Jihad or terrorism in Saudi Arabia? [Archives:2004/751/Opinion]

Fahmi Mohamadsaeed
[email protected]
United Kingdom
What is going on in Saudi Arabia? Is it terrorism or jihad to kill, murder and slaughter foreigners, especially Americans in Saudi Arabia? Is Islam urging and inciting Muslims to kill civilians, whether Americans, Europeans or from elsewhere? The answer simply 'no, never'. In fact, Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Islam is a word of love, peace, security, tolerance, stability, mercy and respect. Islam is derived from the word for 'peace'. Islam respects all mankind, regardless of their religion, sex, color or language.
In the early stage of Islam the leader of the Islamic army along with his followers were obliged to follow the following commands: “You shouldn't kill women, children, old people and people who are busy praying in churches and temples. You shouldn't even damage trees”. Certainly, Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, killing, murdering, etc.
Back to what has been going on in Saudi Arabia for the past two years. In my humble perspective, I think what Al-Qaeda members are doing in Saudi Arabia is retaliating for the Iraqis and Palestinians who are being killed, tortured and humiliated by Americans.
Of course, Al-Qaeda members are totally wrong and their actions are unjustified, because they are killing civilians who have nothing to do with what is going on in Iraq and Palestine.
They are killing civilians, not soldiers, who are working in Saudi Arabia and who came to the kingdom with the official permission of the Saudi authorities.
Regrettably, they are killing the wrong people whose only mistake is being Americans or Britons.
Yes, I am with Al-Qaeda members that the American policy is anti- Arab and hostile towards Islam and Muslims.
However, I am not with them in killing American and British civilians who are in Saudi Arabia.
If we have to follow Al-Qaeda members' theory and strategy, we in Yemen have to kill all Yemeni Jews, in retaliation for the massacres committed against Palestinians by Jews . It is nonsense.
My simple advice to Al-Qaeda members is to go to either Iraq or Palestine to fight, kill and slaughter Americans and Israelis because that would be a real Jihad and they would be labeled as real freedom fighters and martyrs and because the Americans in Iraq and Israelis in Palestine are undoubtedly occupiers, killers, criminals and aggressors.
The second point Al-Qaeda members may have as an excuse for killing Americans and Britons in Saudi Arabia is based on a hadith stating that you have to eject the disbelievers from the Arab Peninsula.
Again Al-Qaeda members are totally wrong and their actions are unjustified. First, the hadith, if correct, urged Muslims to eject the disbelievers, not kill them. Second, Al-Qaeda members don't have the right and not entitled to decide who should or shouldn't stay in the kingdom, because they aren't responsible for running the kingdom. Third, killing foreigners (disbelievers) randomly in the kingdom will certainly lead to chaos and destabilization to the detriment of the national interests of the kingdom.
To conclude, Al-Qaeda members fully believe that they are right in committing and perpetrating such acts against foreigners, but the reality is the contrary. They are wrong. Therefore, non Muslims don't have to blame Islam for the wrong actions committed by misled people (Al-Qaeda members ). Once again, Islam has nothing to do with such unjustifiable actions done by such misled people.
——
[archive-e:751-v:13-y:2004-d:2004-07-01-p:opinion]