A commentator in the London-based Saudi Arabian newspaper a-Sharq al-Awsat wrote a plea to Moslem readers on the occasion of the start of the month of Rabi al-Awwal, ?in which Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was born?? The author of the article, Nourah Abdul Aziz al-Khereiji, prays, ?May God not humiliate the people of the Holy Prophet, pbuh, any longer!? Al-Khereiji writes that this humiliation is the result of failings of the Islamic leaders, some of whom, ?seemingly, believe that the divine wrath will not visit those who seek shelter in the White House.? This kowtowing to America, the author explains, is born of fear.
In a well-known Moslem allusion to the Jews, the Saudi columnist then asks, ?Why should we be afraid of a people whom the Holy Qur?an called the murderers of the prophets and the violators of covenants with God? They are a cowardly and mean people who would not fight us except from behind a protective wall. Had we known the fear and confusion in their hearts, despite their huge arsenal of highly destructive weapons, we would have crossed the barrier of fear in our hearts and resorted to fighting hoping for victory with God?s blessing.?
Referring to recent revelations regarding Saudi involvement in support of suicide terrorism, the a-Sharq al-Awsat article is defiant. ?Israel and the United States disapprove of the Kingdom?s support for the families of the martyrs who undertook anti-Israeli operations or those killed by the Jewish army,? al- Khereiji states, ?Israeli Education Minister Limor Livnat claimed recently that the Israeli Army came across certain documents confirming the Kingdom?s financing of the families of the martyrs who carried out such operations, proving Saudi involvement in the attacks.? The Saudi author then dismisses the evidence by explaining it thusly: ?Her ?great? discovery of the ?conclusive? evidence for supporting terrorism is in fact about the Kingdom?s aid to Palestinian orphans and widows. This charge is obviously yet another Israeli lie.?
Yet, immediately after claiming that the Saudis do not support terrorism, but rather widows and orphans for their own sake, al-Khereiji inexplicably writes, ?The financial assistance to the families of the Palestinian martyrs is, undoubtedly, one of the most important forms of jihad? The Holy Prophet, pbuh, said: ?Whoever arms a soldier is like the one who participates in the battle.? Is there any jihad more glorious than liberating Al-Aqsa Mosque and the blessed land around it? If Palestinians, an occupied and persecuted people, cannot receive external assistance, let me ask why the Jewish state seeks financial and military assistance from the US and countless other sources?? In other words, in the space of one paragraph, ?assistance to widows and orphans? has morphed into a jihad obligation of arming ?a soldier.?
As for America, the a-Sharq al-Awsat article says, ?Why should we listen to President George W. Bush?s demand to call the Palestinian martyrs terrorists? Has he the right to issue a fatwa (religious ruling) on our religious matters?? Thus, a condemnation of suicide terrorism by the US President is, in fact, an attack on Moslem religious sensitivities.
Al-Khereiji then explains suicide terrorism as a mere lack of military options, saying, ?Would the Palestinians have resorted to blowing themselves up amidst the occupiers, if the Palestinians had an army of their own to defend themselves against Israeli aggression?? As for the civilian victims of what the author calls ?suicide operations?, al-Khereiji writes, ?Don?t the Palestinians have the right to defend themselves when the Israeli civilians drive them from their homes and deprive them of their land and other possessions? Why do we allow our enemies to reverse and prevaricate the facts?? In light of this, ?It is a matter of immense pain that the Palestinian Authority has yielded to American demands to condemn the operations of the Palestinian martyrs and exile the Palestinian heroes?? writes the Saudi columnist, ?But I was delighted when I found [the wife of one of the deported PLO gunmen from Bethlehem] saying confidently that she would wait for her husband?s return and in the meantime, bring up their baby as a true Palestinian patriot. He might grow up to be another martyr for the cause.? Why would she wish this upon her child? ?The reward for martyrdom is worth sacrificing all the transient pleasures of a lifetime,? explains al-Khereiji.
American operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan are also condemned in the Saudi article. Al-Khereiji claims, ?The American forces are desecrating graves in Afghanistan in their search for Osama Bin Laden?s body.? The columnist asks, ?What can we call the desecration of graves by a superpower which imposes harsh punishment on weaker nations in the name of upholding human rights? What name should be given to US actions in Afghanistan and the treatment of Arab and Muslim prisoners of the war other than gross violations of human rights??
The Saudi columnist warns against failing to stand up to America and Israel, saying, ?Arabs and Muslims, beware of your inner cowardice.?
In a well-known Moslem allusion to the Jews, the Saudi columnist then asks, ?Why should we be afraid of a people whom the Holy Qur?an called the murderers of the prophets and the violators of covenants with God? They are a cowardly and mean people who would not fight us except from behind a protective wall. Had we known the fear and confusion in their hearts, despite their huge arsenal of highly destructive weapons, we would have crossed the barrier of fear in our hearts and resorted to fighting hoping for victory with God?s blessing.?
Referring to recent revelations regarding Saudi involvement in support of suicide terrorism, the a-Sharq al-Awsat article is defiant. ?Israel and the United States disapprove of the Kingdom?s support for the families of the martyrs who undertook anti-Israeli operations or those killed by the Jewish army,? al- Khereiji states, ?Israeli Education Minister Limor Livnat claimed recently that the Israeli Army came across certain documents confirming the Kingdom?s financing of the families of the martyrs who carried out such operations, proving Saudi involvement in the attacks.? The Saudi author then dismisses the evidence by explaining it thusly: ?Her ?great? discovery of the ?conclusive? evidence for supporting terrorism is in fact about the Kingdom?s aid to Palestinian orphans and widows. This charge is obviously yet another Israeli lie.?
Yet, immediately after claiming that the Saudis do not support terrorism, but rather widows and orphans for their own sake, al-Khereiji inexplicably writes, ?The financial assistance to the families of the Palestinian martyrs is, undoubtedly, one of the most important forms of jihad? The Holy Prophet, pbuh, said: ?Whoever arms a soldier is like the one who participates in the battle.? Is there any jihad more glorious than liberating Al-Aqsa Mosque and the blessed land around it? If Palestinians, an occupied and persecuted people, cannot receive external assistance, let me ask why the Jewish state seeks financial and military assistance from the US and countless other sources?? In other words, in the space of one paragraph, ?assistance to widows and orphans? has morphed into a jihad obligation of arming ?a soldier.?
As for America, the a-Sharq al-Awsat article says, ?Why should we listen to President George W. Bush?s demand to call the Palestinian martyrs terrorists? Has he the right to issue a fatwa (religious ruling) on our religious matters?? Thus, a condemnation of suicide terrorism by the US President is, in fact, an attack on Moslem religious sensitivities.
Al-Khereiji then explains suicide terrorism as a mere lack of military options, saying, ?Would the Palestinians have resorted to blowing themselves up amidst the occupiers, if the Palestinians had an army of their own to defend themselves against Israeli aggression?? As for the civilian victims of what the author calls ?suicide operations?, al-Khereiji writes, ?Don?t the Palestinians have the right to defend themselves when the Israeli civilians drive them from their homes and deprive them of their land and other possessions? Why do we allow our enemies to reverse and prevaricate the facts?? In light of this, ?It is a matter of immense pain that the Palestinian Authority has yielded to American demands to condemn the operations of the Palestinian martyrs and exile the Palestinian heroes?? writes the Saudi columnist, ?But I was delighted when I found [the wife of one of the deported PLO gunmen from Bethlehem] saying confidently that she would wait for her husband?s return and in the meantime, bring up their baby as a true Palestinian patriot. He might grow up to be another martyr for the cause.? Why would she wish this upon her child? ?The reward for martyrdom is worth sacrificing all the transient pleasures of a lifetime,? explains al-Khereiji.
American operations against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan are also condemned in the Saudi article. Al-Khereiji claims, ?The American forces are desecrating graves in Afghanistan in their search for Osama Bin Laden?s body.? The columnist asks, ?What can we call the desecration of graves by a superpower which imposes harsh punishment on weaker nations in the name of upholding human rights? What name should be given to US actions in Afghanistan and the treatment of Arab and Muslim prisoners of the war other than gross violations of human rights??
The Saudi columnist warns against failing to stand up to America and Israel, saying, ?Arabs and Muslims, beware of your inner cowardice.?