Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,1361,573926,00.html
Full text of statement by Sulaiman Abu Ghaith
Full text of statement Saturday by Osama bin Laden spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, as broadcast on Qatar's al-Jazeera satellite channel
Staff and agencies
Sunday October 14, 2001
"In regard to the questions and speculations that have been raised, we say, that the crusade being led by Bush and Blair - the crusaders - is still ongoing in the Muslim Emirate of Afghanistan and its people.
We pledge our full support for the Afghan people in this crisis with all the power we possess, under the guidance of Mullah Omar, may God bless him and lead him to victory.
No matter how long this war takes, this issue is the issue of an entire nation which has refused a life of humiliation under American arrogance and Israeli violence. Secondly, the organization of al-Qaida announces that Bush the father, and Bush the son, and in between them, Clinton, Blair and Sharon are at the head of the criminals, the Zionists and the crusaders, who have committed the worst practices and greatest atrocities against the Muslim nation, before and now.
Millions of Muslim men, women and children have been killed without committing any sins. The blood of those will not be lost in vain, God willing.
Bush has to know, in the epitome of his arrogance and the peak of his media campaign in which he boasts of enduring freedom, he shouldn't forget the image of Mohammed al-Dura and his fellow Muslims in Palestine and Iraq. If he has forgotten, then we will not forget, God willing.
He has to know that his enduring freedom, which he boasts about, has eradicated entire villages near Jalalabad, in Afghanistan. They took out entire villages, and it wasn't by mistake, it was on purpose. What kind of mistake gets repeated three times? This village was bombarded early in the night, then in the middle of the night, and right before dawn. Those who have stood by this crusade have to know, after the truth came out and became clear, that this is a crusade against Islam and Muslims.
Where will these people (who have supported the attacks) hide from the saying of the prophet, peace be upon him: the earth vanishing is less important to God then the killing of a believer without a just cause.
What will they say when the papers are published before God's hands? What will they say about the injustices carried out? On this issue, we support the fatwa or fatwas, which came from the religious leaders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, starting with Sheikh Hammoud bin Oqba al-Shoeiby, who advised not to cooperate with Jews and Christians, and those who cooperate with them and assist them with a word or a deed, would have committed an act of apostasy and would have renounced his belief and would have abandoned God and his prophet.
The organization of al-Qaida announces to the Americans and to all the infidels in the Arabian peninsula - starting with the Americans and the British, orders them to leave the Arabian peninsula. If the mothers of those have a say in their sons' lives, they have to ask them to get out of the Arabian peninsula, because the land will burn with fire under their feet, God willing.
We salute the fighting youths (Mujahid) who knew the right path and who knew how to answer these rampant oppressors, by killing the people they killed.
We salute the Muslim masses, to the east of the globe and to its west, who went out to angrily demonstrate against this criminal attack, and against this degradation and injustice. We tell them, they have to continue, especially after the foreign ministers of the OIC supported these attacks. These people do not represent the masses in any way and don't have any legitimacy to decide the fate of the nation. As for the warning delivered by Bush and the American administration and the warning they gave to international media agencies to stop giving us a voice in the world, is a clear indication that the American administration is scared that the truth will be revealed. The truth, which shows that Bush is an agent for the Israelis and has sacrificed his people and his country's economy because of them. He is assisting them against Muslim countries.
Finally, I direct my words to the American secretary of state, who doubted our last statement and who belittled what we said about the thousands of Muslims ready for their death and that the storm of planes will not end. I say to him and others in the American administration who know that when al-Qaida promises, it delivers, God willing.
I say to him, those who are waiting for the future will find it soon. The storms will not stop. The storms of planes will not stop until you drag your defeated tails from Afghanistan, not until you raise your hands from the Jews in Palestine, not until you lift the embargo on the Iraqi people, not until you leave the Arabian peninsula, not until you stop supporting the Hindus against the Muslims in Kashmir.
We say to Muslims in
America and Britain - to children and to those who resent this
American policy - we advise them not to ride planes and not to
live in high buildings. Pride to God and to believers, and the
disbelievers will never know."
Further Reading:
F.·.W.·. Magazine || 9/11: The Archive
- The 'Lighter' Side of the New World Order?
