In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,"Permission to fight (against disbelievers) is given to those (believers) who are fought against, because they have been wronged and surely, Allah is Able to give them (believers) victory" [Quran 22:39]
"Those who believe, fight in the Cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve, fight in the cause of Taghut (anything worshipped other than Allah e.g. Satan). So fight you against the friends of Satan; ever feeble is indeed the plot of Satan."[Quran 4:76] .....
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,845725,00.html
archive.org link:
http://web.archive.org/web/20040913200610/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,845725,00.html
BRITISH SUMMARY OF EVIDENCE AGAINST OSAMA BIN LADEN, OCTOBER 5, 2001
(70 points, including conclusion.)
Text ...
LONDON -- The following is the full text of the summary of evidence against Osama bin Laden in U.S. terrorist attacks, released Thursday by the British government:
Responsibility for the Terrorist Atrocities in the United States, 11 September 2001
INTRODUCTION
1. The clear conclusions reached by the government are:
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, the terrorist network which he heads, planned and carried out the atrocities on 11 September 2001;
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida retain the will and resources to carry out further atrocities;
the United Kingdom, and United Kingdom nationals are potential targets; and
Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida were able to commit these atrocities because of their close alliance with the Taliban regime, which allowed them to operate with impunity in pursuing their terrorist activity. ...
70. The attacks of the 11 September 2001 were planned and carried out by Al Qaida, an organisation whose head is Usama Bin Laden. That organisation has the will, and the resources, to execute further attacks of similar scale. Both the United States and its close allies are targets for such attacks. The attack could not have occurred without the alliance between the Taleban and Usama Bin Laden, which allowed Bin Laden to operate freely in Afghanistan, promoting, planning and executing terrorist activity.
original link:
http://postgazette.com/headlines/20011004britishtext2p5.asp
web.archive.org link:
http://web.archive.org/web/20011031182629/http://www.postgazette.com/headlines/20011004britishtext2p5.asp
VIDEO OF BIN LADEN, CAPTURED IN AFGHANISTAN AND RELEASED TO THE PRESS DECEMBER 13, 2001
The Evidence Against Osama bin Laden and the
Al-Qaeda for the Planning of the September 11 Attacks.
includes The December 13, 2001 Pentagon Videotape and
the October 3, 2001 U.K. Government Evidence.
On November 9, 2001, in the southern Afghanistan city of Kandahar, Osama bin Laden met a Saudi cleric
and several al-Qaeda members for dinner. A home-movie was recorded of the conversation, and the
videotape was discovered weeks later in an abandoned private house in Jalalabad. The tape is about one hour
long and is comprised of three segments. Two segments are of Osama bin Laden's conversations in a room ...
Page contains:
1) transcript and some stills from a very incriminating home video made of bin Laden talking to a fawning shaykh, in which bin Laden indicates advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks and familiarity with its planning. Video was filmed Nov. 9, 2001 (probably in Qandahar, Afghanistan), found by "coalition troops" some time after that and released to the press December 13, 2001.
2) 60-point Summary of Evidence Against Osama bin Laden put out by the UK government.
http://www.september11news.com/OsamaEvidence.htm
BIN LADEN'S 2003 PRE-IRAQ INVASION SPEECH
"Broadcast on Arab television station al-Jazeera on 11
February, 2003."
(Emphasizes that America's plan is to make Iraq part of "Greater Israel," that it is OK to cooperate with Ba'ath "socialists" to fight the U.S., and that American troops are cowardly and should be killed rather than kept as POWs.)
... We are following up with great interest and extreme concern the crusaders' preparations for war to occupy a former capital of Islam, loot Muslims' wealth, and install an agent government, which would be a satellite for its masters in Washington and Tel Aviv, just like all the other treasonous and agent Arab governments.
This would be in preparation for establishing the Greater Israel.
.... They also depend on massive air strikes so as to conceal their most prominent point of weakness, which is the fear, cowardliness, and the absence of combat spirit among US soldiers.
.... We also realized that one of the most effective and available methods of rendering the air force of the crusader enemy ineffective is by setting up roofed and disguised trenches in large numbers.
I had referred to that in a previous statement during the Tora Bora battle last year.
In that great battle, faith triumphed over all the materialistic forces of the people of evil,
... The US forces dared not break into our positions, despite the unprecedented massive bombing and terrible propaganda targeting this completely besieged small area.
... We also recommend luring the enemy forces into a protracted, close, and exhausting fight, using the camouflaged defensive positions in plains, farms, mountains, and cities.
... We stress the importance of the martyrdom operations against the enemy
... We also stress to honest Muslims that they should move, incite, and mobilize the [Islamic] nation,
... Muslims' doctrine and banner should be clear in fighting for the sake of God. ...
Under these circumstances, there will be no harm if the interests of Muslims converge with the interests of the socialists in the fight against the crusaders, despite our belief in the infidelity of socialists.
... Keep this saying before your eyes: "It is not fitting for a Prophet that he should have prisoners of war until he hath thoroughly subdued the land."
"Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks."
Your wish to the crusaders should be as came in this verse of poetry: "The only language between you and us is the sword that will strike your necks."
Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/2751019.stm
BIN LADEN'S 2004 PRE-ELECTION SPEECH
Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech
Monday 01 November 2004, 16:01 Makka Time, 13:01 GMT
Following is the full English transcript of Usama bin Ladin's speech in a videotape sent to Aljazeera. In the interests of authenticity, the content of the transcript, which appeared as subtitles at the foot of the screen, has been left unedited.
Praise be to Allah who created the creation for his worship and commanded them to be just and permitted the wronged one to retaliate against the oppressor in kind. To proceed:
Peace be upon he who follows the guidance: People of America this talk of mine is for you and concerns the ideal way to prevent another Manhattan, and deals with the war and its causes and results. ...
Full transcript of bin Ladin's speech
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/79C6AF22-98FB-4A1C-B21F-2BC36E87F61F.htm
9/11 LIST OF CASUALTIES
September 11, A Memorial
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2001/memorial/lists/by-country/page9.html
A list of the people killed or unaccounted for in Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
Web posted Wednesday, September 11, 2002
http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/091102/sep_list.shtml
AL QAEDA - MANUAL FOR A RAID
http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/letter.htm
This link has reproductions of al-Qaeda's "Manual of a Raid," described and partially translated in an article in the New York Review of Books (01/17/2002, Vol. 49 Issue 1, p18, 4p, 2bw
"Manual for a 'Raid'" by Kanan Makiya and Hassan Mneimneh,
"Three handwritten copies of a five-page Arabic document were found by the FBI after the September 11 attack: one in a car used by the hijackers and left outside Dulles International Airport, one in a piece of Mohammad Atta's luggage that, by accident, did not get on the plane from Logan Airport, one in the wreckage of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Only a part of this document -- pages two through five -- is publicly available; it was posted on the FBI Web site on September 28, 2001.
Some quotes from NYRoB translation of the "manual":
The Power of God
Do not fear the kuffar's security measures, it tell the hijackers,
all their equipment, and all their gates, and all their technology do not do benefit or harm, except with the permission of God.
Those who do fear this technology are
followers of satan ... admirers of Western civilization.
p.18
On Killing
If God grants [manna] any of you a slaughter [dhabaha], you should perform it as an offering on behalf of your father and mother, for they are owed by you. Do not disagree amongst yourselves, but listen and obey.
If you slaughter, you should plunder those you slaughter, for that is one of the sanctioned customs of the Prophet, on the condition that you do not get occupied with the plunder so that you would leave what is more important, such as paying attention to the enemy, his treachery, and attacks. That is because such action is very harmful [to the mission]
(Bear in mind that the `plunder` hijackers are being exhorting to take off of slaughtered passengers would be of little temporal use to someone planning to kill themselves in a few minutes -- but hey, you gotta follow the rules of jihad. The article also notes bin Laden's Feb. 1998 fatwa specifically calls not just for killing Americans, but plundering their possessions.)
Afterward, implement the sanctioned custom of prisoners of war. Capture them and kill them as God said: `It does not fit a Prophet to have prisoners of war until he subdues the land. You seek the goods of this World, while God looks for the Here-after. God is almighty, all-wise.
The article notes that a "sense throughout is that the would-be martyrs is engaged in his action solely to please God." Unlike bin Laden's fatwa or declaration of war, there is nothing in it about redressing injustice "through martyrdom, whether in Palestine or Iraq or in `the land of Mohammad` ..."
Were Israelis Killed by the 9/11 Attacks?
In view of the conspiracy theory widely believed in the Arab Muslim world that Israelis and/or Jews were forewarned about the 9/11 attack, I though I'd post this link
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Modern%20History/Historic%20Events/Israel%20Remembers%20September%2011
The five Israeli victims of September 11, 2001:
Alona Avraham
Leon Lebor
Shay Levinhar
Daniel Lewin
Haggai Sheffi
OTHER ISLAMISTS
SHEIKH ABDULLAH AZZAM
Shaykh Azzam was a Palestinian member of the Muslim Brotherhood who was instrumental in building up pan-Islamic support for the jihad against Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and generally "popularizing the concept of armed Islamic struggle." (p.144, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam by Gilles Kepel) In particular he inspired and mentored Osama bin Laden, who cut his teeth on pan-Islamic jihad in Afghanistan.
Azzam's aggressive Islamism was never in question -- his fatwa
bemoans the failure of Muslims to unite and "completely" purify Palestine "of Jews,"
speaks of Afghanistan as a victim of "world conspiracy," ($600 million a year in U.S. aid to fight Soviet forces not disqualifying the U.S. as a conspirator apparently), and
urges the "sending of an army at least once a year to terrorize" Kuffar (non-Muslims)
-- but that doesn't mean it was strong enough for some Jihadis.
Azzam's focus was in returning countries or regions that had once been conquered by Muslims to Muslim-control -- "Palestine, Bukhara, Lebanon, Chad, Eritrea, Somalia, the Philippines, Burma, South Yemen, Tashkent, Andalusia" -- whether or not they still had a majority Muslim population. He opposed as causing division in the Muslim
ummah, more radical jihadis who wanted to concentrate on overthrowing allegedly "jahiliyyah" Muslim governments in Egypt, Algeria, and elsewhere. There is strong suspicion these radical opponents (specifically the Egyptian Islamic Jihad led by current al-Qaeda #2 and leading theorist, Ayman al-Zawahiri), and not Jews or world conspiracy, were behind the bomb blast that killed him and two sons in Peshwar Pakistan in 1989. (Sageman, Marc,
Understanding Terror Networks, p.37)
Azzam's fatwa, "DEFENCE OF THE MUSLIM LANDS," on reclaiming Afghanistan for Islam from the Soviets, along with a short bio and other comments, were originally posted at http://www.geocities.com/jihadfiles/defencelands.htm 1.10.2004
The urls for this fatwa and the jihadfiles home page (which featured a picture of bin Laden) now yield: "Sorry, the page you requested was not found."
never fear, a copy of this original with more readable fonts and layout is available at http://www.religioscope.com/info/doc/jihad/azzam_defence_2_intro.htm
DEFENCE OF THE MUSLIM LANDS
(The
famous Book written by Shaykh Azzam)
[Table of Contents]
The First
Obligation After Iman
Biography of sheikh Abdullah Azzam (shaheed).
Introduction:
Defence of the Muslim Lands
Type of Jihad
Opinion of the Mazhabs
Evidence for The General March and its Justification
The Ruling of Fighting in Palestine and Afghanistan
Fard Ayn and Fard Kifaya Fard Ayn
Permission from parents, husband and creditor.
Permission From the Sheikh and Tutor:
Jihad with One's Wealth
Important Question
The Revelation of the Order to Fight
Final Word
Letters of Acknowledgement.
Translators Note:
HIZB AL-TAHRIR (LIBERATION PARTY)
From terror research center
http://www.terrorism.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Intel&file=index&view=649
Hizb al-Tahrir:
Known Connections: Omar Bakri
Islamic extremist group that operates legally in London, despite being banned in Germany. A radical Islamic group that has walked a fine line in its activities in order to remain legal in the UK. However, group members who care less about maintaining legal status in Britain than about acting on the group's beliefs may have broken off and formed more extremist splinter groups. An example of this is Omar Bakri's al-Muhajiroun, members of which traveled to Israel to carry out a suicide bombing at a Tel Aviv café.
Further, the day after the London bombings, Hizb al-Tahrir posted a letter on their Web site -- not to condemn the bombings, but to urge British Muslims to be strong in the face of an anticipated backlash
http://www.1924.org/opinion/index.php?id=1989_0_34_0_M
[the website is no longer in existance. It was so-named because 1924 is the year the caliphate was disbanded.]
The letter accuses world leaders of taking advantage of the London attacks "to justify their 'war on terror.'"
`.... It is also clear that the world's leaders congregating at the G8 summit in Gleneagles have quickly taken the opportunity to further their rhetoric to justify their 'war on terror'. The media have already started speculating - talk of suicide bombings and 'Islamist websites' claiming responsibility for the explosions will only further the suspicion against our community.
At such a time - where our community faces questions, accusations and calls for condemnation - we need to reflect upon how we react, for this time is a test for us and like all tests, Allah (swt) will question us on how we overcame these tests. .... `
Hizb-ut-tahrir can be found online at
http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org/english/english.html
RESOURCE LINKS
MEMRI: The Middle East Media Research Institute
Bridging the Language Gap Between the Middle East and the West
http://memri.org
MEMRI.org has thousands of text translations from newspapers, websites, as well as video clips from TV programs. Its translations of wildly implausible conspiracy theories, spiteful hatred of Jews and the United States (as distinguished from antagonism towards Israel or the U.S. government), have done some serious P.R. damage to the cause of Islamism and Islamic militancy in general, IMHO. Not surprisingly it's common to hear dismissive comments about "propaganda"
"Zionist" "Mossad" by militant anti-Zionists and Islamists in connection with memri.
But what's the evidence on memri? Does anybody have any evidence of
their mistranslating anything?
Below is a debate between a guy from memri (Yigal Carmon), and a guy from a major UK lefty newspaper, The Guardian (Brian Whitaker), from early 2003 that I think helps sort the issue out.
COMMENT: IMHO, memri doesn't come out completely unscathed. Whitaker seems to have evidence that memri has cut some corners. Yigal Carmon comes off as a little touchy ("If your complaint is that I am Israeli, then
please say so.").
On the main issue -- that memri is doing a valuable service by uncovering fantasy and hatred in major players like al-Watan (an Arab-American weekly), and the mufti of Jerusalem -- The Guardian seems to be quibbling and memri coming out ahead -- not withstanding the fact that the exchange is on the Guardian website, not memri.org!
http://web.archive.org/web/20041201093952/http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,,884156,00.html
or
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/comment/0,,884156,00.html
Email debate: Yigal Carmon and Brian Whitaker
An article on Guardian Unlimited last year by Middle East editor Brian
Whitaker questioned the impartiality of Memri, an organisation that
translates articles from the Middle Eastern media. We subsequently
published a response by Memri's president Yigal Carmon, in which he
vigorously defended his organisation. What follows is the text of a
debate between the two men conducted subsequently by email. At the end
of this exchange you will find links to the original articles that gave
rise to the debate.
Tuesday January 28, 2003
Yigal Carmon
How does Memri select items for translation? We aim to reflect main
trends of thought and when possible general public opinion. We feature
the most topical issues on the Middle Eastern or international agenda.
As you might expect, we are now publishing articles from the Iraqi
media. We also translate discussions on social issues, such as the
status of women in Egypt (Special Dispatches 392, 393, January 2002)
and debates on Al-Jazeera TV which reach an estimated 60 million
viewers. When controversial matters are aired before such a large
audience, Memri does not need to fight shy of translating their
contents.
Are the examples chosen extreme? While some of the topics covered do
seem extreme to the western reader, they are an accurate representation
of what appears in the Arab and Farsi media.
If mainstream papers repeatedly publish the Jewish blood libel; accuse
Jews and Americans of deliberately spreading Aids or the US of dropping
genetically modified foods with the intention of harming people in
Afghanistan (the latter allegation made by no less than the editor in
chief of the most important government daily in Egypt) Memri is
entitled to translate these articles. ....
The Pew Research Center for the People and the
Press
A source of international public opinion polls
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=206
The Pew Research Center for the People and the
Press
1150 18th Street, NW Suite
975 Washington, DC 20036
p
202.293.3126 f
202.293.2569 e mailprc@people-press.org
International Crisis Group
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home
About Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation, with over 110 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.
Crisis Group's approach is grounded in field research. ...
Amongst the reports they have released is this very interesting one ....
In Their Own Words: Reading the Iraqi Insurgency
Middle East Report N°50
15 February 2006
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=3953
[Full text:
http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/middle_east___north_africa/iraq_iran_gulf/50_in_their_own_words_reading_the_iraqi_insurgency.pdf ]
Middle East Transparent
A Middle East Transparent has no "About Us" page, at least not translated into English. It does have a good assortment of stories on freedom of the press, freedom of political expression and current events in the Middle East translated into English.
http://www.metransparent.com/english.html
SITE Institute
SITE: The Search for International Terrorist Entities
... SITE Institute systematically utilizes to conduct research and obtain information crucial to success in the war on terror.
... Rita Katz, Director and co-founder of the SITE Institute, has studied, tracked, and analyzed international terrorists and their financial operations for more than six years
http://www.siteinstitute.org/mission.html
http://www.sofir.org/sofir/index.php
SoFIR: an international non-governmental ad hoc intelligence network focused on combating the global jihad.
http://haganah.org.il/haganah/
Confronting the Global Jihad Online
HOME