by Raymond Ibrahim<\/p>\n
Private Papers<\/i><\/p>\n
O<\/span>sama bin Laden is apparently certain that the vast majority of Americans, including their policy-makers, are ignorant of al-Qaeda\u2019s goals and strategies.\u00a0 His recent \u201cextended truce\u201d offer to the Americans suggests as much: after offering the truce, he qualifies its earnestness by asserting \u201cfor we [Muslims] are a Nation whom Allah has forbidden from breaking pacts and lying.\u201d\u00a0 And this is definitely true \u2014 the Koran and Tradition of the Prophet clearly censure acts of perfidy and deception.<\/p>\n However, there are various doctrines and exceptions \u2014 also grounded in the Koran and Tradition \u2014 that assert that lying and pact-breaking, if done for a \u201cjust cause,\u201d such as empowering Islam or preserving one\u2019s life, are permitted.\u00a0 Such is the doctrine of\u00a0Taqiyyah<\/i>, which is well established in Muslim tradition (e.g., Koran 3:28).\u00a0 According to this doctrine, Believers may in certain circumstances openly deceive infidels by feigning friendship or goodwill \u2014 even a show of apostasy \u2014 so long as their heart is secure in its faith.<\/p>\n Also, there are several traditions of the Prophet that justify oath-breaking.\u00a0 For instance, \u201cAllah\u2019s Messenger [Muhammad] said, \u2018He who takes an oath but eventually finds a better way should do that which is better and break his oath\u2019\u201d [Sahih Muslim 15: 4057].<\/p>\n Even so, it would be unrealistic to assert that the majority of Muslims, assimilated in the world-body, either engage in \u2014 or possibly even know about \u2014 these somewhat obscure sayings.\u00a0 But ever-pious al Qaeda both knows and endorses these doctrines of deception, as evidenced by their writings.<\/p>\n For instance, bin Laden\u2019s right-hand man, Aymin al-Zawahri, himself the target of a U.S. attack in northern Pakistan just last week, quoting prominent Muslim scholars and\u00a0imams<\/i>\u00a0throughout the ages, writes: \u201cWe grin to the faces of some peoples, though our hearts curse them\u2026.Protection is not accomplished with deeds but with the tongue [i.e., dissembling]\u2026. [D]emonstrate friendship to the infidels with your tongues, while harboring hostility towards them\u2026.The Prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, said, \u2018War is deceit.\u2019\u2026.\u00a0 Now deception in warfare requires that the\u00a0mujahid<\/i>\u00a0bide his time and wait for an opportunity against his enemy, while avoiding confrontation at all possible costs.\u00a0 For triumph, in almost every case, is [achieved] through deception.\u201d<\/p>\n Al Qaeda\u2019s ultimate world vision is to see Islam and Islamic Law made supreme the world over, as is commanded \u2014 \u201cFight those from the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, until they pay tribute with willing submission, and feel themselves utterly subdued\u201d [9:29].\u00a0 The purpose of the peace treaty, then, is to give al Qaeda and their supporters the required time and leverage to mount an effective offensive.\u00a0 It is not a gesture of good will or hope for reconciliation, since that is impossible for al Qaeda until the whole world is governed by Islam, with those who choose to remain unbelievers \u201cpaying tribute with willing submission, and feeling themselves utterly subdued.\u201d In the meantime, and since Islamic hegemony is ostensibly a long way from coming, deception in order to realize their \u201cpious\u201d goals is perfectly acceptable.\u00a0 After all, a pact with an infidel is no pact at all.<\/p>\n The truce offer is also revealing on another level. While al Qaeda endorses deception and perfidy vis-\u00e0-vis infidels, they are also aware that going along with infidels and agreeing with them is a dangerous road and one to be treaded cautiously.\u00a0 Writing in a context where he warns against getting\u00a0too<\/i>\u00a0close to infidels Zawahri states: \u201cOnly when you are in their [infidels\u2019] power, fearing for yourselves, are you to demonstrate friendship for them with your tongues, while harboring enmity towards them. Should a Muslim, then,\u00a0 encounter circumstances that expose him to death or severe injury, let him utter some words [i.e., \u201clie\u201d] to stay the infidels\u2019 onslaught.\u00a0 But he must not undertake any initiative to support them, commit sin, or enable them through any deed or killing or fighting against Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n Based on this final excerpt, and assuming that they heed their own advice, it becomes clear that al-Qaeda today is in a position where they are in the \u201cinfidels\u2019 powers,\u201d rightfully fearing \u201cdeath\u201d and \u201csevere injury.\u201d\u00a0 Thus in many ways this last message from bin Laden, delivered in a rather faint and weary sounding voice, far from evincing confidence and a magnanimous willingness to condescend to peace \u2014 for the U.S.\u2019s sake \u2014 is really only indicative that the US and its allies are, in fact, closing in on al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Koran, Islamic tradition and al Qaeda’s leadership shed light on bin Laden’s offer. by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers Osama bin Laden is apparently certain that the vast majority of Americans, including their policy-makers, are ignorant of al-Qaeda\u2019s goals and strategies.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[227,780],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-1rO","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5588,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/al-qaedas-offensive-rhetoric-what-does-al-qaeda-ultimately-want\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":0},"title":"Al Qaeda’s Offensive Rhetoric: What Does Al-Qaeda Ultimately Want?","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 5, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers Al-Qaeda has shrewdly seen to it that, along with the sword, they also employ the pen in their Holy War. In order to vindicate their actions and rally support, they have orchestrated a series of carefully constructed messages. These messages fall into two distinct genres,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4152,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/deconstructing-bin-laden\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":1},"title":"Deconstructing Bin Laden","author":"victorhanson","date":"January 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services We don't know whether the latest and much-discussed Osama bin Laden tape was recorded recently. But the harangue is still a valuable reflection of the current al Qaeda hierarchy that broadcast it to the world. First, things must be going very badly for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "January 2006"","block_context":{"text":"January 2006","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2006\/january-2006\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5473,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/seeking-sympathy-from-the-infidel\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":2},"title":"Seeking Sympathy from the Infidel","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Zawahiri invokes the language of social justice. by Raymond Ibrahim National Review Online In an unprecedented effort to rally popular support, al Qaeda is apparently trying to refashion its image from an ultra-conservative, radical Islamist group with clear and precise goals \u2014 the ultimate being to implement\u00a0sharia\u00a0law around the globe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3281,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/osama-bin-laden-man-of-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":3},"title":"Osama bin Laden: Man of Love?","author":"victorhanson","date":"October 8, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim MESH (Middle East Strategy at Harvard) In many ways, Michael Scheuer is the paradigmatic case of an otherwise knowledgeable and experienced Western adult who takes al Qaeda\u2019s word at face value. According to his book,\u00a0Imperial Hubris, his credentials and thus authority to speak about al Qaeda and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5480,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/hydra-of-war\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":4},"title":"Hydra of War","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 4, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Radical Islam will ensure the constant replacement of whatever terrorists we kill. by Raymond Ibrahim National Review Online Is the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Masri, dead? Iraqi authorities just proclaimed that he was recently killed due to infighting. But al Qaeda-related websites beg to differ: \u201c[H]e\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3155,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/are-slave-girls-in-islam-equivalent-to-animals\/","url_meta":{"origin":5568,"position":5},"title":"Are Slave-girls in Islam Equivalent to Animals?","author":"victorhanson","date":"December 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Jihad Watch Many are now aware that the Koran \u2014 that is, Allah\u2019s word \u2014 permits, not just polygamy, but forced concubinage (sex with captive women), according to Koran 4:3: \u201cMarry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5568"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5568"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5569,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5568\/revisions\/5569"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}