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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 01/22/2003 9:30:01 PM PST by chance33_98
Dr M: Muslims resorting to terror due to misinterpretation of teachings
CAIRO, Jan 22: Muslims today have resorted to terror to seek revenge because of the misinterpretation and deliberate ignoring of the teachings of Islam, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
The Prime Minister said it was because of this that Muslims were backward, lacking in knowledge and unable to defend themselves and their religion.
"How long can we go on doing this? Will what we are doing today restore the greatness of our religion and the fitrah that it should be to mankind? Will it deliver us from our detractors' oppression? "Frankly, I don't think so. It is not because we are incapable of developing ourselves to the level that others would be forced to respect us or our religion.
"It is simply because we refuse to adhere to the true teachings of Islam and to strive to better our lot on this earth as much as we prepare for the life in the hereafter," he said in a hard-hitting speech at a gathering of international scholars and students at the Al-Azhar University here today.
Dr Mahathir arrived here from Lebanon last evening for a three-day working visit to Egypt. His trip to this key Arab nation comes amid the spectre of war in Iraq and heightened tensions over the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
He said that some frustrated and angry Muslims had resorted to terrorism, with many believing that they had been successful in this.
"All that has happened is that the enemies of Islam have found justification for putting more pressure on Muslims, attacking and killing them, treating them and their religion with contempt." He said it would be better for the ummah to overcome their own faults and weaknesses themselves.
"Muslims must surely know what it is they are doing wrong. Certainly their disunity, their rejection of Islamic brotherhood is wrong. They do not have the right priorities either, emphasising the avoidance of minor sins while openly committing major sins." The divisiveness of Islam, Dr Mahathir noted, came only after Prophet Muhammad had passed away, the result of differing inter-pretations about Islam by different scholars through the centuries.
He said that as a result of reading Quranic verses partially and ignoring the contexts and qualifiers, Muslims missed the message as the focus fell instead on the form.
"Thus when we are asked to prepare warhorses to deter and defeat the enemy, it is not deterring and defeating the enemy that we take note of. It is the keeping of horses." Given the confusion and division due to the varied interpretations and teachings of Islam, he said it was time for Muslims to return to the fundamentals of the religion as embodied in the Quran and the verified hadith, and the original teachings of the Prophet.
The Prime Minister said that disunited, confused about Islam, fighting each other for power, lacking in essential knowledge and skills, and misapplying their God-given wealth, the Muslims of today had reached the lowest point in their development.
But this, he lamented, did not stop them from continuing to do what was prohibited by Islam.
Dr Mahathir said Muslims now were so disunited that in the pursuit of the interests of their respective countries, they were quite prepared to fight their Muslim brothers from other countries and be divided into opposing camps, even those of their non-Muslim enemies.
"Unable to protect themselves from other Muslims and from other enemies, they allow themselves to be manipulated against their co-religionists. They become pawns in the games other people play. Truly they have lost self-respect. Truly they are not following the teachings of Islam."
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Sounds about right.
"Article Snippet: CAIRO, Jan 22: Muslims today have resorted to terror to seek revenge because of the misinterpretation and deliberate ignoring of the teachings of Islam, Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today. The Prime Minister said it was because of this that Muslims were backward, lacking in knowledge and unable to defend themselves and their religion."
OH FOR PETE SAKES!!!! There are many "educated" people who absolutely resort to terrorism and no one should make excuses for them -- no matter what their religion or non-religion is. Take Bin-Laden, for example. He's no dummy. He did what he wanted to do and now he's most likely dead. If he's not dead, he will be. As for the "backward" terrorists, well you're either for us or against us. That's the way it is. No excuses acceptable.
Hmm... I'm not certain if it's possible to consider it "development" anymore if it just gets worse and worse.
"Degeneration" sounds a bit better. ;)
--
Pyrion, Archangel of Anachronisms.
---------------------
Why is it that Islam has so many enemies?
***ALBAWABA.com: "RAFT EXPLODES OFF GAZA COAST AS ISRAEL ARREST 9 PALESTINIANS" (ARTICLE NOTE: The raft is described as an "unmanned, booby-trapped raft".) (011703)
***ALBAWABA.com: "HAMAS GETS RPG LAUNCHERS, DEVELOPS ADVANCED VERSION OF QASSAM ROCKETS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The Palestinian resistance group Hamas said Tuesday it has received a large number of rocket-propelled grenade launchers and has produced a new batch of an advanced version of its Qassam rockets.") (January 14, 2003)
***An Interesting Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding a DebkaFile article: "ARAFAT'S NEW TERROR WEAPON: EXPLODING TOY PLANES" (January 14, 2003)
***BUSH COUNTRY.org - Opinion Corner by Jeremy Reynalds: "TERRORIST GROUP'S TV STATION APPEALS FOR FUNDS FOR 'OPPRESSED PALESTINIAN PEOPLE.'" (COMMENTARY SNIPPET: "The radical terrorist group Hizballah, on the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations, is raising funds for its activities on an associated web site apparently hosted by an American internet service provider. The web site is www.manartv.com, a Lebanese television station broadcasting by satellite, that is commonly considered to be a propaganda arm of the Hizballah.") (January 14, 2003)
***NATIONAL POST.com: "AL QAEDA PLANNING URANIUM BOMB: UN" by Steven Edwards (121102)
An Interesting Discussion on FREEREPUBLIC.com regarding a BBC article: "ANTI-TERROR POLICE RAID LONDON MOSQUE" (BBC NEWS Article Snippet: "Police have raided Finsbury Park mosque in north London, arresting seven people. Scotland Yard said the raid was linked to the investigation into the discovery of traces of the deadly poison Ricin in a flat in Wood Green, north London, earlier this month. The mosque has attracted controversy over its connection with radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza.") (January 20, 2003)
***MSNBC.com: "REPORT: AL QAEDA DEAL FOR NERVE GAS U.S. Suspects Nerve Agent VX Was Smuggled Through Turkey" (121202)
***IDF.il - ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES Spokesperson's Unit: "BIN LADEN'S DEPUTY CALLS FOR TERROR ATTACKS AGAINST U.S. TARGETS IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES" (January 13, 2003)
***ALBAWABA.com - The Middle East Gateway: "BOOK PURPORTEDLY SIGNED BY BIN LADEN AIDE CALLS FOR JIHAD" (January 15, 2003)
FBI.gov - MOST WANTED - TERRORISTS: "AYMAN AL-ZAWAHRI"
MEMRI.org - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Inquiry and Analysis Series No. 120: "EGYPT RETHINKS ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM - Part III: THE NUCLEAR LOBBY (Continued) by Yotam Feldner" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Leading elements in Egypt's religious establishment have expressed clear support for developing Arab/Islamic nuclear weapons, based on Koranic verses that they claim permit, and even require, them doing so. The first to support Arab nuclear weapons was Sheikh of Al-Azhar Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi in the opening speech at a conference on the future of nuclear strategy held at the University of Asyut in October 1999, with the participation of nuclear scientists from various Arab countries. Sheikh Tantawi explained, "Islam calls for strength, but for logical and just strength that stands by the oppressed until he completely vanquishes the oppressor, because this strength is one of the traits of Allah and one of the traits of divine inspiration."") (012103)
MEMRI.org - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Inquiry and Analysis Series No. 119: "EGYPT RETHINKS ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM - PART II: THE NUCLEAR LOBBY (Continued)" by Yotam Feldner (011703)
MEMRI.org - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Inquiry and Analysis Series No. 118: "EGYPT RETHINKS ITS NUCLEAR PROGRAM - PART I: THE NUCLEAR LOBBY" by Yotam Feldner (011703)
***ALBAWABA.com: "GROUP CONFIRMS ABU ABBAS VISITED CAIRO, EGYPT DENIES" (ARTICLE SNIPPETS: "Abu Abbas, also known as Mohammed Abbas, is the leader of the Palestine Liberation Front, which hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro in the eastern Mediterranean in 1985. A disabled elderly American, Leon Klinghoffer, was killed during the operation. The Israeli newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, said on Thursday that Abu Abbas arrived in Cairo on Monday night to participate in Palestinian talks on an end to attacks on civilians in Israel."..."An official of his Abu Abbas group said Friday he came to Egypt this week for talks with the government. "He did visit Cairo, but I can't say where he is now for his own safety," said Nazim el-Youssef of the Palestine Liberation Front in Lebanon. The group issued a statement earlier in the week saying a delegation led by Abu Abbas had arrived in Cairo at the invitation of Egyptian authorities for talks to "unite the Palestinian groups to enable them to face Israeli aggression."" (Albawaba.com)) (January 11, 2003)
stepping back in time...SPECIAL OPERATIONS.com: "ACHILLE LAURO HIJACKING, Mediterranean Sea, October 1985"
***TERRORISM FILES.org: "TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS: PALESTINE LIBERATION FRONT (PLF)" (TERRORISM FILE SNIPPET: "Location/Area of Operation: PLO faction based in Tunisia until Achille Lauro attack. Now based in Iraq. External Aid: Receives support mainly from Iraq. Has received support from Libya in the past.")
ISLAM-Online.net - ASK THE SCHOLAR: TOPIC: "MARTYR OPERATIONS CARRIED OUT BY THE PALESTINIANS" (NOTE: The Mufti for this question is Sheikh Faysal Mawlawi) (ARTICLE SNIPPET: ""So the Palestinians resort to martyr operations, in which the martyr blows himself/herself up, sacrificing his life for the sake of his country and inflicting serious but reciprocal harms on the enemy. In the light of the above-mentioned facts, I believe that those missions are a sacred duty carried out in form of self-defence and resisting aggression and injustice. So whoever is killed in such missions is a martyr, may Allah bless him with high esteem. I call on every Palestinian not to hesitate in carrying out such operations as long as they are the only way of making Jihad and are made with an intention of sacrificing one's life for the Sake of one's religion and nation. I wish that other scholars who hesitate concerning such a matter to reconsider their views according to what I have said and what other scholars have said. May Allah guide us all to what is right."") (010503)
INSIGHT On The News online: "FRANCE UNCOVERS AL-QAEDA BOMBERS" by Kenneth R. Timmerman (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "...When they picked up Marwan Ben-Ahmed, 29, French-Algerian dual national, he had collected all the ingredients for a large bomb and was planning to strike during the Christmas holidays, possibly against the U.S. or Russian embassies in Paris. In his apartment, police found packages of iron perchlorate and other chemicals which, when mixed together, can make a powerful explosive. They also seized two empty propane canisters, $5,000 in cash, fake passports and a computer with coded instructions. During a second search two days later, they found timers and detonators hidden in a washing machine. Police also arrested Ben-Ahmed's wife and two accomplices, identified as Mohamed Merbah and Ahmed Belhoud. But it was the discovery of a military-issue nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) protection suit and bottles of toxic chemicals that most alarmed investigators, leading to speculation that Ben-Ahmed and his network were planning a chemical attack or had gained access to nuclear waste and were hoping to make a "dirty bomb"...") (January 8, 2003)
FOX NEWS.com (AP): "SACRE COEUR BASILICA IN PARIS EVACUATED AFTER EXPLOSIVE DEVICE FOUND" (011403)
If you study history of Islamic countries, you will find there was a brief spurt of creativity and growth in the non-Islamic areas after the initial invasion period but over time as it basically became Islamic, they have gone backward. It is more apparent that this is due to stifling of free expression which has given Islam a narrow unchanged latitude.
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