Thursday, January 10, 2008

Beheading in the Name of Islam Online

Joe Kaufman
FrontPageMagazine.com | 1/10/2008
Of all the crimes committed by extremist Muslims, the one that is arguably the most horrifying is the act of beheading. This month, Islam Online, a website that has mass popularity throughout the Muslim world, published a gruesome poem detailing how to behead a human being. In doing so, the site has revealed its own connections to the violent Islamic hatred that increasingly has found a home on the web. Islam Online first invaded the internet in November of 1999. Since then, the site has worked hard to support the terrorist infrastructure around the world. Today, with a few clicks of the mouse, one will find the transcripts of past forums – what Islam Online refers to as “Live Dialogue” sessions – on the site, giving terrorist operatives ‘carte blanch’ to get their views out. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders, including Ahmed Yassin, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, Mousa Abu Marzook, Sami Al-Arian and Rafiq Jaber, have all been given a voice to speak on Islam Online.

As well, today, within Islam Online’s fatwa or religious ruling section, one will find various statements advocating, and at times even mandating, the most hideous of violent acts.

About suicide bombings, Islam Online states: “Martyr operations are not suicide and should not be deemed as unjustifiable means of endangering one’s life... [I]n martyr operations, the Muslim sacrifices his own life for the sake of performing a religious duty, which is jihad against the enemy... [T]he Palestinians resort to martyr operations, in which the martyr blows himself/herself up, sacrificing his life for the sake of his country... I believe that those missions are a sacred duty carried out in form of self-defense... So whoever is killed in such missions is a martyr, may Allah bless him with high esteem.

About killing homosexuals, the site states: “Some scholars hold the opinion that the homosexual should be thrown from a high building as a punishment for his crime, but other scholars maintain that he should be imprisoned until death. Based on the above fact, we can conclude that, the judge is invested with full discretion as to whether this man is to be thrown from a high place or not, as a punishment for his crime. However, if the man survives death fall, the judge has the right to sentence him to death.”

On January 1, to ring in the “infidel” New Year, Islam Online managed to outdo itself. It published a poem – and advertised it on all of its web pages, including its homepage – detailing the steps that one goes about to behead human beings.

Here is exactly what the group posted, which is still up on its own page within Islam Online’s ‘Arts & Culture’ section:

How to Behead

Hold him
Tie the arms behind his back
And bandage his legs together
Just by the ankles
Blindfold the punk
So that he won't hesitate as much
For on seeing the sharp pointy knife
He'll begin to shake
And continuously scream like an eedyat
And jiggle like a jelly
Trust me–this will sure get you angry
It’s better to have at least two or three brothers by your side
Who can hold the fool
Because as soon as the warm sharp knife
Touches his naked flesh
He'll come to know what'll happen
It's not as messy or as hard as some may think,
It's all about the flow of the wrist.
No doubt that the punk will twitch and scream
But ignore the donkey's ass
And continue to slice back and forth
You'll feel the knife hit the wind and food pipe
But don't stop
Continue with all your might.
About now you should feel the knife vibrate,
You can feel the warm heat being given off,
But this is due to the friction being caused.

The piece was written by Samina Malik, a 23-year-old female resident of the United Kingdom, who, this past November, was convicted of possessing documents likely to be used for terrorism under UK’s Terrorism Act 2000. Documents found on her computer included: The Mujaheddin Poisoner’s Handbook, Encyclopaedia Jihad, How To Win In Hand To Hand Combat, How To Make Bombs and Sniper Manual.

During Malik’s trial, it was reported that, on a social networking website, under the section titled ‘Favorite TV Shows,’ she wrote, “Watching videos by my Muslim brothers in Iraq, yep the beheading ones, watching video messages by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri and other videos which show massacres of the kaffirs.” As well, it was reported that she was an admirer of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the now deceased ex-head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, who is believed to be the executioner in the beheading of American Nick Berg.

Under the poem are comments from readers, many of which are critical of Islam Online for publishing it. A few of the comments, however, are aimed at non-Muslims. One states, “A PIG IS THE ONLY ANIMAL THAT INVITES OTHER PIGS TO COME AND ENJOY WITH IT’S MATE, A QUALITY THAT IS UNIQUE TO JEWS AND CHRISTIANS...”

In advertising the poem to its viewers, Islam Online posted a graphic image on all of its web pages. It depicted the words “How to Behead!” on it, with letters that were done in a macabre font. In the background one can see what looks like the head of a knife along with the splattering of blood. The graphic lasted on the site, including on the homepage, for four full days. This was eerily similar to when the website posted a graphic with the words “A Hanukkah of Darkness?,” advertising an article written by Hamas (Islamic Association for Palestine) operative, Khalid Amayreh.

Islam Online could be safely ignored were it not for the fact that it has countless Muslims supporters around the globe. This includes large groups within the United States and Canada that continue to give access to the site’s content through links and internet postings – groups like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Muslim American Society (MAS), and the Muslim Students Association (MSA). Apparently these groups have no problem with the dangerous and offensive subject matter found on the website.

That begins to make sense, when one discovers that representatives from these groups are affiliated with Islam Online. Jamal Badawi, one of Islam Online’s Sharia scholars, is a board member of both ISNA and CAIR-Canada. Muzammil Siddiqi, also an IOL Sharia scholar, is a board member and the former National President of ISNA, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Chairman of Islam Online, is the Chairman of MAS’s Islamic American University (IAU). And Altaf Husain, a contributor and correspondent for Islam Online, is the former National President of the MSA and serves on the MSA Board of Advisors.

These individuals and groups have allowed Islam Online to grow and to encourage the extremists of the future. And it seems that not only is Islam Online going to support and mandate acts of terrorism, but it is now going to teach these extremists how to commit terror, as it has with the issue of beheading.

Islam Online is a symptom of the much larger problem of Islamic extremism, one that shutting down the site will not solve. Even so, it will be a wise step in the right direction.

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