Sunday, 7 March 2010

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MEMRI - The Middle East Media Research Institute
 



Special Dispatch Series | March 7, 2010

 

Four Dispatches from the MEMRI TV Project


Special Dispatch No. 2845—Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project/Palestinians 

Egyptian Cleric Wagdi Ghneim on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV: 'We Pray to Allah That We Be Terrorists, If Terror Means Jihad'

In two recent TV interviews, Egyptian cleric Wagdi Ghneim extolled Jihad, saying: "We are a nation that excels in the production of the art of death... I will die anyway, so I should be creative to make sure my death is for the sake of Allah." Later, he said: "Brothers, we pray to Allah that we be terrorists, if terror means Jihad for the sake of Allah."

He also weighed in on the issue of women's equality, saying: "Anything you women can do, I can do better, because I am a man..." except for four things, which "even the manliest man cannot do": pregnancy and childbirth, raising and serving the children, nurturing the husband, and taking care of the home.

The two interviews aired on the Hamas Al-Aqsa TV channel on February 4 and 14, 2010.

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2398.htm.

For a previous clip featuring Wagdi Ghneim, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2208.htm.

To view the full dispatch, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4018.htm.

 

Special Dispatch No. 2844—Libya/Islam and the West    

Libyan Leader Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi Calls for Jihad against 'Infidel, Sinful' Switzerland: Boycott Swiss Products, Airplanes, Ships, and Embassies

In a recent public address, Libyan Leader Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi called to wage Jihad against Switzerland and called upon Muslims to boycott Swiss products, airlines, shipping companies, and embassies.

"Switzerland is an infidel and sinful country which destroys mosques. Jihad, with all possible means, should be declared against it," said Al-Qadhafi, waging in on the controversy over the ban on building minarets in Switzerland. He called upon the Muslim masses to head towards all the airports and sea ports in the Islamic world, and prevent any Swiss plane from landing and any Swiss ship from coming in, as well as removing all Swiss products from the shops and markets. "If Switzerland were situated on our border, we would fight it", he proclaimed before a cheering crowd.

Al-Qadhafi blasted the Islamic world, which, he said, watched from the sidelines while "they portrayed the Prophet Muhammad in their newspapers in the most abominable way." He said: "Any Muslim who buys Swiss products... or has any dealings with Switzerland is an infidel against Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, Allah, and the Koran... If you continue to have dealings with Switzerland... you are not Muslims."

The address was delivered before heads of state and representatives of many African and Islamic countries, including Chad, Chechnya, Mauritania, Somalia, the Comoros Islands, Benin, Lesotho, the Central African Republic, Pakistan, and Turkey, as well as leading religious dignitaries from around the world.

Al-Qadhafi's relations with Switzerland have gone sour in the past. In July 2008, his son Hannibal was arrested in Switzerland on charges of assaulting two servants, and only when Al-Qadhafi threatened to stop fuel supplies to Switzerland was Hannibal released from jail.

To view excerpts from this address, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on February 25, 2010, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2401.htm.

To view the full dispatch, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4017.htm.

 

Special Dispatch No. 2843—U.S. and the Middle East/Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project    

Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi Gives Broad-Ranging Interview to BBC Arabic on His Support of Mayrtdom Attacks, His Condemnation of the U.S. Military Base in Qatar, His Position on Shi'ites, His Relations with the Egyptian Government, and More

Leading Sunni cleric Sheikh Yousuf Al-Qaradhawi recently reiterated his support for suicide bombings, saying that they are "a necessary thing." In an interview with BBC Arabic, aired on February 8, 2010, he said: "Give the Palestinians tanks, airplanes, and missiles, and they won't carry out martyrdom operations. They are forced to turn themselves into human bombs..." In response to the interviewer's question, he said that they always try to target concentrations of soldiers. "If a civilian is killed, it is not intentional," said Al-Qaradhawi. "They are not infallible. Mistakes can happen."

On another subject, Al-Qaradhawi, who heads the International Union for Muslim Scholars (IUMS) said that he has no problem with women or Copts running for president in Egypt, saying that what is forbidden to non-Muslims and women is presenting their candidacy to the position of Caliph, because that is a religious, not merely political, position.

In the broad-ranging interview, Al-Qaradhawi leveled criticism against Qatar for allowing a U.S. military presence in the country and the presence of an official Israeli bureau there, and said: "Those who shook hands with [Israeli President Shimon] Peres [when he was in Qatar] should wash their hands seven times, one of those times in dirt." He railed against PA President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that if he had indeed called for the Israeli invasion into Gaza, as some people said, "it is not enough to sentence him to death, but... he must be stoned" to death.

On the subject of interfaith dialogue, Al-Qaradhawi said that while he welcomes dialogue between Muslims and Christians, he would "not sit on the same podium with a Jew who recognizes Israel."

The interview also dealt with Al-Qaradhawi's views on Shi'ite proselytizing ("they did not honor [what we agreed upon in interfaith conventions]"), with his criticism of Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah as a fanatic ("he did not say a word [in my defense when I was criticized by the Shi'ites]", and with the ban on building minarets in Switzerland.

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2394.htm.

To view the full dispatch, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4016.htm.

 

Special Dispatch No. 2842—Kuwait

Kuwaiti Author Ibtihal Al-Khatib: Like Israel, Hizbullah Should Investigate Its Conduct in the War

In a TV interview, Kuwaiti author Dr. Ibtihal Al-Khatib spoke out about the danger of mixing religion and politics, and said that Hizbullah should investigate its own conduct in the summer 2006 war.

In the interview, which aired on the Saudi-financed Lebanese LBC TV on January 27, 2010, Al-Khatib said: "Any religiously-motivated resistance movement scares me." Citing as an example Europe in Crusader times, she said that Europe only became stable when the Church relegated its role to spiritual guidance, and became isolated from politics. The Arab region is volatile "due to the mixing of religion and politics," according to Al-Khatib. "If the leadership is Sunni, the Shi'ites are repressed, and if the leadership is Shi'ite, the Sunnis are repressed. This repression leads to instability, which, in turn, leads to revolutions."

About Hizbullah's conduct in the summer 2006 war, she said: "If I suffered any losses in this war... I should investigate what went wrong," instead of declaring a "divine victory," holding victory celebrations, and passing out sweets.

In the past, Al-Khatib has weighed in on similar issues, criticizing Hizbullah's role in the war and saying that secularism in the only way to protect religious rights in the Arab world.

To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2396.htm .

For past statements, visit: http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1720.htm.

To view the full dispatch, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4015.htm.


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March 7, 2010

 

Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project


Adam Gadahn Praises Nidal Hasan, Calls for More Lone Wolf Attacks'


 

On March 7, 2010, Al-Qaeda's media wing Al-Sahab released a new 25-minute video from Adam Gadahn titled "A Call to Arms." Adam Gadahn, also known as 'Azzam Al-'Amriki, is an American citizen who has joined the Al-Qaeda leadership in the Waziristan-Afghanistan region and features regularly and prominently in the organization's propaganda.

Gadahn begins the video with praise of the Detroit and Khost attacks, both in late December 2009, which he collectively characterized as "a series of moral and material blows" to the Crusader West. He moves on quickly though to the topic of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, whom he describes in glowing terms ("a pioneer, a trailblazer and a role model who has opened a door, lit a path, and shown the way forward for every Muslim who finds himself among the unbelievers..."). Gadahn holds up Nidal Hasan as an exemplary figure for his loyalty to Islam and Muslims in defiance of his unbeliever commanders, and for having struck at a sensitive target in the heart of America.

Gadahn then uses the example of Nidal Hasan to call on other Muslims in the "Crusader West," and especially in the U.S., Britain, and Israel, to undertake lone wolf attacks. He advises his listeners in particular to focus

on targets that will do serious economic damage to these countries, and uses the example of the 9/11 attacks to show that such attacks need not necessarily employ conventional firearms.

The video also mentions "Muslim-only concentration camps in Illinois, Bagram, and elsewhere" - apparently a reference to the proposed transfer of Guantanamo Bay prisoners to the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois.

To read the full dispatch, visit http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/clip.htm?clip=2404&param=GJN.

To view this report, you must be a paying member of the Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor Project (JTTM). For membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.

Note to media, government, military: For the full report, send an email with "Adam Gadahn Praises Nidal Hasan, Calls for More Lone Wolf Attacks" in the subject line to media@memri.org.