Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3343-1003890685-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Tue, 23 Oct 2001 19:34:14 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 16638 invoked by uid 510); 24 Oct 2001 02:30:53 -0000 Received: from n5.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.55) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 24 Oct 2001 02:30:53 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3343-1003890685-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.53] by n5.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 24 Oct 2001 02:31:25 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 24 Oct 2001 02:31:25 -0000 Received: (qmail 16914 invoked from network); 24 Oct 2001 02:31:25 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by l7.egroups.com with QMQP; 24 Oct 2001 02:31:25 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta1 with SMTP; 24 Oct 2001 02:31:25 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id f9O2Vms31171 for iwar@onelist.com; Tue, 23 Oct 2001 19:31:48 -0700 Message-Id: <200110240231.f9O2Vms31171@red.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2001 19:31:48 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Muslim.Cleric.Condemns.Terrorists] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Muslim Cleric Condemns Terrorists By DONNA ABU-NASR Associated Press Writer October 23, 2001, 2:41 PM EDT BEIRUT, Lebanon -- An influential Shiite Muslim cleric once linked to militants suspected of kidnapping Americans and bombing U.S. targets does not believe the Sept. 11 hijackers committed an act of martyrdom -- a prized duty in Islam -- but suicide, a crime in the faith. In fact, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah has condemned the bombings in the United States as acts of terror and, despite his fiery anti-American rhetoric, is not encouraging his followers to strike against the United States. "We reject the bombings, and we believe that they cannot be justified" by Islam, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "The killing of civilians, especially in this manner, cannot be sanctioned religiously." But at the same time, Fadlallah was harshly critical of the U.S. airstrikes against Afghanistan, saying in an interview at his home in southern Beirut that the military campaign Washington had first called Operation Infinite Justice was an act of "infinite terrorism" that would spawn more terrorism. The United States later changed the name to Enduring Freedom after Muslims said only God's justice was unending. "The United States is punishing the Afghan people for something they have nothing to do with just as the terrorists punished American and other civilians for things they had no hand in," Fadlallah said. Fadlallah's words carry a lot of weight among the region's Shiites who revere him and seek his guidance on issues touching on every aspect of a Muslim's daily life. His fatwas, or religious edicts, range from controversial to progressive, such as a ban on smoking in a region where it is widely practiced, and approval of cloning for scientific purposes. In the 1980s, Fadlallah wielded great influence over the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, the umbrella for Shiite extremist groups behind the abductions of Americans and Westerners as well as the bombings of the U.S. Embassy and the Marine base in Lebanon, attacks which killed more than 260 Americans. Recently, Fadlallah countered U.S. demands for terrorists to be handed over with his call on America to surrender those who carried out an assassination attempt on his life which be blamed on the CIA. Seventy-five people were killed and more than 200 wounded in a car bombing in March 1985 outside Fadlallah's house in southern Beirut. The cleric survived with minor injuries. In the interview, Fadlallah, 66, described the U.S. military campaign against Afghanistan as unfair. Washington began the strikes on Oct. 7 after the ruling Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "This war is not a war of infinite justice but a war of infinite terrorism," Fadlallah said. "When Muslims follow news broadcasts they feel there's infinite injustice being committed because America has not been able to provide any excuse to justify the war," he added. Fadlallah said the Afghan war has fueled the anger of people "oppressed by American policy and made them feel more humiliated," a condition that would "result in an increase in terrorism worldwide." "Arabs feel that terrorism is being treated with similar terrorism," he added. Still, Fadlallah said that even if the attacks had been carried out to protest America's policies -- considered by Arabs as biased toward Israel -- he still believed they were terrorist acts. "Those who carried them out are not martyrs. They committed suicide and killed thousands of people who had nothing to do with U.S. policies," he said. Because of the cleric's ties to the militants, President Clinton decided in January 1995 to freeze Fadlallah's U.S. assets along with those of 17 other people as part of an anti-terror campaign. Also on the list was bin Laden's chief lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahri, an Egyptian. Asked if he knew al-Zawahri or any other member of al-Qaida, Fadlallah said: "I don't know any of those people." Fadlallah said he was never formally notified of Clinton's decision or told whether his name has been removed from the list. He said he didn't have any assets in the United States. Asked if Clinton's action has affected him, Fadlallah said: "Not at all. When someone feels that an action is unrealistic, he considers it like any lie that's spread about a person." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get your FREE VeriSign guide to security solutions for your web site: encrypting transactions, securing intranets, and more! http://us.click.yahoo.com/UnN2wB/m5_CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:56 PST