A Ramadan Letter to Osama bin Laden

[Sarajevo071]

Sheikh Salman b. Fahd al-Oadah, the general supervisor of IslamToday.net, delivered the following address to Osama bin Laden live on NBC television on 14 September, 2007, which corresponds to the second say of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia:

Brother Osama:

How much blood has been spilled? How many innocent children, women, and old people have been killed, maimed, and expelled from their homes in the name of “al-Qaeda”?

Are you happy to meet Allah with this heavy burden on your shoulders? It is a weighty burden indeed – at least hundreds of thousands of innocent people, if not millions.

How could you wish for that? – after knowing that Allah’s Messenger said: “Whoever as much as kills a sparrow in vain will find it crying before Allah on the Day of Judgment: ‘My Lord! That person killed me in vain. He did not kill me for needful sustenance.”

This religion of ours comes to defense of the life of a sparrow. It can never accept the murder of innocent people, regardless of what supposed justification is given for it.

Didn’t you read where the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “One of the prophets once sat under a tree and was bitten by an ant. Because of this, he burnt the ant’s nest. Thereupon, Allah inspired to him: ‘Why not only the one ant?’ ” [Sahîh Muslim]

Allah revealed to that prophet: “What? Just because one ant had bitten you, you have set fire to an entire nation that extols Allah’s glory!” [Sahîh Muslim (2241)]

If this is the case for a nest of ants, consider how much worse it must be to visit harm upon human beings.

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http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cf...ub_cat_id=1521

[Sarajevo071]

Salman al-Oadah Criticizes Bin Laden in Hard-Hitting Address on NBC TV

In what Arab News describes as "a major blow to the ideology of Osama Bin Laden and his followers in the Kingdom", Sheikh Salman b Fahad al-Oadah, a popular Saudi religious scholar, has criticized the way in which Bin Laden has ruined Islam’s global image. “We as scholars of Islam reject what Osama does,” Al-Oadah wrote in an open letter posted on his website www.islamtoday.com.

Al-Oadah also questioned the validity of Al-Qaeda using violence. “What have we gained from the destruction of a whole country such as Iraq and Afghanistan?” Al-Oadah said, adding that these wars have led to civil wars in the region. “Who benefits from turning countries like Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco into insecure places?” he asked.

Many experts considered the letter as a major setback to Al-Qaeda’s ideology, as it comes from an influential Saudi scholar, who is not part of the official religious establishment.
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http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cf...ub_cat_id=1519

[SteveMetz]

Sheikh Salman b. Fahd al-Oadah, the general supervisor of IslamToday.net, delivered the following address to Osama bin Laden live on NBC television on 14 September, 2007, which corresponds to the second say of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia:



http://www.islamtoday.com/showme2.cf...ub_cat_id=1521

I'm currently reading Mary Habeck, Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror. She does an excellent job of tracing the way that the jihadists cherry pick from Islam to justify what they do. They have convinced themselves that "collateral damage" is acceptable since if those who died didn't deserve to, they will be rewarded as martyrs.

[Sarajevo071]

I'm currently reading Mary Habeck, Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror. She does an excellent job of tracing the way that the jihadists cherry pick from Islam to justify what they do. They have convinced themselves that "collateral damage" is acceptable since if those who died didn't deserve to, they will be rewarded as martyrs.

I will recommend for you following book (if you didn't read yet or didn't hear about it):

"Journey of the Jihadist"
by Fawaz A. Gerges

I wanted to post that book back in "last read" tread but my posts are not welcomed or wanted. But, I do recommend this one for you.

[SteveMetz]

I will recommend for you following book (if you didn't read yet or didn't hear about it):

"Journey of the Jihadist"
by Fawaz A. Gerges

I wanted to post that book back in "last read" tread but my posts are not welcomed or wanted. But, I do recommend this one for you.

Yep, good book. Already read it. Met Gerges soon after.

[Sarajevo071]

Yep, good book. Already read it. Met Gerges soon after.

Really!? Nice. So, what do you think about him and his book? Seams to be smart and well educated, balanced guy.

[SteveMetz]

Really!? Nice. So, what do you think about him and his book? Seams to be smart and well educated, balanced guy.

Being an Arab (although not a Muslim) he really understands Arab culture. My impression is that Habeck has looked more deeply at the relgious roots of the jihadist ideology. Actually, the two together give an even more robust picture than either one in isolation.

[Sarajevo071]

Thank you for your insights. I will look into Habeck's writings.