A Fatwa upon them!
Seeds of dissent -- from
The Jerusalem Post:
Saudi religious leader blasts Hizbullah
A top Saudi Sunni cleric, whose ideas inspired Osama bin Laden, issued a religious edict Saturday disavowing the Shi'ite guerrilla group Hizbullah, evidence that a rift remained among Muslims over the fighting in Lebanon.
Hizbullah, which translates as "the party of God," is actually "the party of the devil," said Sheik Safar al-Hawali, whose radical views made the al-Qaida leader one of his followers in the past.
"Don't pray for Hizbullah," he said in the fatwa posted on his Web site.
The edict, which reflects the historical stand of strict Wahhabi doctrine viewing Shi'ite Muslims as heretics, follows a similar fatwa from another popular Saudi cleric Sheik Abdullah bin Jibreen two weeks into the conflict with Israel.
"It is not acceptable to support this rejectionist party (Hizbullah), and one should not fall under its command, or pray for its victory," bin Jibreen said at the time. That fatwa set off a maelstrom across the Arab world, with other leaders and people at the grass roots level imploring Muslims to put aside differences to support the fight against Israel.
Good! But of course, this tired old trope continues to be recycled -- this time by Kuwait's prime minister, Sheik Nasser al-Mohammed al-Sabah:
"I believe that if this Israeli war on Lebanon goes on, it could contribute to creating new terrorists, and that of course would pose a new danger in the area," he told Egyptian magazine el-Mussawar.
Excuse me -- learning that you have an excellent chance of going kaboom is not good for recruitment. If we waffle, that is what will create more terrorists. If we show strength and crush them, they will melt into the sands. They are showing that they cannot win on a tactical or military front. Unfortunately, they are winning on the media front but the cracks are showing around the presentation -- the same few faces is all of the images, visible photoshopping of "authentic" photographs, the placement of US and EU photographers with terrorists who are actively shooting our troops.
Once people wake up, it will be over and everyone can go on with their lives...
Posted by DaveH at August 6, 2006 8:30 PM