[Reader-list] Embrace Islam or it is Hellfire for you

Wed Jan 6 19:44:38 IST 2010

I wonder why a mail with this heading - which seems quite unrelated to  
the complexity of the mail contents - appears to have gone straight  
onto the list, whereas a CFP for a planned conference panel on art,  
media and politics in Turkey that I had posted was held back by the  
administrator for proclaimed reasons of a 'suspicious heading' and has  
not appeared on the list until today.
Britta

Am 06.01.2010 um 14:56 schrieb Kshmendra Kaul:

> "Anjem Choudary: an open letter to families of British soldiers in  
> Afghanistan"
>
> (Anjem Choudary, the Muslim cleric, has written an open letter to  
> the families of British soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, or  
> who are serving there, to explain his reasons for planning a protest  
> march in Wootton Bassett. It reads:)
>
> 3rd January 2010
>
> May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon those who follow the  
> guidance.
>
> Following the public announcement of an impending procession by  
> islam4uk (a branch of Al-Muhajiroun) through the Market Town of  
> Wootton Basset we thought it only appropriate that we provide an  
> explanation and a little more about the purpose behind the  
> procession, especially to the family and friends of those who have  
> died there and who may have been led to believe that it is merely an  
> act of incitement or provocation.
>
> We begin by inviting all non-Muslims to Islam, the perfect and most  
> beautiful way of life, a favour from Allah (God) to mankind to take  
> him out of the darkness of worshipping his own desires to the  
> exclusive worship, submission and obedience of Allah alone, without  
> partners and to testify the Messenger-ship of the final Prophet  
> Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). We urge  
> you to embrace Islam and save yourselves and your family from the  
> hellfire and not to believe the lies and distortions which the  
> Western media and non-Islamic regimes would have you believe about  
> Muslims and their true intentions. Islam means submission and the  
> Muslim is the one who submits to the will of God in his life. Verily  
> the Messenger Muhammad told us that whoever heard his name from the  
> Jews and Christians and did not believe would be held accountable  
> for that on the day of judgement.
>
> We start by pointing out what many wise people already know i.e.  
> that the British public have once again been lied to by their  
> politicians about the war in Afghanistan. What began as a fight for  
> freedom and democracy and to protect the human rights of the  
> civilians and to find Sheikh Usama Bin Laden (by the use of B52  
> bombers) has today become a campaign to protect the security of the  
> British public back home and it has gone from being a campaign which  
> could be completed without firing a weapon within 3 years to one  
> which could go on for 40 or 50 years with a heavy cost to the  
> participants.
>
> In actual fact the foreign policy of the USA and UK is not about  
> protecting the rights of Muslims or propagating democracy and  
> freedom nor is it about the threat posed by the people in  
> Afghanistan to the British public at all, but rather it is to  
> establish their own military, economic, strategic and ideological  
> interests in the region. The rich resources of Afghanistan, its  
> position on the cusp between the Indian sub-continent, Southern  
> Russian, Asia and China and its populations call for the Shari'ah  
> are the real reasons why the military has sought to establish a  
> permanent role there, no matter what the cost to the lives and  
> wealth of the indigenous people or indeed their own. Pivotal in this  
> is the desire to prevent Muslims from running their own affairs and  
> establishing an Islamic State if they so wish but rather to maintain  
> a puppet in the area (Mr Karzia) to maintain and protect Western  
> interests.
>
> In order to create an atmosphere where these greedy objectives can  
> be accomplished the Western and even Eastern media have constantly  
> shown atrocities being committed against the ordinary people of  
> Afghanistan and Pakistan, in markets, universities and public  
> gathering places and have then blamed these on the perceived enemy,  
> in order to discredit any legitimate struggle for liberation and in  
> order to demonise them in the eyes of the world and thereby justify  
> the occupation and real intentions. The truth about such bloodshed  
> and mayhem is only now becoming public knowledge after information  
> about the real perpetrators has emerged (such as the CIA related  
> agency Black Water). The billions of dollars paid to the Pakistan  
> regime by the USA/UK alliance and to the Secret services in  
> Pakistan, their army and to the Karzai Afghan regime by way of  
> bribes has led them to slaughter their own citizens with the help of  
> the USA/UK and to then blame the Taliban in an
> attempt to subdue those seeking liberation to fulfil their right to  
> run their lives by divine law and to protect the US/UK military and  
> economic interests. With additional atrocities being committed by  
> the USA and UK through indiscriminate air raids and other operations  
> the number of ordinary Muslim men, women and children who have been  
> killed has reached horrendous proportions. Not to mention the  
> torture and abuse of basic rights by the occupiers in Afghanistan,  
> such as in Bagram Air Base, the case of Dr Affia Siddiqui being a  
> clear and brutal example.
>
> There is no doubt in most people's minds that the final conclusion  
> to the current conflict in Afghanistan has already been written.  
> Ultimate victory for those fighting in their own backyard, familiar  
> with the mountains and plains and their supporters who struggle to  
> protect their sanctities from the foreign aggressors cannot be  
> denied. The signs for this are already appearing with incohesive  
> thinking among the British and American chain of command, the  
> crippling effect of the war on their economies back home and the  
> depression of the soldiers realising that there is no real moral or  
> ethic reason for them to murder innocent men, women and children to  
> fulfil their politicians agenda. Blaming a lack of equipment is one  
> of the ways in which politicians have tried to shift the focus. It  
> is noteworthy that unlike among the US and UK soldiers, there has  
> not been one reported suicide or attempted suicide among those  
> resisting occupation.
>
> As a consequence this can only mean much more destruction for the  
> USA and UK sons and daughters sent by their uncaring leaders to  
> their deaths. After all this would not be the first time that this  
> region has acted as a grave yard for empires in history, notably the  
> British and Russians.
>
> It is worth reminding those who are still not blinded by the media  
> propaganda that Afghanistan is not a British Town near Wootton  
> Basset but rather Muslim land which no one has the right to occupy,  
> with a Muslim population who do not deserve their innocent men,  
> women and children to be killed for political mileage and for the  
> greedy interests of the oppressive US and UK regimes.
>
> The procession in Wootton Basset is therefore an attempt to engage  
> the British publics minds on the real reasons why their soldiers are  
> returning home in body bags and the real cost of the war. The  
> conflict in Afghanistan is not an ‘honourable' defence of British  
> values and a cause for the British to remain secure, rather the  
> presence of the US and UK forces in Afghanistan is the cause of  
> instability in the region and a cause of insecurity for the British  
> people back home. The parades, the speeches about soldiers doing  
> their duty and the feeling of patriotism has obfuscated the reality  
> of the conflict and the murderous crimes being committed by the  
> occupiers and their agents. The British public is blissfully unaware  
> of what is being done in their name by the Blair/Brown regimes and  
> were the truth known no doubt the pressure to withdraw all troops  
> immediately would be much greater.
>
> It is our desire to end the cycle of violence and the quagmire in  
> which we find ourselves in today in Afghanistan. For the British  
> public to do their duty and force their regime to save their  
> children from death and destruction, from an oppressive and costly  
> campaign and to stop the occupation of Muslim land. We realise that,  
> especially in times of war, we are up against a very sophisticated  
> propaganda machine and no doubt raising awareness about the painful  
> truth of this conflict will unleash a torrent of abuse from the  
> media and government against us, who have their own predetermined  
> agenda, however the world is today also small enough for those  
> wishing to verify the truth to be able to do so via the many news  
> and information outlets.
>
> Mr Anjem Choudary
>
> UK Head of Al-Muhajiroun
>
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/onthefrontline/6930015/Anjem-Choudary-an-open-letter-to-families-of-British-soldiers-in-Afghanistan.html
>
>
>
>
>
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---------------------------------------
Dr. Britta Ohm

Institute of Social Anthropology
University of Bern
Laenggassstr. 49a
3012 Bern
Switzerland
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