Of course, in the real world it wasn’t Western politicians and media who linked Islam to the 9/11 attacks. It was the hijackers and plotters themselves.
In March 2009, the masterminds of the 9/11 plot, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin As-Shibh, Walid bin ‘Attash, Mustafa Ahmed AI-Hawsawi, and ‘Ali ‘abd Al-’Aziz ‘Ali – styling themselves as the “9/11 Shura Council” –wrote a lengthy communiqué titled “The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations.” In it, they wrote: “Many thanks to God, for his kind gesture, and choosing us to perform the act of Jihad for his cause and to defend Islam and Muslims. Therefore, killing you and fighting you, destroying you and terrorizing you, responding back to your attacks, are all considered to be great legitimate duty in our religion….We ask to be near to God, we fight you and destroy you and terrorize you. The Jihad in god’s [sic] cause is a great duty in our religion.” They quoted numerous Qur’an verses, including one stating that “to those against whom war is waged, permission is given (to fight,) because they are wronged and verily, Allah is most powerful for their aid” (22:39), and another commanding Muslims to “fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but be not the transgressor, Allah likes not the transgressors” (2:190). They even quoted the notorious “Verse of the Sword”: “Then fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them, and seize them, and besiege them and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush” (9:5).
To cinch their case, they used two verses enjoining Muslims to strike terror into the hearts of their foes: “Soon shall we cast terror into the hearts of the unbelievers, for that they joined companies with Allah, for which he has sent no authority; There [sic] place will be the fire; and evil is the home of the wrongdoers” (3:151); and “Against them make ready your strength to the utmost of your power, including steeds of war, to strike terror into the heart of the enemies of Allah and your enemies” (8:60).
Hijacker Mohammed Atta wrote this just before the attack: “When the confrontation begins, strike like champions who do not want to go back to this world. Shout, ‘Allahu Akbar,’ because this strikes fear in the hearts of the non-believers. God said: ‘Strike above the neck, and strike at all of their extremities.’ Know that the gardens of paradise are waiting for you in all their beauty, and the women of paradise are waiting, calling out, ‘Come hither, friend of God.’ They have dressed in their most beautiful clothing.” The “Strike above the neck, and strike at all of their extremities” quote is also from the Qur’an (47:4). The gardens and women of Paradise are also spoken of in the Qur’an (52:17-20; 55:62-76; etc.), underscoring the fact that Atta and his companions saw their mission and goal in exclusively Islamic terms.
In Osama bin Laden’s letter to the American people, which was published on November 24, 2002, he put it succinctly: “The first thing that we are calling you to is Islam.” This was the ultimate purpose of the 9/11 attacks: to weaken the American economy, so that ultimately the American government would collapse. That, presumably, would end what bin Laden and his allies considered to be unacceptable American interference in Muslim countries, and pave the way for the U.S. itself to become an Islamic state.
But what Faisal Muammar is doing here is a familiar, favored tactic of Islamic supremacists: ignore the statements of jihad terrorists linking their terror directly to Islam, pretend that only the “Islamophobes” who point out such statements are making that link, and decry it in what is really a sly attempt to obfuscate the truth and make people afraid to state it, which would have the effect of allowing jihad terror to advance unimpeded.
“KACND: Western media attacks on Islam swelled terrorist ranks,” by Abdul Hannan Tago, Arab News, September 8, 2014:
Secretary-General of King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND) Faisal Muammar has said that linking Islam to the events of Sept. 11, 2001 by some Western politicians and media was unfair and obviously aimed at projecting Muslims as terrorists and extremists.
“The goal of these critics was to fight Islam, not terrorism and this made them (terrorists) gain more supporters and sympathizers globally instead” he noted.
Muammar made his remarks recently while receiving US advisers and aides of the Congress members at KACND headquarters in Riyadh.
He said those indulging in terrorism and extremism use the name of religion in conflicts with others, in many parts of the world, especially in the Middle East. “Those terrorists are not related to religion, they simply make use of religion to gain supporters and sympathizers and portray their actions as service to the religion,” he said.
“KACND’s top priority is to confront extremism and terrorism and to work through partnerships with other agencies, organizations and institutions to promote the values and virtues of Islam” he added.
Muammar explained that scholars of the Islamic world agreed on the seriousness of this extremist ideology and the need to clarify the message of Islam, which is based on tolerance, justice, respect and cooperation for the good of mankind.
He briefed the visiting delegation on KACND’s objectives and vision to spread the culture of dialogue, and its role in promoting this message within the community and its continued efforts in perpetuating the values of moderation and tolerance.
On their part, the visitors praised KACND for its effort to promote the language of dialogue and dedication among the community and the efforts of the Kingdom in the issues of peace and international cooperation.
Centinel2012 