Post by peterd on Jan 6, 2008 15:20:28 GMT -8
"In Spite of the Trials and Tribulations a Bright and Promising Future Is in Store for Islam and Its Champions": American Al-Qaeda Operative Yahya Adam's Desperate Attempt to Turn Americans against Their Government and His Urgent Call to Mujahideen to Attack Bush in His Coming Visit to the Middle East
To view this Inquiry and Analysis in HTML, visit:
memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA41508
By. E. Alshech*
On January 6, 2008, Al-Qaeda's media company Al-Sahab posted on the Islamist website Al-Ikhlas www.ek-ls.org/ (hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc., Tampa, FL, USA) a video message by Yahya Adam to the American people which includes also an urgent appeal to the mujahideen in Palestine and Saudi Arabia to greet George Bush with "bombs and traps" in his upcoming visit to the Middle East.
[To view this clip visit www.memritv.org/clip/en/1649.htm ]
In the midst of the serious setbacks Al-Qaeda experiences in the various fronts, Yahya Adam, also known as Azzam the American, portrays America and its allies as losing the battle with the mujahideen everywhere. He attributes the supposed ability of "lightly-armed mujahideen" to defeat "the strongest and best equipped army on earth" to what he views as the mujahideen's superior moral standing.
Yahya Adam then engages in a theological discussion, the purpose of which is to enhance the impression that what he describes as immoral behavior by America throughout the world in fact stems from the corrupt nature of America's religious creed. He explains that though Christianity was initially rooted in monotheism, it turned into "Jesus-worship, Mariolatry, iconolatry, cross-worship, saint-worship, and even Pope- and priest- worship" and betrayed the commitment to worship God alone as prescribed in the Bible. His suggestion for non-Muslims is to adopt Islam, thus abandoning moral corruption and escaping hellfire.
In order to demonstrate his rejection of America and what he views as its inferior moral standing, Yahya Adam destroys his American passport in front of the camera, explaining this act as a "symbolic rejection of American citizenship which honorable decent and compassionate people are ashamed to carry."
Most importantly, in a desperate attempt to turn Americans against their government, he portrays the current administration as a group of "militant fanatics" which through its policy attempts to hasten the Christian Apocalypse. He explains that it is this administration's policy that put Americans on a collision course with Islam and Muslims. He then advises Americans to put pressure on American representatives in Washington, "whether Republicans or Democrats, to heed the legitimate demands of the Muslims as spelled out by Sheikh Osama Bin Laden, Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri and others..." Moreover, he calls upon Americans, both civilians and military, to forsake Christianity and convert to Islam in order to escape divine punishment.
He closes his message by announcing the inevitable victory of Islam, saying: "In spite of the trials and tribulations a bright and promising future is in store for Islam and its champions, and a bleak and barren future is in store for unbelief and its advocates and helpers. So if you are not on the side of Islam, or are in the ranks of its enemies, then ask God for guidance and make the right choice, and repent before it is too late."
*Dr. Alshech is the director of the Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project at MEMRI.
To view this Inquiry and Analysis in HTML, visit:
memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA41508
By. E. Alshech*
On January 6, 2008, Al-Qaeda's media company Al-Sahab posted on the Islamist website Al-Ikhlas www.ek-ls.org/ (hosted by NOC4Hosts Inc., Tampa, FL, USA) a video message by Yahya Adam to the American people which includes also an urgent appeal to the mujahideen in Palestine and Saudi Arabia to greet George Bush with "bombs and traps" in his upcoming visit to the Middle East.
[To view this clip visit www.memritv.org/clip/en/1649.htm ]
In the midst of the serious setbacks Al-Qaeda experiences in the various fronts, Yahya Adam, also known as Azzam the American, portrays America and its allies as losing the battle with the mujahideen everywhere. He attributes the supposed ability of "lightly-armed mujahideen" to defeat "the strongest and best equipped army on earth" to what he views as the mujahideen's superior moral standing.
Yahya Adam then engages in a theological discussion, the purpose of which is to enhance the impression that what he describes as immoral behavior by America throughout the world in fact stems from the corrupt nature of America's religious creed. He explains that though Christianity was initially rooted in monotheism, it turned into "Jesus-worship, Mariolatry, iconolatry, cross-worship, saint-worship, and even Pope- and priest- worship" and betrayed the commitment to worship God alone as prescribed in the Bible. His suggestion for non-Muslims is to adopt Islam, thus abandoning moral corruption and escaping hellfire.
In order to demonstrate his rejection of America and what he views as its inferior moral standing, Yahya Adam destroys his American passport in front of the camera, explaining this act as a "symbolic rejection of American citizenship which honorable decent and compassionate people are ashamed to carry."
Most importantly, in a desperate attempt to turn Americans against their government, he portrays the current administration as a group of "militant fanatics" which through its policy attempts to hasten the Christian Apocalypse. He explains that it is this administration's policy that put Americans on a collision course with Islam and Muslims. He then advises Americans to put pressure on American representatives in Washington, "whether Republicans or Democrats, to heed the legitimate demands of the Muslims as spelled out by Sheikh Osama Bin Laden, Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri and others..." Moreover, he calls upon Americans, both civilians and military, to forsake Christianity and convert to Islam in order to escape divine punishment.
He closes his message by announcing the inevitable victory of Islam, saying: "In spite of the trials and tribulations a bright and promising future is in store for Islam and its champions, and a bleak and barren future is in store for unbelief and its advocates and helpers. So if you are not on the side of Islam, or are in the ranks of its enemies, then ask God for guidance and make the right choice, and repent before it is too late."
*Dr. Alshech is the director of the Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project at MEMRI.
