Al Qaeda wouldn’t have threatened

hadn’t others kept silent!


By Dr. Akram Hijazi

(Translated by Umm Saad)

I was hosting a respected and humble neighbor and we were discussing about the tensions of life and the difficulties of the world and about the aggravating inflation that had been following us mercilessly and strangling our breath for a while, when my phone rang in a moment of inattention, from an acquaintance, and the following was what we conversed

Acquaintance- Did you hear the news?

I said- No, what happened?

He said- a statement of Osama Bin Laden

I said- On Al Jazeera?

He said- No it has come on Ecklaas

I said- Strange! For the statement is astonishing, maybe something has happened. What do
you say?

He said- It hasn’t been released yet, but its title on the banner is, “The answer is what you see
not what you hear”

I said- This is a declaration of war, what does AL Qaeda want? And what has happened?

He said- I don’t know, maybe on the passage of 5 years on the occupation of Iraq

I said- It is a good pretext for the release of the statement but illogical as per the title.


And after a few minutes of this conversation, Ecklaas had published the links for this statement from Sheikh Osama Bin Laden. When I say the banner I saw that the site had put before the title an exciting title for Sheikh Osama bin Laden, “The Warrior Sheikh” and I became certain that something has happened otherwise there would be no need for the specification of this title. The statement was 5 minutes and 30 seconds only. Reuters at her end hastened to post as its main page title saying, “Osama Bin Laden threatens the European Union with severe consequences due to the abusive caricatures”


I don’t think the Europeans will explain the threat except in a military sense but in which context can exactly the statement be included, “May our mothers be bereaved of us if we fail to defend the Prophet (Peace be upon him)” and the fact that the threat was at the tongue of Osama bin Laden and not Zawihiri for example?


There is no doubt that the entry of Al Qaeda in the row for defending the Prophet against the defame and insult campaigns that has been led by the Denmark papers by publishing these caricatures, is not like entering into the struggle from any other side, for it is a flaming entrance just like its entrance into the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and others, and I do not think Al Qaeda would have interfered had others not kept silent, for the statement comes at a time when 17 Denmark papers have “reprinted” the caricatures without any pretext except of insult and traversing the bounds in defaming and abasement of Islam and Muslims and the Aqeedah and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). For the caricatures had been printed earlier by the Denmark papers and some European countries especially Italy, Norway, Spain, Germany… so why are they being reprinted now?


The incitement by the interior minister of Germany to the European papers to publish the caricatures supporting Denmark in an attempt to break down the meager boycott that its products are facing in the Islamic world the loss due to which is estimated at a little more than 2 million dollars. This is a malignant incitement presenting the same scenario that the Quraish undertook while plotting to kill the Prophet by employing one man from each tribe so that his blood spreads between the different tribes and so that Bani Hashim cannot demand his blood nor avenge his killers. So the German minister, wanted with his proposal to place the Muslim Ummah in an embarrassing situation whereof it becomes difficult for the Islamic world to boycott all the European countries


Also the exposition of the Al Jazeera channel in its program “Al Itijaah al Muaakis” or “The opposite direction” that hosted Dr Wafa Sultan knowing very well that she is a hebraize woman, malignant towards Islam and Muslims, and in spite of that she was hosted three times while they refused to host a strong political, and religious personality to respond to the Torah implications on the base and in detail. The worse is what followed of the trivial apology from the channel after it had invaded through Wafa Sultan the houses and desecrated the minds of our children and sons and violated the honor of our houses, and sacred places and beliefs and identity, so who was AL Jazeera apologizing to?


A complete silence from the countries and especially from the Muslim scholars, the official and unofficial ones in an astonishing way while they are the ones who talk day and night endlessly about forgiveness and overthrowing extremism and exaggeration and moderateness and the modern Islam. They did not instruct nor support, nor did they reply to the news that some of the papers and press releases are spreading concerning opening churches or promises to do so in the Arabian Peninsula? Nor did they clear the religious stance concerning this?


The moral and cultural decay in the media on the aired channels especially the programmed channels portraying enmity with the religion and ridiculing the Prophet as the correspondent of the Arabiya Channel did and 10s of the media centers do and the papers with provoking pictures as if it expects from others to applaud for them and praise them for their poisons. When Sheikh Ibn Jibreen interfered they accused him of being pro AL Qaeda. The Arab politics that filled the American and the west as if they are destined by destiny, for this dances with Bush and that crone who kisses him as if he is her lover and that one presents the Vatican Father a gold smeared sword in spite of his accusing our religion of genocide and our Prophet of being a man of sword, so how can such actions be justified as diplomatic or religious forbearance?


As for Qatar itself that bases the channel, no single statement came from it rebuking the episode though it is a stable state with influence and though Allah, His Messenger, Aqeedah, Islam and Muslims were abused on its land and from its minarets.

In such a situation the open threat of AL Qaeda came, and the context is nothing heavy on the hearers and has no space of distortion or delusion. But the most dangerous of what is present in the statement is not the threat of attacking European countries because it’s a case that may or may not be successful, however, the real danger it is in the threat of “changing the rules of the game with Europe”, and these rules are different from what they are with the USA especially, and this is exactly what we are trying to draw close to.


For the traditional relationship between Al Qaeda and Europe is based on the neutrality of the latter from the direct battlefield, while striving hard against the USA considering it the head of the snake and the others as only tails, taking the evidence that the attacks of AL Qaeda against the USA have occurred either directly on its land or at the hot fronts or through targeting its interests in different areas of the world. As for the Madrid and London bombings what is evident is that these are actions by what they call as the sleeping cells in Europe allied with Al Qaeda, believing in its goals but not directly AL Qaeda. This points to the fact that AL Qaeda has not declared open war on the European countries on the contrary Bin Laden had told it in his last statement to the European nation (29/11/2007) that moving away from backing the American policy is better for it than betting on a losing deal in Iraq and Afghanistan. So can the equation change to something other than the present condition?


The reality is that this is the essence of the statement. For religion and defending the Prophet is more important near Al Qaeda, than killing “innocents” on the battle fronts in spite of what it leaves behind of tragedies, “For this is the greater and more dangerous problem and the recompense for it is more difficult”. This is so because the declaration of war by Europe on the Belief, Islam and Muslims and the Prophet (peace be upon him) means that the dimensions of the traditional war between the nations has fallen, and for AL Qaeda the war hasn’t remained a war with that of moral standards when Europe has dared against the Islamic Aqeedah and ridicules and challenges and supports each other on the insult of the Prophet. As for “the human laws that contradicts the laws of Allah, the Almighty are false and have no sacredness and do not mean us” especially after Europe itself has abandoned it, in different cases, so why do they protest against the Muslims with these?

But Al Qaeda is leaving room to avoid the confrontation, that is why Bin Laden made his statement to the “Wise men” of Europe, so that they listen and repair the situation, before its too late, and there is no doubt that it is a pre war statement by giving a severe-toned warning, as other Arabs and Muslims haven’t been able to perform the job.


And on this basis the alteration in the traditional relationship beginning from the statement that would lead to its fall, if Europe persists on offending and the Wise men are incapable of putting an end to it, then if they want to continue with the situation they do, or else “Then let your hearts be open to our freedom of action” and at that time, “the answer is what you see not what you listen”


And with this last statement Bin Laden will have returned to remixing the cards of the game completely, for the statement is more warning than threatening, but who guarantees? Will Al Qaeda succeed in fulfilling what other have failed to do and make Europe stop at its limits so that the anger of Muslims calms down and Europe is safe for a while? Or will stupidity refuse to depart its people?