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Exclusive Interview - up, close and personal - with the most wanted man of the times then and now, Osama bin Laden. Representing CNN and Al-Jazeera in Kabul, this Syrian-born Spanish citizen's brave feat was awarded with a seven-year incarceration in 2005 by a Madrid court, accusing him of being an Al-Qaeda operative. Many petitions and pleas later, 51-year-old Taysir was shifted from the harsh Alcal' Meco penitentiary to his home in Granada, Spain. Still under house arrest, Taysir Alony wrote to TSI, in Arabic, about his views on Islam, the West, and the hurdles to reconciliation. Translated excerpts:
House arrest
I’ll be under house arrest till February 2012. Though I can go out between 10 in the morning and 10 in the night, I am not allowed to venture out of the province of Granada. This system restricts me from pursuing my vocation as a journalist, for that would require me to move around within the country (Spain), at least.
Interviewing Osama
I certainly do not regret the interview because I was simply doing my job as a journalist. Even if I had to repeat it under the same conditions, I’ll not hesitate to do it.
When asked about what was on my mind, as a liberal Muslim, listening to Osama, I remember he had his own interpretation of the Quran. And all Muslims may not necessarily agree with him on it. I reminded Osama of the statement he issued in February 1998, called ‘Declaration of War on the Jews and the Crusaders’, and asked him how he justified the war on Jews and Christians, when Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon Him) did not fight them for being Jew or Christian. Osama said he had called for war because of the hostile policies towards Islam. Ironically, in 2001, George Bush announced he was receiving messages from the Lord and that he was waging a ‘crusade’. This thesis, sadly, suited Osama.
Define terror
The main reason for the involvement of more young Muslims in al-Qaeda and other organisations is the feeling of injustice meted out to Muslims in many parts of the world. The restlessness among Muslims is increasing because they think that the West and America are targeting Muslims in the name of ‘war against terror’. Let’s say, killing of innocents is terrorism. That makes Bin Laden a terrorist, but the US killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan; the British participated in the killings; what do we call that? There are no reliable statistics on the number of deaths of Afghan civilians at the hands of the US, NATO and ISAF troops. Israel has killed Palestinian civilians; India kills Kashmiris during demonstrations; what do we call that? The Palestinian issue has not found a just solution in the last sixty years. The Palestinians are subjected to the worst atrocities by the Israeli occupation, with support from the US. Even the United Nations fails to pass any resolution against Israel simply because the US would veto any such attempt in the Security Council. Add to that the West's support for dictatorial regimes in the Third World. In general, all this forces leaves generations of Muslims with no option but to get involved in organisations calling for ‘Jihad for God's sake’ in lieu of the promise of jannat (paradise).
Non-violence works, but only just
There is no doubt that the peaceful ways of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela paid off successfully, but the situation is different now. Gandhi struggled against British occupation and Mandela fought against racial discrimination. What we are facing now is political discrimination. For example, in Palestine, any violent action against occupation is classified as ‘terrorist activity’, while the West justifies Israeli crimes in the name of security. I personally believe that if the parties (Israel and Palestine) agreed to settle the matter amicably, all violence will disappear. Bin Laden will then have no followers, for he is known to invoke the Palestinian issue to justify his activities.
It is hyperbolic imagination to expect those who have lost their kith and kin to repression, to forgive. How can we ask people to forget and pardon while waiting for their turn to die at the hands of the armies of democracy?
Reclaiming Islam
The war on Islam and the attempt to distort its image serves political goals; we are told that Islam is the axis of terror, but the international community has not yet a common definition of the term "terrorism". The United Nations has not taken any step in this regard, because they are a political body too. Islam has nothing to do with crimes happening in many parts of the world. Islam encourages struggle against those who occupy the land of Muslims and encourages defence of our homeland. It is a religion of peace. If the enemies of Islam call this an act of terrorism, it is their problem. They call it so because they hate Islam. In my opinion, the solution lies in ending double standards and duplicity.
Muslims in the modern era do not have a common reference for the development of rules and jurisprudence. There is the Al-Azhar in Egypt; the Hayat Kibar-al- Ulama (the Supreme Council of Ulema) in Saudi Arabia, and the European Council for Fatwa and Research. Then there are others in India, Pakistan, Indonesia and other Muslim countries. All of them condemn violence of any kind, but since they often play into the hands of the dictators, they have thus lost credibility with the majority of Muslims. In my opinion, this is the essence of the problem. If there was a common reference or a single organisation acknowledged by all Muslim factions, it would have been easier to resolve matters and offer explanations for emerging issues.
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Exclusive Interview - up, close and personal - with the most wanted man of the times then and now, Osama bin Laden. Representing CNN and Al-Jazeera in Kabul, this Syrian-born Spanish citizen's brave feat was awarded with a seven-year incarceration in 2005 by a Madrid court, accusing him of being an Al-Qaeda operative. Many petitions and pleas later, 51-year-old Taysir was shifted from the harsh Alcal' Meco penitentiary to his home in Granada, Spain. Still under house arrest, Taysir Alony wrote to TSI, in Arabic, about his views on Islam, the West, and the hurdles to reconciliation. Translated excerpts:
House arrest
I’ll be under house arrest till February 2012. Though I can go out between 10 in the morning and 10 in the night, I am not allowed to venture out of the province of Granada. This system restricts me from pursuing my vocation as a journalist, for that would require me to move around within the country (Spain), at least.
Interviewing Osama
I certainly do not regret the interview because I was simply doing my job as a journalist. Even if I had to repeat it under the same conditions, I’ll not hesitate to do it.
When asked about what was on my mind, as a liberal Muslim, listening to Osama, I remember he had his own interpretation of the Quran. And all Muslims may not necessarily agree with him on it. I reminded Osama of the statement he issued in February 1998, called ‘Declaration of War on the Jews and the Crusaders’, and asked him how he justified the war on Jews and Christians, when Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon Him) did not fight them for being Jew or Christian. Osama said he had called for war because of the hostile policies towards Islam. Ironically, in 2001, George Bush announced he was receiving messages from the Lord and that he was waging a ‘crusade’. This thesis, sadly, suited Osama.
Define terror
The main reason for the involvement of more young Muslims in al-Qaeda and other organisations is the feeling of injustice meted out to Muslims in many parts of the world. The restlessness among Muslims is increasing because they think that the West and America are targeting Muslims in the name of ‘war against terror’. Let’s say, killing of innocents is terrorism. That makes Bin Laden a terrorist, but the US killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan; the British participated in the killings; what do we call that? There are no reliable statistics on the number of deaths of Afghan civilians at the hands of the US, NATO and ISAF troops. Israel has killed Palestinian civilians; India kills Kashmiris during demonstrations; what do we call that? The Palestinian issue has not found a just solution in the last sixty years. The Palestinians are subjected to the worst atrocities by the Israeli occupation, with support from the US. Even the United Nations fails to pass any resolution against Israel simply because the US would veto any such attempt in the Security Council. Add to that the West's support for dictatorial regimes in the Third World. In general, all this forces leaves generations of Muslims with no option but to get involved in organisations calling for ‘Jihad for God's sake’ in lieu of the promise of jannat (paradise).
Non-violence works, but only just
There is no doubt that the peaceful ways of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela paid off successfully, but the situation is different now. Gandhi struggled against British occupation and Mandela fought against racial discrimination. What we are facing now is political discrimination. For example, in Palestine, any violent action against occupation is classified as ‘terrorist activity’, while the West justifies Israeli crimes in the name of security. I personally believe that if the parties (Israel and Palestine) agreed to settle the matter amicably, all violence will disappear. Bin Laden will then have no followers, for he is known to invoke the Palestinian issue to justify his activities.
It is hyperbolic imagination to expect those who have lost their kith and kin to repression, to forgive. How can we ask people to forget and pardon while waiting for their turn to die at the hands of the armies of democracy?
Reclaiming Islam
The war on Islam and the attempt to distort its image serves political goals; we are told that Islam is the axis of terror, but the international community has not yet a common definition of the term "terrorism". The United Nations has not taken any step in this regard, because they are a political body too. Islam has nothing to do with crimes happening in many parts of the world. Islam encourages struggle against those who occupy the land of Muslims and encourages defence of our homeland. It is a religion of peace. If the enemies of Islam call this an act of terrorism, it is their problem. They call it so because they hate Islam. In my opinion, the solution lies in ending double standards and duplicity.
Muslims in the modern era do not have a common reference for the development of rules and jurisprudence. There is the Al-Azhar in Egypt; the Hayat Kibar-al- Ulama (the Supreme Council of Ulema) in Saudi Arabia, and the European Council for Fatwa and Research. Then there are others in India, Pakistan, Indonesia and other Muslim countries. All of them condemn violence of any kind, but since they often play into the hands of the dictators, they have thus lost credibility with the majority of Muslims. In my opinion, this is the essence of the problem. If there was a common reference or a single organisation acknowledged by all Muslim factions, it would have been easier to resolve matters and offer explanations for emerging issues.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM Marches Ahead in B-School Rankings...
IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board
An array of unconventional career options
Ragging rights and wrongs
Indian universities and higher education institutes seem to be caught in a time warp teaching things
The hunt for hostel and paying guest (PG) accommodation for students
Best Colleges for Vocational Courses in India
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