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February 21, 2009
Bin Laden Responsible for “Every Drop of Blood”
Posted by Tina
** One of al-Qaeda's founding leaders, Dr Fadl, has begun an ideological revolt against Osama bin Laden, blaming him for "every drop" of blood spilt in Afghanistan and Iraq. *** Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, who goes by the nom de guerre Dr Fadl, helped bin Laden create al-Qaeda and then led an Islamist insurgency in Egypt in the 1990s. *** Twenty years ago, Dr Fadl became al-Qaeda's intellectual figurehead with a crucial book setting out the rationale for global jihad against the West. *** Today, however, he believes the murder of innocent people is both contrary to Islam and a strategic error. "Every drop of blood that was shed or is being shed in Afghanistan and Iraq is the responsibility of bin Laden and Zawahiri and their followers," writes Dr Fadl. **
** The terrorist attacks on September 11 were both immoral and counterproductive, he writes. "Ramming America has become the shortest road to fame and leadership among the Arabs and Muslims. But what good is it if you destroy one of your enemy's buildings, and he destroys one of your countries? What good is it if you kill one of his people, and he kills a thousand of yours?" asks Dr Fadl. "That, in short, is my evaluation of 9/11." *** He is equally unsparing about Muslims who move to the West and then take up terrorism. "If they gave you permission to enter their homes and live with them, and if they gave you security for yourself and your money, and if they gave you the opportunity to work or study, or they granted you political asylum," writes Dr Fadl, then it is "not honourable" to "betray them, through killing and destruction". *** In particular, Dr Fadl focuses his attack on Zawahiri, a key figure in al-Qaeda's core leadership and a fellow Egyptian whom he has known for 40 years. Zawahiri is a "liar" who was paid by Sudan's intelligence service to organise terrorist attacks in Egypt in the 1990s, he writes. *** Fouad Allam, who spent 26 years in the State Security Directorate, Egypt's equivalent of MI5, said that Dr Fadl's assault on al-Qaeda's core leaders had been "very effective, both in prison and outside". *** He added: "Within these secret organisations, leadership is very important. So when someone attacks the leadership from inside, especially personal attacks and character assassinations, this is very bad for them." **
Posted by Post Scripts at February 21, 2009 4:38 PM
Comments
As much as I appreciate Fadl seeing the light and in the spirit of intellectual honesty, he must also accept some responsbility for bringing Bin Laden to a place of power within the radical Muslim world. Some of that spilt blood is on Fadl's hands too...but of course all of us infidels are glad he doesn't believe in that anymore
Posted by: Jack | February 22, 2009 10:05 AM
How true Jack.
Yet he has taken the great risk of speaking out when he could have just melted into the landscape. We sometimes forget, living in our precious "land of the free," that speech can, and often does, end in death...or the death of one's family members. I think his admonition is a courageous act of "personal" responsibility and atonement, intended as an admonition and a positive example to young Muslims everywhere.
Posted by: Tina | February 22, 2009 11:59 AM