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Al-Qaida video: Believers’ duty is to eliminate Israel

AP, via Haaretz, USA
Apr. 14, 2006
www.haaretz.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Sunday April 16, 2006

Al-Qaida‘s deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said that the elimination of Israel is the duty of every believer in a video posted yesterday on the Internet.

Al-Zawahri denounced U.S. President George Bush as the “Caesar of Washington” and accused him of lying about progress in the war on terror.

“Bush, son of Bush, eliminating Israel is the duty of every believer,” al-Zawahri said. “Beggarly clerics … and every bankrupt propaganda machine is trying to convince the people to bring change by peaceful means, but the Islamic nation knows that its path is jihad and the bearing of arms.”

The video was dated with an Islamic month corresponding to November 2005 – and al-Zawahri mentions an Oct. 23 earthquake that hit Pakistan and Afghanistan.

However it appeared to be the first time the 28-minute video had been made public. It was not clear why the video was not released soon after the date it was allegedly filmed.

Islamic Terrorism

Islamic terrorism is inspired by the concept of ‘lesser Jihad’ (holy warfare against the enemies of Allah and Islam). Muslims disagree among each other as to what is or is not acceptable in ‘lesser Jihad.’ For instance, while many Muslims speak out against terrorist acts committed in the name of Islam, others approve of such acts under certain conditions. [...more...]

Understanding Islamic Terrorism: Muhammad, Islam and Terrorism

“By God, we’re supposed to stick to peaceful means while the enemies of Islam engage in every violent, barbaric and base action and Israel is armed to the teeth with every sort of conventional and non-conventional weapon?” he said.

“If we commit to peaceful action, they will demand we adhere to international laws and treaties that mean nothing to them.

“If we adhere to that, they will ask us to impose constraint on what they call terrorism and war on Israel. Then if we adhere to that, they will demand we recognize Israel and establish normal relations with it,” the deputy leader of Al-Qaida said in the video.