Saudis Speak Out

Saudi Arabia is a net exporter of Salafist theology, and probably contains more radical imams than any other country. But just as America has more Pat Robertsons and Louis Farrakhans that any other country, that doesn't mean we're all radicals.

If you listen to CNN, the entire Middle East is full of hatred for America. I was watching Blackhawk Down on DVD earlier this week, with commentary from veterans of the battle. In the final scenes, as the Americans returned to the safe zone, you saw hundreds of Somali's cheering the Americans on. The soldiers commented that this was very accurate, and esitmated that eighty percent of Somali's were grateful for the US intervention. The disparity between soldiers' observations and the media's observations seemed oddly reminiscient of Iraq.

Do all Arabs hate the US? Not at all. Nor do they all believe in violence. Sheikh Salman Al-Oadah, a widely respected religious scholar in Saudi Arabia, writes (translated from the original Arabic):

This brings us to the concept of jihâd. There is no such thing as “holy war” in Islam. This is a mistranslation of the word. Holy war is carried out to forcibly subject others to one’s religious beliefs. As we have seen, this is expressly forbidden in Islam. The word jihâd literally means struggle and applies to any colossal effort, not just to warfare. Jihâd may be against one’s own desires or evil inclinations....

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) forbade the killing of non-combatants. Ibn `Umar, a Companion of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), said: “I saw the body of a slain woman during one of the battles of the Prophet (peace be upon him), so he forbade the killing of women and children.” [Sahîh al-Bukhârî and Sahîh Muslim]

Recently, Muhammad bin 'Abd Al-Latif Aal Al-Sheikh printed two columns in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah. A choice quote: "In my opinion, the ideology of Al-Salafiyya Al-Jihadiyya is very similar to Nazism in terms of its causes and reasons." A slightly longer one, deriding the idea that terrorists are true Muslims who "strayed from the path" and should be treated with forgiveness:

The question that must be asked courageously is: Have the clerics of our times fulfilled their duty, as our forefathers did when they [fought] against the Khawarij? The most direct answer is: Sadly, no! Let's assume that the government decides to allow women to drive without obligating them, for instance, to wear a veil; what would be the reaction of these clerics and students? How many protest delegations would come to Riyadh from all the provinces? How many fatwas would be signed? How many accusations would be leveled? How many noisy sermons would be delivered by many imams in the mosques?... Is a woman driving a car, or even not wearing a veil, a more serious prohibition in Allah's eyes... than the acts of murder, slaughter, destruction, and violation of women's honor [committed] by these 'sick people?' Why in the name of God [do we how] all this gentleness, forgiveness, and a tendency to 'speak gently' when it comes to terrorists, while [we show] extreme blatancy and harshness when it comes to women, for instance?

What's the point of all this? America needs to help Arab moderates take control of Islam. Isolationism is not the answer; engagement is. By supporting and working with the moderates, we can help elminate the driving factors behind radicalism.

Closing note: If you feel like getting angry, take a look at what Time Magazine has done. In the Bullpen covers the story here.

Labels: media, Saudi Arabia, Somalia

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Why We Are Right, And Why We Will Win

A day does not pass where I do not read an editorial about us losing the war in Iraq. In fact, in a recent poll, most Americans said the US will not win the Iraq war. Well, I've got news for you. We won a long time ago. We came in, removed a dictator, and began building a peaceful democratic country.

What we have now is an "insurgency," fueled by forces from outside Iraq, attempting to prove to the world that the US is weak and vulnerable. After a searing defeat in Afghanistan, the Jihadists need a new country to act as safe haven and sponsor -- and if they can show the world they can take it from under America's nose, well, that's one hell of a cherry on the top.

That's not an insurgency in my book. Insurgents are people unhappy with their government, willing to fight against it. The correct word for outside criminals fostering violence to overthrow a society for personal gain is terrorists.

We must prevail in Iraq, because to fail would elevate this war to a new scale. An Iraq run by Jihadists, planning attacks against the US homeland, would be the worst of all possible scenarios. Do you really think these terrorists will be satisfied with just one country? Not in a million years!

But let us look for a moment at who we are fighting. Who are these strange men who wrap bandanas around their heads and chant oddly while firing in the air? They aren't Iraqis. Many, like Zarqawi, leader of the Al Qaeda in Iraq, are criminals from other countries who found an opportunity to gain fame and power. Others, like Ahmad Al-Shaye', are idealists who were tricked into supporting these criminals.

Yes, I said tricked. And no, you've never heard of Ahmad Al-Shaye'. But you should have. On September 18th, Al-Majd TV in Saudi Arabia aired a hospital interview with Ahmad Al-Shaye'. (For those with Arabic skills, visit MEMRI and search on that name. Clip #861 has the entire interview. Everyone else can click the first link for a translated transcript.)

The terrorists that co-opted Ahmad Al-Shaye' asked him if he wished to conduct a suicide bombing. He answered he did not. They took his identification and money "for safekeeping," and asked him to drive a fuel-laden truck to provide supplies. What he did not know was the truck was an armed bomb, and his route was designed to kill innocent civilians and Iraqi government officials. His "leaders" had already called his parents to tell them he died bravely in combat.

Fortunately for Ahmad Al-Shaye', he survived the explosion. Badly wounded, he returned to Saudi Arabia and told the story of his attempted murder on national TV.

Thank you, Ahmad Al-Shaye', for exposing the truth about the evil criminals who are masterminding the "insurgency" in Iraq for their own gain. Thank you, Al-Majd TV, for telling Saudi Arabia the truth. Shame on you, CNN, for telling America that we are losing a war against an insurgent Iraqi population that never wanted to be rescued from Saddam Hussein's death squads.

Labels: iraq, media, Saudi Arabia, terrorism

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