VG has translated parts of two speeches Mullah Krekar held over the internet in November 2003:

It was asked what we will do when we get in power... I swear by Allah that we will not cut off the hand of someone who has stolen a bicycle. No, but first of all we will cut off the hand of Jabbar Farman, Nechirvan and those who have committed so many crimes and stolen all this people had. When we're in power, we'll practice Sharia laws for sure. ..

And we're afraid of noone. When we get in power, this is our plan, and we're completely open and honest about it. ..

There are some places where these speeches [about suicide attacks and martyrdom] are inappropriate. There are some speeches that concern Jihad, and rules for Jihad and the US. Some are afraid of taking the responsibility of publishing them. But I'm wet now, and I'm not afraid. I am willing to publish my last speech, where I present Shariah reasons for suicide attacks, on the internet.

Jabbar Farman and Nechirvan Barzani are two leaders in the PUK and KDP. The message is clear: Krekar and his followers, whether we call them Ansar al-Islam or something else, intend to continue working for radical Islam in Kurdistan and everywhere else, with the specific goal of overthrowing competing groups, chopping apart their leaders, and introducing Shariah. Not surprising, but interesting to see it in print.

And only yesterday Aftenposten could reveal that when Krekar spoke on Al-Jazeerah a month ago, he spoke as leader of Ansar al-Islam. Perhaps the media is beginning to catch on to Krekar's masquerade. At least his claims are being examined critically, and that's a good start. Even Krekar's talented spin doctor and lawyer Brynjar Meling must find it difficult to control the situation. But that won't stop him from trying. Referring to the hand-chopping threats:

- These are hypothetical and utopian statements. When Mullah Krekar uses the words "we" and "our", this has a linguistic form that he has previously explained to the Security Police (PST). Krekar speaks about Muslims. Besides, cutting off hands is a punishment method that is supported by the Koran, and is therefore unproblematic according to Norwegian law, says Meling. He believes that any conservative Imam would have said the same as Krekar.

So few words, so many falsehoods. First of all: Krekar is not a conservative, but a radical. The Koran does warrant hand-chopping for theft, but probably not against political enemies, and since when were any commandment in some holy scripture "unproblematic according to Norwegian law"? As for the "hypothetical" and "utopian" statements, perhaps I should write that "when my group gets in power we will have X's hands cut off", and insert the name of a certain lawyer. Would he still consider it a "hypothetical" statement, or a very specific threat?

Meling is loosing his touch. When asked if Krekar is still the leader of Ansar al-Islam, as Al-Jazeerah claims he wanted to be called, he merely denies it. What, no conspiracies? At least Krekar's brother has the sense to try to implicate the Americans:

[Khalid Faraj Ahmad] criticizes the claims that Krekar himself asked to be referred to as the leader of Ansar al-Islam on the Arab TV channel Al-Jazeerah. - Some times Al-Jazeerah writes that Krekar isn't the leader. I have recordings of this. At other occasions they write that he is a minor leader, and now that he is the leader. You can't have the media as a primary source in such a case. [..]

- The talk show host from Al-Jazeerah claims that it was Krekar himself who wanted to be called a leader?

- This is not correct. I was at the recording, and Krekar never spoke about this. Besides Krekar couldn't see the TV screen from Al-Jazeerah. The host lies, or is working for the Americans.

Ah, that explains it. Or maybe not. The talk show is called Opposite Direction, is hosted by a Syrian named Faysal al-Qasem, and is one of the most popular programs on Al-Jazeerah. How clever of the Americans to hire one of Jazeerah's best known faces to spread their message to the Arab world! But if Qasem is working for the Americans, I don't think he's doing a good job. At least I doubt they pay him for the antisemitism, Holocaust denial and praise of bin Laden. Perhaps he's doing that for free.

Btw, Kim Møller sent me the link to this interview with Mullah Krekar (8min, 20mb). It's old, probably made in late 2002, but revealing. At times he's the fanatic, at other times the family man, but at all times a charismat. This is a gift that I suspect has served him equally well in Kurdistan and Norway.

I am never able to stop being amazed when so many writers refer to "radical" Islam as though it differs somehow from Islam...read the history of that grou, from its inception to the present. Read the Koran and affiliated texts...how often have you seen Peaceful Islam take out full page ads denouncing "radical" Islam? Islam is Islam: it is all the same and it detests the unbelievers. The only time Islam seems tolerant is when they have others under their thumb and treat them as inferior and subjects. When they are not yet in powr (democracies)their allegiance is to Islam, not to the political state that offers shelter etc etc...they wait their time, as did Hitler: one man, one vote, one time. And then, winning Sharia forever.

Fred: That's ridiculous. You _can_ argue that there are no peaceful or liberal forms of Islam. I would disagree, but at least you wouldn't be obviously wrong. But what you're saying is that all forms of Islam are _equally dangerous_, that there is no difference between radical and conservative Islam. That's just ignorant. For one thing, the Wahhabs and the radicals inspired by them would disagree with you. These people have launched war on mainstream Islam, which they consider impure. Where they go, Islam _changes_. Women put the veil back on, limbs are chopped off, and suicide becomes everyone's highway to martyrdom. And you say there's no difference?

Just like Yassir, one message for the West in English, one in arabic for his people.

But, certain parts of the West are starting to catch on, very, very slowly.

They can start to run, but they won't be able to hide for long. We're coming, and cutting off hands will be the least of their worries.

Let's try to avoid falling into the other pitfall; assuming that all the world's one billion muslims are potential Bin Ladens.

It is a common hobby among Muslims to quote statements by religious and political leaders in the west to the effect that the war on terror is a crusade and that the goal is to impose xtianity and eradicate Islam. Anyone living in the west (and not reading only IndyMedia) will laugh at such a proposal. By just quoting extremists, it is easy to give such an impression.

It is also rather trivial to quote the Bible to support that Christans and Jews support genocide on Muslims. The Book of Joshua, for example, part of the holy canon in both religions, describes extremist genocide of the worst type, not second to any atrocities committed by Muslims.

But religion is one thing, and religious people is something different altogether. Never assume that by reading holy books and radical websites you can find out what is in the heart of every person who subscribes to a particular religion.

When was the last time Sufis blew themselves up in a cafe anyway?

--It is a common hobby among Muslims to quote statements by religious and political leaders in the west to the effect that the war on terror is a crusade and that the goal is to impose xtianity and eradicate Islam. Anyone living in the west (and not reading only IndyMedia) will laugh at such a proposal.--

And that's the problem. The crickets are chirping. The ummah (?) is pretty damn quiet, unless they feel they're being "victimized." There's no concerted effort by moderate muslims to start cutting out the cancer in their midst. Why not? They win either way. The West wins, they get the benefits, Islam wins, even better.

The Swiss and frankenreich just broke up more cells, read instapundit. That ricin plan last March was a little more serious than they thought.

Start reading rantburg.com. The radicals are taking over provinces especially in Africa. Dhijoubouti (sp) is a hotbed of activity. AQ's negotiating w/the Yemeni gov't to become AQ's home. Have you ever paid attention as to how many Yemenis are involved?

Have you read the statement from the former head of the Pakistani nuke program???

And while you're at it, start reading Steven Den Beste, word search surrender. It's his response to a European.

America is living in the 9/11 world, and it's taken the Euro gov'ts 2 years to realize it.

Jan, Haugland . . .

I agree with Sandy P. The issue is not what is written in various religious groups' holy texts hundreds or thousands of years ago.

The issue is what is going on NOW. You need to do more research, rather than explaining to us Americans that we need to be more "open-minded."

It's good to be open-minded, but you need to get up to speed regarding the genuine threat that Europeans and Americans are facing today, now, in 2004.

Sandy P. . . .

I checked Den Beste's word search for "surrender" and then tried "never surrender," thinking that you might have been referring to his response to a reader in Tehran. There were quite a few references in both those searches. Perhaps Jan of Haugland should look for "A Reader from Tehran," if that is the post you were thinking of.

Anyway, that's a good Den Beste post--not to mention scary. Another good blog writer is Belmont Club (Wretchard) who also comes at ideas from a fresh point of view--also scary.

Sandy, Totoro,

I think we're talking past each other here. Surely radical Muslims are a massive problem. Like everywhere else, extremists really care and moderates just let it happen, so even if they are outnumbered they are disproportionally powerful. There is no doubt that it is a real threat, mostly to the Muslim countries themselves, but also, as we have seen, to us.

My point was with those who say that all Muslims support terrorism, and that all Muslims will prefer a Taliban theocracy. Just read the early messages in this thread. To argue there is no such thing as moderate muslims is utterly absurd. There are many, many Muslims who are no more Muslim than the average Lutheran Norwegian is a Christian.

I also noted you really didn't answer my arguments. You simply have no hard data to back up your demonisation of Muslims (so like the demonisation of Jews in the Muslim world), just appeals to false authority.

FWIW, I read both InstaPundit and Den Beste regularly, and there's a lot of good material there. But I think I know Islam and religious radicals generally a bit better than the two gentlemen.

Jan Haugland, Bergen . . .

I guess we WERE talking past each other, because I do agree with you that most Muslims (99%) are not extremists who support terrorism.

In this slow-motion discussion, it's kind of a "half glass full, half glass empty" way of talking. Sandy P. and I see the threat and think that most Europeans don't see the threat, since they seem to be focused on how much they hate America and how imperialistic we are. That's our view from here. You, however, see that most Muslims are not killer extremists, which is also true.

The reason why I post--and probably Sandy P. does to--is to influence Norwegians like yourself to become more active against the danger that does exist--not to create hatred toward innocent sensible Muslims.

You're right, no hard data, just 2 1/2 years of silence broken by victimization. And reading various european blogs showing me a lot of people are still living in the 9/10 world. Actions still do speak louder than words, and since there's been very little words and less action until now and only after we went in do we see some stirrings in the ME.

Let's hope Iran succeeds to shake up the ummah:

Plan for the peaceful removal of the Islamic Regime:
This Sunday, January 18, 2004

A Plan for the peaceful removal of the Islamic Regime of Iran will be announced during a live program broadcast on many Iranian satellite TV and Radio stations. The program starts at 10 AM PST from NITV studios in Los Angeles and will last for 6 hours, including a fundraising segment to support the plan. Other media who have confirmed the live broadcast of this program include Pars TV, Radio Sedaye Iran, Radio Yaran, Radio Sedaye Emrooz, Rangarang TV, Apadana TV, and Lahzeh TV.

This program can also be seen live via the Internet at www.IranRadioTV.com who will provide a FREE link on that day.

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