Relevance of Zero Dark Thirty Every fall semester includes a class
that is within days of the anniversary of the massacre of 9/11/2001. One of the
first questions my class is asked to answer is an emphatic WHY? Most are honest
enough to answer with blank expressions. Others either guess or insist that
American actions provoked the attack.
We spend the next two weeks uncovering the real reasons.
After watching Zero Dark Thirty, I’m hopeful many more will want to do the
necessary research. That movie offers a place to begin. Quotes from bin Laden
may attract more attention; if so, closer scrutiny may follow.
However, understanding Osama’s words requires a
Rosetta stone. The quote that follows was taken from Osama bin Laden
- Biography Osama bin Laden was the
criminal mastermind behind Al-Qaida ... www.imdb.com/name/nm1136915/bio
-. “I
have already said that I am not involved in the September 11th attacks in the
United States. As a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no
knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of innocent women,
children and other humans as an appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing
harm to innocent women, children and other people. Such a practice is forbidden
even in the course of a battle…”
As
straightforward as this may appear, it is actually doublespeak, deception used
as a tool of war. In Islam, the world is divided into the innocents, the
believers of Dar al Islam, comprised
of Muslims, and everyone else, non-believers, kuffar or infidels who belong to Dar al Harb, the world of war.
No one in the latter, Dar al Harb,
is, by definition (since they are non-believers in Allah and Mohammed as the
final prophet) is considered innocent.
That’s
why, in an ideal world, jihad for the
sake of Allah would successfully convert all of Dar al Harb to Dar al Islam.
By grasping that core idea, it is easier to understand the imperial orientation
of Islam. Non-Muslims must be confronted; they must be offered three choices.
The first is to convert to Islam so that their misdeeds as kuffar will be forgiven instantly.
The
second choice is much less appealing (if the first can be considered that).
Non-Muslims can accept dhimmi status,
i.e., can acknowledge that they are second class, (part of Dar al Harb) and that they must pay a poll tax or jizya to live under the protection of
those who are part of Dar al Islam.
Not accepting that status and its servile restraints leads to the third choice.
Simply put, that’s war.
Regarding the first choice, examine this:
Osama bin Laden has urged Americans to
convert to Islam in the first video message from the al-Qa'eda leader
for three years, but issued no clear threat of attack as ...
You’ll find:
…Bin Laden addresses
the American people directly, saying: "I invite you to embrace Islam" [my emphasis] in order to achieve their "desire to
stop the war" in Iraq and show "warmongering" major corporations
that you have lost confidence in your democratic system".
Following
the example of Mohammed, Osama reveals that his original claim that he had “…no
knowledge of these attacks…” was false [please see the quote at the beginning
of this piece]; he employed taqqiyah,
deception, regarding 9/11 :
Bin Laden Claims Responsibility
for 9/11. Published ... bin Laden said he wanted to
explain why...www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,137095,00.html
Targeting Osama
was essential; his was an unpardonable crime. However, those who admired and
praised him saw [and see] him as a martyr who had ascended to paradise since he
was killed while waging jihad against infidels. [please see Surah 9:111 in the Koran] Muslims
revered him for that.
One of my
students, son of a Pakistani immigrant, spoke to me in distress the morning
after bin Laden was killed. His father, a Muslim who was now an American,
didn’t know how to feel about bin Ladin’s death. Although Osama had killed
thousands, Osama was still a Muslim. And, according to my student, his father
didn’t know whether he should be thankful for Osama’s death.
To find an
answer, my student’s father called a relative in Pakistan. [Throughout
Pakistan, population centers range from 95.3% Muslim to 99.6% Muslim; please
see PAKISTAN - CENSUS POPULATION BY
RELIGION ... Hindu: Qadiani: Scheduled: Others Unit (Jati) (Ahmadi) Castes
: Pakistan: 96.28: 1.59: 1.60: 0.22: 0.25: 0.07: Rural: 96.49: 1.10:
1.80: 0.18: 0.34: 0.08:www.census.gov.pk/Religion.htm
- ] I’m not
sure what advice the relative in Pakistan provided. I haven’t seen my former
student since then.
However, after seeing Zero Dark Thirty, I wonder what the
father of my student might think if he sees that movie. Chances are that his
reaction would underscore its relevance.
B. Koplen 1/15/13
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