Memo To Osama Bin Laden

 

I saw this and thought that since we are on the subject, you might be interested in seeing it.  Basicly it is a letter to Bin Lyin, from Muqtedar Khan, Ph.D. This is an American Muslim’s response to the tape recorded message dated 2/11/03 by fugitive terrorist Osama Bin Lyin.  

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Mr Bin Laden,

In the name of Allah, The Most Merciful, the Most Benevolent.

I begin by reciting some important principles of Islam to remind you that there is more to Islam than just a call to arms.

1 Islam was sent as mercy to humanity (Quran 4: 79).  2. Do not make mischief on the earth (Quran 29:36).  3. People, We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that you might know one another.  The noblest of you before God is the most righteous of you. (49:13)  4. There are among the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) upstanding nations that recite the message of God and worship throughout the night, who believe in God, who honor and forbid dishonor and race in good works.  These are the righteous. (3:113-114). 

I am writing this to make it clear that there are Muslims in America and in the world who despise and condemn extremists and have nothing to do with Bin Laden and those like him for whom killing constitutes worship. 

Islam was sent as mercy to humanity and not as an ideology of terror or hatred.  It advocates plurality and moral equality of all faiths (Quran 2:62, 5:69).  To use Islam, as a justification to declare an Armageddon against all non-Muslims is inherently un-Islamic – it is a despicable distortion of a faith of peace.  One of Allah’s 99 names in the Quran is “Al Salam” which means Peace.  Thus in a way Muslims are the only people who actually worship peace.  Today this claim sounds so empty, thanks to people like you, Mr. Bin Laden.  You and those like you are dedicated to killing and bringing misery to people wherever they are.  God blessed you with the capacity to lead and also endowed you with enormous resources.  You could have used your influence in Afgahanistan to develop it, to bring it out of poverty and underdevelopment and show the world what Islam can do for those who believe in it.  You chose to provoke and bring war to a people who had already been devastated by wars.

Yes many innocent people lost their lives in America’s war on Afghanistan and many more might lose their lives in Iraq.  This is indeed regrettable.  But we must never forget as to how the West is divided over this and how nations and people within nations are agonizing in Europe and in America over this decision to go to war in Iraq.  While many Americans and Europeans oppose the war, Muslim nations have already agreed to cooperate in this war.  No Muslim leader has tried to play the role of a statesman on this issue.  It is a tragedy that there is not a single Ted Kennedy, Jimmy Carter or Nelson Mandela in the entire Muslim world who would stand up and speak for justice!

Before we rush to condemn America we must remember that even today millions of poor and miserable people all across the world are lining up outside US embassies eager to come to America, not just to live here but to become an American.  No Muslim country today, can claim that people of other nations and other faiths see it as a promise of hope, equality, dignity and prosperity. 

Yes, we American Muslims will continue to challenge the Bush administrations’ proposal to wage war against Iraq.  We think a regime change in Washington is as necessary as a regime change in Baghdad, but that is an intramural affair.  Once the war is declared, make no mistake Mr. Saddam Hussein and Mr. Bin Laden, We are with America.  We will fight with America and we will fight for America.  We have a covenant with this nation, we see it as a divine commitment and we will not disobey the Quran (9:4) – we will fulfill our obligations as citizens to the land that opened its doors to us and promised us equality and dignity even though we have a different faith.  I am sure Mr. Bin Laden, you can neither understand nor appreciate this willingness to accept and welcome the other.

Sure at this moment out of anger, frustration and fear, some in America have momentarily forgotten their own values.  I am confident that, God willing, this moment of shock and insecurity will pass and America will once again become the beacon of freedom, tolerance and acceptance that it was before September 11th.  On that day Mr. Bid Laden, you not only killed 3000 innocent Americans, many of whom were also Muslims, but you signed the death warrants of many innocent people who will die in this war on terror and many more who will live but will suffer the consequences, the pain and the misery of war.  Before September 11th, the US was giving aid to Afghanistan and was content to wait for the Iraqi people to free themselves and the rest of the world from their dictator.  On that day you changed the rules of the game and Muslims in many places are suffering as a direct consequence.

When the Prophet Muhammad (saw) and his companions fought in the name of Islam, Allah made them victorious and glorified them in this world.  They made Islam the currency of human civilization for over a millennium.  You and your men on the other hand face nothing but defeat, global ridicule and contempt and run and hide like rats in caves and dungeons.  You live in the dark.  Your faith neither enlightens you nor enables you to live in the light and you have made Islam the currency of hate and violence.

Let me tell you that I would rather live in America under Ashcroft and Bush at their worst, than in any “Islamic state” established by ignorant, intolerant and murderous punks like you and Mullah Omar at their best.  The US, Patriot Act not withstanding, is still a more Islamic (just and tolerant) state than Afghanistan ever was under the Taliban.

Remember this:  Muslims from all over the world who wished to live better lives migrated to America and Muslims who only wished to take lives migrated to Afghanistan to join you.

We will not follow the desires of people (like you) who went astray and led many astray from the Straight Path. (Quran 5:77)

I conclude by calling upon you Mr. Bin Laden and your Al Qaeda collegues and Mr. Saddam Hussein to surrender to International Courts and take responsibility for your actions and protect thousands of other innocent Muslims from becoming the victims of the wars you bring upon them.

Muqtedar Khan, Ph.D.  Muqtedar Khan, Ph.D.
Director of International Studies, Adrian College, MI
Director of Muslim Social Scientists
Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy.

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Just so there is no misunderstanding. I agreed with President Bush in going into Iraq. Knowing the history of Saddam, and after what had happened on 9/11, we couldn’t take the chance. I do NOT believe that Saddam had any ties to what happened on 9/11. He had plenty of time to cooperate with the UN before we invaded. He even had the chance to leave Iraq. Why he did neither, I will never understand.

Though some people have changed their mind on this subject I have not. As to the US still in Iraq, I don’t think we should leave unless the leaders of Iraq asked us to, and to date, they have not. Whether you think it is right, wrong or indifferent, we stay until Iraqi’s can defend themselves, to leave before that, would cause a bloodbath.

Some of you may disagree with me on this, and that’s OK, I am merely telling you my views on the manner.

 

 

In Memorial, Never Forget

As we approach the anniversary of 9/11/2001, I want to leave a simple message of tribute to those who died then (on 9/11) and now, serving in the military. May God bless and comfort their families. Never forget that day, or the days that followed, when we as a nation stood hand in hand together. Not Republican and Democrat, but Americans. May we get back to that.

I have been doing a series of posts on bigotry, because some people think all Muslims think alike. Below is a letter from a Muslim, in regards to 9/11, I think its important for us all to read. It was printed in Time one year after 9/11.

As an Egyptian, I find myself compelled to apologize to the American people for what happened to them on Sept. 11. I apologize because one of those involved in that horrible disaster was Egyptian. As a man of letters, I declare myself innocent of having any part in the creation of the culture that spawned these individuals.

A long time before New York City’s Twin Towers were destroyed, many towers in my country were brought down by this same brand of perpetrators. They killed President Anwar Sadat, who initiated peace with Israel and liberalism in Egypt; they killed the Egyptian writer Farag Fouda, a defender of freedom and secularism; they stabbed our Nobel laureate, Naguib Mahfouz, when he was 82 years old, after discovering that 30 years earlier he had written a novel they considered the work of an infidel. They said they had not read the novel. Who told them it was sacrilegious? Someone living in a cave in the mountains of Afghanistan, or sitting in a London café or a mosque in New Jersey, told them so. In Egypt alone, these fundamentalists have killed more than 1,000 policemen and ordinary citizens, Christian and Muslim alike. In one of the most beautiful places on earth, the temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Luxor, they slaughtered nearly 60 tourists in 1997. In Algeria their sickles endlessly harvest the souls of the poor and helpless. They have committed all these crimes with the purpose of establishing the kingdom of God on earth and have succeeded only in turning our lives into hell.

In my country, art, education and the economy have all been leveled to a ground zero. I’m convinced, though, that the problem we face is not religious but political. And so it will never be solved with a religious summit. If you hold a meeting of Muslim sheiks, Christian pastors and Jewish rabbis, they inevitably come out with blissful smiles and report that they have found their values to be mostly identical, and they are right.

Extremism may claim God as its redeemer, but it’s really the selfish product of lunacy. In America, the most free and modern nation of our time, you see it too. You saw it with Jim Jones, who told his flock in Guyana to follow him into death by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid, and you saw it when David Koresh created his own small hell in Waco, Texas.

In my part of the world, the Arab Middle East, a great tragedy results from our governments’ well-intentioned attempts to cure society of extremism through education. These leaders, however, don’t teach what they should to produce the values they want. They seek moderation and enforce piety. They seek citizens who value life, yet their school curriculum’s exalt the value of science and ignore philosophy and history and the liberal, humanistic values they embody. That is why those who excel in such a system are no less immune to the call of extremism.

Our governments assume that people need to understand Islam in its purest form to stay religiously moderate. The result is the mass production of true believers, not good citizens. Because people initially welcome the imposed piety but then gradually realize it doesn’t equip them to meet the challenges of getting through life, life becomes a morbid burden. To shake off this burden, some of them, usually young men, can’t wait for natural death and decide instead to take a short cut to heaven.

Before ascending, they must have a cause that’s canonized by their community—the greatest cause on earth, capable of justifying their sacrifice in the eyes of their kin. It’s not enough to die fighting for their country; they must be fighting for God. Once they have secured that cause, they search for a way to ennoble it in the eyes of ordinary people who do not share their holy delusion but whose admiration they crave. They know that most people respect logic and reason. So they go looking for a nationalistic cause: this is what Osama bin Laden did when he claimed the Palestinian cause as a justification for the destruction of Sept. 11.

But beneath their claims is a sadder truth: these extremists are pathologically jealous. They feel like dwarfs, which is why they search for towers and all those who tower mightily. We must admit that we failed to teach these people that life is worth living. These extremists exist now, and will exist forever, so the question before us must be, How can we defend both our lives and theirs? We in the Arab world love freedom and want the chance at a decent life. We are not different from you, as it sometimes seems. We may be just temporarily backward. Working together, our governments must decide how, with what culture and by what actions, they will combat the influence of those who hate life.

—Ali Salem is a playwright and the author of several books, including “Journey into Israel.” He lives in Cairo

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Never forget my friends, never forget.  And thank you to Ali Salem and other Muslims and Arabs who have spoken out against extremism.  Thank you to all people who have sent their respects to our nation and to the families of the fallen.  Thank you to all the troops, both foreign and domestic that fight for the cause of freedom.  The troops who are volunteers, knowing that we are at war, but still raise their right hand.  Thank you to our brave fire and police personnel, who when others are running out, you are running in.  Thank you to those nations who send their young men and women to fight beside ours.

If I missed anyone, please accept my apology.  I can never say thank you enough for all those mentioned.  They are the new hero’s of our time.  All of us would do well to fashion our life like theirs.  May God bless them all.  There is one more thing I would like to say to our fine young men and women in our armed forces.  It is a little prayer I pray daily.  I would ask us all to say this little prayer.  That goes out to our Muslim soldiers as well.

May God keep you safe, never too hot, never too cold, never too hungry, never too lonely, always thankful, always enlightening, may He shield your eyes from the things that would haunt you.  May He shield your body from the enemy.  May He wrap His loving arms around you at all times. May He remind you at all times, that His love and grace is sufficient. May He heap blessings upon you and your family, and keep them from worry.  May He bless the people of Afghanistan and Iraq, and free them from al qaeda and the Taliban.  
 

We all know that freedom is never free.  I would ask my readers to go up to a veteran, a police officer, any fire personnel, any current service member of our armed forces; Buy them a cup of coffee, or dinner, or even just shake their hand.  Let them know you appreciate their service.  Remember it is because of these men and women, that you are free, safe, and live the way you do. 

We seldom think of it, but we should.  How many police and fire official’s die in the line of duty every year??  How many are retired because of injury in the line of duty??  Do you know??  Have you ever thought about it??  What about our military personel, how are their families taken care of if they die in battle??  Are they provided for??  What about their children, is there money for them to go to college??  What can we do to help?? 

These are important questions, that you should be asking.  You should be trying to assist where you can.  We get calls for this charity, and that charity, but these people never call out for help.  We are a generous nation, there are charities you could donate too that helps with the above.  Please consider donating to them.  

Bin Lyin’s Comic Review

 

 

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Why are our news agencies broadcasting the ridiculous rantings of Osama Bin Lyin?? ………… Maybe for the comic value …… ……..

Where to begin, Osama, seems to be worried about global warming. He obviously is a fan of Gore. And why shouldn’t he be, Gore is another hypocritical wind bag. But when it comes to Bin Lyin’s hypocrisy, it’s a lot more serious than Gore’s use of electricity.

He says, we need to give up our democratic government, hahahaha. “Democrats haven’t made a move worth mentioning.” AGREED!! they are worthless to this country (the House and Senate variety, except for a few) . Obviously they are worthless to Bin Lyin, because they haven’t been able to stop the war. He must be tired of living in that cave. It should concern our democrat leaders, that it appears Bin Lyin supports them and wants Americans to vote for them.  Why do you suppose that is??  Do you think Osama is a closet liberal??  I can see him now, joining the gay pride parade in San Francisco…”we’re here, we’re queer, get used to it” Oh what a sight.    More than likely, that isn’t the reason, he wants the dems in power.  But you already knew that. 

OOooooh, we “permitted” President Bush to complete his first term. What’s the matter there, Osama, didn’t expect that war on you, did you? I can understand how you would think that. Too bad your timing was off. You should have known better than to attack a country while they had a President with a backbone. I can never see that smiley enough when talking of Bin Lyin.   He made the statement that 19 men changed the direction of America.  He’s right, our bombers have a new target range, its a little out of the way, but that’s OK.  Heads up Osama, special delivery.  

This guy was all over the map with his message.  I wonder who writes his material.  And where did he get that “Just for Jihadi” he used to color his beard, maybe it is just boot polish.  It’s funny that he thinks we are losing in Iraq, especially now that the Sunni Muslims of Iraq have figured out what al Qaeda really stands for.   The Sunni of Iraq have turned against al Qaeda.  They are tired of al Qaeda killing their people.  The only lost would be if we left before the Iraqi’s can protect themselves. 

He “invites” Americans to embrace Islam. But you can be sure, it is HIS brand of Islam. The Taliban and everything that comes with it. He and the rest of his ilk, don’t consider Muslims who don’t follow his ‘Wahhabi’ brand of Islam to be “true” Muslims.

That “true” word, for a second I want to show you how bigots and radical Islamist view the world. Bin Lyin, and other Islamist don’t consider any Muslim who doesn’t follow their brand of Islam to be “true” Muslims. Bigots have told me I wasn’t a “true” Christian, because I refuse to believe that all Muslims believe the way of the terrorists. I have a friend who is an Apostate, can he be a “true” Apostate?? Read on, the following comes from his blog, and his dealings with a bigot.

A Towelian meets an Islamophobe, criticizes his/her politics or dissents with their point of view about Islam. Usually these Islamophobes are “never-been-muslims” and “never-had-muslim-friends”, yet consider themselves to be a better authority on Islam than anyone else because they’ve clicked a few buttons online to take them to anti-Islamic websites. Some of them have even deigned to debate against Muslims on online forums and hence feel they have accurate insight into the Muslim mind.

When we criticize such folks for their often misinformed and sometimes outright bigoted and violent perspective, Islamophobes react in an unerringly inevitable and typical way: (it’s as if they are following some formula that defines their reaction and personality!)

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  • Parading their extreme open mindedness and “mad” research skills, they conclude that any opposition to their politics coming from people with Arabic sounding names are Muslims. (Even though one click on our names on WordPress for example, will bring them to this blog which is clearly not pro-Islam!)
  • When they discover that the Towelian is an apostate of Islam, instead of re-thinking their perspective, they find it easier to define us in a category that best suits their currently held bigoted beliefs about Islam/Muslims. That is, just because we disagree with them, we’re called “not true apostates”…
  • The problem with these people is that their point of view of Islam is limited to its political manifestation. And so they deal with Islam purely on a political level. This is why often times you see Islamophobic blogs extensively researching political verses in the Quran or Hadith, scouring Digg.com for political issues created by Islamists (not Muslims) etc. They are (most of the time, we admit) justified when they are only reporting on developments in the Islamic world that are counter-progressive. For example, the diminishing women’s rights situation etc.
  • But this is also a problem because to them, their only interaction with “Islam” becomes not the religion, but the politics of Islamists. Therefore in their perspective Islam does nothing but promote terrorism and violence. Towelians know Islam is not just about politics but that its basis is both mystical and religious. Thus the Islamic experience of the Towelians plays a key role in giving us a unique perspective into Islam.
  • Using this experience, we disagree with the political demands by certain “unfriendly critics of Islam”. Instead of dealing with our counter point of view in a proper discussion where all ideas are explored in an unbiased way, they succumb to ad hominem type judgments on our person.
  • For example, recently a commentator denied that we were “true” apostates:

• “My points is that true apostates of Islam would see this difference about mainstream political Islam. I don’t say that there are no peaceful strands of Islam (say Sufis and Druze), but these stand out in their disengagement from the central political message of the Koran. I will support true apostates who call themselves so because of their admission of followed by a rejection of the violent strand (i.e. the worldwide political ambitions) of Islam, and not in order to gain easy entry into political circles in the West.”

  As you can see he made the link between our rejection of Islam as mutually inclusive of rejecting “mainstream political Islam”, which is in essence his own perspective of mainstream political Islam. In other words he doesn’t believe we’re “true” apostates of Islam unless we agree with him… because he’s so “right”. Pun intended.

Did you get all that?? If everyone would just stop for one minute and realize that we all have different opinions, thoughts, acts, families, jobs, religions, and lives. Some of us search a life time looking for another person who is like us to marry. It’s OK to think differently than your neighbor. Maybe things wouldn’t be so messed up if we all understood this.

When it comes to faith, that, is all about God. It is and should be a private matter between you and God. People who are religious, normally worship out of love. If you don’t…well I would question that. The point is, it’s between you and God. It isn’t anybody else’s job to brow beat someone because they don’t believe the way you do. Here’s what happens when you do…

I go to my friends blog, I don’t agree with some of his posts, but it is not my place to criticize and tell him that he needs to change his blog so I won’t be offended. In a situation like that, if I don’t want to be offended, I should change the channel. Get what I am saying here??

The problem comes when you have a bunch of “holier than thou” people who think they know more than you, be that in religion or other wise; Who then think, it’s alright to insult or disrespect you because of it. In the case of Bin Lyin, he thinks its alright to kill you over it. That’s a bit extreme don’t you think??

This post started out to be one thing and turned into another, but I will leave it as it is. Really folks we could all stand to take a step back and open our mind. ALL OF US!! I am really sick and tired of people saying what they think someone else is thinking even though there is no evidence of it.

I print a story about Muslims who support Israel, and I get an answer that the only reason they are saying that, is because they want to “please” the “West”. God forbid, they might actually believe what they themselves say. Just because you don’t, doesn’t mean that every other person believes the way that you do!!

Use some common sense people.  If I have repeated myself, sorry.  It’s only because I am passionate about the topic. 

http://towelianism.wordpress.com/2007/09/04/the-islamophobic-perspective-of-ex-muslims/