blood has been shed under our patronage, whether we like it or not.”

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Prinsjesdag…

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: Arts & culture, Blogosphere, Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Multiculti Issues.

(foto: Telegraaf)

Naast de Troonrede is, denk ik, het allerbelangrijkste van prinsjesdag, de kleding. In het bijzonder van de vrouwen en dan weer in het bijzonder in hoedjes. Maar niet alleen. Als het erom gaat wie dit jaar het meest opvallendst was, denk ik dat mevrouw Vogelaar gewonnen heeft. Diverse weblogs (en in hun comments) weten in ieder geval melding te maken van haar outfit: hier, hier, hier, hier, hier, hier en hier. Haar kledingstuk wordt gezien als ‘islamitisch’ dan wel ‘islamiserend’ of ‘Marokkaans’ en vergeleken met een kaftan.

Ook Wilders en Verdonk reageren erop. Wilders die het ‘half-marokkaans’ noemt en Verdonk die het ‘kaftanachtig’ noemt en het vergelijkt met de kleding van imams en dat eigenlijk maar een slecht voorbeeld noemt voor de integratie.

Uiteindelijk is het niet Marokkaans, ook niet echt islamitisch volgens mij en ook geen kaftan (een lange jurk oorspronkelijk afkomstig uit Turkije die overigens ook door Marokkanen wordt gedragen, maar ook al lang haar intrede heeft gedaan in de ‘westerse‘ mode en net als andere kledingitems), maar een soort hybride creatie. Nu is hybriditeit eigenlijk de normaalste zaak van de wereld. Mensen en culturele repertoires mixen en daardoor ontstaan nieuwe culturele repertoires (zonder dat de oude helemaal verdwijnen). Hier gaat het ook om een doelbewust proces. Vogelaar wilde laten er zien dat allochtonen ook een belangrijke bijdrage kunnen leveren en dat er velen zijn die het goed doen in de maatschappij. De ontwerpster Houda el Fechka wilde een jurk maken op basis van een mix tussen twee culturen.

Op deze manier probeert zij een brug te slaan en een eenheid te creëeren. Wilders en Verdonk, zo blijkt uit hun reacties (en ook van sommige bloggers en hun commenters) creëeren juist bewust of onbewust een verschil door het als Marokkaans, islamitisch of als slecht voorbeeld voor integratie te benoemen. Hybriditeit kan dus door politieke groeperingen, andere machtsgroeperingen en individuen gebruikt worden om eenheid te creëreren waar die niet is, eenheid in stand te houden of juist om verdeeldheid te creëeren of in stand te houden. Zie hier het politieke gebruik van cultuur en identiteit.

Kennelijk hebben politieke groeperingen of andere machtsgroepen er belang bij dat hybriditeit bestaat. Deze wordt dus bewustmatig gecreëerd om een eenheid te vormen, van een volk die eigenlijk geen eenheid heeft.

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Counterterrorism Blog: Operation Niche: The Conviction of Mohammed Atif Siddique

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Religious Movements.

Counterterrorism Blog: Operation Niche: The Conviction of Mohammed Atif Siddique

In fact, the material collected by Siddique was a virtual encyclopedia of terrorist knowledge acquired over time by Al-Qaida and its associates. It was also a remarkable who’s-who lineup of some of the most high profile figures in the “homegrown terrorism” market hailing from Al-Qaida’s military leadership. Though Western academics have tended to focus on the much-vaunted role of Abu Musab al-Suri (a.k.a. Mustafa Setmariam Nasar) in this respect, actual case studies are consistently demonstrating that the teachings of other competing strategists have been far more influential in Al-Qaida circles, arguably none more so than those published by the late Saudi Al-Qaida commander Shaykh Youssef al-Ayyiri. Known to his supporters as “the Swift Sword,” al-Ayyiri (a.k.a. “Al-Battar”) reportedly first joined the Arab mujahideen fighting in Afghanistan at age 18.

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Protected: Brabants Dagblad – Modeshow voor oost en west

Posted on September 19th, 2007 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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