Why Do Arab Nationalists Demand the Liberation of Palestine If They Gave Up on Other Occupied Regions?

We know why. Arabs are resentful that Jews are not going to apologize for surviving a 60+ year war that Arabs started, the same war that the detestable Arafat the Egyptian perpetrated when he created the PLO in 1964 - three years before there was an "occupation" in 1967. The 1967 war was a direct result of Arab aggression towards Israel, and a war which the Arabs lost.

Arabs themselves are occupiers in the Middle East. Arabs belong in Arabia and have no right to Egypt, Syria, Jordan, or Lebanon.

In addition the tactic of Muslims to usurp synagogues and churches and supplant them with mosques is all part of the Islamic warlord tradition and a telling example of Islam's iconoclasty. Islam thrives on symbols and symbolism and reinventing history. "Palestine" has a fabricated neo-history and the use of the word is part of Palestinianism. It only became injected into America's lexicon in 1964 when Arafat reinvented and revised the history of the Middle East, and the rest of the world, which was already being gobbled up by hippies, communists, radicals and Jane Fonda-types, all fell for The Big Lie.

Via MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from a TV debate with Oslo-based Palestinian author Dr. Ahmad Abu Matar and former head of the Arab Writers Union 'Ali 'Oqla 'Orsan. The debate aired on Al-Jazeera TV on July 22, 2008:

To view this clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1827.htm.

Ahmad Abu Matar: "Where are all the masses with regard to the Alexandretta province, which was occupied 80 years ago?! When the Turkish-Syrian border was demarcated a few years ago, any mention of the occupied Alexandretta province was erased from the Syrian curricula - from elementary school to university.

[...]

"They have forgotten all about occupied Al-Ahwaz, the Alexandretta province, and about Sabta and Malila. Who is against normalization? The resistance and Hamas, you say? Examine this shameful paradox - several months ago, Hamas would launch 'decorative' missiles, and would accuse the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas of oppressing resistance fighters. Now, for the past two or three months, Hamas has given normalization a cute nickname - tahdiya - which sounds slightly nicer than 'normalization,' and it began to arrest people who launched missiles. What is this paradox?"

[...]

'Ali 'Oqla 'Orsan: "A people that participates in a campaign on the scale of the Arab-Zionist conflict and whose land is occupied cannot open a second front in Alexandretta or anywhere else. This does not mean that it has forgotten its rights, but that it would be crazy to open several fronts simultaneously all over the world. We learned this lesson painfully in 1967, when our army fought both in the south and in the north. We must not live in delusions."

[...]

Ahmad Abu Matar: "My colleague, Dr. 'Ali 'Oqla 'Orsan, said, regarding the question of why we have forgotten Alexandretta, that it is all a question of priorities. To be honest, I do not understand these priorities. Alexandretta was occupied in 1936, and we have forgotten about it, and Al-Ahwaz was occupied in 1925, and we have forgotten about it. Palestine was occupied in 1948 - so what are the priorities? Do you want to liberate the first region to fall, or the last? If you want to start with the last region - go ahead and issue just one statement about the UAE islands occupied by Iran. This proves that there is a defect in the thinking of the anti-normalization committees."

Click here for more facts about the tenuous Islamic identification and "connection" with the Jewish and Christian Holy Land.

Escalation in Fatah's Position Toward Israel After Gaza Cease-Fire

We all know that any ceasefire between Muslims and non-Muslims is just a phony tactic that Muslims use to re-arm or stall long enough until they are in a stronger position to commit genocide and betray. From Escalation in Fatah's Position Toward Israel After Gaza Cease-Fire:

Under the tahdiah agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which went into effect on June 19, 2008, the Palestinians agreed to stop the rocket attacks on Israel in exchange for a cessation of Israel's military activity in Gaza. It was also agreed that there would be negotiations for opening the Rafah crossing, with the participation of Palestinian Authority, Hamas and EU representatives.

The tahdiah has motivated Hamas to escalate the fighting in the West Bank - first, out of a sense that only force will compel Israel to make concessions, and second, as a signal that it has not sacrificed the West Bank in favor of Gaza, and that - in spite of the tahdiah - it has not relinquished the path of resistance.

In the wake of the tahdiah, Fatah officials have also escalated their positions vis-a-vis Israel. According to the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, the PA is considering options regarding future contacts with Israel: the first is to terminate all contacts and to announce the end of the political process; the second is to unilaterally declare the establishment of a Palestinian state.

PA senior officials have also escalated their positions concerning the armed conflict with Israel. This is reflected in statements praising Samir al-Quntar and Dalal al-Mughrabi, who perpetrated terrorist attacks in Israel. Senior officials have also stressed that Fatah will not give up armed resistance.

Mahmoud Abbas, who, like Arafat before him, also heads Fatah, congratulated the families of Samir al-Quntar and the other released prisoners. A Fatah spokesman, Ahmad 'Abd al-Rahman, congratulated Hizbullah and all the resistance forces on their "victory" over Israel and on the return of "the heroes of freedom, the prisoners and the martyrs [to Lebanon] - especially the great fighter Samir al-Quntar and the martyred fighter Dalal al-Mughrabi, who led the most glorious martyrdom operation in the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

The Iranian Roots of Hizbullah

The Iranian Roots of Hizbullah(1)

By: Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli*

Iran/Lebanon #448 June 17, 2008

Table of Contents:

<#1>Introduction
<#2>Akhteri's Background and Proselytizing Activity
<#3>Facing the First Crisis
<#4>The Splintering of Amal and the Creation of Hizbullah
<#5>Syria Allowed the Passage of Military Aid to Hizbullah
<#6>The Establishment of Al-Manar TV
<#7>Hizbullah's Social Institutions ñ Identical To Iran's
<#8>Refusal to Pay for Electricity
<#9>The Shi'ization of Syria
<#10>Conclusion
<#11>Notes

"Iran is the only country that does not interfere in Lebanon." - Mahmoud Ahamdinejad(2)

Introduction

Ahmadinejad's absurd statement coincided ironically with the publication in the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat of an extensive interview with Mohammad Hassan Akhteri, who has recently completed a total of 14 years as Iran's ambassador to Syria. By his own admission, Akhteri was the most senior Iranian liaison official with Hizbullah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, and the architect of the special relationship between Iran and Syria. Akhteri was also the founder in Damascus of the Palestinian-Iranian Friendship Society.

In the interview, published in two parts on May 14 and May 15, 2008, Akhteri distinguishes between the spiritual father (al-ab al-rouhi) of Hizbullah, the one who initiated the idea, and the "field father" (al-ab al-midani). Akhteri considers himself the latter, while his predecessor in Damascus, Ali Muhtashemi, was the former.(3)

Akhteri's Background and Proselytizing Activity

Akhteri was born in Qom in 1928, and came to diplomacy from his position as Friday preacher at the Samnan mosque, north of Tehran. He studied religious jurisprudence at a hawza (a Shi'ite religious center) in Qom. Concurrently with his role as ambassador to Damascus, Akhteri has served for the last four years as the head of the International Society of aal-al-beit, the Prophet Mohammad's descendents, who are viewed by the Shi'ite branch of Islam as the legitimate rulers of Islam. The Aal-al-beit Society is also engaged in spreading "Shi'ite Islamic consciousness," essentially a proselytizing organization which seeks converts to Shi'ite Islam.

Akhteri served two terms as ambassador to Damascus: the first, longer term from 1986 to 1997, and the second from 2005 to January 2008. But before serving as ambassador, he had accumulated a record as a proselytizer: He spent some time in Homs, Syria in 1969, and from there he went to Lebanon for two and a half years, through 1972, to carry out religious activities and tabligh (spreading of Islam).

Facing the First Crisis

Akhteri arrived in Syria in 1986, at a time of conflict between the Palestinians and the Shi'ite Movement ñ Amal ñ that was created by Imam Moussa al-Sadr in the 1960s as a social-service organization intended to improve the living conditions of the Shi'ite community in southern Lebanon, one of the poorest communities in the country. Al-Sadr, born in Iran and educated in Qom, also established the Shi'ite Supreme Islamic Council in 1969. Al-Sadr flew to Tripoli, Libya on August 25, 1978 and there he disappeared. His disappearance, six months prior to the success of the Iranian revolution, was a key factor in the marginalization of the Amal Movement, and the birth of Hizbullah.

The Splintering of Amal and the Creation of Hizbullah

The Islamic regime of Iran after the revolution regarded the Amal Movement with suspicion because it seemed insufficiently religious, and lacking the suitability or will to be an instrument of spreading the Iranian revolution. In addition, it was led by politicians, many of them were secular, rather than by clerics. In fact, the very name Amal (Hope) lacked religious ring. On its part, Amal was disenchanted with Iran because during its conflict with the Palestinians Iran supported the latter.

As a result, Iran encouraged elements from the Amal Movement to splinter and establish a religious party that would be more in tune with the concept of wilayat al-faqih, [the Rule of the Jurisprudent] introduced by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the spiritual and political leader of the Islamic Republic. Once that party, Hizbullah, was established, Khomeini ordered elements of the Revolutionary Guards to go to Lebanon to train its young cadres.

The Iranian ambassador to Damascus from 1982-85, Ali Akbar Mohtashemi, was quoted by Al-Sharq Al-Awsat as telling an Iranian newspaper that Hizbullah gained part of its battle experience through its participation in the war against Iraq. According to Mohtashemi, more than 100,000 young Lebanese received military training both in Lebanon and in Iran in groups of 300 fighters. Akhteri has also conceded that elements of Hizbullah fought in the war with Iraq "either within our ranks or by themselves."

Akhteri recalls that five planeloads of Revolutionary Guards and Basij (youth militia) landed in Damascus to stand with Hizbullah during the 1982 Israeli invasion of southern Lebanon, but Khomeini stopped any further dispatch of Iranian forces to Lebanon because of logistical problems. According to Akhteri, supplying a military contingency in Lebanon would have been difficult with the war raging between Iran and Iraq. The only other alternative would have been to go through Turkey, but Turkey was a member of NATO. Hence, the real alternative was to train Hizbullah's cadres in Lebanon itself.

Syria Allowed the Passage of Military Aid to Hizbullah

The arming of Hizbullah could not have been possible without the support of Syria. When Hizbullah was established, Syria was in control of Lebanon, and no one could come and go without the approval of the Syrian regime. In fact, Akhteri admits that throughout his "diplomatic" mission to Syria he coordinated his activities in Lebanon with Ghazi Kandan, who was chief of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon from 1982-2001, and who became minister of interior in October 2003 and who in 2005 allegedly committed suicide. (Kandan may have been involved in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri. As the international investigation of the assassination was beginning to implicate the Syrian regime, Kandan may have been silenced by a staged ñ unexplainable ñ suicide.)

In his interview with Al-Asharq Al-Awsat , Ambassador Akhteri stated with evident pride that Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, and Hamas are the "legitimate children of the Iranian revolution," and that Iran has supported them financially, politically, and morally. There was coordination between Iran and each of these organizations, but Akhteri argues that any final decisions were taken by these groups themselves.

The Establishment of Al-Manar TV

To solidify its control over its supporters and to spread Shi'ite Islamic fervor, Hizbullah needed its own television station, but Lebanon was reluctant to approve an independent station for Hizbullah. According to former Syrian vice president Abdul Halim Khaddam, now living in exile in France, the Iranian president at the
time, Hashemi Rafsanjani, called Syrian President Hafez Al-Assad to obtain a license for Al-Manar TV. Assad told then-Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri to grant the permit, and the permit was granted. The establishment of Al-Manar was one of the steps that, Akhteri stresses, "strengthened the independence of Hizbullah on the Lebanese political scene."(4)

Hizbullah's Social Institutions ñ Identical To Iran's

In addition to Al-Manar TV, Hizbullah was able, with Iran's financing, to establish a wide range of social, financial, and economic institutions that strengthened the loyalty of the Shi'ites in Lebanon to Iran. One of the significant financial arms of Hizbullah is the Shahid Foundation (Martyrs Foundation), an Iran-based organization established in 1982 in Iran to assist victims of the Iran-Iraq war. In 2007, the U.S. Treasury targeted "Iran-based Martyrs Foundation," including its U.S. branch, and the finance firm Al-Qardh al-Hassan (Good Deed Loan) as front organizations for Hizbullah. According to the Treasury, the Martyrs Foundation branches in Lebanon provided financial support to the families of killed or imprisoned Hizbullah and Islamic Jihad members, including suicide bombers in the Palestinian territories. Al-Qardh al-Hassan created the Goodwill Charitable Organization (munatzamat al-niyya al-hasana al-khairiya) in Dearborn, Michigan as a fundraising office for the Martyrs Foundation.

According to the U.S. Treasury, Hizbullah used the Al-Qardh al-Hassan's financial arms as cover to manage its financial activity. Al-Qardh al-Hassan is run by Hussein al-Shami, a senior Hizbullah leader who has also served as a member of Hizbullah's Shura Council and as head of several Hizbullah-controlled organizations.(5)

Hussein Raslan, in charge of the social functions in the Martyrs Foundation, told Islamonline on August 13, 2006, that the idea for the Foundation originated with Khomeini, who provided the financing from zakat (alms contributed by Muslims). Raslan said that the first Hizbullah school was established in Beirut in 1988, but that eventually the school was incorporated into the Imam al-Mahdi Foundation in 2002. The flow of funds [from Iran], Raslan said, nabled Hizbullah to establish a series of enterprises including those dealing with food supply, gasoline and printing houses. Hizbullah schools in Lebanon, either under Khomeini or al-Mahdi Foundations, follow the Iranian curriculum.

Hizbullah has also established a network of hospitals (dispensing Iranian-made medicines), banks, and cultural organizations. Finally, there are the Hizbullah police, who are responsible for maintaining "good manners" on the street ñ meaning, among other things, that women are always veiled in public. Money from Iran keeps this massive apparatus running.

Refusal to Pay for Electricity

One of the least-known facts about the dominance of Hizbullah in parts of Lebanon is the refusal of its members to pay their electric bill. Without the means to force them to do so, the Lebanese government is left with one of its largest budgetary problems ñ the growing subsidy the government has to pay to the national power company, Electricite du Liban.

The Shi'ization of Syria

The International Aal-Al-Beit Society, which operates under Iran's supreme leader, currently Ali Khamenei, and whose primary function is to spread Shi'ism (tashayu') in the rest of the Muslim world, took advantage of Iran's special relations with Syria in order to establish Shi'ite religious seminaries in Damascus. In fact, Damascus has now at least three hawzas (religious centers,) and is considered the third largest Shi'ite center in the world after Najaf and Qom. While Akhteri minimizes the proselytizing functions of the Aal Al-Beit society in Syria, there are concerns sounded in both Syria and the Arab world about the tashayu' effort ñ not only in Syria but in other countries, such as Egypt and Sudan.

Conclusion

This paper highlights two significant facts: first, Hizbullah was created and sustained by Iran. Iranian financial support has made it possible for this political organization to build a network of schools, hospitals, social welfare organizations and above all, military prowess. It now serves as an extension of Iran's strategic
expansion into the Mediterranean.

Second, it is absolutely evident that Iran's extended arm into Lebanon would not have been possible without the collusion or approval of the Syrian regime. Syria is also the main conduit of arms from Iran to Hizbullah.

*Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli is the Editor of The MEMRI Economic Blog,
http://www.memrieconomicblog.org.

Notes

(1) This dispatch is based on a presentation made by the author at a
panel on "The Iranization of Lebanon?" at the Potomac Institute on
May 23, 2008.
(2) Press conference in Tehran, May 13, 2008.
(3) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), May 14 and May 15, 2008.
(4) Manal Lutfi, "The Limits of the State of Hizbullah," Al-Sharq
Al-Awsat (London), May 20, 2009
(5) http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/200772410294613432.htm,
July 24, 2007.

MEMRI
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
www.memri.org

Muslim Terrorists May Be Trying To Sink the Dollar

There is no doubt that the best recourse to exact revenge against Muslim terrorists and their supporters who are holding westerners - especially the US - hostage to their Muslim-infected OPEC policy which is to charge all westerners enormous sums of money for oil taken out of the earth by technology that WE TAUGHT THEM HOW TO USE, is for the US to jack up the price of wheat, corn, and oat that WE export to those same "starving" 3rd world Muslim-infested countries.

That's right, I said it. Jack up the price of wheat, corn and oat that we sell to Muslim countries. That's the only way that we can level the playing fields. Via IsraelNN.com:

Mujahideen Muslim terrorists may be behind the sinking American dollar as part of a campaign to cripple the American economy, the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported. The media watch group, which specializes in tracking Arabic language websites, said that postings on websites the past two years reflect a move toward waging an economic war against the United States.Financial, rather than military, losses that will prompt the U.S. to change its policies in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Mujahideen terrorist groups that operate in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries "have come to the conclusion that it is financial, rather than military, losses that will prompt the U.S. to change its policies in the Middle East and elsewhere," according to MEMRI.

An article recently posted in Sada Al-Jihad (Echo of Jihad) magazine and posted on several Muslim websites, discusses the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. as having influenced the decline in the dollar. It also cited the cost of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as draining the American economy.

Another recent posting stated, "The dollar can expect two additional blows that will break its back... [namely] the announcement of the return of the [religious rule of the] Caliphate..." and the reinstatement of the gold standard in international monetary trade. It urged Mujahideen "to get rid of American dollars" before an "imminent" terrorist attack that "will put an end to the so-called United States of America and destroy its economy completely."

MEMRI concluded, "Given that it is highly atypical for Al-Qaeda to give prior warning of its attacks, the message is probably an attempt to pressure Muslims to sell dollars, in order to generate pessimism in the dollar market and thus accelerate the drop in its value."

'Bush killed' in Palestinian kids TV show

The US just donated 150 million dollars to the genocidal PA, yet in another one of the PA's propaganda brainwashing videos, we see a child stab President Bush to death and turn the White House into a mosque in a children's puppet show broadcast on the television channel of the ruling Palestinian Authority party, Hamas. In the Al-Aqsa TV skit, aired yesterday, the child confronts the American leader: "I have come to take revenge with this sword – revenge for my mother and my sisters. You are a criminal, Bush! You are despicable. You made me an orphan! You took everything from me, Bush! I must take revenge on you, with this sword of Islam, the prophet's Al-Battar sword."

The Bush character tries to appease the child with food, toys and a visit to the White House but is rebuffed, as seen in a video clip translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI.

Darfur Rebel Movement Opens Israel Office

Via The MEMRI Blog:

Sudan Liberation Amy/Movement (SLA/M) leader Abd Al-Wahid Al-Nur has announced that Darfur refugees who received asylum in Israel recently opened an SLA/M office. He also praised the Israeli government for helping the refugees, and said that the SLA/M's vision was of a liberal, democratic Sudan that would normalize relations with Israel.

Syrian Officials Call on Arab Countries to Deepen Relations with Iran

Via MEMRI:

Against the backdrop of President Bush's Middle East visit and of the recent visit to Syria by Ali Larijani, representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Iran's Supreme National Security Council, high-ranking Syrian government officials called on Arab countries to deepen relations and cooperation with Iran. Such calls have been voiced by Syrian Information Minister Muhsin Bilal and Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Faisal al-Miqdad. In addition, a column published in the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra advised Arab states that Iran's becoming a regional power was in their interests.

MEMRI: Major Jihadi Cleric says 9/11 Was a Sin

Unheard of compunction from a Muslim radical. An important read excerpted from MEMRI:

Over the last few weeks, Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, one of the least public yet most important figures in the global jihad movement, has published a long-awaited new work, Wathiqat Tarshid Al-'Aml Al-Jihadi fi Misr w'Al-'Alam ("Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World"), in which he calls for a stop to jihad activities in the West and also to those against the ruling regimes in Muslim countries.

The new book, which Imam wrote while serving a life sentence in Egypt, was published in serial form in two Arab dailies, the Kuwaiti Al-Jarida and the Egyptian Al-Masri Al-Yawm, and has been the subject of extensive discussion and polemic among Islamists and observers of Islamist movements. The document is at once a book and a formal initiative, and the majority of leaders and members of the Jihad organization in the Egyptian prisons have signed the document and promised to stop armed activities. This entire process was facilitated by the Egyptian authorities, and the document was reviewed by a commission of Al-Azhar scholars. [1]

The book has generated such interest due to its author's standing and importance among radical Islamists. In addition to his given name, Sayyed Imam Al-Sharif, he is also known as "Dr. Fadl" and "'Abd Al-Qader Bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz." His 1988 book on the laws of jihad, Al-'Umda fi I'dad Al-'Udda ("The Essentials of Making Ready [for Jihad]"), was used as a jihad manual in Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. [2]

Some of the most enthusiastic supporters of Sayyed Imam's new document have been leaders of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya, another Egyptian jihad group which, in 1997, began its own process of ideological revisions. These revisions eventually led to a wide-ranging reassessment of their beliefs, and they published a number of polemical tracts against Al-Qaeda.

(See MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 309, "The Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya Cessation of Violence: An Ideological Reversal," December 22, 2006, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=ia&ID=IA30906 .)

In recent interviews and statements, members of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya and other like-minded individuals have given an upbeat assessment of the new book's impact, expressing the hope that Sayyed Imam's revisions would lead to something similar in Al-Qaeda itself, or perhaps to an internal split or a weakening of support for Al-Qaeda. [3]

Al-Zawahiri addressed the issue of Sayyed Imam's new book even before it was published, in the course of a feature-length video produced by Al-Sahab called Quwwat Al-Haqq ("The Power of Truth"). He argued that the revisions, which he calls the "retractions," were simply the product of torture in the Egyptian prisons; he said that he didn't blame their author for having broken down, but rather those outside the prisons who were enthusiastically promoting his new book. These latter he compared to gravediggers, who as soon as they hear that someone is sick, rush to him and wait eagerly for him to die so they can earn their living by burying him.

This line of defense has since been taken up by other Al-Qaeda spokesmen and supporters.The most vocal of these is Hani Al-Siba'i, an Egyptian Islamist living in London, who appears frequently on the Arab satellite stations and in the press. He also heads the Al-MaqrezeCenter for Historical Studies, and runs the website http://www.almaqreze.net/.

A third category of responses is that of independent jihadists. The most important of these to date has been Abu Basir Al-Tartusi, a prominent radical sheikh. Unlike Al-Qaeda, he does not believe that Sayyed Imam was forced to write his new book, and he offers his reasons for believing that it was written out of conviction. Also unlike Al-Qaeda, he undertakes a refutation of the central arguments in the book, and pillories Sayyed Imam for employing what are, in his opinion, weak proofs to try to stop the jihad. He accuses Sayyed Imam of going from extreme to extreme, noting that in the past both he himself and Al-Zarqawi's erstwhile mentor, Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, had criticized Sayyed Imam for being too radical and too quick to declare other Muslims apostates. [4] (For more on Abu Basir Al-Tartusi, see MEMRI Special Report No. 40, "Expatriate Syrian Salafi Sheikh Al-Tartusi Comes Out Against Suicide Attacks," February 10, 2006, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR4006.)

It should be noted that Sayyed Imam's revisions are less far-reaching than those of Al-Gama'a Al-Islamiyya. He does not clearly state that he no longer considers the current rulers of Muslim countries to be apostates; the reason he forbids fighting them is primarily that this jihad has little or no chance of success, and thus does more harm than good. He has also not renounced his previous writings, and claims that they were merely misunderstood. He is much clearer on other topics, like the shari'a prohibition on killing Western tourists, civilians in Western countries, and so on. The question of what precisely the document says and does not say is a complex one that will be taken up in future reports.

In the coming weeks and months, MEMRI will be providing full coverage of Sayyed Imam's new book and the reactions to it. By way of introduction, the following are excerpts from the first two segments of a six-part interview granted by Sayyed Imam to the Al-Hayat daily. In the interview, he deals at length with the 9/11 attacks, his relationship with Al-Zawahiri, and the emergence of Al-Qaeda. He describes the 9/11 attacks as betrayal and perfidy; Al-Zawahiri as a charlatan prone to betraying his friends, bin Laden as lacking a solid religious education, and Al-Qaeda as an organization without a shari'a authority and without a moral compass.

European Arabs Launch Campaign to Stop Al-Jazeera Broadcasts in Europe

Via MEMRI:

To view this Special Dispatch, visit:
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD177807

Arabs in Europe have launched a public campaign to stop Al-Jazeera TV broadcasts in Europe. In a petition, they accuse the channel of fostering extremism among European Arab youth and of supporting terrorism.

While the petition's initiators have not provided their names, it seems likely that they are Iraqi expatriates; although various Arab news websites, such as Elaph,(1) have reported on the campaign, the petition itself has been posted primarily on Iraqi websites. These sites include the Iraqi news site Sotaliraq; (2) the Iraq of Tomorrow news site; (3) the Al-Najaf News site; (4) the website of Al-Fayhaa TV, a liberal Iraqi station; (5) the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan website; (6) Bahzani, a news and opinion website focusing on the Yazidi community and other Iraqi minorities; (7) the Yezidi Community website; (8) the website of the Gilgamish Center for Kurdish Studies and Research; (9) and the Kurdistan Times e-journal. (10)

In addition, on November 28, 2007, Iraqi exile Joseph Shallal wrote an article on the Arab left-liberal Modern Discussion website urging a boycott of Al-Jazeera.

TO VIEW MEMRI TV'S PAGE OF AL-JAZEERA CLIPS VISIT:
http://www.memritv.org/subject/en/166.htm

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

Koran Commentary for Children Published in Egypt Features Incitement to Fight Christians and Jews

In an investigative article in the Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousef, journalist Asma Nassar revealed that a popular Koran commentary for children published in Egypt contains virulent incitement against Christians and Jews, and calls on both children and adults to fight them. Nassar's critical article presents excerpts from the book and comments from Muslim scholars who participated in its writing and from senior Al-Azhar figures.

The following are excerpts from the article:(1)

How Could Al-Azhar Approve This Book for Publication?

The article stated: "This Koran commentary, intended for children, includes erroneous ideas which incite against the followers of the [other] monotheistic religions. For instance, the interpretation of the Al-Fatiha Sura [the first Sura of the Koran], states that [the expression] 'those who earn Thine [i.e., Allah's] anger' refers to the Jews, and [the expression] 'those who go astray' refers to the Christians.(2) This [rendering] contradicts the tenets and the tolerant character of the Islamic faith.

"We wished to find out who was behind these inciting interpretations, especially since they are intended for children and teach them notions of hatred and extremism. It should be noted that the Muslim scholar Gamal Al-Bana was the first to call attention to this book, in his critical article about various Koran commentaries which contradict the principles of shari'a...(3)

"We discovered that the book was first published 10 years ago by Dar Al-Sahaba Lil-Turat in Tanta, and was edited by Sheikh Magdi Fathi Al-Sayyed. Since then, there have been five more editions, and the book has been translated into several languages, including Indonesian, Malaysian, and Turkish. The question arises: How could the [Al-Azhar] Academy of Islamic Research allow the publication of such ideas? After all, [one of its] duties is to monitor [publications] that misrepresent Islam and disparage the [other]monotheistic religions. Considering [the Academy's] involvement in cultural conflicts, and its persecution of anyone who has innovative ideas in areas of thought, culture and philosophy, its [scholars] ought to revert to their original role.

"The hidden poison [of extremism] has seeped into the pages of this book, which was approved [for publication] by the Al-Azhar Academy of Islamic Research... [after being] examined by four of its scholars. [One of the authors] of the introduction is the president of Egypt's Koranic schools, and a hadith expert at Al-Azhar University, Dr. Ahmad 'Issa Al-Ma'sarawi..."

Deliberate Inculcation of Extremist Ideas

The article continued: "Overall, the book is characterized by incitement to extremism and by extremist interpretations that do not reflect the true meaning of the verses... [For example,] the book divests Islam of its most fundamental principle - [the principle of] peace - and even incites against this [notion] in its interpretation of the [following] verses: 'Forgive them, and overlook [their misdeeds], for Allah loveth those who are kind [5:13]'; 'And if the enemy inclines towards peace, then incline towards it and trust in Allah, for He is all-hearing and all-knowing [8:61].' [The book states that] these verses are abrogated by the 'Verse of the Sword,' which descended later, and which says: 'Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the Latter Day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book [i.e. among the Christians and Jews], until they pay the jizya [the Islamic poll tax on non-Muslims] and they are in a state of subjection [9:29].' [According to the book], peace and reconciliation agreements [with Christians and Jews] have been forbidden since this verse was revealed.

"In its interpretation of this verse, [the book] says: 'Allah commands the believers to fight all the infidels who do not believe in Allah and in the Latter Day [i.e. in the Day of Judgment], who do not follow His instructions regarding what is allowed and prohibited, and who do not believe in the true faith, which is Islam - i.e. the Jews and the Christians'...

"One of the most appalling parts of the book is a section quoting several verses from the Al-Maida Sura ['The Table Spread'], which the book labels as 'proof of the heresy of the Christians.' The ideas planted [by this section] in the children's minds are like a time bomb that will lead to civil war, since the children learn by heart [verses that indoctrinate them] to accuse the Copts of heresy. This is totally inexplicable, and also contradicts [the spirit of] the Egyptian constitution...
"In its interpretation of verse [9:41] - 'Go forth light and heavy, and strive hard in Allah's way with your property and your persons; this is better for you, if you know' - the book says: 'Allah the Almighty told the believers - both young and old - to set out and fight for the sake of Allah.

"In explaining verse [9:66] - 'O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Hell will be their home, a hapless journey's end' - the book says: 'Allah commanded the believers to wage jihad against the infidels by [fighting them] with the sword, and to wage jihad against the hypocrites by imposing upon them the punishments and constraints mandated for those who violate the commands of Islam..."

The article further stated: "The expected consequence of this [book] is that, in future, thousands of young children will be willing to blow themselves up [in terrorist operations] against [non-Muslims]. This is the danger [that this book represents]. [The book's aim] is not to interpret verses, but to deliberately instill children with ideas that incite [to extremism]. This is evident from its deliberate ignoring of other verses... that reflect the true [face of] Islam, which does not discriminate among the followers of the monotheistic religions but [calls for] brotherhood among them..."

Senior Al-Azhar Scholar: This is Ignorance, Taken from Outdated and Erroneous
Commentaries

Nassar's article also elicited various responses to its criticism of the book. Former Al-Azhar vice-president Dr. Mahmoud Zalat Al-Qasbi, who co-authored the book's introduction, said: "I never saw the interpretations [quoted in Nassar's article]. I was asked to write the introduction, and that was my only involvement with the book." Al-Qasbi added that, had he seen these interpretations, he would have requested to have them changed, since he believed that offensive references to other religions were contrary to the principles of Islam. He also said that, in his opinion, the Al-Fatiha Sura had nothing to do with the Christians or Jews, since 'those who go astray' can also refer to many Muslims.

Dr. 'Abd Al-Mu'ti Bayoumi, member of the Al-Azhar Academy for Islamic Research, likewise expressed reservations about the book, saying: "It is ignorance on our part [to rely on] old and erroneous [Koran] commentaries without examining and contemplating [the verses anew]. Islamic thought needs to be reformed..." Bayoumi went on to warn against instilling these poisonous ideas in the younger generation.

Nassar also presented statements by Islamic scholar Gamal Al-Bana, who exposed the book in August 2007. He said: "The interpretations [found in the book] are generally similar to commentaries by [the Muslim Brotherhood theorist] Sayyed Qutub and other [Islamic scholars] of his ilk, who harmed the image of Islam with their erroneous interpretations of the Koran. Islam is pluralistic by nature, and does not aim to judge other religions or accuse others of heresy - that [role] is reserved for Allah on the Day of Judgment..." On the interpretation of the "Verse of the Sword," Al-Bana commented:

"Conciliation, tolerance and peace are principles of the Islamic faith, and whoever rejects them, rejects the postulates of that faith... Children must not be exposed to these commentaries, just as they should in general be left out of arguments they cannot understand, since [religious disputes] concern only the experts."

Endnotes:
(1) Roz Al-Yousef (Egypt), September 21, 2007.
(2) Verses six and seven of the Al-Fatiha Sura say: "Show us the straight path - the path of those whom Thou [i.e. Allah] hast favored, not the [path] of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray."
(3) Al-Bana's article appeared August 1, 2007 in the Egyptian daily Al-Masril-Yawm.

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Iran Accuses U.S., Israel of Manufacturing "Genetic" Weapon to "Kill Specific Peoples"

This is hilarious. Add this to the procurement of mythology inherent in Islam, along with Burak the magical Winged-Horse. From Iran Accuses U.S., Israel of Manufacturing "Genetic" Weapon to "Kill Specific Peoples":

Iranian Gen. Mir Feysal Bagherzadeh has accused the U.S. and Israel of "seeking to manufacture a [genetic] weapon which could kill specific peoples in a limited geographical area."

Hamas Children's Magazine Glorifies Martyrdom

From Hamas Children's Magazine Glorifies Martyrdom:

The Hamas children's magazine Al-Fateh is published biweekly in London, and is posted online at www.al-fateh.net. In stories, poems, riddles, and puzzles, the magazine includes incitement to jihad and martyrdom and glorification of terrorist operations, as well as characterizations of Jews as "murderers of the prophets" and laudatory descriptions of parents who encourage their sons to kill Jews. In each issue, a regular feature titled "The Story of a Martyr" presents the "heroic deeds" of a mujahid who died in a suicide operation or who was killed by the IDF. The magazine includes illustrations of child warriors, presenting them as role models. The magazine's titular character, Al-Fateh ("The Conqueror"), is depicted as a small boy on a horse brandishing a drawn sword.

Video: Hamas Video Lauds "Chunks of Flesh of Jews"

Just when you think Islam can't go any lower. From Hamas Video Lauds "Chunks of Flesh of Jews":

Hamas broadcast a music video on its Al Aqsa TV channel that showed terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens, accompanied by the lyrics, "In black bags, chunks of flesh of Jews" and "We want Sharon's head."

See Video (MEMRI-TV)

The Involvement of Saudi Nationals in Terrorist Activity

It's not like we didn't know this, considering that 14 of the 19 Muslims who attacked the United States on September 11th, were, in fact, Saudis. From The Involvement of Saudi Nationals in Terrorist Activity:

A public debate has emerged in Saudi Arabia regarding the involvement of Saudi nationals in terrorist activities throughout the world. The Lebanese news agency Al-Markaziyya reported, citing a diplomatic source, that Saudi Arabia had demanded that Syria round up the 980 Saudi al-Qaeda members currently at a refugee camp in Syria, and hand them over to Saudi authorities as a precondition for any negotiations between the two countries. 73 Saudis are imprisoned in Jordan.

There are also reports of Saudi involvement in terrorist activities in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. According to Lebanese security apparatuses, Saudi nationals constitute 30% of the members of Fath al-Islam. Saudi Maj.-Gen. 'Abd al-Karim Khalaf told the Saudi daily Al-Watan that 70 Saudi nationals had been arrested in Iraq. He added, "The majority of those arrested acknowledged during interrogation that they had come to Iraq following fatwas issued by 'ulama calling for armed activities there."

How Do Terrorist Attacks Advance the Islamic Cause?

By MEMRI

On July 2, 2007, a participant on the Islamist forum www al-ommh net/vb calling himself "Al-Mustaqim" posted the following question [1]: "My brothers... I wish to hear your opinion about the London operation: [2] Did it advance our cause or [intensify] the anger against our ummah?"

The next day, the forum webmaster posted a reply in which he enumerated Britain's "crimes" and explained how the operation benefited the Muslims.

Below are excerpts from his reply: [3]

England Has Been Fighting the Muslims Since Before the Days of Our Grandfathers

"The Crusaders do not need a reason to show hostility to our Islamic nation. They have been fighting Islam... since the dawn of history. They have been fighting it since the [days of the] Crusaders' military campaign against the land of Islam. At that time, England became the [main] base of this military campaign, and in our modern era, it occupied Muslim countries such as Egypt, Palestine and others."

"England handed Palestine to the Jews on a golden platter, so they could build a terrible state exclusively for themselves. At this time, English forces besieged the mujahid Sheikh 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam [d. 1935]... and his followers... and he became a martyr... After the [1917] Balfour Declaration, that terrible state was established in Palestine, and the Jews ruled Palestine with the financial, moral and political support of England."

"[In 1956,] England took part in the 'tripartite aggression' against Egypt, along with France and the Jews... [England] was [also] part of the military force which attacked Bosnia, not [in order to assist] the Muslims there but in order to... prevent the establishment of an Islamic state there in the wake of the overwhelming victory of the mujahideen... [In addition,] England joined the Crusader forces which attacked Afghanistan and... Iraq... [In sum,] England has been fighting the Muslims since before the birth of our grandfathers and until today.

"The benefit of the attack on the London Underground is [that] it brought home [to the British people] that they are no longer [immune] to the [attacks] of the mujahideen. Just as they kill our people, so will they be killed; just as they kill our children, so will their children be killed; and just as they destroy our cities, so will their cities be destroyed. We have [finally] become equals... after they made us feel, [for many years,] like lambs who go to the slaughter without resisting, because they [i.e. the English] were the masters."

The Attack Harmed Their Economy

"Another benefit [of the attack] is that it was [a blow to] England's infrastructure and harmed it economically... [In addition,] the attack delivered a severe blow to the global stock market: The index lost 200 points in less than 30 minutes, which caused them great economic harm, and prompted them to spend millions in order to increase their level of [security]... Not to mention the [considerable] number of people who converted to Islam after 9/11 and the London bombings."

[1] The www al-ommh net forum is hosted by Interserver Inc., located in New Jersey, U.S.

[2] It is not clear whether this refers to the 2005 London Tube bombings or to the June 2007 bombing attempt in Piccadilly.

[3] www al-ommh net/vb/showthread.php?t=19229

PFLP Leader: I Was Told by Abu Mazen's Team that Arafat Died of AIDS

Via Solomonia:

Click here to watch the video

MEMRI TV: PFLP General Command: I Was Told by Abu Mazen's Team that Arafat Died of AIDS

Following is an excerpt from an interview with Ahmad Jibril, Secretary-General of the PFLP General Command, which aired on Al-Manar TV on July 5, 2007:

Ahmad Jibril: When Abu Mazen came to Damascus with his team, I asked them: "What happened to the investigation into the death of Abu Ammar [Arafat]? The Israelis killed him. He was my colleague ever since 1965 and used to sleep at my home. He and I followed the same path." Is it conceivable that when Rafiq Al-Hariri was killed, all hell broke loose, even though he was just a merchant in Saudi Arabia, who later entered politics, whereas the death of Yasser Arafat, who for 40 years had been carrying his gun from one place to another, is not investigated? Is this conceivable? They were silent, and then one of them said to me: "To be honest, the French gave us the medical report that stated that the cause of Abu Ammar's death was AIDS." I am not saying this, they did. Now they pretend that they miss Yasser Arafat, and complain that [Hamas] entered his house in [Gaza] and so on... I say to every honorable member of the Fatah movement that he should be happy that we got rid of the plague, which had been imposed upon them and upon the Palestinian people. The Fatah movement now has an opportunity to renew itself.

Click here to watch the video

Possible Eruption of Violent Crisis in Lebanon After July 15

Qualifiable predictions via MEMRI:

In the past few days, Arab and Iranian media reports have pointed to the possibility that Lebanon's current political crisis may become a violent conflict after July 15, 2007.

It should be noted that certain international events concerning Lebanon and Syria are expected in mid-July, specifically:

1. The U.N. Security Council session scheduled for July 16, 2007, which is to discuss a report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the progress in the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. This discussion will be devoted in part to the report submitted by a delegation sent by Ki-Moon to the Syria-Lebanon border to assess border supervision. According to the London daily Al-Hayat, the delegation's recommendations included the stationing of international experts in border control to aid Lebanon's security apparatuses in monitoring the Syria-Lebanon border. [1]

2. Between July 15 and 17, 2007, the submission of another report to the U.N. Security Council, by the head of the International Investigation Commission into the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri, Serge Brammertz.

The following are excerpts from these Arab and Iranian media reports:

On July 5, 2007, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported that Syrian authorities had instructed all Syrian citizens residing in Lebanon to return to their country by July 15, 2007. [2] The next day, the Israeli Arab daily Al-Sinara similarly reported, on the authority of a Lebanese source close to Damascus, that Syria was planning to remove its citizens from Lebanon. [3] Also on July 5, the Lebanese daily Al-Liwa reported rumors that Syrian workers were leaving Lebanon at the request of the Syrian authorities. [4] In addition, the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra reported that Syrian universities would accept Syrian students who were leaving Lebanon due to the instability there. [5]

These sources offered a number of explanations for Syria's calls for its citizens to leave Lebanon. IRNA tied these calls to Lebanese President Emil Lahoud's ultimatum to the Lebanese opposition to decide on how to deal with the crisis in Lebanon, and also claimed that the calls were connected to Syria's intention to mobilize reserve units in expectation of an attack on it by Israel. On the other hand, the Lebanese daily Al-Liwa tied Syria's calls to the upcoming additional report by the International Investigation Commission into the Al-Hariri assassination, which is expected next week.

Click here to read more translations about The Lebanese Opposition: After Mid-July, We Will Establish a Second Government in Lebanon, Al-Mustaqbal Warns of Syrian-Iranian Plan for Coup in Lebanon, Hizbullah Arms Itself in Preparation for the Next Stage; One of Its Military Targets May Be Beirut, Change in Iranian Policy: From Preventing Civil War in Lebanon to Adopting Syria's Position.

Fears in Arab World Following Gaza Coup: Hamas Is Threatening Entire Arab World

From Fears in Arab World Following Gaza Coup: Hamas Is Threatening Entire Arab World, via MEMRI:

The Arab world as a whole has not yet formulated a clear position on the events in Gaza. While the Arab countries fully backed Mahmoud Abbas in his struggle against Hamas, spokesmen and senior officials have refrained from burning bridges with Hamas.

The same trend is evident in the Arab media. Most articles avoided siding clearly with either Fatah or Hamas, calling on both sides to reach an understanding through negotiations. However, some op-eds have harshly condemned Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza, saying it has dealt a death blow to the Palestinian cause and has destroyed any hope of resolving the Palestinian problem.

Talal Salman, owner of the Lebanese daily Al-Safir, wrote: "Palestine has collapsed in a pool of its own blood, and the only ones to blame are those who promised to liberate it."

In an op-ed titled "The Gaza Earthquake," Asharq Al-Awsat editor Tariq Al-Humayd wrote: "The preparedness of the Hamas fighters...proves that while Hamas and its leaders were crying out about lack of funds, Hamas was amassing arms and ammunition. Someone is providing it with regular funding, and as a result it appeared to be better prepared than the legitimate authorities. The source of the funds is obviously Iran."

Ahmad Al-Jarallah, editor of the Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa, wrote: "By means of Hamas' takeover in Gaza, the Iran-Syria axis has managed to destroy the Mecca agreement, to sabotage the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and to block the role of Saudi Arabia."

Jordanian journalist Raja Talib wrote in the Jordanian government daily Al-Rai: "Reality has shown that even if Hamas was originally a Palestinian [movement], it is now completely [committed] to the ideological agenda of Tehran."

Egyptian intellectual Ma'moun Fandy likened Hamas to a computer virus that threatens to destroy the Arab world. He wrote in Asharq Al-Awsat: "The Muslims must understand that the Hamas emirate is a model that the Islamists aim to implant in all their countries....We are now faced with a dangerous virus, in the form of the Hamas Emirate. A symptom of this infection was Hizbullah in Lebanon, and we see some signs of it in Egypt and Algeria as well - especially since the mother virus, the Muslim Brotherhood, has existed in Egypt for ages, in all its potency."

See also Hamas Conquest of Gaza Disturbs Arab World:

The conquest of Gaza by Hamas has frightened Arab leaders, demonstrating the rising threat to the status quo in places like Cairo, Amman, and Riyadh posed by political Islam. And it gave Iran yet another foothold on Arab borders. Egypt is trying to contain the popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood, while Jordan is struggling to hold down the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Brotherhood. Much of the region has been unsettled by Qaeda-minded terrorist groups.

A Culture of Violence Rules the Palestinian Territories

Via MEMRI, from A Culture of Violence Rules the Palestinian Territories:

The all-against-all infighting and its basic code have become the mental and psychological makeup of the Palestinian people, as a natural result of the predominant discourse of hostility and incitement. This discourse has been adopted by Palestinians of all persuasions and in all the factions – religious, pan-Arab revolutionary, and leftist. It is a discourse whose aim was sowing hatred, having recourse to violence, and enjoying spilling blood.

At first it was directed against the so-called Israeli enemy, and it uprooted any possibility of or tendency towards rational mutual comprehension or of recourse to discussion, dialogue, and negotiation - what is known as peaceful resolution - and it raised the slogan of "clinging to the choice of resistance." But one clings to goals, not methods, and resistance (meaning armed resistance) cannot, psychologically and culturally, be the only choice for peoples to achieve their goals, without there being any alternative.

The discourse of violence had already managed to be the only one on the scene, which was emptied of any counter-discourse when the rational thinkers fled or were forced to keep out of sight - amidst the vast flood of feelings of violence that began to sweep away everything in its path.

The predominant discourse of violence, most of which was formed by the religious discourse, was not the discourse of a means that attempts to achieve a goal, but rather was a discourse of violence and sacred killing in the name of jihad.

This was translated into political language in the slogan that the Arab-Israeli struggle is an existential struggle, and not a struggle over borders, and its implementation in practice was the so-called martyrdom-seeking operations for killing Israeli civilians. The hatred was transformed from hatred of Zionism to hatred of Jews - "the sons of apes and pigs."

Perhaps no one has noticed that when you take an individual or a group away from the culture of using reason and peaceful dialogue, and replace it with the culture of violence and of killing those who are different, you cannot then afterwards control it and direct it to be used against one single side.

The Doctrine of Mahdism

From The Doctrine of Mahdism:

According to Shi'ite tradition, the Twelve Imams, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law Ali Ibn Abi Talib, were endowed with divine qualities that enabled them to lead the Shi'ite believers and to function as Allah's emissaries on earth. However, when the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad Al-Mahdi, disappeared in 941 CE, his connection with the Shi'ite believers was severed, and since then, the Shi'ites are commanded to await his return at any time.

Immediately upon assuming the Iranian presidency, Ahmadinejad began to assert his belief in the imminent return of the Mahdi as the basis for his political activities. Despite the traditional belief that no one can foresee the hour of the Mahdi's return, Ahmadinejad frequently stated that his coming was nigh, and even gave a more specific prediction. During a meeting with the foreign minister of an Islamic country, he said that the crisis in Iran "presaged the coming of the Hidden Imam, who would appear within the next two years."

The messianic doctrine of Mahdism is also manifest in Iranian foreign policy, especially in its attitude toward the Western superpowers and toward the nuclear program. Ayatollah Mesbah-e Yazdi, mentor to Ahmadinejad, expressed this approach in an October 11, 2006 speech: "The greatest obligation of those awaiting the appearance of the Mahdi is fighting heresy and global arrogance [i.e., the West, primarily the U.S.]." Ahmadinejad and his close circle do not avoid confronting the West, since they consider this struggle to be one of the ways to prepare the ground for the return of the Mahdi.