Al-Qa'ida Uses Qura'an To
Justify Killings Of Innocents
By: Tashbih Sayyed
In the true tradition of Wahhabis, the Islamist terrorists claiming to
be Muslims have used Qura'anic verses in their statement claiming
responsibility for the March 11, 2004, bombings in Madrid. The true
Muslims, I talked with, expressed their disgust and pointed out that
not a single Islamist leader or organization has condemned the
blasphemy.
They said, the brazen use of the Islam's holy book and prophet's
traditions to justify terrorism by these radicals has encouraged the
non-Muslims to perceive Islam as an evil faith. Jamal Hasan of
Washington, DC said, that it is high time that the world should be
informed of the hijacking of Islam by Wahhabis. Mr. Farhatullah,
speaking from Toronto, Canada, said that it is Wahhabi tradition of
manipulating Qura'an that is evil, not Islam. He emphasized that
according to Islam, all the homicide bombers and the killers of
innocent civilians, will go to hell.
Many true Muslims called to expressed their concern on the silence
of the so-called Muslim advocacy groups on the criminal activities of
the radical Islamists. Humayon Akhtar, of New York, expressed his
anger on the silence of the Islamist leaders in the US. He said that
these so-called champions of civil liberties never miss a chance to
further their cause of subverting the liberties but have always
remained silent on the blasphemy of the fundamentalists. Humayon said
that he is afraid that by remaining silence, these Islamist leaders
are basically encouraging the Islamist terrorists within the US to
commit more acts of violence in the name of Islam.
Following is the complete report by MEMRI
The Alleged Al-Qa'ida Statement of Responsibility for the Madrid
Bombings: Translation and Commentary
By: Yigal Carmon
On March 12, 2004, the pro-Saddam pro-bin Laden London daily Al-Quds
Al-Arabi published the alleged statement by the Abu Hafs Al-Masri
Brigades of Al-Qa'ida, in which the brigades claimed to be responsible
for the March 11, 2004 bombings in Madrid.
It should be noted that the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades claimed
responsibility for the August 2003 blackout in the U.S. (which was a
large-scale technical failure), calling it "Operation Quick
Lightning in the Land of the Tyrant of This Generation."
The following is the translation of the statement, followed by
commentary: Text of the Statement
[The statement begins with the following three Qur'anic verses:]
"When you punish, punish them in the way they have punished
you." (Qur'an 16:126) "Kill them wherever you find them, and
drive them out from where they have driven you out; for internal
strife [Fitna] is worse than killing." (Qur'an 2:191)
"Whoever attacks you, attack him in the same way that he
attacked you, and trust Allah and know that Allah is with those who
put their trust [in Him]." (Qur'an 2:194)
"The Trains of Death Operation
"In their last statement, of March 2, 2004 [on the bombings in
Karbala and Baghdad] the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades promised that they
were preparing for their upcoming operations, and behold, they are
fulfilling their promise. "The Death Brigades penetrated into the
European Crusader heartland, and struck a painful blow at one of the
foundations of the Crusader coalition. This is part of a settling of
old accounts with Crusader Spain, the ally of the U.S., in its war
against Islam.
"Where is America, Aznar? Who will protect you? Who will
protect Britain? Who will protect Japan, Italy, and other agents? By
striking at the Italian forces in Nasiriyya [Iraq], we sent you and
America's agents a warning, demanding that you quit the coalition
against Islam, but you did not get the message.
"Now we say it clearly, hoping that you [Aznar] will
understand it this time. We at the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades are not
sorry for the deaths of so-called civilians. Are they permitted to
kill our children, our women, our elderly, and our youth in
Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Kashmir, and we are forbidden from
killing them? Allah, may he be praised, said: ' Whoever attacks you,
attack him in the same way that he attacked you' [Qur'an 2:194].
"Take your hands off us! Release our prisoners! Get out of our
lands! Then we will leave you alone. "The peoples of America's
allies must pressure their government to withdraw immediately from
their alliance with America [in its fight] against terror (Islam). And
if you renounce [fighting us], we too will stop fighting you. "We
say to you that the Death-Smoke Squad will reach you soon, and then
you will see [i.e. count] your dead by the thousands, Allah willing,
and this is a warning.
"In another operation, the Al-Quds Army Brigades struck the
Jewish Masonic temple in Istanbul, and this was the main Masonic
temple, and three of the greatest Masons were killed. Had it not been
for the technical failure, all the Masons would have been killed. But
for reasons of divine wisdom, only three were killed. Allah be
praised.
"We announce to the Bilal [1]bn Rabah Squad that headquarters
has approved [its] proposal. When the emissary arrives, the work will
begin. We announce to the Abu Ali Al-Harithi Squad that headquarters
has decided that Yemen will be the third swamp [in which] America the
Tyrant of This Generation [will sink], in order to discipline the
[Yemeni] government which is collaborating [with the U.S.] and that
has abandoned Islam and now ranks second to [Pakistani President
Pervez] Musharraf. Therefore, all the squads must be placed on alert,
so that the operation will begin at 4515 S.B… [sic]. Do not forget
to strike to the death; do not forget Abu Ali Al-Harithi; do not
forget Sheikh Abd Al-Qader Abd Al-'Aziz (Al-Sayyed, Imam Al-Sharif),
the great sage who was arrested three months after the September [11]
events, and was extradited by Yemen to Egypt.
"We say to those who killed the clerics of the Muslim Sunnis
in Iraq to stop, or else… and we promise the Muslims in the world
that the strike of the Winds of Black Death (the anticipated strike on
America) is now in its last phase [of preparation]. [It is] 90%
[complete], Allah willing… Soon (when it suits the Jihad warriors),
the believers [i.e. Muslims] will rejoice at Allah's victory.
"A warning to the nations: Keep away from the civilian and
military institutions of Crusader America and its allies. Allah Akbar,
Allah Akbar. Islam is coming, reinforcing [the Muslims] and
humiliating [the infidels]. "The Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades (Al-Qa'ida),
Thursday, the 20th of Muharram, 1425, which is March 11, 2004.
Commentary
The text of this statement includes linguistic usages and concepts
that are incompatible with or alien to authentic Al-Qa'ida writings by
Osama bin Laden, Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and others. The following are
some examples, in order of appearance:
Following the Qur'an verses is the title "The Trains of Death
Operation." This is uncommon in bin Laden's writing. Also, it is
noteworthy that the phrase "Trains of Death" is not
reiterated in the text as the name of the operation. "Settling
old accounts," both as a linguistic form and as a concept, is
alien to authentic Al-Qa'ida writings.
The use of the concept of "agents" is taken from the
vocabulary of nationalist ideology, while bin Laden and his followers
relate to their enemies primarily as infidels. The phrase "but
you did not get the message" is not one used by bin Laden, who
does not cast his operations in the light of "messages,"
rather, as acts in and of themselves to further the goals of Al-Qa'ida
for the sake of Allah.
Thus, it follows that: The concept of conditionality, as in the
statement "And if you renounce [fighting us], we too will stop
fighting you" is not a bin Laden concept.
The term "The Tyrant of the Generation" was used in the
previous statement of alleged responsibility by the Abu Hafs Al-Masri
Brigades, for the August 2003 U.S. blackout – which was caused by a
large-scale technical failure. In authentic Al-Qa'ida writings, the
September 11 attacks are not referred to as "events" but as
"raids" (the early Islamic term ghazwah).
The announcement of an operation to begin at "4515 S.B."
or reference to an operation that is "90% completed" is
alien to bin Laden's scholarly Islamist style. Thus, this statement
does not seem to be an authentic Al-Qa'ida document.
(Yigal Carmon is President of MEMRI.)